The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1891-07-01
THE PLuTooRATlo PLAN.
Efforts of the Republicans to Perpetnate
the National Debt.

The significance of the deficit of half
a million revealed by the May state
ment of the federal treasury is cmpha-
sized by the circular in which the
secretary announces the approaching
maturity of the Observation-Disclosures.
cent. bonds After stating the I'd Of
September next as the date when these
obligations are due and payable, he
makes the following suggestion of a
default on them for the purpose Of
forming d nucleus for permanent
debt:
Suggestions have been made on the part Of
the holders OF some OF these bonds OF a desire
to extend the payment thereof at the option Of
the United States at the rate OF one or one
and one-half per cent per annum and
the secretary OF the treasury will hereafter
consider whether the acceptance of such Offers
or any Of them, will be profitable to the gov
eminent, and, in that event, reserves the right
to accept such bonds from this call
CHARLES FOSTER, Secretary
1t is unquestionably the desire Of
the capitalists who control the repub-
lican party to find some way OF creating
permanent debt, and this desire was
not lost sight of in the policy which
was acted on by the billion-dollar con-
gress. In the seeming lack of method
of it's extravaganza there was always
the idea that with deficiency instead
of surplus it would be more easily
possible to perpetuate the high tariff
and the national debt.
The perpetuation Of the debt will
give capital invested in money-lending
or in trade in money as commodity
the enormous advantage of a system
of controlling circulation in which
there are two distinct features of ad-
vantage, either CT which would be very
| great without the other.
/. The delegation of the sovereign
prerogative of issuing money from the
government to private corporations.
2. A system of issuing money under
which the basis for the note is reen-
forced with an interest bearing capaci-
ty apart from the interest bearing
power Of the note itself
If gold or silver bullion is deposited
in the treasury, gold Or silver notes are
issued on it. These bear interest if
loaned. The gold or silver bullion on
which they are based does not.
But when national bonds are deposi-
ted in the treasury as a basis for notes,
the bonds bear interest for the hypoth-
ecation as well as the notes based on
them.
This makes such notes the mos,
costly form of money ever devised, be.
cause, to use common phrase, it bears
interest sat both ends" as the gold
note or the silver note does not. TIC
perpetuate this system, to keep in pri.
vate hands the sovereign prerogative
of issuing money, and to collect inter.
est both on the notes themselves and
on the basis for the notes-as it were,
to make the hypothecated bar of colo
bear interest as well as the gold note
issued on it, is surely worth the ven
ture of desperate risks by those who
would benefit by this magnificent priv
ilege-the most royal that was ever
accorded to capitalism.
But it is not on this alone that the de.
sire to perpetuate the debt depends
The millionaire class, already large, is
constantly increasing. What the mil
lionaire who has ''made his fortune
breads most is the risks of business
which for at least six in every ten case:
mean an impartial redistribution O.
these immense accumulations. Wha
this millionaire class with it's fortune
made desire most is that the govern
ment shall by law save them from The
risks of investment in which either
they or their children have under tn,
laws of trade the odds against them
For without law to prevent natural re
distribution, these boards cannot b,
held. AS far as our national debt ha!
been paid, the payment has, in tina
proportion, deprived money of it
[ power Of agglutination. "Mone,
makes money" but one dollar will no
stick to another until there is million
of them permanently solicited in
conglomerate mass unless they are I'm
naturally fused together by some proc
ess of law. As the debt has been pail
there has been a quickening in the &C
tivity of production and distribution
and special activity in land, becaus
next to national securities, land seem
to the money-holder the safest invest
ment. But no Judgment is required t
put money in national bonds on whic]
all the people are bound to pay tn
profits, and great deal of judgment i
required on the next safest investment
Every mistake made in land dealing
helps to redistribute the money of tn
millionaires. AS the debt has beel
progressively paid off 'land specula
ton" has increased. 1t is not goo,
thing in itself, but, compared with tn
giving of national bonds for principa
and interest of investment, it is goo
thing, because it makes the possibilitie
of boarding wealth depend on privat
| Judgment, which. by its failure, redis
tributes the hoard into the channels o
productive activity.
A national debt is as great curse a
the high tariff of which it is the compile
ment. What the tariff enables tn
privileged to get without earning, tn
national bond enables them to kee
without risk. 1t is nothing more no
less than the agreement of sixty mil
lion people that if you are million
aire they will give bond and 60 bal
that you shall remain millionaire
holding unimpaired the principal o
your wealth, and drawing continual.
on their labor for interest on form o
investment which earns nothing, Pre-