The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-01-21
0EO.P. WELL 90. 4
40 Park Row, New York,
THE INCUBUS PRESSING OF THE
REPUBLIC.
H0W the Nation can get sure ara Per
manent Relief.
BIT C. EDWARDS LEsrER.--II

In cur first article we described the |
appalling condition of the enterprise,
the labor and the business Of thu coun-
try, and proposed in the next fp show
the only mode Of relief ThsE work
we shaN now attempt.
And first of all, the reader mast not
be afrai unat we are going to deal il
long arguments,or great rows or tables
OF figures, or dull essays Oh 8Oliucal
economy, or fine spun theories, Or how
to return to specie payments, pr how
to break down monOpolies, or get up
or carry on STRIKES" or propaote CO.
operative iabor-fOr we shal3 do no
such thing. We have had quite ienough
of such fruitless talk. We haze been
cropping long enough in the fig, and
we have had dust and sand ienouch
thrown IN our eyes. We haFe long
eaough been told that we must leave
ali these financial questions ito Con-
gress and bankers-that comrAon peo.
pie can't understand these g5eat and
complicated questions. Well, we haze
left these matters to Congress ind the
kings u finance, and where h4ye they
brought us
Common people H. s.-niptaty-nine
IN every hundred) are the Oh, es who
suffer, and the victims have sone right
to know what the matter il, ami who IL
to blame for it-how we got into
trouble, and how and when VS. can get
out
Some millions of the free American
people-the men who do the work Of
the country, are now looking into
these matters,and they are getting the
~, .se. mo me- e.olr nesas mat taey have 70
common sense enough to ur 7erstand
their own interests. And thsy have /;
and what is better they are de- el mined
to protect them.
The whole drift of what we,shall say
is summed up in these few words:
MONEY MUST BE MADE CHEAP AND
PLENTY. It must be had b, anybody
who needs it or deserves it, eohen it is
wanted, Wheye it is wanted, al much as
IS wanted, and as long as it is wanted.
The supply must be just as great as the
demand, like Croton water,or sunlight,
or healthy air, or transportation. Like
everything else that men neeS the sup
ply must always equal the d. mand. 1t
must be left to regulate itseis, and il
will rise or fall like free flowing water,
sure to find its level if It il ltft unob-
structed by legislation. Firsgwe want
the supply How are We t4 get it p?
Nothing more simple. 1t is all in
nutshell. Congress can pass IA law in
six lines which will do it. L-it TIE See
T'taTy Of the Treasury issue j'essk as many
IsgaI tender paper dollars as fbe people
wish to get IN exchange at par ,Isor any of
the outstanding inds6tedness Oh the Coz
sTHDss5at. 4
Let the secretary also at Onss prepare
registered and soupon bonds bearing
interest at the rate of three shd sixty
FIVE hundredths per cent, which shall
always be ezchdngeG6le for said legal ten
der paper dollars.
This great principle of infsrchGnye-
ability, or sOnVeTtibihty of currency into
bonds, or bonds into currenBy at the
option Of the holder would regulate the
amount Of money in rculati2n in ex-
act accordance with the demards of the |
country. 1t would convert the public |
debt and the banks themselves into a
blessing instead Of curse. It would
make money cheap and reliable. This
is the great point we must teaoh. for
money is just like any other commod-
lty-it is dear only when it ss scarce
With money dear, We ret'pgrade-I
with money cheap we advance. With |
money scarce the demand Tor labor
falls off and its price goes do~n. With |
such.a convertible curre1cyi neither
the Government nor the banEs, nor the /
capitalists could make mongy scarce.
We should escape q use terrible curses
and panics which now periodically
bring ruin upon thousands of business
men, throw hundreds of thousands Of
business men out Of employT9ent, and
derange the business of TIE whole
country-thus putting the enlare labor
ana property and enterprise al the ma
ton at the mercy Of those whb control
the insufficient amount Of the currency
which is the only means we. have for
carrying on the business Of tie nation
No wonder money is DIR in the
United States-and it is sale to saw :
that taking the whole country, those
who borrow il to use in Legitimate bus. t
mess are paying not less titan 10 to
~ per cent. While the cpkrency Of Z
is $25 per head-ef France
Ss0-while ours at the close of the f