The Farmers' Alliance Wants Financial History Taught in Schools

The resolutions adopted by the Farmers' Alliance convention, which met at North Yakima a few days ago, show what inconsistencies can be brought together by men who know more about some things than they do about others. Among other demands is that a financial history of the United States be made a regular course of instruction in our public schools, and that teachers be required to pass examinations in this branch before receiving certificates. At first glance this does not seem to be at all a bad idea, and, coming from men whose financial education has been neglected, it would seem to have the added force of acknowledged deficiency. But this is crediting the advocates of the new course with more humility than they will admit. They undoubtedly mean that finance shall be taught in the schools, not now, but in that indefinite time in the future when the alliance's financial ideas shall have been accepted by the nation. Let us suppose that the various states should add a financial history of the United States to their school curriculum; at least three styles would be adopted: the gold standard, bi-metallic, and the fiat money. Every time there came a political upheaval in the state, one history would be thrown out and another placed in the hands of the pupils, so that the boy of 10 might be instructed in the gold standard history, have the bi-metallic placed in his hands at 14, and round out his financial education in the high school with the cabbage currency volume.