Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1872-07-02
sprit Of geffffcrsoll.
Charlestown, Jefferson COUNTY. West Va
TUESDAY MORNING. July 2. 1s72.
From the Penn.ylvani.n and Labor Tribpn.
A VOICE FROM WEST VIRGINIA,

MY DEAR S1R.-I received yours of the
9th INST, aud am very sorry to find that our
veteran reformer, Horace Day, has left us
L fear Mr.. Day, like many other. reformers.
wants to do too many things at the same time
and thus, like slack of all trades" will do
nothing. l would commend to Mr.. Day
ASsop's fable of the boy who put his hand in
the flbert jar and filled it SO full he could not
get it out
My belief is that if you put this matter of
money right, all other things will of necessity
come right; that it is the one thing needfui.
and that, as we say in relation to the world to
come, "seek first the kingdom of heaven ~
and all things shall be added unto you"-so
would say in regard to this present world.
seek first "a just weight and n Just measure -
see that labor in the exchange of its s.material
production" for other 'smaterial productions"
Is not cheated by the scales-the measure of
volne-and in the end labor that produces all
wealth will be rewarded as it ought to be-
''Ihe laborer is worthy of his hire" and those
men who produce the "material substances,
vino furnish the wheat, and the corn, and
the oil, and the "wine which rejoiceth the
heart of man and God )" will get the due re.
ward of their labor-their own-and in getting
their oDm and nothing more. 1t will be seen
that wealth, instead of being distributed to
knaves, and cheats, and spectators who do
not create one particle of that wealth, will 90
into the hands of its creators-the creators of
"materiai substances" Nothing is palmer
than that based on these "material substances"
the creation of human labor-not onlv all
our food, and raiment, and shelter, and animal
comforts are derived, but all that we have of
the arts and the sciences, and of morals and
religion; for nothing is more true than that
you must save mans body or YOU cannot
save his soul, or elevate his intellectual and
spiritual nature
Passing over the business topics of your
welcome letter, and which I wish YOU to full
MI rs you Indicate. | come tn the question in
regard tn the changes that the Cincinnati Con.
vent'on may make in our common accort. to
defeat Grant, bv putting inta their uia,Tarm
the old and monstrons fsllacv of. hard money"
vi course we could not submit TO it. Tor that
IN our opinion, is the cause Of all .he wronos
and evils we suffer. Our main object is to
reclaim to the people the sovereign mower of
money and over it, which has heeu secretly.
'mperceptibly and wroncfnllv filched away
from their hands and given into the control
OF individuals and corporations. Let the en-.
tire re"r'e know that, dy Me Constitutjon Of
The United .Sfates. the general md fadars1
Government is uthorizcd TO furnish the money
(and this should be done, looking 10 the net,
profits of all the labor of the conntry. ayri>
cultural, manufacturing and commercial fixed
by Wells report at 81 per cen. ! and the ex.
changing medium, or money, will he always
abundant and cheap; but if this erea. SOW.
cre'gn power of the people is handed over to
corporations the reverse will be the fact. as at
present. The nation should be the banker
and not corporations. This was the practice
OF your State when colony. You will find
the fact referred to and stated hy Jno. Taylor.
of Caroline, Va, in an article of his on bank
ing in his writing entitled "Taylor's Inouiry."
quote from page 305.
''Of the correctness of this REASONING and
of the nature of banking an ancient practice
ln Pennsylvania furnishes demonstration
That State Wills province, became the bank.
er. 1t made and loaued paper currency at
moderate interest: The interest paid for it
to the State was tax applied to the public use.
ihls is banking stripped of its ambiguity,
SIMPLY an indirect mode of texation. success
fully used to raise national revenue The idea
that 1t was not tax because individuals hor-
rowed the money, aud collected and paid the
tax, would be an assertion in every view less
tenaoie than that an import on ordinary IL
cences was not a tax, because such liz
cences were voluntarily taken and confined to
few persons; the reimbursement derived from
the privileges In both cases transfer the tax
from the individual to the public The DIFF
ference between the Pennsylvauian and the
present mode Of banking are that then the tax
was paid by individuals to the public. now i.
is paid by the public to individuals. Then it
was paid to assist industry and defray public
expenses; now to enrich idleness and supply
the means of luxury to separate interest
Then the public required the knowledge of
the amount paid from its own representatives:
now 1t pays an amount unknown to corpora
tions in which it is not represented Then
the public received five or six per ceutum of
individuals for paper currency now it pays
ten or twelve per ceutum TO individuals for
the same currency. That species of paper cur
rency could not corrupt legislature or nuture
aristocracy; this must do both. That being dealt
ont by the public interest, and not by the in
terest of monopoly. circulated through a na-
ton like coin, liable to no artificial fuc.ua-
ton. and hegat fair, useful and honest cons
petition this being regulated by separate
interest, is made to cause prices to 1nctuate.
with view to personal and local emoument
lhst did not mouopolize and expel specie
this commences with the first measure and
terminates with the second so as 20 make
itself indispensably necessary"
You see, then. from this quotation, that
Jno. Taylor, of Caroline, who has always
been associated with jefferson. as a great
thinker and true'f friend of the people. insists
that if paper money is necessary and ..use-
full. it shall be paper money of the people
and not of corporations, and privileged orders
of arisocracy, and of individuals Had he
lived in this day and generation, when the
property or capital of the country amounts to
tacenty four thousand millions, and the gold
or specie is never more than tmo hundred and
fifty millions. who can doubt from the extract
just made, or will from the extract to follow,
that he would have been in favor of parer
money of the people. and against the paper