Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-03-18
ltor the Spirit of Jetfe.soa.J
THE TWO CAUSES OF NATIONAL
RUIN.

Ar. E,7itor I'm all the articles written
for your paper. my object has been to bring
to the notice of the people the tfuths, that
money is a sorerei9n po.cer of tie people, and
should be issued and regulated by them.
through their government, and never dele
gated to Banks and corporations: and, as the
other truth. that the public lands belong to all
the people, and that their tcustee, the Congress
OF the United States, has right to give them
away to corporations, or in fact to neinseices,
through their interest in the corporations to
which they are given; as in the case of the
"Credit Mobilier ::
have quoted, npon several occasions in
regard to the ruinons effects of delesating the
sovereign power of money t. Banks. the au-
thority of Jno. Taylor. of Caroline. who shews
cnnc!usively that when thiS is done there can
be no snch thing as honest and fair trade,
where vatne responds to value but that the
merchants in the cities who direct and con-
troll them. and 'the boards Of trade, can both
in dMNj"g aud SeNimg regulate the Ln}tltccs in
favor nF the cities and against thc cntutry to
the end of time; aud that they do use this
delegated money power to that end. This
very last wheat crop Of the county of Jeffer-
son is u case in point. 1t is, now. manifest,
that upon the principle of demand aud supply,
u mean demand and supply not transferred
with by this power Of the bnnks n the hands
OF city merchants by contraction to force sales
the wheat crop ot the county was worth
| two dollars per bushel; for it is worth it now
and there is but little wheat in the county
Putting the crop at five hundred thousand
bushels, do not think the average sales would
| be more than one dollar and fifty cents Der
bnshel: II am right, then, in my premises.
here in singe year. f,ro hun0red and fJfv
| Mous"n6 7o|iors. balance of fair trade has
heeu and in the way Taylor shews it. traps>
terred from the proper pockets of the people
OF this county int" the Golfers of Baltimore
and that it has been done By the "hocus
pocus" tricks Of trade, that will continue to
be rracticed on Us, as long as the G;Sfr,bufiDo
Toscer of money is in the hands of Banking
corporations controlled by city merchants. and
not in the hands of the whole people, and
where it ought to be, through their Il. S. gov
ernment which alone by the Constitution has
power to 'ss"e ''n,o"ev and regulate Tie vo1uc
Mcreof:" And until this change is made. i.
must be manifest that the nloncv scales are in
the hands only OF one Of the 0nrties in trade
might enlarge upon the other topic. the
public lands; hut as we'll for brevity. az for
the weight of his acknowledged authority. I
prefer to submit to your readers an e,rtrnct
from Iayiors inquiry. in regard to the fatal
effects upon the existence of nations. of the
usurrafI"n OF their m"mfy po'c"r and public
"n"s hy 'anks aud corporations. II is as
folInwn:
''The ability of a corrupt legislature to make
form nj government or constitution worse
and S"ailY to over;hrow it, is illustrated, nut
only IN EngIanf, hut in the history OF Rome.
Two of the means used by the ratricians 10
effect this end, were "SMrY and an uxurpcfion
of ""''o""| r""q"'s's. Compound usury. and
an "s"'Y'n'io" nj mnfionat crr.7if, are ipo of
the ns"n"s used by the system of Baking
The dexterity of the present age, has shar>
pened the cdgos OF these patrician weapons.
and vanished and heightened their blades. so
as to dazzle and to strike whole nation
The p"tricians ensaved indivjduus with
nsury banking nations. The patrcans
usurped and drew wealth from foreign con-
quests; banking usurps national credit. and
draws wealth from domestic territory. The
patrlclans by their means, gained wealth SO
slowly, that IT required an operation of SeoerQ2
centuries to corrupt and destroy the govern
mcnt; stoch can collect wealth hy credit 40
rapidly. as to shorten tie process 10 a fe,,
years."
These very questions, of the public lands
and OF the uSnrpa,ion by Banks and corpora
tions of the public credit. are now the great
and absorbing questions before the people
We are now in the midst of the fulilment of
all the evils prophesied ly this political Isaiah,
.ino. Taylor, Of Caroline, more than sixty
years ago; and it now remains to be seen
whether his warning voice has been uttered
IN vain; and whether our people have energy
enoush, and courage, and patriotism to face
this deluge of corruption and turn back its
baneful waters upon the fountains from which
they boil and bubble-thc devouripg monop
olies and privileged classes of the land.
OBSERVER.
Summit Point, March 10Th, 1878.