Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-10-14
KEEP IL IN SIGHT.

An Increase In the Volume of Currency
VIII Not Destroy Usury, Which is the
Power of Money to Cypress.
The issue before the people of this
country is, 'the power of money to op-
press" the question to be decided is,
which shall rule, man or the almighty
dollar-labor or usury?" The object
to be accomplished by this peaceful
revolutaon of the people is: The reduc-
ton OF the legal current rate of inter
est on capital to such a point as will
give labor fair and Just portion of the
wealth which is their joint productionl
This is She fight All else is but rubbish
and side issues The rate of interest
upon money is the basis of all calcula-
tions, and usury is at the bottom of all
schemes of oppression and spoliation.
Will formulate a few proposition
which all alliancemen should commit
to memory:
l. The average net annual increase
in wealth is about four per cent. in the
United States
,. Such net annual increase in wealth
represents both the earnings of capital
and the savings of labor
s. If the prevailing current rate of in
terest u four per cent capital gets all
while labor gets none. II the rate of
interest is in excess of four per cent
such excess must be paid by labor out
of the wealth it possessed at the Begin
ming of the year.
4 Whatever the interest is, less than
four per CENT, such less amount is left
In the hands of labor as its share of the
net annual increase of wealth.
D. Hence we conclude that If interest
should be two per cent, or half the net
annual increase in wealth, labor and
capital would divide such increase
equally between them. If interest is
one per cent labor would get three
tourths OF such increase and CAPITAL
one-fourth.
No amount of manipulate "a to the
volume OF money in circulation, such as
heavy imitation, or the provision of a
supplemental or flexible volume of cur.
rency, can, by any means, effect the
needed reform. The volume of currencv
has nothing whatever to do with the
rates OF interest, except, indeed, that an
innaton. up to certain limit. would
nave tendency to raise rather than
lower the rates of interest
Capital is stored labor, or the surplus
savings OF labor. Consisting of manv
several small sums, in the aggregate it
represents the net surplus savings of
wealth producers and distributors
These savings are now depSsited in
private banks and loaned by such banks
at rates OF interest ranging from eight
to twenty-four per cent, of which the
depositor, labor, gets three or four per
cent The residue goes to enrich the
bankers But if it is true as Il Ger
tainly must be, that labor produces all
wealth. then it is clear that labor paws
not only the interest, which stands for
the bankers profits, but also the inter-
est received by itself, which is sup-
posedly paid by some one else. Labor
pdys all interest.
Almost all business and productive an
terprises are carried on with borrowed /.
capital, such capital being the sayinpsof
labor. Whatever interest is paid bv nro-
moters and exploiters is in reality paid
oy labor In the end. SO that it is virtually
In the best interest of labor that the
rate OF interest on money is as low as
possible. The people, as government.
must assume the banking functions, and
the banking systems of the United
States must be nationalized in the
interest OF the whole people. Labor
must be assured of an absolute secure
place OF deposit for its surplus earnings
and low rate of interest thereon.
borrowers must be enabled to secure
capital at the actual cost of the bank
ing system, added to the interest paid
oeposltors- Not one class but all
classes must be the beneficiaries of the
peoples banking system.
GEORGE G.. Warn