'Social Credit in Alberta Mr. Aberhart, the Social Credit Premier
of Alberta, last week made his first issue of " velocity dollars," certificates with a nominal value of the dollar, and valid for one year, at the end of which they may be redeemed. The distinguishing character of " velocity dollars " is that their holders must each week affix a two-cent stamp to the certificates ; at the end of the year the Alberta Treasury will have received 104 cents for each dollar ; since the value of each certificate to each holder diminishes by two cents each week they might be expected -to circulate with unrivalled rapidity. Unfortunately for Mr. Aberhart, in the majority of cases where they have been presented in payment they have been refused : the unfortunate relief workers to whom the velocity dollars have been . issued thus find themselves in possession of a liability rather than an asset. Calgary has. refused to accept the certificates as relief payments. In addition, the certifi- cates are technically illegal, as the power to issue currency is reserved to the Canadian Federal Government, which, 'however, has taken no Action, as it considers that the failure of Mr. Aberhart's experiment will discredit his theories and policy. On the other hand, he is also attacked by the Social Creditors of the true-blue Douglas school, who consider Mr. Aberhart to be more of a dictator than a monetary reformer.
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