The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1874-02-21
FROM CALIFORNIA.
SAN FRANyIsco, Feb. ?, Is


L the Editor ~ the WoRhrSgz>S's Advocate.
Are the gran.ers doing nothing ~ secure
the issue If currency direct to the people ,
Why should not the farmers be their own
bankers Why does our national govern
ment issue $500, 900, 900 to these national
bankers and not s-t one cent for It 2 These
bankers loan this money ta the farmers
and get interest omit; why not the govern
meat loan this money direct To- the people
Who are these bankers that receive thes-
fayors are they public benetactors like
the farmers that our government sets them
over the producers T. be their task mas
tiers
No they are Shylocks, no are bleeding
our country at every pore and when they
refused tu loan tins nation the means re
quired To crush uut the Shareholders rebel
lion, they over-shot the mark They may
thank their clpidity that the American
people have learned that the bes- Sind Of
currency t1r them IS national paper cur
rency and having learned this, the sooner
We teach a renal congress Il get these terms
out OF the public prints that We mean az
profit By this knowledge, the better will Il
alone too long, they may cross the kubicon
from which there Is no return. Indeed,
Judging by their reckless disregard uf the
peoples rights, 10 seems doubtful II some
of oar rulers are uot counting revolution.
Our Legislators 10 nos know the legiti-
mate purposes OF money, or, more likely,
they DO not want To- know. L they can keep
the people III ignorance. The proper use
Of money Is tu exchange the products of
industry The use which they make II mon
ey Is t. r,b the industrious producer Of the
proceeds IF ms toil And tins plunder has
now become too bare faced e. endure sine,
We have used the national issues for money.
Even the gold basis failacy has been more
thoroughly exposed than 1t cratd have been
without the gold amendments to the legal
tender act and, although these amend
men.s swindled the people out Of thou
sands Of millions Of dollars, they would
have been cheap at double the money,
since they have exposed the gold-basis
swindle by means Of which capitalists have
been able to control the value of every
thing in the country.
have not been able to find Carl Schurz's
expose Of the fallacy Of imitation, but hope
to soon. Our Libraries do not take the
Washington Globe am glad if Mr. Schurz
has exposed this bugbear, and | hope he
will take up a few more such as IRE
deemabie currency, etc, meaningless eX-
presslons, that frequently contradict them
selves If rredeemable, IT Is no longer cur
reIt, and therefore, cannot be currency
Over trading All over production what
do these mean why, that oountiful crop
that should be blessing u everybody,
ruins the producer, who is left at the mercy
Of the Spectator and when he gets the
farmer in hls grip, he tells him, you
raised too much
1t is time, at least, that our government
should cease aiding these robbers to plum
der they have done it too long already.
Expansions and contractions Of the cur
rency' are also bug bears, and | am sorry
to see them in the farmers and working
mans memorial and also, by implication,
admitting that coin is or should he lawful
money it is a relict Of barbarism and the
people Of this, or any other country, can
never be free while gold dominates over
all the productions Of mans labor. This
gold is the key to the cause 81 over prOduc-
ton 1t is not the abundant harvest that
scourges, but the gold which our task-mas-
tiers hold over US like the overseer's lash.
How can there be undue expansions OF
currency, when every man in the land Is
entitled to lay by his earnings in currency
or commodities Just as he may choose
The memorial also contains another per
nlclous admission when you dispense with
gold and silver for money, and use a ma
tional paper currency, there is not a shad-
ow of pretext left for the collection Of in
terest but the misfortune of the people
Is that they have not yet learned that 1t IS
interest that keeps them in their degraded
condition; they, too, are anxious to be
capitalists, putting their small earnings at
interest little dreaming that thereby they
are lending to capitalists and spectators a
club TO break their own heads Not that
l would, by any means, advise the work
ing men not to put their savings at interest,
for 1t encourages habits of thrift and econ
omy, and while there is no means by which
all mankind may be lifted up ont Of their
miserable condition, it would certainly be
wrong to deny the opportunity to any but
interest IS the worklngInans bane If the
trader borrows money, the interest is paid
by the consumer If the contractor Dor
rows money, the interest is paid by the la
borer; if he is saving up money to buy
homestead, the land Spectator uses his
money to speculate with, and initiate the
price of land, and the increased price he
pays for 1t is the interest the Spectator
paid for the use of the iaborers money,
and the spectators profits and living be
sides therefore the laborer would be bet
ter of if interest was abolished altogether
his wages wolld be higher, what he con-
sumes cheaper, and he could secure home
for his family for less money.
c. b. SMITH.