The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-11-15

| banking institutions, you can well under
stand now they can control the affairs O.
the government, and by collision enhance
| or depress our prosperity.
but worse than this: there are TIN et
men In New York alone who by collu
SION could produce a similar state of af
talrs. VIM. II. Vanderbilt is worth 500,
100000, VIM. B. Astor is worth S75, 900,
900, and A. T. Stewards estate, represen.
ted by Judge Hilton, is worth $40, 900, ooc
the three aggregating $245,ooo, 900
suppose these men were to convert their
entire property into United States bonds
and present them at maturity for payment
at the Treasury, as they would have a
right to do, it would
EXHAUST THE VAULTS
of every dollar of their COIN Where then
would be our return to specie payment;
Yes, my friends, the distribution OF
wealth in this country is too unequal, and
is greatly consequence of our late fratrl
cidal war Much vicious legislation, as
we'll as speculation, has centralized the
wealth as well as the power of this Gov
eminent into the hands of few.
During the war, Congress passed law
making greenbacks a legal tender for all
debts, public and private, except duties on
imports and interest on the public debt.
With this money, all internal expenses of
the Government were paid. Foreign con-
tracts were negotiated in coin. OF course,
more or less distrust pervaded the public
mind, and this caused the owners of coin
to hoard it. For these two reasons, coin
became scarce and more valuable than
greenbacks. In July, 1864, one dollar in
gold was worth s. 65 in greenbacks; nor
did the market wary in price materially
until February, 1865, when gold dollar
was worth $2.o5 in greenbacks. During
these six or eight months, spectators, both
foreign and native hopeful that the effort
to establish a Southern Confederacy was
a failure,
UNLOCKED THEIR MONEY CHESTS
and invested their boarded coin in paper
money at an average rate Of p to 1. This
paper money was then at once converted
into Government bonds at or about par.
Let me illustrates A has 800 in gold
which he exchanges for $225 worth of
greenbacks. With this he buys $225 worth
of Government bonds, drawing or E per
cent semi annually. Now 5 per cent on
$225 is III per cent on the 500. So, for
his investment of 500 in gold, A draws
III per cent in gold annually
Now, A and his friends unite and or
ganize National Bank, the legitimate
profits of which | have shown you are 10
per cent annually, so that by adding this
and that together, we find A has made an
investment of his 500 in gold that pays
him 2I3 per cent. Deduct p per cent for
taxes, and he has a net income of 10 per
cent upon his investment. True, millions
have been invested in these bonds by men
who were not so fortunate as the one |
have mentioned, but millions zVere so in
vested and these same millions did pay
the investors as | have stated, and are TO-
day the bulk of the enormous debt of the
Government.
The Republican party, intoxicated with
financial revelry, demonetized silver, and
passed laws declaring the bonds payable
in gold, whereas the original law said ney
were to be paid in coin" The circulation
of greenbacks was continually contracted
by being paid in the Treasury for bonds,
and becoming very scarce of course be-
came more valuable until finally on the Ist
day Of January, 1879, the Secretary of the
Treasury gave a gold dollar for green
back dollar presented at the Treasury, and
specie payment was resumed. But, my
friends,
AT WHAT A FEARFUL EXPENSE
was this done to the people? Silver be-
ing out of the way, and gold and green
backs now being equal in value and both
scarce, each became very dear and every
thing else became very cheap, except that
thing which Expresses the people more
than all else-and that is DEBT.
And debt is not influenced either by the
scarcity or the redundancy of money. If
a man buys a horse and gives his note for
it when money is abundant and cheap,
but does not pay that note until money
becomes scarce, of course he finds it far
more difficult to lift the note then than if
money had remained plentiful. A note of
500 given ten years ago, even without
interest, is to-day worth nearly twice as
much as it was then, and for that reason
is that much more onerous burden for him
to bear who give the note. Hence it is
that | say a too great inequality in the dis
tribution of wealth and debt are the two
causes of what we fatniliarly know as
Hard Times.
But you may say to me relief is what we
want. and therefore tell us how to get rid
of the hard times. In my judgment there
are but two roads to prosperity for us in
dividually or collectively. The first is by
close, frugal, economical living. Do not
understand me as encouraging misery
habits Not at ALL Our first and great
est effort should be to
LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS,
and this can best be done by increasing
the number of producers, or by convert
ING our vast hordes of consumers into pro
ducers Reflect for one moment upon the
comparative number of each within your
own knowledge. We are all poor, ia
poorer than we once were, but is our pov
erty incompatible with thrift? Those o
] ...,., ,,rl,n are farmers estimate the Quantity