Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-05-20


lective credit, or money, upon land to
the amount of one-half its value, would.
at once enlarge or increase the basis
for our national currency from less
than one billion dollars (the value of
our gold and silver) to more than five
billions of dollars, or half the assessed
value Of our agricultural lands. Thus
would be dethroned that tyrannicai
and sinister god and king whose
head Is of gold and whose feet are
silver. Land-currency would Danish to
the abiding place of all departed super
stitions and barbarisms that soul de-
stroying relic of primitive barter called
metalism or specie basis. Then would
also be practically demonstrated the
fallaciousness of the popular theory
that a sovereign people, in their organ
lied or governmental capacity, cannot
create, coin, stamp and issue money
without first taxing it away from them
selves as individuals. what fools we
mortals be-"
Second-Land-curren instantly and
absolutely overthrows the dominion Of
usury and destroys the power of money
to oppress" in that it establishes legal
or current national rate of interest of
two per cent per annum. This it does.
not by prohibitory or restrictive laws,
but by virtue of the potent fact that the
people, in their organized capacity,
stano ready at all times to loan to them
selves as individuals their governmental
credit (money) at two per cent. interest
per annum. The Importance of this
fact can not be overestimated. The
amount of money it takes to pay seven
per cent upon a debt will, if interest is
reduced to two per cent, pay both prin-
cipal and interest in slightly longer
period than seventeen years, and this
without compounding one dollar.
Hence, the enormous burden of indebt-
edness, which under the present average
rate of per cent, compounded annual
ly, will in seventeen years have nearly
quadrupled itself, absorbing meanwhile
more than the total annual increase of
wealth, Will, under the land-currency
system with no greater expenditure Of
money than is now paid out for in
terest), be entirely wiped out and swept
out OF existence. Besides all this the
interest paid upon the money obtained
from the people under land-currencv
system will be paid not to individuals.
but to the people, the whole people, in
their COLLECTIVELY.
This interest will afford sufficient
revenue to pay good portion of the
expense OF the national governments.
rendering useless and unnecessary the
collection of import duties. Thus viii
free trade be rendered doubly feasible
because of cheap production on account
oI cheap money, anu the consequent
cessation of necessity for a tariff
either as protection or for revenue.
Cheap money makes high wages and
cheap goods Interest upon money cuts
much more of figure in the tariff prob
lem than does wages paid to labor.
Third-A land-currency system would
provide an automatic supply or volume
of money that would adapt itself to de-
mand and conditions of domestic COM
mercial exchange. Thus, when money
could be used so as to realize greater
profit than two per cent individuals
would borrow from the people. So
soon as the use of money drawing two
per cent interest became improbable
individuals would pay back. to the peo-
pie the credit borrowed from them. So
that the currency of the nation would
become elastic, flexible, automatic and
power to bless. instead of being. as it
now is, power to Cypress" Now a
few words relative to the safety fund
notes or peoples savings bonds.
If land currency draws two per cent.
per annum savings bonds should draw
one per cent, such bonds being payable
on demand and subject to call for re-
demption at the peoples Tor govern
MI l. =
afford an absolutely safe and secure
place of deposit for the peoples saw
ings, or the nations reserve fund for
old age, sickness and other emerpen-
cies. Besides this, such system would
entirely do away with the collection of
the vast sums now absorbed by banks
and trust companies as commission-ip-
terest (through the medium of which
they amass vast fortunes as a result of
loaning other peoples money!, and re-
duce to minimum the duplication of
wages paid to labor-for say what we
will. man who loans his wages out.
for, say, ten per cent interest will, at
the end of ten years, have received
double wages for the labor he has per-
formed.
In conclusion, let me ask: What is
the matter with this, the first demand
of the Ocala platform?
"We demand the abolition of nation
al banks; we demand that the govern
ment shall establish sub-treasuries or
repositories In the several states, which
shall loan money direct to the people at
a low rate of interest not to exceed two
per cent per annum, on non-perishable
farm DrOducfa and also 11p0u roaI a.
tate, with proper limitations upon the
quantity of land and amount Of money.
We demand that the amount of circulate
ing medium be speedily increased to
not less than $50 per capita"
hear the answer reverberating from
the rocky shores of Maine TO the golden
shores of California: 'It's all right. -
George c. Ward, in Farmers' Voice.