Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1868-02-11

laborers-instead Of making credit the ex-
changing medium of values credit being the
standard of the few and rich, and giving them
NIL advantages over labor, and, in fact, ena.
bling them to control, to enslaye il, as they
have done under this credit standard, and
which. if it is permitted to continue, will, to
the end of time, control and enslave labor
In word, sir, the whole system of paper
money, whether issued by government or BY
corporations sanctioned by government, is
nothing more nor less than white slavery ,
If black or African slavery subjects the me-
gro to work for his victuals and clothes, and
to be sold to some one who will subject him
to the same conditionSApaper money, which
is white slavery-subjects ninety nine out OF
one hundred of white laborers to the condition
of never being able to own property, and OF
menialism, not only to the landlords, but to
cotton, and wooden, and iron factories, or to
other monopolies and combinations of capital,
where they are not principals or partners, but
simply subordinates and meniaIs.
You say, sir, ''the people want more recre-
alton, more enjoyment -"pamens ct Circe'es
ces"-'bread and circus money" perhaps
the sole demand of corrupted populace in
the most degenerate days of Rome! l say,
sir. they want property. And property the
masses can never have or own as long Us the
paper money standard of value is permitted
to exist. The paper money standard of val
ues is the standard of the rich man or capi-
talist, and, of course, when anything is for
sale-land or personal property--the rich men
or capitalists must become the purchasers and
owners of it. The poor cannot purchase,
because their standard of valuation is labor
or cash, and that is always below the credit
price The thing is lifted beyond their
reach; they are like the fox in the fable, who
was invited by the crane to dinner, where the
viands were served up in long necked bot
ties while the crane could dip his long neck
and beak into the bottles,po Reynard could
only lick the drippings on the outside.
Such is the exact picture and condition of
the masses in regard to their chances of be-
coming the owners of property, and partici>
pants and partners in agriculture, manutac-
lures and commerce, under the rich man S and
capitalists standard of values-paper money,
white slavery! Poor fools under this very
standard of values-paper money-mi!lions
upon millions of acres of their inheritance
and property in the public lands-whiIe they
stood by and could not bid-haye been trans
ferred, by their treacherous representatives
in Congress, to confcderated Spectators and
swindlers, to railroad companies, and omne
III genus of the robbers and plunderers of the
masses under the false prctext of paying the
public debt, enhancing the value of the resi-
due, etc, etc when, in truth. they had first
stolen the property Of the people, and then
purpoScly. dealt out to other rogues the lands
of the ba1clc TO enhance their own ill-gotten
pluudcr in value.
By the way, if the agraran principle
which l always thought right in regard to the
public lands of the Roman people, but not
their private lands-could bo applied to these
public lands so fraudulently stolen from the
people of the United States, SO help me
heaven l would apply it, and take back to
the proper owners every acre of it, paying to
the now fraudulent holders their s1.25 per
acre, without interest, and not dollar more.
This is, however, by the way, and there
upon drop it, and come back to the object of
my letter, and which is to express to you the
opinion that paper money is white slavery
and, further, that paper money and usury-
and by usury | mean any interest or profit on
money, which makes money a commodity in
stead of an exchanging mediun-are the true
aud real causes of the lamentable inequality
between capital and labor which you deplore-
between those who clear the primeyal forests,
build railroads, and palaces, etc, and those
who doing nothing but simply writing their
promises to pay on very pretty paper set still
and wait for this labor to do what the alchem-
lists Of the middle ages could not do convert
this pretty paper into gold. And this. sir, is
now the very thing to be done in regard to this
enormous national debt. The masses who
poured out more blood, aye, and expended,
collectively, more money in the war than the
aristOcrats, if you please, who owned 81, ,0O0,-
600, 900 IN slaves, or the aristocrats who now
own 81 100000 900 in bonds exempted from
taxation, are still required, by the toll of their
sinews and the sweat of their brows, to COM
mute this enormous fiction into gold. "How
can they be otherwise than poor and repiniDg?"
to use your own words
But, again. [ have been led of from what
intended to be short letter upon the ques-
ton of labor aud capital, and, asking your
indulgence, will now submit for your consid-
Grafton alternative statements or propositions
upon which, think, hangs the explanation
of the causes of the inequality between capital
and labor or in other words, between 3iurnaL
and accumulated labor, for, in truth, each iz
capital.
The statements and propositions upon
which l base my opinions are as follows:
UaH property is at labor prices-ond gohl
and stzyer are labor prices, Ior it takes Ea6or
toget hten'-fheH all t7ho labor can buy and
acquire property at fator prices.
On the other hand, if all property is at
credit prices, and paper money is credit prices,
then the man scto hUs nrost credit-dnd he is
the rich man or capitaiist-1cW engross and
o0H prope' ty, and control or err:Eave labor.
In conclusion sir, 1 will add that, years ago,
abanpaI n n
quiry by the expressed opinion of great man
in England, in regard 10 paper money and the
establishment of banks. l cannot, with posi-
tiveness. recall his name, but if it was not
Lord Bacon it was some one Of the same
authority and class He said. when asked
his opinion of paper money, that it vas the
.srnost complete device the wit of man had
ever contrived to make the kings chaf better
,hor ,,oor fnIks' corr :" Ha might have also