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43-619: The archives began as the personal collection of J. S. Matthews , who was born in Wales, and settled in Vancouver in 1898. For decades he collected and catalogued artifacts, solicited donations, interviewed early inhabitants of the young city, and wrote historical narratives. The archives began in Major Matthews' home until he was eventually given space by the City in various locations and was officially made

86-470: A Liberal Party candidate in the 1935 federal election and won in the riding of Vancouver—Burrard by a thin margin. In previous attempts, McGeer suffered defeats in the federal elections of 1925 , 1926 , and 1930 . He was re-elected in 1940 and appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Mackenzie King on 9 June 1945. Although he attained his goal of becoming elected to the federal government, McGeer

129-549: A baby bond scheme conceived by McGeer. In the early part of the Great Depression , McGeer became a zealous student of economics and soon became obsessed with monetary reform as the answer to the economic crisis. He eventually came up with his own theories, which he cobbled together from the work of John Maynard Keynes , Abraham Lincoln , and the Bible . (Williams, 312) On one occasion, he hypothesized that international "money power"

172-811: A bank. The American Colonies used the " Colonial Scrip " system prior to the Revolution , much to the praise of Benjamin Franklin . The paper money of Pennsylvania maintained its value for forty years. Abraham Lincoln used interest-free money created by the government to help the Union win the American Civil War . Since greenbacks were not limited by gold, they fueled wartime prosperity among farmers and industrial growth. Paul Hawken suggests wholesale reform of money and currency, based on ideas from green economics or Natural Capitalism , would be beneficial. These include

215-607: A central location. Newt Gingrich called for a commission on returning to a hard currency or asset-backed currency, which is often argued to be an antidote to inflation . This may involve using commodity money such as money backed by the gold , silver or both , commodities which supporters argue possess unique properties: their extraordinary malleability , their strong resistance to forgery , their character as stable and impervious to decay, and their inherently limited supply. Digital means are also now possible to allow trading in hard currencies such as gold, and some believe

258-609: A city archive. 49°15′39″N 123°06′50″W  /  49.260884°N 123.113938°W  / 49.260884; -123.113938 Gerry McGeer Gerald Grattan McGeer (6 January 1888 – 11 August 1947) was a lawyer, populist politician , and monetary reform advocate in the Canadian province of British Columbia . He served as the 22nd Mayor of Vancouver, a Member of the Legislative Assembly in BC, Member of Parliament for

301-441: A government-owned central bank ) see the provision of interest-free money as a way of freeing the working populace from the bonds of " debt slavery " and facilitating a transformation of the economy away from environmentally damaging consumerism and towards sustainable economic policies and environment-friendly business practices. Some governments have experimented in the past with debt-free government-created money independent of

344-462: A new free market will emerge in money production and distribution, as the internet allows renewed decentralisation and competition in this area, eroding the central government 's and bankers' old monopoly control of the means of exchange . Kevin Dowd favours permitting competing banks to issue private banknotes whilst also eliminating the central bank's role as lender of last resort . He describes

387-403: Is explicitly given the power to set interest rates and conduct monetary policy independent of any direct political interference or direction from the central government . This may enable the setting of interest rates to be less susceptible to political interference and thereby assist in combating inflation (or debasement of the currency) by allowing the central bank to more effectively restrict

430-403: Is limited by government regulators not to exceed a level which they deem adequate to ensure the ability of banks to meet their payment obligations. Under this system, which is currently practiced throughout the world, the money supply varies with the quantity of legal reserves and the amount of credit issuance by banks. Several major historical examples of financial regulatory reform occurred in

473-658: The Hudson's Bay Company Department Store to publicize their grievances to shoppers. The police came to evict the men, and a bloody clash ensued. After that incident, the unemployed congregated at Victory Square Park , where McGeer came and read the Riot Act . The camp strikers left the city after two months to begin the On-to-Ottawa Trek . They felt they accomplished all they could in Vancouver and voted to take their grievances directly to Prime Minister R. B. Bennett . Shortly before

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516-496: The Treasury rather than from the quasi-government Federal Reserve. Austrian commentator Gary North has sharply criticized these views in his writings. Alternatively, some monetary reformers such as those in the social credit movement, support the issuance of repayable interest-free credit from a government-owned central bank to fund infrastructure and sustainable social projects. This social credit movement flourished briefly in

559-612: The United Nations to provide global ecological management and move towards world peace , with Robert Mundell in particular advocating the revived use of gold as a stabilising factor in the international financial system. Henry Liu of the Asia Times Online argues that monetary reform is an important part of a move towards post-autistic economics . While some mainstream economists favour monetary reforms to reduce inflation and currency risk and to increase efficiency in

602-468: The World Bank , International Monetary Fund , Bank of International Settlements and their policies regarding money supply , banks and debt in developing nations, in that they appear to these writers to be "forcing" a regime of extortionate or unpayable debt on weak Third World governments that do not have the capacity to pay the interest on these loans without severely affecting the well-being or even

