The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-05-11
WHAT THE PEOPLE NEVER PETITI0NRD
CONGRESS TO ENACT.

Grecnbacns when first issued were made a
legal tender, except for duties on imports anu
payment Of interest on the public debt ana
were made eXchangcable for United States SIX
per cent twenty year bonds; but on March 81,
1863, the right of the holders Of these notes to
so convert them was made to cease, thereby
Gcmonetizng the grecnback in the peoples
hands. depYcciating il below the value OF inc
bonds. defrauding the holder Of the grcenbacN
TO tina, extent, and ncce,,itating the sale OF
bonds outside Of our own country whereas
had they remained cXghangcablc for green
backs they would have been bought by our
own people The people never petitloned con-
grcs, to practice thi, fraud upon them. lhey
never pctitioncd congress to enact the Nation
al Banking Law to contract the currency, or
to change the payment OF the 5,2O bonds from
currency to gold nor to dcmonellzc silver;
nor to pass the resumption act; nor to retire
the legal tenders; nor to pay hundreds OF
thousands of dollars to syndicatcS; nor to give
nearly all the available and valuable lands OF
the public domain to railroad corporations;
nor TO grant many millions of dollars in bonds
to railroad companies; nor to double the Presi-
dents salary, by raising it from S2o,ooo 10
$4,000. nor to increase their own salaries
from $4,000 to $1,000 a year; nor for Secretary
Sherman to sell s5O,00O,000 of bonds running
fifteen years at 4 per cent, interest, when
will almost be doubled by the compound in,
terest in the time, nor thereby to surrender the
whole money power of the nation to the banks
and the public lands to corporations, placing
great burdens on the back of industry. The
people pettioned for none Of these enactments,
nor desired them We fear this was the intlu-
ence of a thoroughly organized aristocracy OF
untaxed wealth. which owns the national and
corporated Indebtedness of Europe and Amer
lea. It's head center is the gold saloons OF
the Rothschilds, with branches and agencies
throughout the civilized world among the
wealth producers and taxpayers, whose capital
amounts to the enormous sum OF SJ2,'oOOoO,-
O0O-national bonds $23, 400 100000; railroad
bonds, S5O0O,0000O0 state and municipal
bonds. S4.2J0,0OOOO0 On this vast investment
it pays no taxes, but abSorbS from production
and labor an annual interest amounting to six
teen hundred million dollars. 1t was said OF
the older Wade Hampton that he did not know
his own slaves when cotton was king and
slavery in its glory. But now, when money is
king, how could the Rothschlds know their
many millions of slaves? But the Rothschilds
do know how to get all the earnings OF their
slaves worth having Our government is young
and vigorous as y nation, with rich soil and
congenial climate, and all the elements OF
wealth, and we should pay off our national
bondage, and learn by the past, and make ii a
penal otfense for the treasurer to issue another
L. S bond under the present circumstances
and pay out of the treasury rs fast as it could
be accumulated, and issue say three hundred
millions of legal tender government notes, re-
tire national bank currency and put green
backs in its place, coin all the gold and silver
possible and pay off an equal amount of bonds
thereby stopping so much interest. By such a
course we hope the money put into circulation
will make better times, business will prosper
and the revenues of the government will in
crease, and we may see once more our govern
ment out of debt and our people again q
free and prosperous nation.
!; JOHN :. ARMSTRONG.
Sheridan, ILL.,, May 9th, 1873.