Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1872-06-18

his labor; and, when he does so, he cheats
his partners; peryerts the purpose of it; s.in-
terferes with their Industry and Just as much,
and as falsely, as when he counterfeits or
Jorges And yet wholesale and retail usurers.
banks and individuals, will have the hardy>
hood to say ..it is my money; have right
to do what L please with it; sell it for what |
can get" My answer is 1t is not your
money 1t is the nso"ey of the people: 1t is
your convenience Use it as convenieace
You have right to do so: But You have no
right to destroy it as convenience. and to
convert It into an instrument of fraud, and
speculation and robbery, of the people as
buying aud selling it has done, and is doing
suppose the people, at their joint ex pense,
to build railroad or "a turnpike as IA c0n-1
Uen'ence for the whole public have they not
a right to fix and regulate the tolls on the said
road! And suppose further that YOU. Messrs.
usurers, Banks or individuals. should pur
chase out all the stock in those roads-those
public conUenienceS-and to become the owner
of those public conUemiemces would this pur
chase and ownership of public conoeniences
authorize you to treat them as privute prop
erty, and, in the teeth of the charter, to
charge just what tolls you pleased to impose
on the public! BY no means If you dared
to attempt such thing. the public would tear
up the railroad pull down your tol-gates and
CHAP, and justly. swing you to>the first tree
on the road side! Now. ask what difference
IS there between railroad and turnpike
created by the public as public conceniences.
and money, created by the public, as guLIic
convenience, when that money, a public con-
oenience, comes into your hands; and. what
right have you in the one case, more than in
the other, to charge what interest or tolls
your idleness aud avarice may think proper or
dictate p pro
Such is my reply to these marauders and
robbers of the people at large. Their argu.
ment, when sifted, is baseless and their prac
tice is Infamous; and not to be tolerated nor
can be; without reducing the mass of the
producers of all the wealth in the country to
a condition of slavery more CALLING than that
of the Southern slave ever was I could run
the parallel, and in favor of the Southern
slave, but time forbids. [ will only say. now.
and challenge contradiction, that all the nett
proJi's of all the labor Of the day aborer. the
mechanic, the farmer, the manufacturer (un
less he RODS all by bounties and tariffs. and
the merchant, are going into the hands of
Banks and railroads, and other monopolies
and unless the people will heed it, and check
of their senseless party spirit, by which thew
are di0taed and conquered; they are destined.
In this land of boasted liberty, to become
greater slaves to these monopolles, than any
people in Europe, Asia, or Africa, to their
insensate and brutal Despots!
In your letter. you refer to an article of
mine. to the PcnnyiOnmidn and Labor Tri,
bune. In that article | quoted .Jno. Taylor.
of Caroline, the compeer in doctrine and
Ability Of Jefferson, to shew that if Banking
was necessary, the banking should be done by
the whole people, and the profits of it should
toto the whole people to pay the expense of
their Government the money should be
issued by the people and the profits go to the
people of this soUerciyn po,oer of money:
quoted Taylor's opinion. expressed as far
back as 1914, when he published his inn
mortal inquiry" because it agreed exactly
with the doctrine of the labor refurmers now.
should have republshed that letter long
since in the Spirit Of Icferson, if it had not
been lost during my absence from home.-
VIII you be kind enough to send ME your
number of the 7ribWne OF the 25rh of April.
that may still do so,"nd will return it you.
He states, in his work, in which he opposed
banking by corporations. part of the peo
pie, and favored Banking bv the ,rhoIe peo.
pie, thar before the revolutionary war. the
State of Pennsylvania rich in wealth bat des
t'tu'e of currency money for exchanges.
became the Banker herself, and issued and
loaned money to her ctizens at 5 ,2er cent:
the five per cent. going TO defray the expenses
OF her government: The same St tie was
afterwards persuaded and cheated into hand.
ing over to corporations the function of issue
ing the same money, who charged the people
fe" per cent. and put the profits into their
2oriSofe 1,orjscts
This is the very thing we are now doino
and in spite of the Constitution of the United
State. That Constitution says Congress shall
'cnin money and regulate the value thereof"
Congress could coin all the money the trade
of the people requires and could and ought
to regulate its value according to the nett
profits of laho- towit: 81 per cent as Com
missioner Wells shows in his report or even
Tor less: Congress does not do this, but. as it
has stolen the public lands and given them
over to railroad m"nnpolies. it has stolen and
har'ered away. fraduently, to seventeen hun
dred National Banks. the soUereign 1oo,rer of
tho people to coin money and all the profits
thereof which should 90 to the people. to these
same National Banks, who charge the peopte
10 per cent, in addition to six rer cent. gold
interest paid on five>tweuty bonds. which with
the gold premium at which the bonds were
originally bought, amounts to t,cenfv. sic per
cent, wrung from the labor of the country
that only makes 81 per cent. How long. oh
Lord, how long, shall these iniquities con-
I,nue 10 De perpetrated " hen will the peo-
pie stop their senseless party spirit. and exter-
inmate, in their just Indignation, these eau
cussing. plunderipg thieves. who are bringing
to poverty, ruin and despotism tas they did
in New York, until the people united for COM
mon safety conservatives, republicans, and
democrats equally and alke2
With many thanks for your kind opinion
of me. and my labor in the cause of reform
and the people, say to you that whenever
and wherever you may resume your paper, it
will be s.labor of love" to me to eontribnte
my mite to the labor cause Won nronose N
nduoa..a A. u. PorSS "