The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-10-17
ATTlcA AS SOLON FOUND 1T.
Editor inti- Mono OoList::

'According to the ancient law of
"debt, the claim of the creditor was
t"transferred from the property to the
8ssliberty and person of the debtor.
EssThe debt increased as money became
gs'rarer in the land. The unpaid debt
Esswelled under the high rate Us per
1"cent.) of interest. Debtors had
ssnothing left them but to satisfy
s.their creditors by relinquishing their
s'landed property to then, and bailed
"it as a favor to receive their ancient
''holdings back to work them as
s.farms on the land of the great pro.
"prietors. Thus arose the Hectemuri
ls.because they retained but one-sixth
lssof the income of the farms. The
tsnumber of free-holders dwindled to
bless and less who sank into complete
Independence Us farm-Servants of
fs.the rich. '-Curtius History Of
Greece.
How much like our own hard times
does this read, when we take into &C
count the fact, that these LANDED
proprietors' were privileged class, >
the nobility. These fellows like our
own bondholders made the laws, for
these & ednari (freeholders) they were
selling out and crushing into slavery.
Every time the Attic law was altered
or amended it turned the screws a
little tighter. until it became unbear-
able. Revolt was the consequence.
which brought to the head of that
country
SOLON TIE GREAT LAW GIvER.
Here is what Curtius says of money
at that time:
Gold and silver coins were brought
first from Asia rs an article of com
merce. Gradually they came into use
as money which was chiefly in the
hands of men of business and mer-
chants. 1t was in their power to fix
its value, and they accordingly raised
the rate of interest to as high u rate
as possible. When money had ceased
to be an article of trade like other ar
ticles coming on the market, and
when even the poorer classes could
not exist without it. there resulted Il
great pressure which weighed all the
more heavily on the poor. Conse-
quently uSury like Il poisonous plant,
absorbed and consumed the strength
of the land. One free homestead
after another had Disappeared; one
farm after another been mortgaged,
and at the boundaries Of the fields
were seen erected. in large numbers
the pillars of stone which mentioned
the amount of the debt for which the
fields were mortgaged, and the names
of the creditors
This was very bad state of things.
very much like our own times. In
! terest is the poisonous plant that is
now cavsing homesteads 10 disappear
and farms TO be moatgaged.
1t is highly probable that any one
of the privileged few could cite t.
some poor individual who had worked
his way up. and conclude that the
prevailing distress was the result Of
reproduction. sc.
Let us see what Scion did.
something had to be done to alter
this state OF things. and vigorous
statesman could not permit himself
to shrink from even such measures
as for the sake of the common good
encroached upon the rights of exist
ing rights. and were not To be carried
through without essentially injaring
creditors.
He was chance for big howl
The demons. were no doubt called
communists. nihilist. socialists. repa.
diatnrs by the noble EupatridR; bu,
to his acts.
LIST. 1.-The right of execution was
restricted and might not henceforth
attach to the person of the debtor and
his family"
"a. Tho rate Of interest was on