Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
427 
The result of such a system would be:— 
First—to redeem and destroy the present greenbacks, and thus 
silence the complaint that government does not keep faith in the 
matter of their redemption; and also to reduce the interest on our 
national debt to about 3 per cent. Suppose the nation thus issues 
(lends) $1,200,000,000 of currency, then it will receive over $40,- 
000,000 interest. The annual interest on our debt is now, in round 
numbers, $100,000,000. Subtract $40,000,000 from this and it 
leaves us to pay $60,000,000 annually, which is less than 4 per cent, 
on the whole debt. Twelve hundred millions of currency would be 
no extravagant estimate. We have more than this amount of what 
is really currency now, since bills of exchange and checks are real¬ 
ly currency in their nature and effects as much as greenbacks are. 
The bank loans are, in round numbers, $1,000,000,000. Green¬ 
backs and national bank currency are about $800,000,000—$1,800,- 
000,000 in all. 
Under my plan we should have fewer checks and bills of exchange 
and more greenbacks. But if we had these $1,200,000,000 of green¬ 
backs, and besides the same amount of bills and checks as now, it 
would be no ill and no wonder. France, an old rich nation, thor¬ 
oughly developed, has now twice the amount of national currency 
per head that we have. A new and undeveloped nation like our¬ 
selves ought to have twice the amount per head that France has. 
Hence if our greenbacks were trebled it would be well. 
For every dollar of them issued there would be a dollar’s value 
deposited with or pledged to the nation. 
Do you say, we should be flooded with paper? I ask who would 
keep it unless it was worth to him more than 4 per cent.? The 
moment it ceased to do him that good he would exchange for bonds. 
Do you say this power to increase the currency is too dangerous to 
be trusted to the business men of the country? I ask, in reply, is 
it any safer to trust it, as it is trusted now, to bank directors? A 
hundred men in New York can contract or inflate at pleasure. The 
New York city banks alone increased the currency about 3,000,000 
($2,957,200) in one month, September, 1874! I object to trusting 
this great power to capitalists and money dealers exclusively. I 
prefer to associate the traders and manufacturers of the nation in 
that partnership. They surely know how much money they need 
better than any guardians can tell them. That is democratic 
doctrine. 
