The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-07-17
Interest.

| SooH'AiSo - y " % POh NSHV'
France, in which country 3 per cent
is the legal rate, the Bank of France
never varying from this, the circulat-
ing money amounts to $66 per
capita. When France was compelled
to pay $1,000, O00,0 900 to Germany at
the close of Napoleon III's disas.
trous war, the people came forward
and took the loan, and the indemnity
was paid in two and a half years.
How different has been the fnancier-
ing in the United States Here the
men who had got to the front and in
control of the government after the
close of the war, cut down the guam
tity of money, raised the value of the
debt and threw it all into the hands
of foreign capitalists and their
agents here. Interest was kept up
by legal enactments and the debt in.
creased in value. This legislation
was all against our own people and
in the interest of foreigners. Both
the old political parties sanctioned
this legislation and they are both to
this day unit in maintaining it..
The general understanding at the
close of the war was that the public
debt was payable in greenbacks.
Letters of Governor Morton, Thadeus
Stephens, John Sherman, and the
Republican Platform of Ohio in 1868
held to this view. (The two latter
have sadly backslid ssince.) And
this was a natural and honest view,
the bonds representing the debt hav.
ing been purchased with greenbacks.
Hugh Mccullough when Secretary of
the Treasury and the banking class
headed and advised by the London
Jews, advocated the theory of con-
traction and the payment of every
thing in gold. Interest on the
government debt had been 6 per
cent and this had Influenced the
general rate which ran from 6 to 10
per cent, and as we move west still
higher. Money by contraction was
made scarce as the greenbacks were
destroyed by the Secretary of the
Treasury. but the interest on the
debt obligations remained the same
When the government bonds were
refunded interest on them was grad.
ually scaled down, but railroad,
municipal and other bonded debts
and mortgages continued to pay
high rate of interest, and our circu-
lati3g medium continued to contract
while the business of the country
expanded. Foreigners saw their
opportunity and sent their surplus
capital here to be invested at these
high rates of interest in the best
properties of the country.
Our manufacturers who are COM
PEELED to borrow. were placed at
disadvantage with Europeal manu-
facturers, by the double rate of in
terest they had to pay and they cried
out against foreign competition and
cheap labor, clamoring for protection
by Congress, which proceeded to
"protect' them by high duties, which
in turn was an affection on every
consumer, when in fact it was the
scarcity of American capital and
high interest which they needed pro
lection from. The banks were gath.
ering in the interest and the people
were paying the advanced price for
the goods while they were being
pinched down in the price OF their
produce by the ever diminishing
volume of money in the country. 10
place of seeking the true cause of
their inability to compete with for
eigners, which was the double rate
of interest they were compelled to
pay for every dollar they employed |
in their business, they continued to
cry out for government protection.
The farmers at last driven TO DIES
peration by this system of double |
robbery began to cry out against it
aad many of tue manufacturers are
discovering the true cause of their
inability to compete with the for.
eigner, and are losing faith in a
tariff salvation. and will soon be
joining the ranks of those who pro-
claim that our financial system is at
the bottom of all the distress and
enforced idleness which aftiicts the
nation.
An American system OF finance
with government protection against
usury for the whole people, and not
for one class only as is now advocat
ed by both old parties, is the line on
which the coming new party is form
ing and to which the people will
rally as they never before rallied to