I previously commented about the guy who was making his own dollars out of silver and paper. He was arrested and his stuff confiscated because he was making “Dollars.” He had been warned over and over again and kept up. The title of this, “Vallars” is a historic fact. In 1931, after the stock market crashed, and everyone was broke and depressed, and Roosevelt hadn’t been elected with his million promises, (none of which worked), frantic people in Salt Lake City began printing “Vallars.”
Townspeople banded together and created a group which they called the National Development Association, (NDA). The NDA made its own money, which they called “vallars.” Citizens could work to earn vallars, which came in denominations of V5, V10, V15, V20, and V25. They in turn could use the vallars to buy and sell soap, oil, coal, food, furniture, and even meals at a restaurant. A preview of today’s un-backed dollars? Doctors took vallars for treatment, and even a music company took 40 vallars for a piano.
They created their own newspaper, the “Progressive Independent,” on which it’s masthead blared “A New Economic System: For Human Welfare, Man Above Money.” Salt Lake banks cleared the new money. By the end of 1932, some 10,000 people would be, somehow or other, in the vallar system. Salt Lake had a ’daylight restaurant,’ because the local power company would not accept vallars, and the participants in the vallar scheme had no electricity for lights.
Ventura California, Minneapolis, and Yellow Springs Ohio, and others, were all making some form of scrip. In Arizona, the state’s governor enforced a three day bank holiday, and all banks were closed. The Arizona Legislature, by special act, ordained a state scrip, to be issued in denominations of up to $20. Three million in scrip was to be printed by a private firm. The scrip was never used, and I’ll bet that if any remains, it is worth a lot because of its historic value. Vallars too. Anyone out there have a vallar? Other Arizona people created their own scrip and used it. The Nogales Herald issued its own bills. Mexican Pesos began to trade at a premium in Arizona, and for a brief time, had become another form of American money.
Obscure nonprofits and citizen’s groups, towns and businesses, were all creating money. The Business Men’s Club of Oak Hills West Virginia issued coins, and the Lane Bryant store in Indianapolis issued money, as did the state of Washington, Port Authority of New York, and even the village of Chatham New York. Hawarden Iowa town workers were paid in scrip, and a clothing store owner in Hawarden even paid his life insurance bill in scrip. Scrip was springing up everywhere, and a “Mutual Exchange” outfit was formed which created labor credit tokens for trading among other exchange members. A farmer in New Hope, PA asked the exchange for workers. They came, and were paid 134 bushels of apples for a construction job, some of which were sold for credits, and some were converted into jelly, labeled “Barter Brand.”
Even in Manhattan, the “Emergency Exchange of New York City,” was created, and had offices at 52 Vanderbilt Ave. People were losing their homes, but at least the “Emergency Exchange” could get them something to eat for their labor. The barter system kept growing, and by spring of 1932, there were 150 barter and work for scrip systems going in 30 states. Tens of thousands of people, and maybe even hundreds of thousands, used barter for money. Within a couple of years, the obvious was discovered, and that is that unless you were on a farm, you would have no produce with which to barter for food, and the system failed. Barter and the vallar were merely things which could not solve the problem, and all faded away.
So to those of you who think that your silver quarters and dimes may be used for barter eventually, I say it will not happen. Why? Because back then, the dollar was backed by gold and silver, and coins were made of silver. They could not be printed recklessly and endlessly. Today, there is no limit to the number of dollars which can, and are being created out of thin air, just like scrip and vallars, and as ’Helicopter Ben’ has said, he can drop hundred dollar bills from a helicopter if it is necessary. He also has said that he has the ’power of the printing press,’ which unfortunately, he does. Bartering with silver coins will never come to pass, because there is an unlimited amount of paper dollars which can be created, either officially or unofficially on a color copy machine or printing press.
Closed Monday for President’s Day. Next column Wednesday. Happy Birthday to me on Sunday. I’ll be 74. No cards or calls please. Just realize that all geezers haven’t lost their minds or are impaired. Have a great three day weekend, and of course protect yourself.