, 1840-09-19
THE GREAT CONTEST.
WHAT THE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES
ARE STRUGGLING FOR.

ARE STRUGGLING FOR.
Are the Wings contending for the privilege
of living in log cabins? Is there any despot
in the land who prevents them from pull
ing down their mansions of brick, of granite.
and OF marble. and putting up log cabins in
their places? Do they desire and design to
blew up the Presidents House, and demol-
ish the Capital, that they may build log cab
ms for the accommodation of congress and
the President on Their ruins! Are they de-
MED the privilege OF painting log cabins up
on ladies' fans, shipping them upon handker-
chiefs, impressing them upon their buttons,
or branding them upon their foreheads! Or
has some tyrant dashed the gourd from their
lips, knocked the hoops of their barrels. and
denied them the right to drink "hard ciderf"
Are they making so fierce a war to recover
the lost liberty of getting drunk on whatso-
ever beverage they please? Or has a despot
interposcl 70 prevent their assemblage to-
gether IN As many thousands as they can col
lect. hauling pi--styes and little boats, rolling
balls and waving coonskins, climbing into
the forks Of trees braced up in carts. chatter
ing like monkeys, cawing like crows, barking
like dogs, whooping like Indians. and yelling
like devils, to their hearts content! All
these blessed privileges they now enjoy IN
mole,ied; and many are improving them with
an eXuberance ofzeal and delight which shows
how highly they are priced.
For all these thing the leading Wings care
nothing. They do not mean to live in log
cabins. Except with such as have in the
mean time become incorrigible drunkards.
all their "hard cider" drinking, and the num-
meries which attend them. will cease with
the election. They are only the arguments
by which the leaders of the party expect to
induce an intelligent people to vote for their
candidate! The objects which they hope to
attain through such means are far different,
and it behoovcs a jealous people to look be-
yond The log cabins and see That they are.
1t is sometimes denied that we nave a
"PRIvlLEGEn ORDER" in our country. In show
ing that such an order exists, we must not
be understood as attacking any privilege they
enjoy under the authority OF law. On the
contrary, our sole object is to show that, not
content with their lawful privileges, they
have transcribed the limits of the law, and
are now struggling, not for any legal right,
but 10 take the Government of the country
out OF the hands Of the people, and vest it in
their order.
"a PRIVILEGED ORDER" may be defined to be
A CLASS OF MEN ON WHOM THE LAW coNFERs
CERTAIN PRIVILEGES OR IMMUNITIEs NOT EN-
JoYED by THE GREAT MASS OF THE PEOPLE.
Such an order are the bankers or stockhol-
ders in banks. They enjoy both "PRIvLE-
GEs" and "rMMUNrTIEs" not enjoyed by the
people in general.
The essence Of their privilege is, that they
are enabled by ldwt TO realize a double or triple
income from their property, ,Dhile all other
classes are left to a single income obtained By
their o,cR undSSisted erertions.
One man has a thousand dollars worth of
property in money, and onther has a thousand
dollars worth in land. The law authorizes
the man who has $1,000 in money to lend
$4,000 in notes not bearing interest, and take
from his ~fellow-citizens therefore notes bear
ing interest, whereby he gets triple interes ST
on his $1,000. But the law does not and
cannot enable the farmer to make three crops
a year upon his land. With sweat and toll
he makes one crop, while the law enables
the banker, living in idleness and luxury, to
make three. Is there no special privilege
here?
The law authorizes the banker to promise
to pay on demand three times as many dollars
as he has, and recognises his notes as cur
rency-as a standard Of value by which the
property of the people is to be measured
The law does not authorize the farmer to
promise TO deliver three times as many bush
els of uheat, or beef cattle, or other produce,
or STOCK, as he really has, and recognise those
promises as money. 1t does not authorize
the mechanic 10 promise to deliver tn
times as much furniture or other -"
he has on hand, or can pc .e