The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-05-31

: ton promised under the rcsumptio
Il policy is sufficient? Is it not patent
= with the volume of currency SO con
e tracted, that il subjects the propert
3 and labor of those who do not hold O
possess it to the dominion and contrC
e of those who do? Is il not idle to argu
f so plain proposition? But it is sug
e gestiveiy replied that banking is nov
| free. Free to whom? The bOndhOld
t er. IfyOu want his bond for sucl
purpose he dictates the price and ma,
: make your banking dear to you. Blu
, suppose it is not dear, and more bank
are multiplied as they bring into lifi
more bank-nOtes, do they not retire
for purposes of maintaining and pre-
serving resumption more "green
backs?n
After all, Mr.. Speaker, is not this
the object of this grand conspiracy
against the labor of the country, to fos
ter, nOurish, and perpetuate the ma
tional banking system, whose very
life is the national debt? To state the
proposition in other words, is it not
the policy to confer upon your credit
OF the rights and privileges rs well as
monopoly of making, managing, and
controlling that which is the repre-
sentative of the labor, industry, and
energy of the tiel'tor? If the, state
of the proposition is correct, and
/ undertake To say 10 one can success
fully COntrOVert it, is it not an enslave-
ment of the labor and muscle of the
great mass of our people-whO are the
laborers-to the dominion and master
| ship of the bondholders? Let US see
for moment wbatthis dominion and
maStership means. Assuming re-
sumption is an accomplished fact, the
| Treasury of the Government, unless
greenbacks be wholly retired, is at the
mercy of the banks, who may con-
| stantly demand payment of these
| notes. The markets of the country
are dependent upon the facilities they
! afford to commerce and trade; being
! lords of the currency, they enlarge or
contract these facilities, and so control
the industry and labor of the people.
! Sir, recently you emancipated the
black man from the slavery of the
| body. But the black man from his
master obtained shelter, breadan raj
ment. 1t is the dire misfortune of
white and black who are now labor
| ing-men under the ruinous policy in
augurated and maintained by the
money power that they have as mas
| tiers, whose system of slavery depriVcS
|
ment. ! but pause to remark of the
present national banking system that
| it is framed so as to enable Wall street,
| in New York, and State street, in BOS-
| ton, to control the entire brood of
| banks throughout the limit of the
Union, and that its whole tendency is
| to concentrate power into the hands
of the metropolitan banks; and need /
| add that these metropolitan banks are
controlled in a very large degree by
| foreign capital. In short, sir, the kings
of the money power, now controlling,
| through these agencies, the trade,
commerce, and industries of the United
| States, are foreign and alien to our
| people. No such dominion and pow
| er was ever before stolen from the peO-
ple-the cruel results of which are
plainly visible in our ruined commerce
and prOstratCd industries.
Much more, sir, could | say in criti
| cism of this system of banking, but
| lust now / am content to protest
against its privileges and power, and
to utter a wOrning as to dangers
which will affect not only the trade
and the commerce of the country, but
| the character of our free institutions,
from a continuance of these powers
| and privileges.
Again, while the various measures
were being put into force, labor COM
plains that other mOnOpOlies were be-
ing erected, and that unjust and OPP
preSsive taxation was being enforced
under the sanction of legislation, and
points to the increase and multiplica>
ton of vast railroad and 9th er cOrpO~
rations, a large number of which were
enriched out of the public treasury,
either in lands or money belonging to
the people, and that, in order to grant
these largesseS and give value to the
investments of the money>pOwer,
heavy and OnerOus taxes were levied
and collected. When we look to the
grants of public lands and loans of
bonds made to various railroads since
the year 1862 by Congress, a table of
which | append to my remarks, shows
ing that the homeless Of our county
have been deprived of 1SO,31l ,573
acres, and the Taxpayers made liable
for S64, ,623, 512, with now nearly thir>
ty millions of accrued interest, and
then examine our present iniquitOuS
tariff, under which our people are
taxed from three to five hundred milN
lions of dollars, not for the support of
the Government or the payment of
their debt, but for the benefit of the
protected classes, we are compelled to
concede the justice of the complaints
made upon behalf of labor and the
Taxpayer.
And thus, Mr.. Speaker, having
gone over the complaints made by la
Dor and its representatives, which
complaints, as ! stated in the outset of
my remarks, asserted, "that the Gov
ernment is conducted in the interests
of capital, and so as to control its eff
forts and to deprive it of its just re-
wards, that its industry and mech
anism through unjust and oppressive
taxation, through partial and class
legislation is made tributary to the be-
hests, dominion and power of the
few" and finding that labor has just
Iy and temperately stated the truth,
have but now to invoke your atten-
ton to the remedies which are or may
be suggested and to the agents who
are or may he selected to apply them.
But before doing so let it be under
stood that i'll the period of time during
Whi0h these niquitOus and incOnsid
crate measures were being adopted
the Democratic party had no authori-
ty or control. An appeal to the rec
ord will shows, however, that step by
step this conspiracy in favor Of the
money power against the labor ana
industry of the country has encoun-
tered the stern opposition of the great
body of democratic Representatives
and that now, while upon all sides of
us and in all parts Of our common
country, Notwithstanding tho earth In
production has been generous, the
seasons have been kind and gentle,
and labor has with skill and industry
added increasing millions to the oom-
mon treasury OF the WQrld, yet in our
midst and among all classes save the
favored few, distress, poverty and
bankruptcy prevail and for this alone
are those who at present administer
our finances responsible. If there he
merit in this state of things, John
Sherman, the present Secretary of
the Treasury more thaG any ytper man,
IS euuued 10 the credit. If there be
wrong, crime and folly, he is the
chief criminal.
Relief capnot come from 2 resort to
Violence; strikes fal aa q remedy,
and more often than otherwise recOil
with disastrous effect to the cause
they seek To favor. The law is the
best friend of the poor and the labor
! ing man. Battle that down and force
| is supreme. Nor can relief come from
reputation of legal and hQUCrable
contracts, Republication enforced is the
| J..rrH.tfon Of credit Tho 1pst-uctioO