The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-12-01

IS enough TO CONDEMN GnIS, Oh d1Iy
kindred system of banking, that ltcOn-
fers upon corporations the right to
issue, and power to control the cur
renCy of the country, and besides, en-
ables them to loan to the people for all
the interest they can get three ormore
dollars Of bogus money for every real
dollar in their possession.
From these considerations it still APP
pears to me that such a currency as I
suggest would be the safest and best
supplement to gold and silver that can
| be devised. My position is sustained
| by the authority of the great John O..
| Calhoun, worth more than an acre of
! McCullOchs and Shermans, and such
| like tools of Wall street.
It occurs to me that the currency OF
a country, ana its business interests,
would be but the safer when a part of
it's circulating medium consisted of
money that could not b. withdrawn to,
or affected by conditions arising IN,
foreign lands, and against which we
are p~OwerIesS to protect ourselves.
This is a feature [ have never seen
! alluded to, and which | desire to direct
attention. That gold and silver are
materials best fitted for aninternatiOnal
currency. all admit, because the his
tory of the world shows that they can
not be obtained anywhere in quantities
sufficient to more than supply the de
kmand for q money metal, and not be
FcuuSe they have an intrinsic value
! equal to that which has been adopted
as their money value by the leading
| commercial nations. This IS yearly
! shown by the varying values that Ger
tain quantities Of these metals have
been made to have by law at different
! times, and in different countries at the
! same time. The fact that 50 cents
worth of silver bullion cal, and IS, con
VGrted by coinage into q money value
! of 100 cents, seems to me to prove be-
! You'd all dispute that money IS a cTea-
ton Of law, and that it IS not a material
| thing, dependent for its value upon
! the substance out of which II IS made.
/ If this is not 50, whence IN the %
| cents above the value of the silver III a
| dollar? 1t is the law compelling, or
general consent agreeing, to receive q
certain thing as a medium OF exchange,
or measure Of real values, that COnSti-
! uItes it money The quality of money,
! there ore, is impaired, and does not
! exist in the thing employed. # this
be true, then the difference between
! the money value of a gold or silver dol
! lar and what would be the value of the
| metal they contain if not used for coin
! age purposes Qnyrdcre is a creation Of
! law, or fiat.
! To maintain a siringency IN the cur
| rency is the Alpha and Omega If Wall
| street financiering. What is meant by
an honest dollar IS a dollar dear to
| the producer, and that will increase
! the value and earnings of capital. How
much more honest" is a dollar pos
sessing 800 cents of purchasing power,
than one worth only 33J cents? If the
| latter would rob the capitalist of two
! thirds Of the face value of his bonds
granting that he paid 100 cents in the
| dollar for Lhem-the first would treble
| the debts Of those who owe money,
treble the amount of interest, treble
! taxes and reduce the value Of the pro-
ducts Of labor to third their real
legitimate value. Is q dollar "hOneet"
that acts thus. If So, then, from
"honest money" good Lord, deliver
US! To make war upon silver, as the
gOld-bugS have done, until they have
succeeded in depreciating the bullion
| in q dollar to SO cents, and then decry
it las a "dishonest dollar" is like spank
| ing a child until it cries, and then
spanking it because it cries.
Thousands, nay millions, of people
are convinced that the monetary sys-
tenn of this country is false and dis
honest. When they see the wealth of
the land rapidly concentrating in the
hands of the INSCRIPTIONS few, who
toll not, neither do they spin" while
the millions of wealth-producers, from
no lack of industry on their part, are
| &C TqpiIIv bqi0r Ta6TppI tO OOy-ar+Ur
and dependence, they knO10 that some
thing is radically wrong and they
justly demand a change.
VIII the money power peaceably
yield to what is just and right, or will
it undertake in folly to play over again
the ancient game of Pharaoh? That's
the question of the hour. What IN
swer! Upon the answer hangs the
destiny of the country. A. B.
London, Va.