Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-04-20
Property" and "The Money Power"

me like your financial articles so well, all OF |
them, when they say you are such terrible |
greenbacker read everything you |
write in that direction with interest, espe-
cially upon your grand remedy-'keep out
of debt But hardly know what you mean
by the money power which you think con-
trolls Legislation in New England. have
supposed that every farmer who owns land,
or every mechanic who has money in the
bank, belongs to the money power or at
least to those who are interested in preserv-
ing the rights of capital. Are the savings
banks part of the money power ? And is
legislation, to protect capital in large or
small amounts, detrimental | am sure of
this selfshness and dishonesty on grand
SCALE under the protection Of immense COZ
porations, and carried on by gigantic COM
binations, are terrible curse to the people.
But does legislation willingly favor such
acts think we need new definition of
property and its rights as against this class
of men. Might of arm used to make right.
Now, might of mind and will make right
before the law. But the one is no more right
than the other and will as surely pass away
in the end"
Another reader, in New Hampshire, says
81 am greatly interested in your articles. l
don't like all your ideas, but they come pure
and fresh, like breeze from the bayfield,,
and feel just like cheering you. Keep at
it. The world has moved little since IIor-
ace Greeley laid down the pen. l know
nothing myself of the misery of a mort
gagged farm, but / have watched this iron
clad system of 'usury' and MORTGAGE
system that knows no law of man or God,
and have seen its relentless work. Some
thing is wrong, somewhere. ] know the
lives OF these mortgage-catchers, without
whose sanction, in many of our towns, not
so much as dog can wag his tail; and do
we find there growing development of true
manhood, or Of anything that is noble and
right? Does not the system often work as
bad for one as the other,-that is, if we are
to regard man as anything when compared
with the gathering of dollars If everything
were right it should work for the highest
good of one party, at least"
We are thankful that our work in these
columns pleases some, at least, of those whom
we try to serve in doing it. We write out
of full heart of sympathy for the distress
and trouble we see around us. The ques-
| tions we discuss, and to which these friends
refer, are not easily seen through, or faith
omed. We seek all the aid we can get from
the great thinkers. Last year we filled two
columns with extracts from the writings of
President Woolsey, lato of Yalo College, oon
tanning the fundamental thoughts upon
| which we have enlarged since. Other writers
are daily studied, as we have time and op-
portunity. But we attack great wrongs,
represented by powerful men. We expect
to be misunderstood by some, and misrepre-
sented by more. Yet we believe we have
the good will of the good citizens who do us
the honor to read these columns. These,
and many similar letters show it.
Our ministerial friend says we are called
a "terrible greenbacker." Perhaps we are.
We have been trying, ever since we first
heard of it, 10 find out what the so-called
greenback party believes in. Judging by
what its opponents say of it we should de-
spise it as the most contemplate organiza-
tion ever seen in America. Judging by its
platforms it has some good aims, but enter
tains many crude and, we think, false the
ores. We are Just this muchsof green
backer We believe that the national gov
ernment should issue, directly, all our paper
money that no paper money should be a
legal tender for debt; that all paper money
should always be redeemable on demand in
gold and silver; and that the ratio OF these
two precious metals-the worlds money
from time immemorial- be settled
and fixed by international agreement. So
settled, we believe the fluctuations of either
will be slight and transient. Until very re-
Gently silver has always been regarded as
the most stable of the two. Demonitization
of silver in England, Germany, and, tenn
porarily in the United States, has been the
chief cause OF its recent fall. The great
capitalists are in favor of gold standard
because with gold as the only legal money
they can rule the world by their mastery
over it. With the most abundant coinage
possible of both metals, there are a dozen
men in the world who, by combination
might "make a corner" of money, as they
now do of wheat and pork. With gold only
they will be sure to do it, whenever it suits
their "game."
What do we mean by the "money power p
We mean those combinations of moneyed
men who now use their opportunities to raid
upon the property rights of "the farmer who
owns land, and the mechanic who has money
in the bank" We mean those combina
tions of railroad owners that are able (ant
do), by private agreement, to suddenly
raise the rate of freight, take say ten cents
off the value Of every bushel of wheat in tn,
farmers granary-taxing the farmers ant
bread-eaters, at one fell swoop, perhaps fifty
millions of dollars for their own private
gain. We mean that combination of grea
corporations employing labor by which the.
arc apio W say W 'tHo lutcHdulC WIN lnUnt1
in the bank" "Your wages must be Gu
down in hard times and not raised in goot
, times, until all that money you have in banl
| is spent, and you, being then at our mere.
for your daily bread, are too weak to com
, bine against us and refuse to work at star
vation wages" We mean that combination
of bankers which is able to say to the con
gress of the United States, " You shall max
no laws that we regard as against our inter
est, nor set the rate at which you, as repre-
sentatives of the sovereign people, will offe
loan in the market" We are not her
saying that this or that rate is the right one
What we are saying is that, right or wrong
! the congress of the United States ought no
: to be subject to intimidation from corpors
! tions of its own creation.
!, We are for legislation protecting the proI
erty Of the farmer, the mechanic, the mel
i chant, the professional man, of all the il
e dustrious, useful citizens of the land,-
- property that fulflls its functions in every