Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-27

planters never D0ther Congress VITA
paid lobbyists they are, 1t would seem,
ger orally put down Is hardly worth
consulting; consequently the Infamous
ISTERNAL-REvENUE SYSTEM
is still kept up, and nov every effort is
to lie used to carry through Congress .
sch, me which, il successful. is bound
seriously to hurt them. The spirit Of
monopoly" which has prevailed ever
since the war, we had hoped was weak
ened by the result Of the election last
fall, but it seems no party can prevent
the rich from at least trying "to
become richer,' even if the re-
suit is "to make the poor poorer"
Think Of it, that man holding fifty
million dollars worth Of United States
bonds, ard on which he does not pay
one cent Of national, State, or munich
pal tax. and then think that twenty
!, ears after the war was over a poor
man is compelled to pay eight cents tax
on the meanest smoking or che wing
tobacco he can use, and ninety cents q
gallon tax on the cheapest whiskey he
can drink, and if that does not open
peoples eyes it would be useless for
me to point out the hundreds who
had grown rich through bills passed
in Congress, and sometimes by
their own votes. remember the time
when Q mans credit, if elected to Con-
gress, was impaired, but, with some few
exceptions, it would now look as if
going to Congress was the sure road 10
fortune. Mr.. Sherman, Mr.. Blaine, and
many others could name, seem to have
grown rich mighty fast on salary
which / am sure was not equal to their
expenses. Now, somebody suffered by all
of such men growing rich so rapidly,
and if l was put upon my oath l
would be willing to swear that
I believed the sufferers to be the people
of the United States. When | remem-
Der, Mr.. Editor, what some few rich
men have done in order to have rushed
through Congress some bill greatly for
their benefit ! confess l now fear the
result, when / see such combination
of banks, bankers, and capitalists
brought to bear against the good Of the
people, even if We now have Demo-
cratic President. The power Of wealth
in this money-loving age is great, l
know, but that shall not prevent me
from at least doing what | can to warn
my countrymen of the danger ahead.
Just give the people anything like q
reasonable tariff and you may rest as
sured the time is far off when it will
become necessary for gold to be ex-
ported from the United States to pay
the balance against us as buyers of for
eign goods. If, with the present in
ternsl-revenue law and such tariffs as
we have had ever since the war, the
people dug out Of the earth cotton, to-
bacco, corn, wheat, oil, and metals suf-
ficiently to furnish the real banking
capital Of not only the United States,
but Of the banks themselves, it is not
likely that, if they now can get any
sort Of justice, we will have to export
gold to pay the balance of trade against
us.
If there are people living in foreign
countries who bought bonds Of the
United States not willing to receive in
payment Of such bonds the consttu-
tional currency of the country, cur
rency promised on the face Of such
bonds, then / think my countrymen
would be very silly to permit those
people to dictate to them in what sort
Of currency such bonds should be paid.
What am after is the good of the great
mass of the people Of our great country
and what Congress should be after
should be to establish more firmly a
sure, sound currency for such people,
and do all it could do at the same time
to add to the wealth Of the country. II
silver and silver certificates, based on
silver coin issued by our own Govern
ment, would not be in part safe cur
rency, then know not what would be.
How a currency based on a promise to
pay gold" when it is notorious that
the gold is not to be had to redeem
such promise, could be a better currency
than the one named, is mystery be-
yond my comprehension i; but it is no
doubt perfectly plain to those who hold
what gold there is in the country not
held by the Government.
RANDOLPH.