The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-02-18
QUESTIONS FOR OUR CONGRESS
SIONAL SOLONS TOANSWER.
BY OLD FOGY.

BY OLD FoGY.
What induced our fore fathers to
rebel against England ? Was it not
oppression Did not our fore. fathers
build a government where " the great
est good to the greatest number was
the paramount idea ? Are not your
methods radically different? ? Do you
consider the wants of the people-the
labor and farmer-or the wants and
wishes of the manufacturer, the
banker and railroad msgnates ? Do
you send for farmers to testify before
your investigating committees, or for
bankers and manufacturers
Do you heed the cries that go up
from the farmer and lahorer, as ex-
pressed in their demands-in their
papers-or do you bow down and
worship before the golden calf your
modern Aarons have made for you
Was it not the policy of the trainers
of this government to give homes to
the people?
What have YOU lone
Have you not given their homes to
syndicates, to railroad companies; and
have you not allowed those who have
fought against US, who have with
purse, brain and life opposed the free
dom of the people to come here and
buy our lands, and thus prevent the
people who gave theiI treasures anC
blood from having free homes ? How
long will free homes be possible under
the policy you have inaugurated?
Was it not the primitive policy of
our government to issue and coin
money for all the people ?
What haze you done2
Have you not given to banks that
power, you only reserving the power
of printing it ?
Have you not thus evaded the spirit
of the Constitution
Do you now contemplate passing a
law to prevent the coinage of silver 2
Is this the policy our fore fathers
inaugurated or one entirely opposite ?
Have you not taxed the people and
then boarded the money wrung from
them in your vaults, and when your
vaults were full to overfowing, have
you not loaned the peoples money to
corporations ? and these corporations
were by you empowered to loan the
peoples money to themselves at as high
a rate as could be wrung from them,
while you are paying these corpora
tions A to per cent. for money; you
reloan this borrowed money to your
corporate pets at l per cent, and fol
low this by making deposits equal to
your loans at no charge at all.
Is not this the worst class legislation
on record 4?
Do you not know that all pamics
and hard times come and come only
from restricted currency
Do you not know that trusts force
the price of all commodities higher
and higher and your most infamous
money trust is forcing rates higher
and higher than ever before?
Do you not know that this power
has made in the short space of four
hours in one day, greenbacks depreciate
more in value than the South did IN
four years of war ?
Did it-not take the best of security
to borrow money at 40 per cent. in
Wall street, N. Y, and within the
last month, thus depreciating dollar
in four hours to as low a rate as it
ever touched
Do you not know that whenever a |
Black Friday occurs that the govern.
ment pours out millions to prevent the |
smaller merchant and manufacturer
from being driven into the ranks of
the desperate.
Do you not know that if ten mil.
lions stop panic, that a hundred |
millions would do ten times as much
and a billion one hundred times as
much good
Do you not know that if the National
Indebtedness were paid in currency,
the debt would be no greater than
now?
Do you not know that it would save
the people fifty millions yearly in in
terest 2
Do you not know that money issued |
on railroad or municipal Indebtedness,
M LII