Mr. Merchant: Mr. Manufacturer, that's sound and looks mighty good to me. Do you see any objection to it, any flaw in it?
Mr. Manufacturer: No, I do not, except to persuade the people, as Mr. Banker has persuaded and converted us. Of course we will be up against some legal difficulties, won't we, Mr. Lawyer?
Mr. Lawyer: I imagine that we shall have no serious difficulties about the legal questions involved, if we can persuade Congress. You see we are up against Congress and for about every thought the average Congressman has concerning a question of this kind, he has several about how he is going to get back into Congress at the next election; that's the real difficulty.
Uncle Sam: Well, we'll see about that when we get this worked out, and we'll put it up to them before election, and find out where they stand. They must study this question just as we have, and if they can't show us a better way, they will have to come over, or they won't get over, that is all there is about that.
Mr. Banker: Well, gentlemen, when it comes to putting up an argument to the Congressman, we will shove the Canadian currency system under his nose, and keep it there until he gives in.
Mr. Merchant: Are the Canadians using this credit currency system?
Mr. Banker: That's what they are. They started by copying the Massachusetts Bank Act, as it existed before the war, and have gone on making some changes from time to time since. The banks are authorized to issue regularly an amount of currency equal to their capital. The amount of capital has not been increased in proportion to their business, because there are only a few banks there now, 27 in all, with about 2,000 branches.
Here is a chart I had prepared to show you, because it illustrates so perfectly how the currency expands and contracts every Fall. You see that in the month of October every year they have an increase of about $3.80 per capita over the minimum amount, and that just as soon as the crops are disposed of, the currency again takes the form of a deposit.
