The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-08-12
ALLIANCE COLUMN.
interesting Reading Of And For
The Order.
United States Senator PETER, of Kan
sas, on the Currency Question.

|
| Replying to your request under date
OF the 5th instant in relation to supply
ing the place of national baud .ciicu-
lation, hIve to say that in, my own
judgment the best substitute is what
the people of Kansas favored fourteen
years ago, namely, United St.tes notes,
COMMONLY called greenbacks; for as you
know, national bank notes are redeem
ablo in United States notes. think it
would be we'll 40 abolish the wh4,le sys
tenn Of bank note issues No banking
institution should be permitted t, issue
anything which is to be used as legal
tender money unless the issue is support
ed by the power, and the material used,
whatever it may be, should not be re-
deemable in anything. 1t ought to go
out to the people as money, fullfledgcd,
ready for duty, without any weight or
impediment or conditions Of any sort,
what yer. What we use as money should
be absolutely free from all conditions, so
that there could be no ''runs" on banks
in time of stringency, and no panics be-
cause debtors are unable to obtain legal.
tender money. i believe that the time
has come to nationalize our money. We
took one long step in that direction when
we adopted our national banking sys-
TEN. We taxed State bank notes out of
existence. substituted national currency
Tor purely local currency; and it was
only short time after embarkinc in this
new enterprise until we discovered that
the bankers Of the country-- were masters
OF the financial situation. We find that
instead OF serving the people they served
themselves. In 1882 there were 1858,
O0O, 900 of bank notes circulation Since
that time about $4,000 O,000 of it has
been retired, not because the people did
not need the money, but because the
banks realized profit from the sale of
their bond at premium, the bonds that
they had deposited rs security for circu
lation- Our experience and that OF other
nations has been that banking corpora.
tions are private schemes for profit to indi-
vidual persons, and our observation has
taught us that there is only one safe way
to avoid the dangers to which that sort
OF financial management subject us; that
Is for the nation itself to prepare its own
money, every dollar of it, Issue it to the
people directly though government
agencies, wholly without the use ard in ,
tervention of banking corporations or
other private agencies. .s,-,
You understani ,Se f6reg,:ing;
tnM wousr1nyr Aiy sdbsts
States notes, or @eas9ry notes, il you
choose, for national bapk notes as they
are ueIng retireG, ouvl would substitute substitute
that sort of money fdrall bank issues;
and would do even more than that;
would not make money out of a promise
TO pay; that is to say, would not write
out promise to pay money and call that
A,,,se l~,,k
of paper just as we are now using piece
that money, providing in the law what
its functions shall be- That puts the
influence, the credit, and the power OF
all the people behind the money. Then
we will have gold and silver and paper
at par, one with the other; and that, If
we will reduce rates of interest down to
the level of profit on labor, so that men
can make as much money farming or
blacksmithing or carpentering as they
can by lending money, will give us a
safe currency, sound financial system,
and no more money panics.
~ .~ r%*
| Lr-L.ePebK-oaslEH
believe thst. both of the parties are
afraid Of Wall street., They are not
afraid Of the people. They say to me,
"Don't you know you can buy more with
a dollar than you ever could in the his
tory of our country2" That may be
true; but suppose you owed 81, 900. Ten
years ago 600 bushels of wheat would
have paid the debt Now it requires
1,400 bushels to pay it. Suppose you
have $5, how much more taxes will it
pay2 How much more interest on your
debt, how many more physicians bills,
how many more lawyers fees will dol
Lar psy2 Will it pay four times as much
as it did, and how will a dollar cost to
get it?
tramp ran UP to a gentleman one day
and asked him If he could tell him where
he could get a good square meal The
man pointed out place where he could
get meal for quarter. The tramp
thanked him and staIted off, but had not
gone far VIII, he. came running back.
You were so kind to tell me v here I
could get nice meal for quarter Will
you now. tell me where I can get the
quartefs" Aud that is the way with the
politicians: they keen TELLING va what we
cuu guy LOT uonar, put tney 40 not tell
us where we can get the dollar.
+r*s
A bill has been introduced in Congress
making it unlawful for any railroad,
steamboat, or other transportation com.
pany, doing an interstate transportation
or carrying business, to transport or per-
NIT to be transported over its li"es any
body OF armed men, whether assuming
to act as detective or police force or not
L ~ =
WISE SAYINGS BY WISE MEN.
There is no; more insigoificant thing,
intrinsicaily, in the economy Of society,
than money, John Steart MI
Thoma 4 ~ VA s.ssszs .sTo preserve
the indepenaenGe of.the people we must
not let our rulers lcad us with perpetual
debt