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PAGE FOUR
Summary of Ebents as They Happen
State Convention of People’s Party.
The national committee of the People’s
Party organization, made at St. Louis, 1907,
the lowa members of the national, acting as
the executive of the People’s Party in the
state of lowa, have called a state convention
to meet at The lowa House, in the city of
Des Moines, Thursday, February 20, 1908.
Wireless Will Circle Globe.
Halifax, N. S., Jan. s—Plans5 —Plans to erect wire
less stations in Vancouver and Hongkong, by
which messages may be practically flashed all
around the world, are the causes for Sig.
Marconi’s departure from Glace bay, where
he has been experimenting.
Before sailing for England on the Tunisian
recently the inventor - told The Herald
correspondent that when he returned to Nova
Scotia, in about tw-o months, he would have a
definite announcement to make. Whether a
station will be located in Winnipeg and an
attempt made to capture inland business is
one of the questions which he will decide on
this trip.
“There will be absolutely no difficulty in
transmitting messages from Glace bay to Van
couver,” said Marconi, “and the erection of
a station in Winnipeg will depend on whether
or not we decide to compete for inland busi
ness.”
Mr. Marconi said it has not been definitely
decided where the station in Asia -would be
erected, but mentioned Hongkong as the pos
sible place.
“Glace bay and Clifden stations are work
ing w’ell,” said he. “Within three weeks we
will be taking any business that offers, but
at present only a small amount of press mat
ter, about 1,500 words a day, is being hand
led.”—Boston Herald.
Secretary Davis Resigns.
G. M. Davis, State secretary of the Farmers ’
Union, has resigned.
A Challenge to Bankers.
Any banker, or defender of the “deposit
banking system” who disputes the soundness
of any of the following propositions, is in
vited to discuss them with me on the platform:
1. Money is simply “the medium of ex
change,” and anything and everything that is
freely used as money is money.
2. Th® best conceivable money is that the
exchange value of which varies the least —is
most stable. And, therefore, the more “elas
tic” a currency is, the poorer it is.
3. The constitution imposes on congress the
duty to “coin money, and regulate the value
thereof” —and its value can be regulated only
by controlling absolutely its volume.
4. Twenty thousand banks are actually col
lecting interest on between seven and ten mil
lion dollars of purely fictitious money, made
by themselves out of nothing—and every dol
lar of it has the same effect on business, val
ues and prices that real money has.
5. Every commercial panic ever known—and
.THE JEFFERSONIAN.
most long periods of business depression—■
have been caused by the use of this “hocus
pocus money.” Unhealthy business booms and
periods of wild speculation, are generally
caused by the use of this fictitious money—
and never by too much real money.
6. Conditions can not be permanently im
proved by merely increasing the powers and
privileges of bankers. On the contrary, they
should be required to do a “ saferbusiness
to gradually increase their cash reserves to
25 per cent, and the government should also
increase the volume of some kind of real
money—at least fast enough to enable them
to do this without previously decreasing their
loans sufficiently to affect business injuriously.
I am not advising the withdrawal of money
from the banks. Under present conditions,
doing this would make matters still worse.
For a dozen years I have challenged bankers
to publicly debate the basic principles of the
deposit banking system, but as yet, no one
has dared to do so.
We are now facing years of increasing busi
ness depression, the duration and severity of
which will depend upon character of laws yet
to be enacted, and I therefore submit to think
ing men the question, Should not this subject
be studied from some other standpoint than that
of the bankers, who are the chief beneficiaries
of the system? While I believe a very differ
ent system will some day displace the present
one, I am now urging only that it shall be made
as “sane and safe” as, after full discussion,
public opinion shall demand.
I am neither a Republican, Democrat nor
socialist, and the purpose of the “Real Money
League”—a strictly nonpartisan organization,
of which I am president, and Orla L. Aley is
secretary—is to urge the study of this never
yet discussed phase of the money problem.
Copies of its constitution will be send on re
ceipt of stamp for postage, and when possible
speakers will be furnished to address meetings.
ALBERT GRIFFIN.
Topeka, Kan.,
Hobson Opens Campaign for An Enlarged
Navy.
Washington, Jan. 10 —Preliminary to the
campaign for an enlarged and improved navy
which he purposes to introduce in the House,
Representative Richmond Pearson Hobson, of
Alabama, today offered a resolution providing
for the appointment by the President of a
commission “whose duty it shall be to investi
gate and report to the President and Con
gress upon the best means of preserving the
general welfare by the use and extension of
arbitration and by the maintenance of armed
forces. ’ ’
The commission is to consist of seven mem
bers, one from the army, one from the navy,
cne from the Senate, one from the House, one
from the recognized authority on international
law, and two at discretion, the salary of each,
exclusive of the members of Congress, to be
$7,500 a year. The resolution appropriates
$25,000 to defray the commission’s traveling
and other expenses.
Captain Hobson dictated the following state
ment today:
“The recent inter-parliamentary and Hague
conference declared in favor of the serious na
tional question of armaments. The best way,
in my opinion, is to appoint a nonpartisan
commission, composed of representatives from
the various departments of life most decidedly
affected and charged with the duty of inves
tigating thoroughly and scientifically this com
plicated subject. The commission should study
the question of arbitration also in the light
of the disclosures at the recent Pan-American
and Hague conferences.
11 Arbitration and armament are directly and
inseparably connected subjects. Armaments
should be proportionate to dangers. Arbitra
tion should be extended so as to decrease dan
gers, and thus armaments can decrease as se
curity is increased by effective extension of
arbitration.
“The developments of the second Hague
conference and the ever-increasing complica
tions of our foreign relations make the scien
tific investigations of these arbitrations im
perative at this time. Such an investigation
by a nonpartisan commission can be expected
to disclose the true interest of the American
people, so that no difference of opinion will
exist in regard to our proper policy on these
two vital problems of today. ’ ’ —Boston Herald.
Farmers Call for Many New Laws.
Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 9.—Following is the
legislation that the Farmers’ Educational and
Co-Operative Union of America desires enact
ed by the national congress:
A law by which all money shall be issued by
and under- the direct control of the govern
ment.
The passage of a law by congress prohibiting
the buying and selling of cotton futures and
all other farm products, or gambling in agri
cultural products in any manner.
The immediate abolition by congress of the
federal bureal of distribution and the speedy
enactment of laws substantially excluding the
present alien influx by means of an increased
head tax, a money requirement, the illiteracy
test and other measures.
That congress extend the parcels post, in
creasing the number of pounds to be carried
in the mails from four to eleven, and a re
duction in postage from l(Fto 12 cents per
pound; also the establishment of a parcels
post system on mail delivery routes, carrying
a special rate to be charged on packages origi
nating on rural routes, the rate to be 5 cents
for the first pound, 2 cents for each additional
pound up to eleven pounds.
The establishment of a postal savings bank
system as a means of keeping money at home,
aiding circulation and guaranteeing for the
farmers a safe depository.
Today’s session of the convention was called
to order by President Barrett, and discussion