645-524: The department store family . McGeer first attained renown in the 1920s as a lawyer representing the British Columbia government in its case to reduce freight rate differentials on goods shipped through the Rocky Mountains by rail. He worked for years on this case and achieved considerable success. The outcome proved a windfall for the BC economy, earning McGeer a reputation as "the man who flattened

688-427: The money supply (and thereby debase the currency) to save the banking system from bankruptcy or collapse during periodic bank runs, thereby inducing moral hazard in the financial system, making the system susceptible to economic bubbles . Theorists such as Robert Mundell (and more radical thinkers such as James Robertson ) see a role for global monetary reform as part of a system of global institutions alongside

731-598: The 20th century relating to fractional-reserve banking, made in response to the Great Depression and the many bank runs following the crash of 1929 . These reforms included the creation of deposit insurance (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ) to mitigate against the danger of bank runs. Countries have also implemented legal reserve requirements which impose minimum reserve requirements on banks. Mainstream economists believe that these monetary reforms have made sudden disruptions in

774-453: The Bank of Canada. Gerald Gratton McGeer's economic ideas are most fully elaborated in his 1935 book, "The Conquest of Poverty". Monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: Of all

817-404: The City's archivist in 1933. He moved the collection back into his home for a period following a dispute with Mayor Gerry McGeer over ownership of the collection. The archives did not find a permanent home in his lifetime, but were given to the city with the condition of a dedicated building in his will within one year after his death in 1970. The first space provided for the archives by the city

860-659: The Liberal Party of Canada, and in the Canadian Senate. Born in Winnipeg , Manitoba , to James McGeer and his wife Emily Cooke, McGeer moved with his family as a young child to Vancouver. He grew up in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. As a young adult, he worked in an iron foundry and was an active member in his union. Eventually he went to Dalhousie University to study law. Back in Vancouver, he married Charlotte Spencer, of

903-729: The Rockies." Reductions in discriminatory freight rates made it economically feasible for prairie grain to come west and be exported through Vancouver's port rather than seaports in eastern Canada and the United States . McGeer was elected to the British Columbia Legislature as the Liberal candidate for Richmond from 1916 to 1920, and later as part of the Liberal government of Duff Pattullo for Vancouver-Burrard from 1933 to 1935. McGeer

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946-496: The allocation of financial capital , the idea of all-encompassing reform for green or peace objectives is typically espoused by those on the left-wing of the subject and those associated with the anti-globalization movement . Still other radical reform proposals emphasise monetary, tax and capital budget reform which empowers government to direct the economy toward sustainable solutions which are not possible if government spending can only be financed with more government debt from

989-401: The aspects of monetary policy , certain topics reoccur as targets for reform: Banks typically make loans to customers by crediting new demand deposits to the account of the customer. This practice, which is known as fractional reserve banking , permits the total supply of credit to exceed the liquid legal reserves of the bank. The amount of this excess is expressed as the " reserve ratio " and

1032-424: The banking system less frequent. Walter Block argued fractional reserve banking inherently artificially lowers real interest rates and leads to business cycles propagated by excessive capital investment and subsequent contraction. A small number of critics, such as Michael Rowbotham , equate the practice to counterfeiting , because banks are granted the legal right to issue new loans while charging interest on

1075-477: The banking system proved especially popular during the Great Depression , and he regularly lectured to packed houses across the country. McGeer returned to civic politics with another landslide election victory in 1946, this time on a Non-Partisan Association slate. Again he ran on a campaign to rid the city of vice and police corruption. Ill-health made him less exuberant than his earlier mayoral term, but he nonetheless persisted with his reforms. Twenty-six men on

1118-415: The biggest margin of victory in Vancouver's civic history. He established himself in his campaign as a populist reformer, painting his opponent as outdated and corrupt, with police and monetary reform the two main pillars of his campaign. As mayor, he would not have power to implement his monetary policies, which he believed could end the depression. He was, however, able to reform the police department and

1161-538: The civic government, but it was his battles against communism that garnered him the most publicity, at least in his first year in office. Unemployed men in the federal relief camps had been organized by Communist agitators into the Relief Camp Workers' Union . They struck on 4 April 1935 and arrived in Vancouver on boxcars shortly thereafter. The men stayed in Vancouver for two months, marching daily in protest of relief camp conditions. On one occasion, they entered

1204-546: The country, one high-ranking member of the force committed suicide, and another attempted suicide. Meanwhile, a Superintendent from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police took over as the new chief. McGeer's monetary reform ideas were certainly his greatest passion and achievement. His was one of the most forceful voices in Canada advocating government intervention in the usurious British monetary system and nationalizing

1247-562: The current system of money creation based on the credit theory of money or fractional reserve banking are as follows: To regulate credit creation, some countries have created a currency board , or granted independence to their central bank . The Reserve Bank of New Zealand , the Reserve Bank of Australia , the Federal Reserve , and the Bank of England are examples where the central bank

