The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-03
Real Wealth What isit?

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constitute real wealth. Allother wealth
is simply legal OF fictitious. Life, lib
erty and happiness are dependent only
on real wealth-the productions of the
soil by the aid Of industry. Real
wealth pays all the taxes, because legal
wealth has nothing with which to pay.
Legal wealth has no value in itself, and
increases only by systematic plumber of
real wealth; while real wealth increases
by the aid of labor only about three per
cent. on an average per annum. Real
wealth possesses inherent value,is meas
urable, and is subject to physical laws,
while legal wealth is subject to capri
cious laws, made by designing men for
sinister purposes. Real wealth is ne
cessary to our existence, while legal
wealth is of no use whatever, except
when circulating as money.
"Real wealth is more effective con-
centration." Legal wealth, concentrated,
is oppressive. Exchanges of real wealth
are necessary, moral and civilizing, and
constitute commerce. But exchanges
of legal wealth are always selfish, often
hurtful and abominable robberies, and
constitute speculation and Wall street
gambling. Will farmers and all others
of the industrial classes think on these
propositions Investigate them thor
oughly, friends, and test their sound
ness. What have Understanding bonds,
stocks and banking to do with life,
liberty and happiness :? What inherent
value is there in any of these? Are
they anything else than cunningly devils
ed schemes to cheat you out of the fruits
Of your labor
Why should our lawmakers give
few men special privileges to tax you to
death and heap burdens on you that
they will not touch with one of their
fingers? Why is it that the collapse of
a swindling concern, like that of Jay
Cooke g. Co., and others, can start
panic that can convulse this great coun-
try with distress? Why is it that the
concentration of large amount Of
this
LEGAL OR FICTITIOUS WEALTH
can bring general distress on great
country like this? Why is it that our
government continues to try to impose
upon the people with that relic of bar
barism and base fraud-a metallic basis
of our circulating medium of exchanges?
Why not give US circulating medium
founded
ON REAL WEALTH,
that is stable and uniform, instead Of
promises to pay in something they have
not got and never can have? Why do
bond and stock jobbers and bankers
raise such howl to return to specie
payments? How can they redeem ten
or twelve dollars in bank notes and
greenbacks with one dollar of specie Z?
Why is it that we cannot sell our
farms to-day for one-half as much as we
could have got for them seven or eight
years ago? Yet our taxes are steadily
on the increase How many of US could
hold our farms and houses for our fam
lilies if forced to pay off our mortgages
in gold purchased from the gold dealers?
For, if contraction goes on until bank
notes or greenbacks arc brought to par
with gold, it will be as difficult for us to
obtain one as the other. Then, why
not have the government issue
MONEY-GREENBACKs,
directly to the people, taking mortgages
on real property, where that is necessary,
at low rate of interest, three or four
per cent? Then industry could afford
to use capital to develop the great re.
sources Of our country. Real wealth
would then be rapidly augmented, and
all industry would thrive.
Let government: issue interconvertible
bonds, at about three per cent. inter.
est, which would regulate the interest
question, afford il safe means of invest.
men: for surplus capital, not necessar-
lily employed in the industries of the
country, bu; could at any time readily
be 80 employed on the shortest notice.
A system like this would give prope,
elasticity to the currency; for, whenever
it could not be proftably employed in