The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-19

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pssssii5d 81 d = Hon md iiecsy which
- vss - oh e;vahae al over the continent
,i,it al Eurspa' 8 nj Il y Necessary that they be
put II poaIessisn Of some facts bearing
iupeu ths subjsct in tbsse times. and
which pnsde Us competitive system Of
iwaess poiibls BY the lAw Of finance
vfith obtnined Is shat time, and which
Is the sams In spirit and intent III over
thsIc;viised world 1t the present time
vis., the hllacy Of The gold standard
WhAn the ancient Romans fell into
this trapiof the Jews because this is >
Jewish invention they never for ono
moment ltiii NV its Tremendous effect upon
he Soc;sl condition Of the people, or Il
they, did they, the rulers, we're aa bad,
as depraved. as utterly regardless Of the
welfare, Of the masses Of the people, as
are the republican and democratic par
has q this republic at this day. because
these two parties have had this expert
ence Of the Roman people before their
eyes, and more recently the British pol
Icy Of 1919. and With it all allow the same
system to be pursued in this country,
producing the same class Of results, and
il not checked, will bring about thesame
condition in the social body as was
brought about during the Dark Ages,
and in Great Britain from 1919 up to
1sSO-5l. It is this law working all over
the civilized world to-day that is produc-
ing such hardship among the toilers,
that has given rise to the many out
breaks all over the continent of Europe,
and will continn. to do 50 as long as it is
all6wed to exist There is no escape
from it; it is as inexorable as any law
that ever was invented by the ingenuity
of man or devil. This is saying much,
but it can be proven to be ofsuch q char
acter, and its malignant sway can be
traced in the ruin it created, just as sure
as this world was created, (and that is
sure enough).
Now, 30 thatwe can arrive at q clear
conception Of this, it will be necessary
to lay before your readers few points of
history in connection with those times
SO as to show the working of the system.
And, first, shall cite a passage from the
works of Jonathan Duncan. He says :
"As nations advance in what is properly
called civilization there has ever been a
tendency to concentrate riches IN the
hands of the few, compelling those who
produce the most to consume and enjoy
the least. It was this injustice that led
to the downfall of the great nations of
antiquity, for If labor builds up q coun-
try, labor alone can sustain it. Degrade
labor and you sap the foundations on
which the superstructure rests. tits not
the mass of wealth, but on its distribn-
ton, that the prosperity Of a country
depends" 1 hold this to be self-egi-
dent truth-and from the breakage of
this truth flow all the eyils which inhict
the masses to-day Now, to show how
the Roman rulers infringed on this
truth; it is the factthat single proprieters
by degrees came to buy Up whole prov
inces. In the ancient capital an urban
population of 100000 Tsubsisted upon
the expenditure of 1850 great families,
whose annual interest and rental income
ranged from $500, 1000 and upwards, and
interest for money was rated at 40 per
cent per annum. Increasing opulence
continued to meet the eye, but the
masses became more miserable and de-
cayed and perished amid the riches they
themselves created" There is no won
der that Pliny, withsa sdisparNging wall,
says: "Usury did this, and coined
money, and Rome fell" How true it
was then, how true it is to-day of every
country that allows interest for capital:
a dead something the product of their
own labor, to prevail. ! know full well
the risk and the cost to anyone, this op-
posing the accepted current dogma of
rewarding capital at current rates of in
terest. accept it; and all the odium
which can be attached to that position,
vet conscious that las l see it) lam right,
/ shall continue to oppose 1T and show up
the monstrous iniquity to the toilers in
any country in which it obtains. -
Now, in this country, this rate of inter-
est Is not uniform, excepting the govern
ment. For instance, 6 and 7 per cent
are the legal rates in many states, but in
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho. Montana, Ne
vada, Utah and Washington territory it
is IL per cent, and II per cent in Wyo-
ming. There is no penalty for extortien
or excessive interest (usURY) in the fol.
lowing named states: Arizona. Califor.
mia, Florida, Georgia, Maine Massachu.
sets, Michigan, Montana, Rhode Island
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washing.
ton territory and Wyoming. And in
Leadville, although the legal rate fol
Colorado is 10 per cent, a person may
think himself blessed if he can obtains
: lo.,,t fo- iase tbor, o4 i,o,t ,,ar annn,n