The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-07-08
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To the extent that Tom Benton was an
exponent Of Democracy it was hard money
party, and, long ago, when Democracy had
hardly reached years Of maturity, Tom Ben
ton was called ''nint drops" even as An
drew jackson was deemed the enemy of
paper money Institutions. But times, facts
and conditions of men and country change
and there are two classes of people in the
United States; the one are creditors; the
other, debtors. The one class hold mil
lions OF bonds which cost from fifty TO
ninety cents in paper. Naturally enough,
these bopdholders, being the creditor class
and also that class that coined patriotism
and blood into dollars, would have those
bonds made the equivalent of gold, and
gold given the highest possible purchasing
capacity. II there be no other money than
gold its value, as compared with that OF
other property, will be rapidly augmented
and everybody grows poor that the
bOndholder may be made enormously
rich. Moreover, the bondholder alone
has infinite command Of money, With
$40, 1000 in collaborating bonds he can
always borrow, at SIX per cent, $40, 600 in
currency, and he wants no more currency,
and for the reason that he now has mo-
nopoly of its use Nobody else can get it.
On the other hand the poor man, and the
man in debt, would escape from the
clutches of these bondholding people.
They would make money so abundant that
the bondholders would use it freely They
would thus induce these bondholders to
invest their enormous wealth in railways
and mines and cotton mills. This activity
lief to the South and West, and nothing
else will induce the hoarders OF gold and
bonds to use them for public advantage,
giving employment to the many, and de-
veloping the resources Of newly or sparselY
populated States of the West and South.
Make money abound and the poor easily get
possession of it, and labor is richly rewarded
with that which at least pays debts, and to
inAationist Democracy of the Pendleton
school OF free thinkers. But the real great
good, il this compensate for patent evils to
lie achieved, consists in the fact that the
investment of boarded wealth in public i'm
provements Is made compulsory by the
compulsory conversion of bonds into green
backs. After ali this confessed good must
come again the evils of contraction. Sooner
or later it must come. The world is at last
almost one nation and exterior forces must
DO recognized in shaping commercial
facts and conditions of America. We must
finally have the same currency with other
commercial peoples or suffer enormous
losses; and whether il were not wiser to go
through to the end, even now, when half
the battle has been fought, than 80 back to
those false paper gods, before which a
debtors cupidity prostrates itself in abject
adoration-that S the rub, and that g the
question.
We do not contemplate the inquiry as
Democrats OF as Wings, and therefore have
little regard for Tom Benton's philosophy,
conceived and pronounced before the del
uge. We do not contemplate the inquiry
as modern partisans, and for the reason that
the Democratic party seems almost equally
divided on this financial question. 1t is
simply question of selfish policy and OF
statecraft, and We may pursue that course
defined for us by the necessities of the peo-
pie Of Texas. Texas, with magnificent
crops, can afford to so back to hard money
but Texas Is in no hurry about it. A
plethora Of greenbacks would soon make
Texas intellectually attractive and rich.
More railways would bc built here, because
costing less and paying moro on thess nch
level plains than elsewhere in the world.
1t also happens that Texans arc mainly OF
the debtor class, and thcsc, until they get
even, would not object To cheap and sbun.
dant money. But We only proposed TO give
the striking aspects Of this financial ques-
tion, in reference to which Democrats have
agreed to differ without quarreling.