1290-487: The early 20th century, but then became marginalized. In Canada, it was an important political movement that ruled Alberta through nine legislatures between 1935 and 1971, and also won many seats in Québec . It died out in the 1980s. Both these groups (those who advocate the replacement of fractional-reserve banking with debt-free government-issued fiat, and those who support the issuance of repayable interest-free credit from

1333-527: The growth of M3 . However, given that these policies do not address the more fundamental issues inherent in fractional reserve banking, many suggest that only more radical monetary reform such as government directly taking over central banks such as the China or Swiss models can promote positive economic or social change. Although central banks may appear to control inflation, through periodic bank rescues and other means, they may inadvertently be forced to increase

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1376-543: The ideas of soft currency , barter and the local service economy . Local currency systems can operate within small communities, outside of government systems, and use specially printed notes or tokens called scrips for exchange. Barter takes this further by swapping goods and services directly; a compromise being the Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) scheme: a formalised system of community-based economics that records members' mutual credit in

1419-555: The money thus created. Rowbotham argues that this concentrates wealth in the banking sector with various pernicious effects. Wright Patman objected to governments paying interest for the use of money which the central bank creates "out of nothing". These critics claim that this system causes economic activity to depend on the actions of privately owned banks, which are motivated by self-interest rather than by any explicit social purpose or obligation. Some monetary reformers criticise existing global financial institutions such as

1462-411: The police force were demoted or dismissed and the chief constable was replaced by Walter Mulligan, who was the youngest chief in Vancouver to date. McGeer died in office in 1947 and therefore did not see the fruits of his latest reform drive. In 1955, revelations surfaced that McGeer's chosen police chief had instituted a pay-off system in Vancouver, resulting in an extensive police inquiry. Mulligan fled

1505-413: The private banking system. In particular, a number of monetary reformers, such as Michael Rowbotham, Stephen Zarlenga and Ellen Brown , support the restriction or banning of fractional-reserve banking (characterizing it as an illegitimate banking practice akin to embezzlement ) and advocate the replacement of fractional-reserve banking with government-issued debt-free fiat currency issued directly from

1548-558: The trekkers left, another Communist-led strike broke out on the waterfront, culminating with another bloody clash that became known as the Battle of Ballantyne Pier . Gerry McGeer treated these protests not as strikes, but as an attempted Bolshevik uprising. Although he came from a background as an iron molder and union representative, he came to be seen as an enemy of organized labour because of these events. McGeer organized elaborate celebrations to mark Vancouver's golden jubilee in 1936, which

1591-423: The viability of the local population. The attempt by weak Third World governments to service external debt with the sale of valuable hard and soft commodities on world markets is seen by some to be destructive of local cultures, destroying local communities and their environment. Among the arguments for a transition to full-reserve banking or sovereign money are as follows: Among the arguments for keeping

1634-412: Was considered a maverick in his own party during his second term, after he became critical of the government because Pattullo had not appointed him to cabinet. According to McGeer, Pattullo had led him to believe he would become the province's Attorney-General. McGeer's most indelible mark in BC was made during his time as Mayor of Vancouver . He won the 1934 election against incumbent L. D. Taylor with

1677-421: Was controversial in the midst of the depression. While some applauded his efforts to boost civic pride as a positive step towards bringing back prosperity, others denounced extravagances such as a $ 35,000 fountain for Stanley Park 's Lost Lagoon while the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. McGeer is also credited with the construction of Vancouver City Hall , a landmark Art Deco building funded in part by

1720-473: Was designed by architect Chris Blencowe in the office of McCarter Nairne and Partners. To minimise loss of parkland, a series of accessible landscaped platforms were created over the large storage areas; the approach to the entrance, exhibition lobby and reading room being via a glass-roofed walkway giving views to the city. When the building was opened in 1972, it was the first building in Canada built specifically as

1763-448: Was financing Communists activities in Vancouver. Another time he testified before the government that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by international bankers opposed to the introduction of " Greenbacks ." McGeer's lifelong mission was to attain a position where he could implement his reform ideas, but his flamboyant, aggressive, and eccentric style and theories alienated the powerbrokers in his own party. While still mayor, McGeer ran as

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1806-639: Was in the attic of the old City Hall on Main Street, in 1931. In 1933, the archives moved to the temporary City Hall in the Holden Building on East Hastings Street. In 1936, the archives moved again to the new City Hall at Cambie Street and West 12th Avenue. In 1959, the archives moved again to space in the Main Library on Burrard Street. The current archives building, located in Vanier Park at 1150 Chestnut Street,

1849-406: Was once again relegated to the back benches of Mackenzie King's government. He had a warm relationship with King through much of his political career, but King did not embrace McGeer's monetary schemes but eventually saw things his way. Despite the reservations of the political elite, McGeer was immensely popular outside those circles because of his fiery oration skills. His tirades against bankers and

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