The Labor enquirer., 1884-08-09
md of their wives sesinst theif bret fhren


and Of their wives seainst their bro hFen
the Jews; for tners were that said. We.
our sons, and our daughters are a any,
therefore We take up corn for them that
We may eat and live. Some also there
were that said, we have mortgaged our
lands, vineyards and houses, that we
might buy corn because Of the derth.
There were also that said. we have
borrowed money for the kings tribute
II. Q. taxes-( (King Artaxerxes. before
Christ, 464 years. and that upon our
lands and vineyards, yet now our flesh
| is as the flesh Of our brethren. our
children as their children, and 10, we
bring unto bondage our sons and our
daughters to be servants and some of our
daughters are brought into bondage
already, neither is it in our power to
redeem them, for other men have our
lands and houses And was very angry,
when I heard their cry and these words.
Then / consulted with myself and 1
rebuked the mobiles and the rulers, and
Isaid unto them @YE EXACT UsURY," every
one of his brother. Restore,
pray you to them even this day their
lands. their vineyards. their olive yards
and their houses, also the hundredth
| part (cent per cent? of the money and of
corn, the wine and the oil that We exact
of them.'' [Read the narrative for
yourselves.
This was tn g Jewish system of finance
of that day as shown upon the laws
themselves, land remember it was not
the system of finance as promulgated by
Moses 1889 years before Christ, but
exactly the reverse of that and we can
see the effect Of it upon them. This sYs-
tenn is producing the same effect every
where that it is tolerated.
Yes, the greenbacker is learning.
but he went for his teaching in the first
place, direct to that God who, by, and
through the mouth of Masses, promul-
gated a perfect system Of finance, which,
ifapplied to our race and age, would be
as effective as was the Mosaic one, in
causing peace, prosperity, plenty and
contentment, to prevail among them
selves when observed and acted upon, in
place of the hellish pandemonium that
exists at present, owing to our using the
false system in lieu of the old time one.
1t might be in other things as well as
in finance, that this God is not such a
bad fellow las Mr.. Robert Ingersoll
paints him to be) after all; for we are
told a sparrow cannot fall without his
knowledge. This much we know for
certain, established both by profane and
i sacred writings; that He knew the effect
of a pernicious system of finance upon a
people, and SO far as He thought proper,
He warned them of it by dealing so, by
the mouth of Moses, to His own peculiar
people, when He says: "Thou shalt not
lend upon usury to thy brother, usury Of
money, usury of yictuals, usury of any
thing that is lent upon ."-Deuter-
onomy, chapter xiii, verse 10. ''Unto
q stranger thou may lend upon usury
bat unto thy brother thou shalt not lend
upon usury" X X -Deuter-
onomy, chapter xxi verse 20. i. u.s
| 1 have no doubt but some will ask, why
ifthis system ofusury is such despicable
thing, did He authorize the taking of ii
from the stranger? The only and simple
answer las it appears to me) is this:
That knowing it to be such an engine for
the enslavement of people, wherever
they could get it introduced among
strangers, it was a much surer method
of conquering them than if they had
taken to the sword for their enslavement
for once under its sway, its fascination
for getting rich at the expense OF the
tollers Is SO great, even among those
strangers, that in place of becoming
enemies to the Jews, they would become
heartily their co-allies in the enslaye-
ment of their own kindred and race.
| Is it not the case to-day in every land,
Pagan or Christian; if there is any ex-
4 ception it is to be found among the fol-
lowers of Mohammed. If pains and
penalties, visited upon those indulging
in this evil. e. the taking of usury
from their kindred,-is preventative,
then these are to be found in the second
chapter of the Koran. f.
Yes, the greenbackers have been learn
ing, they haye learned from Lycurgus, Of
Greece, who lived 996 years before
Christ; from the Roman republic, 300
years before Christ, and even from
Christ himself. They have learned from
1 Venice, from England, and our own
country. As for writers, they have
learned from Arnold, Alison, Aristotle,
lColwell, Plato, Cling, Duncan, Burns,
and host of others too numerous to
mention, all Of whom are equally explicit
and direct in promulgating the doctrine,
that the present financial system is a
snare and curse wherever it is in oper-
alton. AT the head and front stands
usury. Yes, my greenback friends, we
have been learning and we seek no
patent on it either. just as quick as we