The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-06-26


get along without gold or silver? Is
money based upon non essential lux
uries more safe than money based upon
the fountain Of sustenance, of all life2
Gold or silver is only a product of the
earth, why discriminate in favor Of
them with no other reason to sustain US
therein, than that it is a custom, relic
of barbaric ages. The relative safety
of land money and bank notes and
legal tenders. in my opinion, bears close
comparison with chattle mortgage and
a common note. Bank notes and legal
tender are backed by general credit Of
government sub-treasury and land
money has in addition thereto the
backing of tangible, useful, actual and
already existing private property, in
charge, or control Of government at
time Of issuing money thereon. Their
bank notes are based upon the hope
aud faith that the government some
day will be ablo to redeem its promise
to pay. Our money is based on like
faith. and besides upon the very foun-
dation Of human existence. Whose
money is more honest and safe, the
present or the proposed new money?
Suppose foreign enemy or domestic
insurrection should take possession Of
our National Treasury or sub.treasuries
and capture the gold and silver held
for redemption of certificates based
thereon, and the hundred millions held
for our legal t,nders, and the United
States bonds held for security Of bank
notes, where would our boosted secu.
rity be? Yet we must admit that such
q capture is in the range of possibilities.
How different the case would be with
the money based upon land and its i'm
.perishable products. That security
woDld be equally distributed all over
our common country, and such basis
could never be captured. Even if
records 81 general land and loan Office
be destroyed, the county and district
offices would contain duplicates to In.
sure safety. But our money would be
patriotic money also. It would not hide
in time Of danger, nor fly to foreign
countries, like gold. 1t could not be
hidden and boarded like gold. It will
pay debts, taxes and act as a medium
of exchange equal to gold, for it has
basis, as solid as humanity and as long
as man exists he will depend upon land
and its products, more than upon prec-
ious metals. Abolish all money based
upon Anticipated customs and old hea-
thenish superstitions and give us a
money adapted to progress and civiliza-
ton. Break the shackles of industrial
slavery, fastened upon our wealth pro-
ducers by the narrow gold standard
money, and add a sufficient volume to
the existing circulating medium, to do
business on cash basis, by loaning
upon land and its products, at low rates
of interest, and thereby reserve and
revert to the government a power to
tax, at present exercised by non-pro-
ducing capital. But the measures dis.
cussed are also called class legislation
Now | claim that class legislation is
legislation enacted for the benefit OF
one class, at the expense and to the
detriment of other classes. Now let
any one name one class of producers
who will be injured thereby. A man
that lives upon the products of others
alone. is parasite and deserves no
consideration, for he does not do his
duty Of man towards man, according to
scripture or laws Of nature.
| A. R. NoEBINs.
lin Western Rural.