The advocate., 1891-11-25

AA@s0 aSSV1S~ JNU OEuSH prOpn6Cy n&u d
hand and PEN been guided by inspiratio
when he wrote: ''The money power Of Oh
country will endeavOr to prolong its reiC
by working upon tins prejudices Of the PEI
pie until all wealth is aggregated in a fe
hands and the republic is destroyed"
The constitution declares that congree
shall have power to regulate cOmmerC
among the several states. What are th
essential elements or factors of commerce
Money, transportation and transmission o
intelligence. Does congress regulate these
Does congress regulate money-the valu
and volume of money? Organized capita
demanded that congress should degrade ant
destroy our legal tender currency and es
tablish in lieu thereof national banks o.
issue, which should be based alone on inter.
est bearing government bonds. Congress
obeyed. Organized capital bought up thu
bonds at about half their face value anG
thus monopolized the basis of our banking
system. Organized capital demanded thai
congress should tax state banks out of ex-
iStenOe. Congress obeyed. Thus capital
monopolized the control Of the volume of
the currency. Organized capital demanded
that congress should outlaw land as security
for loans from these banks. Congress
Obeyed. Thus the securities upon which
these banks must be operated were limited,
chiefly to stocks, bonds and personal notes,
whose values were to be manipulated and
regulated and dictated by organized capital
through its stock exchange in Wall street.
Thus the power conferred upon congress by
the constitution to regulate money,its value
and volume, was virtually surrendered and
transferred to Capitalistic combination.
But the constitution further Confers upon
congress the exclusive right to make money.
Does not this reservation of the exclusive
hight to make money carry with it the una
7oidable obligation to furnish it in sufficient
to supply the requirements Of the
legitimate demands of the Country3 What
has been the effect of oonferring upon
'apital these extraordinary privileges and
powers9 just what it has been in all the
lges and in all countries of the past--the
fearful augmentation Of centralized money
'ower to the impoverishment and robbery
II honest industry.
VI
We demand governmental control of
transportation; we demand the retention of
ur public domain for the use Of our own
'eople; we demand the prohibition Of gam
ling in futures Of agricultural and me-
haniCal products; we demand the free coin
go Of silver; we demand that no class OF
interest shall be taxed to build up any
ther class or interest; we demand the
lection Of United States senators by the
irect vote Of the people; we demand
tax on incomes; but more inn
ortant than all these; broader and deeper
han all these, and first Of all these, is the
'ansoendently paramount demand that
nr national bank system be abolished and |
lat the peoples money shall be issued to
10 people, direct by the government at q |
W rate Of interest and in sufficient volume
meet the requirements of our growing
opulation and trade.
The sapreme issue before the American
oople is and must be financial reform.
hese powers and functions designed by the
amers Of our constitution for the benefit
the people, and which have been stealth
usurped and appropriated by corporate
I'd mOnopolistic combinations, must be re-
Ored to the people, to whom they rightful-
belong.
This can be done only through persistent
fort, answering fidelity to principle and
/