Dodge City times., 1891-05-15

also be practically demonstrated the
fallaciorsness Of the popular theory
that 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
! nortals be-"
Second-Land-currency instantly and
absolutely overthrows the dominion of
usury and destroys the power of money
20 oppress" in that it establishes q legal
or current national rate o< 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,
stan6 ready at all times to loan to them.
selves as individuals their irgovernmental
credit (money) at two per cent interest
per annum. The Importance of this
fact can not be overestimated. Tho
amount Of moucy it takes to pay seven
per cent upon 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 indcb bt-
edness, which under the present average
rate of per cent, compounded annual
", 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 a land-currency
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 a good portion of the
expense Of the national government,
rendering useless and unnecessary the
collection of import duties. Thus will
free trade be rendered doubly feasible
because of cheap production on account
of cheap money, and the consequent
cessation of necessity for tariff
either as protection or for revenue.
Cheap money makes high wages and
cheap goods Interest upon money cuts
much more of a 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
merciai exchange. Thus, when money
could be used SO rs 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 oppress" 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-
dcmption at the peoples Tor govern
ment's) pleasure. These bonds would
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 emergen-
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-in-
terest (thronrh 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 aDnum, on non-perishable
farm products and also upon real es-
tate. with proper limitations upon the
quantity of land and amount of money.
We demand that the amount of circulat-
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.