Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1872-07-30
9ptlt Of syetfrrsoll.
Charlestosn, JeiTersonT County, West Va.
FTUESDAYlMORNING. JULY 30. l1s72.
- lror the Spirit of Jeffsrson.l
WHAT is MONEY I?

WHAT lS MONEY 2
aAll:who have done me the honor, and. as
they are most deeply interested in it them,
se/0es, the JUSTICE, of reading the articles 1
have written on this subject. for their bene-
ft and ny o,e't.4;; think, by this time of the
clock, will begin to have some common sense
views OF money and its proper use and func-
tons. Aye, its proper use aud functions -
Notwithstanding the lies that have been
penned in grave treatises; and are daily re-.
pea,ed in bribed and vena presses; for the
purpose OF keeping up delusion, and pantler-
ing to the avarice and rsscality of n,onopofies,
and enabling rogues. who live by their ,oits,
to extract the last turthtng from those who
toll! Somebody has said, | forget now Who
those who think will govern those who toll ~
In other words. honest, .uususpecting labor,
whether of the farmer. the mechanic, the
manufacturer, or the merchant, is subject to
be tolled, and cheated, by those who are nei-
ther farmers, mechanics, manufacturers. or
merchants ''''
Here, and right here, is the whole ques>
ton! The farmer, the manufacturer, and
the merchandise prodacers-are, all, equal-
ly Interested, by common interest, in stand.
ing ty each other; but the merchant, by
.fatse pretences. and the manufacturer, bv
6r,bes-that is 6ounties are, bath Of them,
the merchant and the manufacturer, paid.
and suborned. to combiie and cheat the pro-
ducers Of all wealth-the farmers-who dig
it out of tie soH-the beginning. the foun-
tain of all ,ceai,h! All must come from the
soil; there is no other origin of wealth!
Well, have said, above that-stranee to
say-the merchants aud the manufacturer hnye
connbned to cheat the ori9inutor of oil 1reolth.
the farmer! There is. and can be, no doubt
about this combination All we have to do
ls to say, to both merchant and manufacturer.
that what we desire. and intend-above all
things-is that there shall be fair curren-
cy, or money, and that it shall be accessible
TO all. The merchant, heretofore, borrowed
the u-oney-when the farmer could not get
it-and it mattered not what the per cent.
was to him, he quickly tucked it on to the
farmer, until the farmer could no longer stand
1t or nay, and now the merchant is brought
to traffic on the cash principle, and finds that
in the end his lot is in reality the same as the
fsrmers Touch him. stop the plow; and
the whole concern must suffer All these
classes, including day laborers and mechanics.
are now. by the force of circumstances and,
truth, brought to ack knowledge the communi.
ty of their interest, and that what they all
went and equally, is cheap euchnnge-that is
cheap money, and cheap tr0nsportntion
They must all unite, then. to keep the
great monopolies. railroads and banks, in their
proper bounds and down to charges that do
not exceed the average profits of labor in All
It's departments. Unless they do this, in Civ.
ing them charters, they have established an
order of nobility and privilege, although as
yet untitled. The average net profit of all
labor. as frequently adverted to in these ar.i-
cles--and it should be kept before the peo>
pie-is, according to Commissioner Wells re-
port to Congress, 81 per cent per -annum i
1t banks and railroads get more-1O Is and
20 per cent they must become masters. aud
control us and our Hesitation. as thew are
now doing. The fact is the banks. when
owned aud under the management of corpo-
ratlons. instead of being in the hands of the
government, have it in their power. in con-
nect,on with the merchants of the ciiv. and by
making money plenty or scnrce-by expan-
slons and c0ntractions-to snit their plunder
ing operations, to take the produce of the
farmers at their own price, and at the same
time, TO compel them to pay any price they
please Tor what they get 10 return from the
cities. They can control the prices, aud do.
ot all the staples of the country, cotton, to-
baccc, wheat. and what not. Hear what
John Taylor, of Caroline, says on this sub
jec'. and especially in regard to our staple
,rhent: a.1
~ But Banking, besides it's dividends pos
sesses power OF causing the quantity, and
OF course the value of currency to fuctuate.
by which it may impoverish aud enrich or
tax and patronize, to vast amount beyond
its dividend of this the nation eau get no
account. 1t is power equivalent to inces-
SAINT adulterations and purifcations of specie.
by an absolute monarch. Coin adulterated,
or paper multiplied, buys less. Coin purified,
or paper diminished buys more. Itwould be
dangerous for the strongest despotism to gath
er wealth. by causing gold to fuctuate, be-
tween twelve and twenty>four carats. several
times year. If this desrotism was mer-
chant, it could by such power, buy and sell
the commodities of its subjects at ,chdt gain
it pleased. The carat of paper money fuc-
tuates with its quantity. and this 1auctmtion
is at all times ,c'thin the po,cer of banking,
and frequently produced. Being capable Of
greater repetition, it can enrich and impov-
erish, beyond any practicable alternate adul>
teration aud purifcation of coin, for the benz
eft of corporation or despotism. Paper
currency can be made better aud worse more
frequently by the magic of bank, than spe
Gle by the furnace of monarch; but altho'
the banking adulterations can do so much
more work, ye. we do not believe it because
We do not see the process, and only see the ef-
feet, in their amassing wealth with rapidity
and duration. far beyoud the adulteration Of
coin in any mode hitherto discovered IF a
king of England should call in forty millions
of specie, and pay it back in adulterated
money. so as to rob the nation of twenty that
free>born people would probably cut off his
head and, the same wise>born people, are
quite ,contented to be robbed of larger sum
annually, by the same principle"
TO illustrate the facility with which this
may be done with paper in stock >jobbing
. way, better than with specie. in despotic
way (as a chemical nrncess in fhe 1noist and