The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-06-10
GOVERNMENT AS BANKER.
1t Should loan Money Direct to
the People.

PROPERTY, AND PROSPERITY
OF THE coNTRY-IT MUST
BE CHECKED.
d. b. Turner in Age of Labor.
will endeavor to explain my mean
ing in stating that "the government
should be the capitals! and not capital
lists the government Of this country
"Who SO controls the money, controls
the labor, the property and the pros
perity of the country" is fact toe
we'll established to require proof
Since the adoption of our present
banking system, or at least since the
close of the war in 1865, the control Of
the amount of money in circulation has
been very much in the power of the
banks, which have formed themselves
into an association for the purpose Of
combined and concerted action. They
take out currency from the national
treasury or refuse to at will. Hence
whether the people shall have money
abundant or not is as this association
decides. The bankers are the capitalists
of the land, and none save the capital
lists can be bankers. Now at the end oil
twenty. seven years We find that about
$4,000 capitalists own nearly three.
fourths of the nations wealth. We
find the great mass of the people in
debt to these capitalists in an amount
which under existing circumstances
they can never pay. Looking over the
legislation of the past thirty years we
will scarcely be able to point out one
single act which has not been in the
interest of the capitalists. Taking into
consideration the power which debt
gives the creditor over the debtor, even
as to the casting of his vote, we can
scarcely hope for change for the bet
ter, unless some plan can be devised
and put into operation which shall re-
move the hand OF capital from the
throat of the masses.
Capital to day is, and practically
has been for years past, the government
of the United States, and with q con-
tinuation OF the same financial system
must become more and more supreme
as years roll on, until the people,
unable to longer endure, shall in des-
peration destroy all the accumulation OF
years of civilization and patient toll.
Labor has not only under the present
system to pay all the interest which
capital receives, but it has also to pay
all the expenses of maintsining the
government which capitalists control
This is capitalists being the govern
ment. But the government should be
the capitalists, and to make it SO We
have only to make the government
provide and loan the money direct te
to the people, instead of furnishing i
as it now does to the capitalists, wht
then refurnish it to the people. The
government would then receive thu
interest instead of the capitalists, ant
labor would be released from the neces
sity of paying any other tax thar
enough, in interest, for the maintenance
of the government. Instead of al
association of bankers then determining
how much money the people should
have for their use, the amount woult
only be limited by the power Of thu
people to offer satisfactory securit,
for it. If tho more the people coult
make use of as individuals, the richer
they would be collectively, or in thei
capacity as government, and at
lower rate of interest could they fur
nish themselves as individuals will
the money necessary for their variou
requirements.
But does some man say where is tn
government to get all of this none,
from? Let us remember that none,
is neither gold nor silver, but it is any
thing upon which the government put
its stamp as such, and may be made a
comparatively no cost to the govern
ment, only that of stamping. Now j
stamps it and lets it to the nationa
banks, which banks deposit for it
redemption mortgage upon some rea
property out of which by the use Of th
money thus obtained they could max
the interest, which being periodical.
paid over to the government woul
make the investment a good one TO
the government, while it provided tn
people at a low rate of interest wit
that medium of exchange, without whic
civilization cannot exist or prosperit
be maintained, and for which we woul
only pay such an amount in interest
uo,ld .ooat avnaDSas and maintain III