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Show Hardly Logical DR. ANGELL has written a book on how to do away with wars. He evidently, believes that wars are made and avoided chiefly by money, and thinks much can be done b substitution sub-stitution in mpnrv affairs. He says: "Some years ago a bank in a western mining ' town was frequently subjected to hold-ups be cause it was known that the great mining company com-pany owning the town kept large quantities of gold there, for the payment of its workmen. The company, therefore took to paying it wages mainly main-ly by check on a San Francisco bank, and by a simple system of clearances, practically..abolished the use of gold in considerable quantities in the mining town in question. The bank was never attacked again." From that Mr. Angell reasons that the same . principle of substitution among nations would tend to greatly diminish the causes of war. "We cannot quite grasp the logic of his reasoning. reason-ing. It seems to us that the chief need for the money was to pay the miners. When they received re-ceived the checks they still had to have the money, and had to -get them cashed where they could. The only rebate was where the miners had to pay their bills to the merchants who cashed the checks or to the thieves on the outside who discounted them. And the hold-ups merely changed their field of operations and held up , j the stages outside that wore bringing in the coin. Then, a single watchman in the bank would have been sufficient to protect it, or better still, an electric device could have been fixed that would have electrocuted the robbers had they entered in the night. Checks are a great convenience con-venience and passing from hand to hand answer just as well as the money, but where money is i earned, as In a mining camp, the final payments I have to be in money and the argument of Mr. Angell, while plausable, will not stand the test I of real experience. |