Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-02-10
THE "HoNEsr MONEY" FRAUD.

Paper the Primary Basis For Gold and
Gold-bu Currency and the Paper is ss-
cured BY the Peoples Wealth.
The ''honest (?) money" system,
which is the chief cornerstone in the
platform of the republican party, is q
system of money based upon paper
The money enters circulation as loan,
secured by mortgage on property
either directly or indirectly. Gold
money is no exception to this rule. 1t
does not enter circulation and perform
the functions of money until an inter
est bearing debt is created. All pro-
ductive 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 proper
ty. Every dollar of this money passes
through the banks number of times
and an interest bearing debt is created
every time, thus adding 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
fraction of one years interest.
This burden of interest bearing debt
money" system advocated by the old
parties. There is nothing honest about
it. 1t is merely piece of machinery
for creating debt, the principal of
which can never be paid. It's sole value
consists in its legal power to exact
usury from productive labor and legiti-
mate business. As long as the people
sustain this system by their votes and
strive to pay the interest, it will con-
tinue to be the source of enormous
profit to the money power.
This 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 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
arc only legal values, and the people
are the law-making power, just as soon
as they nhcfSe = -~xpress their will
through the ballot box. Inc people
create these actual values by Chelr
labor and as citizens and voters they
have the right to create the legal medi-
um by which actual values are ex-
changed There is not even common,
everyday horse sense in the system
that covers their property with an
| interest-bearing de bt 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
&c lalled by its absolute stupidity.
! To illustrate: A farmer needs money
in order to make necessary improve
ments that will enable him to increase
his power to create wealth by his labor.
! Under the present system he goes to
the bank, places mortgage on his
| farm for s., 900 bearing ten per cent
| per annum, running Ave 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, ,O00-less the $500 paid as interest
or only $500-a clear loss to the farmer
If he is very shrewd he may be able tc
shift the loss on the shoulders Of others
and save himself, but in any event
productive industry has been 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 ST, 900 borrowed
and this property belongs to the farmer
Now, if the only actual value is iu the
farm, why not establish a system un
der which the farmer could convert tha
value into convenient form-to bt
used as a medium to enable him to
make the necessary Improvements
instead of turning it ever to the 6ss1f
as security for n loan, and then paying
ten per cent. for the privilege of usin!
the banks credit, while the farme
owns the only credit in this kind O
transactions that has any real value.
Under system by which property
could be converted, at cost, into
medium by which property may bC
changed, labor employed and more
property created, money would becom
the representative of actual value
pledged for its redemption in sucl
actual values as the holder of sucl
money desired to purchase, and tn
producers of these actual values woul,
save all that they now pay as interes
to non producers Such a monetar,
system, based on actual values, woul
be honest in the true sense and wcul
always be equal to the demand
Every dollar would be secure
by actual values, the use O
which the world cannot afford t
dispense with. Panics would be ur
known. as the means of payment woul
be equal to the value of the wealt
created by the people. There is notf
ing more senseless than the charge tha
this would be a system of unheai sh
initiation. The imitation in the volum
of the currency. under this system
would be but small fraction whe
compared with the initiation of tn
volume of interest-bearing debt unde
our present system of dishonest none
which is but a promise that we will d
something that never can be done
There is just as much danger in OIL
creating too much value as there is i
our having too much money based o
value.-Topeka Advocate.