besides the means employed by central banks in providing elasticity of notes and credit in time of stress would seem to be essential. One would almost think from the usual emphasis on the central banks of foreign countries that they constitute, if not the only banks of importance, the only ones which are of any particular interest to us. There was some justification for this method before the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, because it was an easy means of indicating possible reforms in our system of decentralized banking. The banking systems of these countries cannot be really understood, however, by an analysis of the methods used in escaping financial panics alone any more than our American system could be understood and appreciated by beginning and ending a course with a statement of the means by which the federal reserve banks will attempt to weather the recurring storms of finance. In a separate course one may develop the relations that exist between the various types of financial institutions, show the reasons for and the advantages or disadvantages of prevailing methods of conducting banking and credit operations, and also indicate through historical study the social, political, and economic forces that have conditioned credit and banking development in the various countries. The data and conclusions thus obtained should prove useful in making comparative studies of banking systems that would be of value in a constructive way in the further improvement of our own system. In summary, an attempt has been made in this volume to elucidate the principles of money and banking in the light of practical experience; to give a better understanding of the problem than may be gained from "scientific" analysis alone; to reveal the popular and business views on the subject and the part these have played in molding the history of currency and banking; to broaden the scope of the study by including along with commercial banks investment institutions, agricultural credit, and co-operative loan associations, and to indicate the interrelations of commercial and investment operations and the problems that arise in connection with financial concentration and control. The book as a whole is designed to give a well-rounded view of the principles of money and banking as they have been developed in this country through private and governmental experience. TABLE OF CONTENTS 6. The Relation of Money and Prices 7. The Standard for Deferred Payments. Indianapolis Mone- 8. Differentiation of Monetary Functions. W. Stanley Jevons 12. Poverty and the Export of Precious Metals. Martin Luther 19 20 21 15. The Practical Business View of Wealth. Henry V. Poor 16. Mercantilism Today. John Callan O'Laughlin . 20. Money and Wealth. John Witherspoon 21. A Refutation. Benjamin Franklin 22. A Practical Business View Today. 23. Money and the Supply of Capital. PAGE C. THE RÔLE OF MONEY IN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY 26. The Standard of Deferred Payments and Industrial Progress. 27. Money and Capital Accumulation. Walton H. Hamilton 28. Money and Business Organization. Thorstein Veblen 40. Evolution of the Precious Metals. Karl Menger 85 52. Methods of Debasing the Standard. Joseph Harris . 53. Roman Debasement of the Currency. J. S. Reid 54. The Effect of Roman Debasements. George Finlay 55. King James's Brass Money. Thomas Babington Macaulay 56. Coinage Debasements in England. James Maclaren 57. Reasons for Debasing the Standard. Joseph Harris 58. A Defense of the Practice. David Hume. ΙΟΙ 62. The "Popular Conception of a Dollar." Simon Newcomb 103 |