Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-07-31

ocation. can deposit them ard re-
ceive so per cent. of the market
price in treasury notes, on which
he pays l per cent. annual interest.
The sum of $50, OOO, 600 Is to be ap-
propriated at once for the pur pose
OF erecting these warehouses, and
besides this amount there must be
paid subsequently the salaries of
many thousand employees, who
cannot be elected but must be ap-
pointed by federal authority and
whose services will be necessary in
storing, selling, accounting and so
forth.
A DANGEROUS SCHEME.
"It seems to me that the whole
scheme is dangerous and wrong.
In replying to your letter as to
that clause of the platform you
send which refers to national banks,
I stated that I had always opposed
especially that feature of the ma
tional banking law which permit
ted the banks to deposit bonds
with the treasury and issue upon
them 80 per cent. of the amount in
bank notes; and if at any time af-
forwards the banks desire to retire
their circulation to bring back the
notes and receive the bonds de-
posted. This gives the banks
power to expand or diminish the
currency circulation of the country
at their pleasure, and in my opin-
ion 1t is the most pernicious feature
of the system. The volume of the
money should be stable and not
auctuating, and I would give
neither to corporations nor in.
dividuals the power to expand OF
contract.
"Under the sub.treasury plan
there al be no permanent volume
OF currency. When there are large
crops and large deposits of corn,
wheat, etc., the currency will be
greatly inflated, as each deposition
will take out of the treasury 80 pei
cent. of the market value of his
deposit, and when the treasury
notes received are brought back
and commodities deposited taken
out there must be contraction.
Under such a system all values
will be deranged. No conserva.
tive man will be willing to invest
IN any direction, and the result,
must be uncertainty, distrust, reck.
lessness, expenditure and ruin.
"Besides this, no system ever
imagined could in my judgment
furnish such a harvest to specula'
tors and jobbers as that proposed
Shrewd and INSCRIPTIONS operators
would know precisely what amount
of deposits was in each warehouse:
and would work their corners anG
combines accordingly. Greedy
and voracious Shylocks would b.
found in each county waiting te
purchase the farmers certificates
of deposit if he should be unable
to redeem the commodities deposit
ed, and in the large majority Of
cases the depositor would in the
end be in worse condition thar
when he made the deposit.
81 do not care to 60 farther Int
details. The proposed Legislation
is antagonistic to ali my ideas o
our government. I am opposed tt
all laws which put the government
into partnership with classes or in
dividuals. The government shoulc
not be made warehouseman, or auc'
tioneer or bailee. 1t is simply &
governmental agency, whose
powers and functions are limited
and defined by the constitution
and I do not belong to that school
which teaches that under the
general welfare clause of the con
stitution congress car do anything
A CLEARLY ENUNcIATED TRUTH.
"No clearer truth was evel
enunciated than President Cleve.
lands manly declaration that 'the
people must support the govern
ment, but the government must not
support the people, 1 have just
come from the senate, whele
have been engaged IN earnest op.
position to legislation giving &c
certain steamship lines enormous
subsidies out of the public treasury
The argument urged in behalf Of
this legislation was that these
steamship owners could not run
their vessels without the govern.
ment advancing them money in
their private business. In othe,
words, they ask that the money
taken by taxation from all the peo'
pie shall be used by a few for theil
personal advantage.
81 am opposed to all such legis'
lation on land or ocean. It is the
function of government to give
equal protection to all its citizens
and to exact equal taxation for the
support of the government, but
after this every citizen must rely or
himself. 1 know that this primer
pie has been and is being violated
but one bad law does not justify o.
palliate another. The farmers o,
the United States are sufferin,