Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-06-15

the beeples live by cheating one anoder, and
dey calls it trade"
And such, sir, is the character of the deal
ing and trade that money hlOngers assume to
call and denominate dealing and trade, with
the other twenty-nine parts of society-Tho
produce all its wealth-the money Inongefs
being only one Both part of all that society,
and yet getting their profits, not from that
one Both, as thing created by them but
from an instrument created by all society, and
for the express purpose of fair and honest
dealing in the exchanges of things created
aid produced b5 honest labor.
But have said that when. money Uas. first
instituted by society-and when speak of
money mean real money, a thing produced
by labor and having labor in it, as gold or
silver, or steel, or something of real value
the first departure from the true use of money
was to permit any one to buy and sell it, or
to traffic in it, or to take one farthing for its
tse-for this is usury. No one ought to be
permitted to buy and sell it, or to traffic in it
in any way; for this is to impair it and to
destroy it as medium of exchange, the very
purpose for which it was created and as
much so as a yard-stick, or weight, or the
pivot of a steelyard IF you allow men to
take even six per cent. for the use of it, this
is to permit individuals without any labor on
their part, to make profit on public instrr
ment, to wit: money, the measure of all
things; and wherein is this more just than to
allow them to charge six per cent: on the
yard-stick, or on the steclyard When six
per cent is allowed. that per cent amounts to
more than the profit of agriculture manuFac-
lures, or commerce. Now, why is it that
non-producer is, CT can be- in any sense of
justice, placed on an equality with these peo-
pie who produce and exchange all the wealth
of society? 1t is simply iniquitoUs and ab
surd He is, indeed, more than placed on
an equality with the producing classes for
their occupations will not average six per
cent and are sub iect to losses, contingencies
and entire failures, while these profits of
usury, going on night and day, and Sunday,
are comparatively at certainties The effect
of Isury, then, even when limited. is, in the
language of Lord Bacon, to bring 'the trea-
sure of realm or state into few hands for
the usurer being at certaintcs, and the other
at uncertainties, at the end of the game most
of the money will be i'll the boz, and ever u
State fourisheth wheh wealth is more equally
spread" Then, the tendency Of usury, or
any-the ledst-proft on money, is to bring
the "trcasure Of realm or state into a .fe1C
HGad5." IF this is tho case with restricted
usury, what will be the case with unrestricted
usury; and when the manipulators Of money
"a public agent-may use it as private
thing and charge for the use of it just what
they list? OF course, all the property of So
ciety will be in "a few hands," ard the mass
es, who have produced all this property. will
be the slaves and menials-the white slaves
of this 30th fraction of society, which,
though sit tolls not, nor does it spin" is yet
arrayed in slory-"lke the lilies of the
field"-that surpasses even Solomon in all his
glory! Amt they lilies-these Wall street
brokers, and these liputian and lesser lights
that infest every town, and village, and ham,
let and cross-road; and who, "though they
toll not, nor do they spiu," can keep twenty
mite pdfte of all the "toilers and spinIers,"
of all the wealth of the world, toling and
spinning for their special gory--those lilies
of the field But this first departure from
the true use of money, to>wit: the departure
that allowed any interest or usury on money,
is small affair, a mere Rea-Lite, to the next
departure, to-wit: the making of paper mo-
ney mere promises, in which there Ha5 no
labor-~money in word, debt money J
This is d far more tremendous perversion of
money! far more enormous swindle than
the first departure for. in the language of
Lord Bacon, as quoted in my first letter, sit
is the most ingenious device the wit of man
has ever invented, to make the king s chaf
better than poor folks corn" 1t is to make
to hold property, and to consgn them, a
matter of course, in some shape or other, to
menialism and dependence upon the few; in
a word, to 10hite s1aUery! here call your
attention to the two propositions laid down
on this question of capital and labor, In
former part of this letter
l have, now, Mr.. Wade, spoken of two de-
partures made from the Legitimate use of
money and to the great injury of the 20
producing parts of society and, in fraud and
derogation of their just, and true, and reason
able rights by the abuse of the one 3Oth of
the society of fmronty-the 30h part of all the
property of society; which vas intended for
no such purpose out money as a "labor saving
maGhine'-common to all, and created by all
for the exchange ofthe production of labor; all
being supposed when, this common machine l
was introduced to be workers, and to have
the products of work to be exchanged: /.
nov, desire to call your attention to the next
and third departure from the true use of money;
as, in all ages past, it has been made by those
who welded it; and as it now looms upa hideous
and threatning gOrgon 10 the freedom and
liberties of this whole land /; and, whether
loyal or rebel Usury, paper money, and
Banks-(usury in former times-and usury, pa
per-money and Banks, with consolidated and
accumulated power in our times naturally, and
necessarily fulfill their design and destiny =
they accomplish the purpose they were in
tended to accomplish 4; they strip the masses
of the very property produced by their labor,
and, throw it unfairly into few hands; all the
best lands are thrown into few hands-the
public lands-aud the masses become their
hirelings upon it instead of being the owners,
and working for themselves, as you desire
even the profitable occupations of manufac-
lures and commerce are, through these agen-
cies, usury and paper money and Banks.
centered and consolidated in the hands of
oyershadowing corporations, and, the masses
are again made hirelings! In This condition
of things the next and most terrible departure