The workingman's advocate., 1875-02-20
The National Currency


Chas. II. Carroll, Esq.- 7$r: 1 have
read your two letters TO me which have
been published in the Daily Herald = II is
7 b. be regretted that in the first you serns
to range yourself in opposition to that ras
form in the national currency that hma
been SO ably advocated by representAtive
workingmen for many years, aud the adcp-
( ton Of which has been urged upon TN
national Legislature by labor congresses,
conventions snd sssembiAges Of working
men in nearly every state Of the onion I
Altar careful examination Of tHs proposed
measure am convinced that il ID ona az
very great public utility. Whether il u
such q measure or not. the idea Of coinil
currency exclusively, which you seem 10
advocate in your frat letter, will probably
never again be thought BY workingmen ~
be either possible or desirable Nof VIII
governments ever b persuaded to e . :,
ging for money when they have learned
50 easily to print it. tt Sc we're wicked
men who promised to .E wheat that
never existed, but their IOn iact will not
deter honest men iron. making promises,
and keeping them, too, whether they
promise wheat, potatoes, or any thing
their promises may need and pay for. In
the latter part Of your last letter, however,
you say, let the government issue the cur
rency. That is what workingmen say,
also. Io1, however, propose t1at our
stock jobbing congress shall regulate the
amount. Workingmen say let the people
settle that question by making currency
lnterconvertIble with the bonded debt, ii
we must have bonded debt, and when the
currency should not be enough 10 meet the
demends Of the community bonds would
. De exchanged for it, and when there was
too much, bonds would be rebuught
Workingmen will agree with You ia con
der nation Of our exc ;rable banking sy stem.
Workingmen are naturally suspicious II
the economic theories of the rich. The
unhappy condition in which we find our
country to-day is certainly not the result
Of any legislations advocated by the Labor
ing classes. The eight-hour Law ia the
only national measure which may rightly
be held to be theirs, anu this law is rem
dered nugatory BY the general government,
which copnives at its avoidance by others
and constantly violates its provisions
itself. Our government has never been
out of the possession Of capitalists. The
laws which have been enacted are their
laws the disaster and ruin that is spread
ing over the land, they have brought. In
de- such domination, industrial activity,
without which national prosperity can
never exist, has well nigh given place to
industrial paralysis, the precursor Of ma
tional decadence and death Farms are
untitled, and their empty buildings left to
decay. In the towns, business stagnatiun.
debts, rents and taxes unpaid. ia manu-
featuring centres mills are stopping ar
wages beng reduced below the living point.
The furnaces and FORCES idle ia Pennsyl-
vania and the mines unwOrked. Thous-
ands upon thousands Of workless. suffering
and starving men, women and children in
misery. huddle together in the cities.
Everywhere masses of heretofore indus
trious people are being reduced to beygary.
Crime is increasing, and riches concentrat-
ing in the hands Of the few favorItes Of
fortune. These and other unnumbered
evils the government of the rich and ruling
cass has brought upon US. Shall We waste
time in the discussion Of the lrtelta- Of re
forms proposed by the spoi.ated, suffering
and practically disfranchised class Let
us help them on IN every effort to unite
their forces for the ultimate turning out Of
that nest of bank robbers, raiE oah thieves
and vipers that turn free republic into !.
tyranny OF wealth, eXalt its rich citizens
into lords and debase its poor ones into
slaves. Gold to demand a higher premium
if the currency il made inter convertible
with the bondsf What if il does The
question is not worth a thought But
you are mistaken. Government money il
at u discount now, but would it be If gov
ernment did not itself repudiate it at the
costom house and elsewhere I Let govern
ment abandon its tomfoolery with gold,
and there 10 no reason why it should nov
be at premium any moro than grain, or
pork, that equally with gold We pay our
foreign balances in. Wo-kingmen, how
ever, had rather have gold at thousand
premium, and plenty Of meat, drink,
clothes and shelter, than be in want Of
these things in some metallic paradise
where god Was forever at discount.
The history Of the past ten years cannot
be forgotten, and how, as gold has been ap-
preaching to par with paper, in q like ratio
the distress and poverty of the working
people have been increasing. You say >. 10
interest is too low, and that the SCI urities
would not be taken at that figure Syndi-
Gates, large bankers and great capitalists
might OF might not take them differ
ent class of investors would be called out,
as in France. Banks would lose much Of
their deposit and discount business At
the present time unusual depression exists
iE the industrial classes. There is not
enough work to 70 around. There has
been no over production Give every one
enough house room, clothes enough to wear,
plenty to eat, and production would have
to be increased. The evil is not in produc-
| ton, but in an inhuman and wicked system
Of dis is.ribution. The working classes pay
all interest, as you say, the Commercial
class merely acting rs intermediaries be-
tween them and the capitalist class. When
the commercial, manufacturing and EN-
ploying class generally have 10 pay too
much interest to the money lenders a. at
present, they try to recoup themselves
from labor. In the effort production 10
stopped. Government should reduce in
terest, and that means a reduction Of rent
ana profit as well, for the three are Joined
together in well-defned relations. Gov
ernment can lower rent, interest and profit
at least sufficiently to enable productive
enterprise to 20 on rs it did few YEARS
ago.
Let government issue bonds at q low
rate, which the holder might at any time
get currency for ut the sub-treasuries, OF
which any one might buy when desiring
TO do so, and interest would be kept down
to near the rate fixed by the government !;
the wheels of industry would be kept NOV
ing employment would not lack, an what
might be called the commercial interest
charge could not much increase) there
would be no excuse or desire to cut down
wages the wages class would, as always
where there is enough to do, make trade
brisk, and so receiving back more Of their
productions, find what they are ever striv-
ing for better distribution Of the fruits
of their toll. Every one would learn, in
.a.An.nl