Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1892-09-15
The Present Congress and Financial
Relief.
MEssRs. Ep1roRs We notice

a recent issue of. your paper a clip
ping, giving the reasons of the Con-
gressional Committee Tor reporting
adversely on the sub-treasury bill.
As you appear to be impartial, and
desirous of presenting to your read
ers the arguments of both sides of
this questions, please publish the en-
closed article, which is favorable to
that side on. which the farmers of the
South and great North West have
set their hearts, and which they are
struggling so hard to have enforced.
J. S. FLOYD.
Although the report of the Com
mittee on Ways and Means on the
sub-treasury bill has already been
discussed in these columns, it may
be necessary TO again go over the
argument, so that we can keep clearly
before our minds the exact attitude
of our plutocratic opponents as shown
by. the action of their servants in
Congress.
No evidence is needed to prove
that freer and more general circu-
lation of money is the great demand
of the business interests of the coun-
try. Every one, be he a professional
man, business man, laborer or far
mer, only has to lock at the condi-
tion of his own business and the
emptiness of his own pocket-book to
obtain indisputable evidence of that
fact. And the evidence is just as
conclusive that there is not enough
gold and silver in existence to fur
nish circulating medium adequate
10 the demands of our business. All
money is based on the credit of the
government issuing it-the good
foith and .hones5y- Of its cihzens-
without regard to the material Of
which the money itself is made
When you take gold or silver dol
lar in exchange you do it through
the faith you have in the govern
ment's stamp upon it, and not be-
cause of the so-called intrinsic value
of the metal composing it. The in
trinsic value OF gold or silver is
wholly imaginary. The best money
that we have ever had is the "green
back," which was issued directly on
the credit Of the government and
based solely on the integrity and
good faith OF our citizenship. If
something tangible is needed as
basis for money, what is better than
products that have absolute intrinsic
worth-sometbing that the human
family is compelled to use every year
to sustain life and give comfort to
the physical man: In short, what can
be a better basis of credit than the
food and clothius of a people? 1t is
something that must be redeemed.
1t is not like cold metal that has
neither life nor ]ife-eiving proper
ties; that will not serve you as food
to sustain life or clothing to protect
your body from the inclement wea-
ther. The fruits of the field; the
necessaries of life grown in the soil
by the industrious farmer, is and
always has been considered the true
wealth of any country, and have been
more than any other form of wealth
the basis Of which . State or nation
has hoated its securities.
1t is also admitted by all fair
minded men that the present method
of distributing the money is unfair
to large proportion of our people.
The only ways in which money can
be paid out by the government direct
under the present system is: lst. To
those who are employed by the gov
ernment-office holders, and TO con-
tractors for public Improvements. I'd:
To the owners of gold and silver
bullion. Sd. To the owners of gov
ernment bonds. In fact, all money
is issued to the two latter classes.
All money that gets into the chan
nels of trade is forced to come
through one of those avenues. Now
it is very readily seen that a very
small part of our people get the bene-
fit of that "paternap' feature of cur
government, which practically forces
the balance Of The people into the
position of servants of those small
classes. Justice, nay more, the very
existence of our Republic, depends
on the extension of the benefits of
an equitable distribution of the cur
rency to as large proportion of our
people as possible, and taking out OF
the hands of few men the power
to throttle our business interests and
bring financial ruin and untold dis
tress and misery on the country at
their Will.
Impartial students of political
economy generally admit that fexi-
bic quality should be given to-our
currency on account of the varying
demand for money at different sea-
sons of the year. From September
to January the large bulk of farm
products passes out of the hands Of
the producer. Witha stable volume