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<br />~ Ee) <br />Q2J ''- <br /> <br />10&11 <br /> <br />CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE <br /> <br />KOVE~IBER 7 <br /> <br />let prices rise to the level of your money <br />supply multiplied. by the velocity ot 1ts <br />circulation. You cannot do that by <br />raising the price ot steel or raising the <br />wages of the steelworkers and leaving <br />the farmers down In the ditch. So you <br />han' to do onc of two things: You have <br />to take away these artificial restrictions <br />that should ha\"c been taken away the <br />day the war closed and let farm prices <br />rise to their economic Ic\'els: you have <br />to tear from the Industrial plants of the <br />Nation the greedy hands of the labor <br />racketeers who aTC not Interested In the <br />prosperity of the country so much as <br />they are in their own power, and let eco- <br />nomic prices ]e\'cl ot! arid adjust them~ <br />sf'lves. In that way there will be enough <br />national Income to carryon this 00\'- <br />ernment and pay the Interest in the <br />sinking fund on the national debt. <br />But YOU let these long-dtstance patri- <br />ots, who want to aboUsh the United <br />St.ates In order to set up Ii super world <br />government to be ftnanced by us, do <br />away with your national sovereignty; you <br />let them get control and see what. th(>y <br />do to this monf'Y. They will Immedl_ <br />atf'ly begln to \\.1thdraw from circulation <br />and drh'e the currency down and down <br />and down. and with It wtll go prices and <br />with it will go the national income, un- <br />tn yoU plunge Into economlc chaos. <br />Then what wlll happen? You think <br />those bo}'s that are being held In uniform <br />toda}', those }'oung men who went out <br />and fought and won thi::; war, are going <br />to stand for that? Do you think: they <br />are going to pay a $300,000.000.000 debt <br />on a $20,000.000,000 Income? Do you <br />think they are going to pay a debt made <br />on $27,000.000,000 of cirCUlation with $4._ <br />000.000.000 or $5.000.000,000 In circula- <br />tion? Do }'ou think they are gOing to <br />take the last crumb of bread from the <br />mouths of their wives and C'htldren to <br />pay the national debt? _ If yoU do, )'oU <br />do not know human nature. <br />r will tell YOU what will happen. You <br />will h:!.\'e some fellow rlsC' Up, probably <br />out on we wlll say the Wabash. some- <br />where out In the center of the country. <br />They wlll call him a long-haired agtta- <br /> <br />tor. He w11l say, "If I am el~ted Presi- <br />dent of the United States I will repudiate <br />those bonds." There is your danger. <br />Just as surely as the nljtht follo.....s the <br />day, 1! you let Eugene Meyer and the <br />crowd he trained with In the twenties do <br />exactly what they did then and drive the <br />currency down and down until farm <br />prices go below the cost of productIon, <br />breadlines stretch down the streets of <br />)'our cities, and a wave of suIcides sweep <br />over the land, It )'Ou do that thrn )'OU <br />wtll have some man rise up and S3Y, <br />"Why Should we continue to pay thIs? <br />Make me President of the United States <br />and I will wipe Jt out." <br />He will probably be elected. It hap- <br />pened in a State once. A man ran on a <br />program of repudiating some bonds, over <br />100 years ago, and he was elected. He <br />repudiated them, and they never were <br />paid. If yoU should do tbat, then there <br />would gO the credit of your country, then <br />there would go the confidence of your <br />country, then there would go everything, <br />all the conndence that we have bullt up <br />and cherished throughout 150 years. <br />What is your alternatIve? <br />Mr. JENSEN. Mr. Speaker, wlll the <br />ientleman yleld? <br />Mr. RANKIN. Yes. <br />Mr.. JENSEN. Everything the gen- <br />tleman has said is substantiated by the <br />record and by the pagf's of history be- <br />cause no nallon has ever been destroyed <br />by commOdity Inftation. Every nallon <br />that has bl"en destroy~ has been de- <br />stroyed because of currency innation and <br />finally causing the currency "aluc to be~ <br />deftated. <br />Mr. RANKIN. The gentleman means <br />deflation. <br />Mr. JENSEN. r mean deftatlon. <br />Mr. RANKIN. Your danger is not <br />Inflation. You have Inflation now. <br />Your danger Is deftation. Well, you say, <br />what is your remedy? You cannot keep <br />these men who have had this money is. <br />sued to them from bringIng in these <br />Federal Resen'e notes and hal'lng them <br />retired and taking up the bonds to back <br />them, I will teII you my remedy. As I <br />said. I have no rillht to criticize the con_ <br /> <br />dlllon unless I do have a remedy. In <br />the first place, I would get rid of the OPA <br />and put a stop to this stun and let pros. <br />perlty spread o\'er the country, so we <br />might all enjoy it equally. I would stop <br />sayIng to these boys, "You have to see <br />somebody and pay tribute before you can <br />work.... I would see that the~' are per- <br />mitted to work without having to pay <br />tribute. I would pass a law to provide <br />that we would stabllb:e the currency at <br />a certain amount-$27,000.000,000 per_ <br />ha~ mJght be a little too high. We <br />might want it at $25,000.000.000 or we <br />might want It 1It $20,000.000,000. But <br />whatever the amount agreed upon. we <br />would say that it Is going to be stabilized <br />at that point. Then e"ery time om! or <br />these fellows brought In his Federal Re- <br />serve notes ap.d retired them, we would <br />Issue an equal amount In United States <br />notes with a gold reserve behind It, which <br />would be just as strong, or even stronger. <br />because It Is all based on the credit of <br />the Government. <br />I said that to a Member of the House <br />yesterday. He thought It was horrible <br />and he said, "There are no United States <br />notes In circulation now." There are <br />$346,681,016 of United StatE'S notes out <br />now which were Issued by Abraham Lin- <br />coln during the War Between the States. <br />They have been In circulation ever since, <br />They are legal tender. You have to <br />take them just as you would a silver dol- <br />lar or a gold dollar or a sllver certUlcate <br />or a Federal Reserve note. <br />In that way, we can stabilize the cur- <br />rency, maintain prosperity, and pay the <br />national debt, and stop this punishing <br />the farmers of the NAlon. and put a stop <br />to the harassing of eVery I1ttJe business_ <br />man who is trying to meet his obliga~ <br />tions, pay hls debt.'!, feed his family, and <br />keep his concern gOini::, . <br />Mr. Speaker. I ask. unanlmou" consent <br />at thJs point that I may Insert this clr~ <br />culatlon statement of July 31, 1945. <br />The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. <br />COOPER). Without objection, It is so <br />ordered, <br />There was no objection, <br /> <br />Circt/.llltion stalement 01 UnHed Stat~s mon~lI~vlv 31, 1!14$ <br /> <br />};:in.jQflIKln..y <br /> <br />Tolal <br />.",,,a,,c <br /> <br />To'" <br /> <br />:MQ"'"t..I,linlhc!~ry <br /> <br />Atnountlw>ld <br />..-.ui'y <br />1./:&I""lold <br />....dollHr <br />~rtjllral" <br />(aadTroas- <br />urYI>Ol'" <br />oC 1~90J <br /> <br />R,....rv~ <br />ani"" <br />l'alW <br />l';lalfoS <br />IIQ1"-(lUld <br />;:,~~ <br />'<'All <br /> <br />IJ~ld for <br />Y.....I'1I.lR.... <br />R"~baIIU <br />aDdasolll.1 <br /> <br />.Ulotb., <br />-~) <br /> <br />",,,Ilty ouUid~ at CM TUMur:r <br /> <br />IIIe!rculJ.UODr <br /> <br />PopulAtk", <br /><>I MDt.. <br />D~nW <br />U...te.1 <br />;:u.u-s <br />(eMinUII....t1 <br /> <br />Total <br /> <br />U~l<I ~,. <br />Y""..->lR.,. <br />:S""'eb.Dh <br />IUld"lt'DI.1 <br /> <br />Amount <br /> <br />C" <br />capita <br /> <br />GolL.._____m.u.. 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I.U9,;M 01 <br />SlImtdiaryldl...(,. ~""oWl'4~_; 1''>.o.5II.~llIl_'hu.n'''''I.___.....m ...1......______ U.05l<.'llI8 ~11.SIlV ~II 14,~31O :W,IlO-~.:lS1 s.:':I:::::'-:.::: <br />"IJn<ltC:O~'n_'nnn. ~,.,;M,~ 5.917,111)1........ ___ "n' ....._ ......_.,__hn 6.1111,\0)1 ~.91~,53.S 4,OO2,>O)!I :1Il\915.;.V :!-l:ll. .n._. <br />Unilf:<l ~l.'''''''''''_u U6.f><lI.Ot~ 2.S.I.Of'IoL................. ___ _.._..u....... 2..\7~ (l',>, 3H.10ll,N.' n~l.m 3~1.75.<'3!>& ~ :ll/:........h . <br />TMt>roJH"...n~DOlt-.... u.~.al,21", ......:?<.I...l::__.nh....... ..._ ___h.. ...nm.___.h ".,Zl ~l: :!:J.Stll<.l~t.m T~.Wi".:r.G~1.IU.tr.'.1I311f;; Gt! uu ....u <br />Foo!no:Pll ~t ~lld of tabl". <br />