The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-10-05

| literally made an assignment to Shylock.
| History shows beyond a doubt that
since silver was demOnetized in 1873 and
one-half the worlds money practically
withdrawn from it's legitimate Uses as
full tender money, the nations thus af-
fected have suffered continuously indus
trial distress, bordering at times upon
revolution and civil war We need and
must have all our gold and silver as
II Oney and much more besides.
Let our government at once take pos
session OF every gold and silver mine in
the nation and eliminate this question
from sectional politics and lift it to the
plane of International settler ent If
gold and silver have intrinsic value as
money, as is claimed, private individuals
have no more business owning and con-
trolling the mines than they have own
ing the government plates from which
bank notes are printed.
When this has been accomplished, it
will then be time to ask ourselves the
question, What business have either
gold CT silver in the mechanism OF ex-
chang? Is their use not in fact a sur
vival Of barbaric man?
They have been useful in their dav
certainly, but have we not found in our
national bank notes based on govern
ment boz Dis something much better for
the measure OF values? Our fathers used
the horse and OK as carriers, but is not
tie Locomotive better? Our Or ndmOth-
ers were expert with the hand needle, brt
none the less do we hail the advent of
the sewing ma chine We began naviga-
ton with dugOut canoe, but the Gu
harder is surely an Improvement
y days labor is the unit OF real value,
rot so many grains OF gold. Let us
hasten to find here the true standard for
the measurement OF wealth. Ii you say
that England finds no need of much
mOney-that gold has been her only
standard for years-let US remember that
England has invested abroad not less
than $4,000, 900, 900, and that she
never adopted the gold basis till she be-
came the money broker of the world.
Let US also remember that the London
press reported a speech of one of their
great men on July s, 1885, as follows:
Sir Richard w. Fowler, NJ P, the
London banker and eX-lord mayor, said
the effect of the depreciation Of silver must
ultimately be the complete ruin of the
agricultural export interests of the Cnited
States and the development OF India as the
chief wheat and cotton exporter of the
world.
CALL TO THE PEOPLE.
SiNth-We need less class legislation
and more government of the people, for
the people and by the people. The Hon.
John III. Eckels, comptroller of the cur
rency, says i'll a recent article that the
present panic Is to be traced to class
legislation:
The ailment from which our financial
system is suffering, he says. "did not com.
| mence with the passage of the Sherman
silver act, nor with the passage of the
| Bland act. 1t found its origin long before
| either was enacted, at time when con-
greSs first assumed it to be, the chief end
| OF legislation to make, through enacted
laws, certain individuals rich. 1t was
| with this end in view that protective tariff
| laws were passed. and for this purpose
was brought into being the silver bill,
which is not only now returned to plague
its authors, but it is destroying the very
| interest it was designed to benefit. Such
legislation is responsible for the spirit of
| speculation that would create something
| out OF nothing; that organizes trusts for
the purpose of enriching few at the eX-
pense of many and looks upon the general
public, not less than the public's interests,
| as legitimate plumber. 1t has populariZed
an extravaganza in public and private
| expenditure that has led the government
| IN its public matters and the individual in
his private affairs to live beyond their
means. 1t has done more to strangle the
life of legitimate trade than all else COM
| bined, and to-day the people are seeing
the full effects of the evil in the menace
to honest endeavOrS through the diStruSt
bred by it
Let the people federate in every state
to dethrone this power.
The country calls to it.
Your hungry families are now calling
YOU TO it.
1t is the call of God
| believe in Il government by the peO-
pie. The masses of mankind have shown
themselves worthy when put to the test
Tie news OF every day is replete with the
h Dries of commonplace life of the com
mon people The masses of the people
the world over must rise at the ballot
and assert themselves They are SUI.
preme if they but know it.
\ recent report from Belgium tells us
that a more decisive popular victory
than that gained by the people over their
rulers has seldom been achieved. BY
shee" numbers and the demonstration OF
the pOpula' will the legislature was com
PEELED TO reverse a decision which it had
previously passed by a vote OF four to
one. The question involved was an ex.
tension of the franchise. The working
men OF the country demanded the right
to vote at the election Of legislators
Hitherto the wealthy classes alone have
had the vote.
The consequence has been that the leg.
islators have faithfully served the class
which elected them and neglected the in.
terests of the poor. The condition OF
the workingrnan in Belgium was there
fore fast degeneratng into one little
better than slavery. He is without the
protection of those laws which in other
lands in some slight degree restrain the
power and rapacity OF oppressive EN-.
plOyers. The people had come to despair
OF ever getting such laws unless they
could share in the privilege of electine
the men who make the laws.
When, therefore, the legislature rejected
the bill recently introduced to confer that
right, there was great Indignation. The
labor leaders ordered a general strike
that the men might give expression tC
the national will. The order was extern
sively obeyed. At Nerviers alone 10 fac
tories We're closed, and in the province
of Hainut Is mines and factories were
deserted, and the men thus liberated tC
the number of l., 900 Joined in the ranks
of the crowd who We're demanding poit
zeal recognition. The police and eventu
ally the militia We're employed against
them, but were resisted tiercely
In Antwerp the men quilted the docks
where they We're employed in loading the
vessels, raised barricades in the streets
and fought desperately with the soldiers
They secured firearms after few hours
and many of the police and soldiery fel
in attempting to dispense them. Similar
scenes were witnessed in Mons Liege anC
other large towns, besides the great
demonstration in Brussels itself. The
movement grew more threatening from
day to day until approached the proper
tions OF revolution. Then the legisla
ture yielded. On April 18th it passed q
bill extending the franchise by vote o
40 to -.
: WORD TO THE SHYLOCX.
Let Shylock be careful Money is {
mighty power, but not almighty. MeI
have been known to do things sometime.
in which they could see no money for thu