The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1881-08-11
WENDELL PHILLIPS.
The Great Re6oSmer . lsreembackef-
Extracts SrOsn alis Mastery Pies
Tor the Oppressed.

The Great Ressruner . ssreenbacker-
Extracts SrOm alis Masserly Pies
Tor the Oppressed.
From the North American Review
The Greenback party demands that
Government shall issue oil the currency.
The power over the currency is too great
one to be trusted to private corpora.
tons. In the memorable debate Of the
Commons, 1919. Ricardo said: "BaDk
directors regulate currency and 50 fix
prices, most formidable power" and
Calhoun (Oct. 8, 1887 says: "This
power puts our destinies in their hands. "
Again (s5ept. 10. 1882, he warns us Of
this peril Jefferson writes to Eppes
June %, 1879: "Bank paper must be
suppressed, and the circulation restored
to the nation. to whom it belongs"
The Greenback party has come to tho
conclusion that there j. no need to tic
the currency to specie. Paper answers
every purpose. The plan and notion Of
specie basis, At any rate in this coun-
try, has always been . sham. Mr..
Sears, Of New Jersey, we'll styled it
bankruptcy organized" A New York
hank President, the late John Earl
Williams, said the attempts Of banks OF
issue and deposit to keep to specie al
ways have been, and, in the nature OF
things, always must be, failure" It
Is only . device to enslave the money
market to what Chatham called 1.-THE
cannibals Of Change Alley" Nearly
100 years ago, Franklin declared that
where two nations had the same basis
for currency. the debtor nation would he
the slave OF its CREDITOR statement Of
which Boutwell, felt the truth when. on
his proposing to bring l,ume from Lon
don e.. ZOO. 900 or go, OOO, 900 Of gold
belonging to the United States, the Bank
Of England prevented it by threatening,
If he did 20, that they would cripple
every bank in New York. Mr.. II. G.
Cary has saved for us an instructive an
ecdOte:
In 1848, Mr.. Albert 0allatin, then
President Of the North American Bank
Of New York, ct convention Of bank
Presidents said pleasantly, but yet most
truly, We all know that, while bank
note hears upon its face promise to
pay the amount Of it's denomination in
coin, it carries with it the implied con.
dition that it be not asked for.
To the lady who told the chAirmaker
that al his new chairs broke down, he
answered in the exact tone Of aspecie-
basis advocate, "Why, madam, think
your friends must have actually sat in
them"
SIR John Lubbock found that only SO
cents of coin were used in 500 worth Of
business. Prot. Jevons says the whole
fabric Of England's vast commerce rests
on the improbabiiity that her merchants
will ever want, ct one time, one.twenti-
eth part Of the gold they have right
10 demand. He also states that, before
checks were used in the London Clearing
House, 81, 600, 600 Of debt Was settled by
the use Of 81, OOO, 900 Of bank bills and
500 in coin.
England and France two nations
70 which gold naturally and almost in
evitably iuns, since they are creditor
states. have been obliged TO resort to
paper currency upon every emergency.
The specie Bank Of England, since she
was remodeled in 1914, has thrice been
obliged to beg the Government to save
them from suspension. ii England, the
richest nation in the world, the reser-
voir and refuge Of coin, cannot, without
subterfuge, support one specie-paying
bank in London, the worlds business
center, how can we expect 10 hoard gold
enough to form real basis for 1000
banks scattered over the continent?
The Greenback movement is q revolt
against system Of finance which rests
the power Of imitation in the hands of .
few hundred bank directors, and let's
them play with values ut their pleasure.
This Greenback movement, in its es-
sence, il the assertion that, when our
fathers settled it that the people were
competent to givern themselves, they
meant to include among the points as t.
which they were competent the ques-
ton Of finance as well Is Of marriage,
crimes, real estate, wills and other mat.
ters Of government. The Greenback
movement is revolt against the notion
that. in ordinary matters. the people can
govern themselves, but on questions oi
finance they must be kept under per
petual guardianship, and be the wards
of rich men and bank directors.
Some men call this movement delu
sion and fanaticism. What is fanatl
cism It i, enthusiasm binding jndQ
ment. It is prejudice -obstinately
clinging to theories in spite Of TACT
that disprOve them. Let M ask, then
who to-day are the fanatics, judging By
this rule. Look ct facts the world over
Whenever, during the last century
either Of our great nations has seen II
existence threatened by civil war or for
cign assault, instantly that nation ha
run to the shelter Of paper currency AMI
generally been thus enabled to surviv'
the storm. This Is fact, not dream
Does it prove that paper money il neces
sarily ruin and shipwreck: Does it no
rather look rs if paper currency haa
some quality in it that callet
forth to the last dollar the -
sources Of people, and 90 stimulate.
their energies that they could avail
themselves Of Ill their possible and hid
den power? When . man strips to fgh
for his life, he puts himself in the con
dition and posture to do his best Whel
the nation girds itself for the last de-
pera,e struggle for existence, what doe
history tell US she has uni
formly donef History tells d
that q nation in such extremity ha
uniformly thrown Of every incum
brance, stopped every drain on her r.
sources, stimulated every possible powe
Of production economized al he
means and guarded herself % care
fully as possible from al interference
with her business prosperity. How ha
she effected and secured all this
History answers: !" By res0rting to p
per CURRENCY"
There need be no fear of communism
Labor and capital have no dividing line
Like the colors on . doves neck, the
unite and join everywhere. We hay
mingled freely with laboring men, an
never yet met one who did not beliey
and proclaim that the interests Of capit'
and labor were one.
Communism in Europe is the right
eous and honorable resistance of hear
broken and poverty-stricken people to