The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-06-21
WEST AND SOUTH.
THE DEPREssED CONDITION OF THE
COUNTRY.
burden Of the Danks-The Curse of Debt
RenOnetizatIen Of silver.
m NJ - u..-.. TIA. u;r.a,

present. uepIOTHDl6 cOUuIblOH OL Tue
country have had their origin in the
mal-administratio OF our public affairs.
They are too numerous to notice them
all. shall briefly notice some OF the
primary ones. The doctrine was ad--
vanced by leading men In the Radical
party that public debt was O. public
blessing. BY the example of the gov
ernment the country was involved in q
debt 30 vast that when the probable
amount Is stated 1t is so immense that
the mind becomes bewildered In at-
tempting to grasp 1t. 1t is estimated
that our individual, municipal, county,
State, corporation and Federal debts
amount to about six billions.
The interest on this debt at per cent
will amount to the sum of $36), 100000
annually. TO pay the interest on the
debt the laboring classes must produce
surplus OF $500 000, 900 more than they
consume. Our entire national wealth
will not amount to more than $15, ,000,-
0O0, 900 and the annual increase on this
sum is not more than per cent, and
would be $45O. 200, 900. So we see that to
pay the interest on what we owe all the
annual increase OF our National wealth
is consumed except $90,000,000 per
cent increase is a liberal estimate; the
most prosperous nation OF Europe Is
of American life by which men expect
to rapidly acquire wealth has been
politics, through a corrupt admin
istration of the government, our ma
tional wealth has been diminishing In
stead of increasing. To pay the interest
on the debts that we owe is so heavy q
mortgage on the labor and products OF
the country that 1t is folly to expect the
country to be prosperous, as long as all
the surplus OF produce is consumed to
pay interest: Whenever dept Is cre-
ated 1t is lien on product II 1t Is ever
paid. The farmer who, at the end OF
gage that takes all his surplus is
slave for life, for he will never be able
to pay the principal. So with nation.
It Is this vast debt fixed on the people
by corrupt public men that Is paraly-
zing all the Industries OF the country,
| for, IL all the profits of labor are to be
consumed to pay interest, it cuts off all
motive for labor to produce a surplus
over actual consumption. Again, the
value of the money that q ma
tion uses Is one OF the most pow
and prosperity. By it all values are
regulated and all exchanges OF property
are effected. In democracy to pre-.
vent power from consolidation 1t Is OF
primary Importance that it should be
controlled and regulated by the people
through their immediate representa-
tives. So potent is its influence that
the power that controls 1t will control
the government. Then what monstrous
ignorance or corruption was 1t for the
Radical Congress to vest In the national
banks the power to regulate the cur
rency and furnish to the people SUBJ
cti 1ta frr m nv In tho form nf m nor
promises, whose only possible value is
that 1t is founded on the pre-existing
debts Of the people in the form Of their
bonds issued by the government. Ii
these bonds are good enough for these
soulless banking corporations to is
sue what they call money upon,
certainly the Treasury notes of the
government could be kept at par with
gold and silver. 1t would be dangerous
to democracy and free institutions for
the government to yield to banking in
stitutions the power to issue paper
money. even founded on gold and silver
capital on credit and transfer It TO cor |
porations to issue money without one
dollar of gold and silver in their vaults,
Is creating a totally fictitious banking
capital and placing it under the control
Of mercenary Shylocks. This artificial |
banking capital is owned chiefly in the
producing States East, and the pro-
ducing States South and West are made
slaves to it. For the use Of this pre-
tended money they pay. about Is
per cent. So we see that the produc-
region the vast sum in interest that con-
sumes all the profits Of labor and pro-
duction in the South and West. To
double the power and value OF this arti-
fetal banking capital and to make the
people of the producing States still
more the slaves Of the Shylocks, a law
passed by Congress virtually destroyed
silver as circulating medium, thereby
making these bonds payable alone in
gold, and about doubling their value
and power as banking capital. AS
these two thousand banks that have in
a few years increased their deposits and
to over 81, 200, 900. 900, based
solely on the credit Of the people. it is
to expect general prosperity.
No, as long as this Eastern oligarchy
controls the currency Of the country
these Shylocks will get richer and
richer and the producing classes in the
South and West will become poorer and
poorer.
Again, before general prosperity can
retErn to the people they must nave a
cheaper government. The people are
paying for government annually a
larger amount than the entire volume
Of our circulating medium Of all kinds;
l. e., if all the taxes that the people pay
were collected on the first day of jan
uary in each year, every dollar in the
country would pass from the people into
the hands of the Office holders, and
they would still be largely in debt to
them. Then is it possible for general
prosperity, when annually every dollar
In circulation has to be paid by
the producing class to the non
producing office-holders ? The interest
that we pay on our bonded debt, the in
terest we pay to the Eastern bank oil
yarchy, and the salaries that we pay the
5ffice-holders, will amount to at least
TWO per cent more than the net surplus
If production over consumption. It is
not more certain that. according to the
physical laws of the universe, as
ono as the earth remaineth we shall