The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-02-19
. re HONEST MONEY" FRAUD.
Paper tho Primary Basis for Gold and
Gold. Bug Currency.

The '.honest (?) money" system
which is the chief cornerstone in the
platform of the Republican party, is a
system OF money based upon paper,
declares the Topeka Advocate. The
money enters circulation as a loan
secured by a mortgage on property
either directly or indirectly. Gold
money is no exception to this rule. It
does not enter circulation and perform
the functions of money until an in
terest bearing debt is created. All
productive securities which are taken
as security by the banks derive their
sole value from their power to extract
usury in some form from the owners
of property. Every dollar of this
money passes through the bank a num-
Der of times, and an interest bearing
debt is created every time, thus add
ing debt upon debt and usury upon
usury with no increase in the number
of dollars by which these debts can be
paid. This process has been continued
until all the money in the nation is
only sufficient to pay a fraction of one
years interest.
This burden of interest bearing
debt is the basis of the so-called
'honest money system advocated by
the old parties There is nothing
honest about it. It is merely piece
OF machinery for creating debt the
principal of which can never be paid.
Its sole value consists in its legal
power to exact usury from productive
labor and legitimate business. AS
long as the people sustain this system
by their votes and strive to pay the
interest it will continue to be the
source of enormous profit to the money
power.
The interest bearing debt rests upon
property and forms the basis of gold
bug money. The Peoples party holds
that the property which gives value to
the debt is a better basis for money
than the debts. the principal of which
can never be paid under the present
monetary system. The property is the
only actual value which gives value to
the debt or the money based upon the
debt Both the debt and the money
are only legal values and the people
are the making power, just as soon
as they choose to express their will
through the ballot box. The people
create these actual values by their
labor, and as citizens and voters thew
have the right to create the legal me-
dunn by which actual values are ex-
al, So
every day horse sense in the system
that covers their property with an in
terest bearing debt in order to secure
a medium by which that property can
be bought and sold. labor employed
and more property created. The in
famous and oppressive nature of this
system of making our debts the basis
of our medium of exchange is only
equalled by its absolute stupidity.
To illustrates: A farmer needs
money in order to make necessary i'm
provements that will enable him TO
increase his power to create wealth
by his labor Under the present sys-
tenn he goes to the bank places a
mortgage on his farm for 81. 900 bear
ing 10 per cent per annum, running
five years. The mortgage is worth
to the bank 81. 900 with $500 added
for interest or 81, 500. The money
is worth to the farmer 81, OOO-less
the $500 paid as interest. or only $500
a clear loss to the farmer. II he is
very shrewd he may be able to shift
the loss onto the shoulders of others
and save himself but in any event
productive industry has been a loser
of all that the banker realizes out of
the operation. The only real value
in this transaction is the property
pledged for the payment of the 81. 900
borrowed, and this property belongs
to the farmer. Now, if the only actual
value is in the farm. why not establish
a system under which the farmer could
convert that value into convenient
form-to be used as medium to en-
able him to make the necessary i'm
vements-instead of turning it
over to the bank as security for loan
and then paying 10 per cent for the
privilege of using the banks credit,
while the farmer owns the only credit
in this kind of transactions that has
any real value.
Under system by which property
could be converted, at cost into a
medium by which property may be
changed labor employed, and more
property crested, money would, De-
come the representative of actual
value pldeged for its redemption in
such actual values as the holder of
such money desired to purchase, and
the producers of these actual values
would save all that they now pay as
interest to producers. Such a
monetary system based on actual
values, would be honest in the true
sense and would always be equal to
the demand. Every dollar would be
secured by actual values, the use OF
which the world cannot afford to dis
pense with. Panics would be un-
known. as the means of payment
would be equal to the value of the
wealth created by the people. There
is nothing more senseless than the
charge that this would be system OF
unhealthy imitation. The imitation in
the volume of the currency. under
this system. would be but small
fraction when compared with the in