Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-11-11

as any other measure, the yard-stick or the
bushei, whenever supply and demand had
fixed the relative relations of the commodi-
ties, TO be q fair and fixed representative of
those relations in the business affairs and com.
meroe Of life. There would, in fact, be, as
there should be, no other use for IT, But
when the rate Of money is not fixed and reg
nla,ed By law, and as the Constitution of the
United States requires il TO be, you will see
that where it was intended for the former.
the manufacturer and the merchant. aad all
other business people aud producers, instead
Of coming to their use aud necessities, the use
and necessities of production, il is spirited
away By Jay Cook and other spsculasors and
gamblers to the loss and ruin of all regular
business and production. In order that the
people may see the true cause of the present
crisis, aud in which, you may say, alsaost all
legitimate trade aud exchange are suspended,
and at the incalculable loss of every one, and
that the root of the eoi1 IS an usary and .sun-
regu2ateof' money, I will quote for their ben
eft. the following article from that most va1>
liable paper the Anti>l l1onopolst, and which
should be in the hands of every producer in
the land
The Money .Storm-hs Lesson .''-.sThe
| convulsion in the fnancial world cannot fail
to bring prominently and impcessively to the
public mind that cardinal axiom of political
economy, that the chiietest oirtae and primary
use Of currency as to .ta1iiitote production
next, its proper Distribution Upon these
hang all the law and tho Gospel of a couus
try's prosperity. Every one can perceive how
much wiser it would have been to have used
capital to increase products Of universal con,
sumption, of certain sale and prompt returns,
so that there would be a constant inflow to the
banks ss we'll as outflow
"An article in the New York Tribune show,
the decrease of the following products in the
Southern States: comparing tbs orons of
1860 and 1870. decrease of l 500, 600 bales
of cotton; 1000, 600 pounds Of wool; I7O,-
100000 pounds of tobacco; $4,000, 900
pounds of butter; SIC, 900 pounds of cheese;
167, 900, 900 pouugs of sugar; 5000, 900
gallons of molasses; 1000, 900 bushels of
potatoes: 100000 pounds of rice; g.
800, 900 bushels of wheat; SOC, 900 bushels
of rye; 10000 tons of hay; SO, 900 tons
Of hemp; 100, 900, 900 bushels of corn (: to
say nothing of the decrease Of all other pro-
ducts"
SIN order to fully comprehend the import
snce of this statement we must bear in mind
that all of the above are decreases of single
year, and that about the same decrease existed
every yesr from, 1865 to the present time. say
eight years SO that in order to determine the
magnitude of the loss of production by the
transfer of capital from production to railroad
securities, we must multiply all of the fore
going dy eight. We have not included 10 the
foregoing the decrease in the production of
horses, cattle and hogs, which would very
greatly swell the amounts
"Since 1865 the loans of tho Banks have
swollen from, S4s7, 900, 600 to s90s, ,000, 900;
nd n uHI fho l..
Banks, insurance companies, trust companies
aud private Bankers. the rreseu. .,aount would
be swollen TO q much larger amount then ST.
GOO, 900, 900, or more than double the amount
of 1865, and We Go not hesitste to say that
nearly the whole of this increase has been
withheld from productive industry, and has
! been devoted to stock and bond dealings
One main reason for this is that there ia no
restricting usary in dealing ,oih corporations
"We make, deliberately, the assertion, and
We oall the serious attention of every reader
to it, that thorough and truthful ibvestiga>
sion with the proceedings of the Banks, iu-
| surance and trust companies would make such
revelations of inpolitic aud improper naa.
agement as would render public sentiment
unit in requiring tho most absolute and un-
qualified publicity to all Of their loans, as the
only mode of insuriug fidelity to their trusts
| as regards the public interests.
"Let public opinion 30 influence the direc-
tion of capital that the frightful decrease we
have shown above shall no longer continue.
"The whole amount of currency legally in
existence is less thxn S7O0, 600, 900 and
here we have the fact that the loans of the
Banks alone are s90s, 900, ,0O0
eff the Southern States during these eight
years had been helped with capital, and to
| their own government, that they would
have raised their full com plement of produc-
tion, every manufacturer and every jobber at
the North cau readily perceive how greatly
their sales might have been increased Leta
common sentiment of interest and of Justice
among us bring about this increased produc-
tion a. the South snd also at the North in all
commodities for which favorable market can
be found furn capital into the channels of
production be the universal motto"
Aye, aye! Let that be the motto, .hrn
capital into the channels Of production ~
But how is this to be done? There is bn.
one way to do it, and that way is to regulate
the value of money-Gf that is called capital,
call it only the representative of capitsD-
80 that the interest on money shall never ex-
ceed the net increase of labor and production
do this and the deed is accomplished; aud
the millions now looked up in the hands of
speculators and Whiting the opportunity for
/ the further ruin and spolia.ion of labor and
production will, as they should be, forced to
their use. Let the legislatures of the States.
| at once, by judicious stay laws announce that
there ehall be no sacrifices of labor, produc>
tion, and property, and money will immedi-
stely be ''turned into the channels of produc-
tion" aud the spectators forced to go to work,
and become honest men and producers, as
they should be, and not robbers.
I had intended TO have touched further on
railroads, but must defer il to another time.
OBSERVER.
Summit Point, Nov. 4th, 1873.