The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-09-08
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.
THE BONDAGE OF METALISM
A SUPERSTITION OF
HEATHENISM.
Money Must be Beyond the Control
of Shrewd Manipulators.

Money Must be Beyond the Control
of Shrewd Manipulators.
AS is we'll known to those who have
read my views upon finance. 1 hold
that no possible system of money can
properly perform its functions so as to
reduce interest and regulate the value
of money until all private banks are
abolished and all private institutions
receiving money on deposit for interest
are taxed out of existence, and govern
ment banks or sub.treasuries alone are
permitted to exercise banking functions
by receiving all moneys which the PEG.
pie desire to deposit at premium to be
fixed by law and to extend credit to
municipalities, States, irrigation dis
tricts and upon land for long periods at
the same premium, say two per cent.
AS to silver coinage it has been shown
that the ratio between silver and gold
of all kinds in the world is less than Is
to l, hence any pretense of fixing a
ratio higher than 16 to l is equivalent
to denying free coinage. l understand
Populists favor free coinage Of silver at
that ratio, only as long as the people
persist in the coinage OF gold, but gold
and silver should be demonetized at the
earliest day that the people can be
educated to drop metal money. Upon
this subject will simply produce
my remarks made in the Farmers
Alliance at San Jose, June goth.
Now, as to system of money, l
know of nothing mysterious o: difficult
in studying the money question, as the
banking interest would have us sup
pose. The only mystery is that an
intelligent people, in this age have not
before this, opened their eyes to the
fact, that the producer is enslaved by
the superstition, that metal alone is
money. Of all the heather supersti-
tions which have held men in bondage,
this is the most cruel and tenacious.
Men simply believe it by tradition.
Just as they once thought the earth to
be flat, or that there was divinity in
kings, which ought not to be questioned.
But when We examine the money
question regardless of any persons
interest, in the light of science, and
for the purpose Of truth only, we find
that this Divinity, with which gold and
silver have been crowned king and
despot of the industrial world, is mere
myth, made to uphold class, and
enslave the toiling masses.
If the position of the metal money
men is true and sonnd, they need not
fear the discussion it will receive in
Alliances. But they do, they quake
with fear. Why is this !? They fear
the overthrow OF their idol; they rush
with vehemence to its rescue they
assault with abuse and fanatical cries of
''impious," those who preach new
doctrine as when Paul preached God to
the Greeks. We hear the cutlery of
their Organs. "Great is Diana of the
Ephesians," melted by the silver
smiths and goldbugs now, as then, and
for the same reason, for by her, their
craft gets much wealth.
Money is like railroads, mere i'm
plement of exchange. Scientifically it
ought not to be commodity. 1t is
like the blood of the body, which cir
culates through all parts, carries every
particle to the desired place, and main
tains the whole in soundness and
health. AS it is a mere medium to
effect exchanges, its volume should be
regulated with reference to the value Of
products in course of exchange. This
can never be done by taking a oom-
modify of extremely limited volume in
nature, like gold or silver and stamping
it as money. Why is it that every
product must be so sacrificed in value
when it is necessary to raise ready
money? Yet every one knows this is
so. If the producer must exchange, as
he must, is it not most cruel system
which fixes the medium of exchange in
such commodity, as will constantly
compel the producer making this
exchange to lose 80 much This
standard of the metal men, being lin :
tied by nature beyond the power OF
governments to increase its volume and
inadequate to the ever increasing VOL
ume Of products in exchange, enables
shrewd mapipulatols to control it at
pleasure, and play with industry to
their advantage as a cat can with its
prey, Money for the purpose of effect
ing exchanges, may be whatever SOW