Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-05-10
produced by the revolution.

Definitely speaking, the new order
viii give: First, free lands: second, free
tools; third, free money.
Free lands, free tools and free mon
ey" are the ends that must be sought
after by the friends of man-true re-
formers of to-day.
What need to argue the necessity of
free lands when bonanza farming is
becoming the system of agriculture in
the west and soon will be the common
system of the United States? Already
only one-third of the actual plow hold
ers own, free from incumbrance, their
farms. One-third are encumbered by
mortgages that amount to an eXtortion-
ate rent, and one-third are renters.
Land monopoly must be brought to an
end, if by the Henry George plan, well;
but think that land limitation will be
enough. The financial policy of gov
ernment that has operated so as to
place the farmers of the northwest
hoDelessly in debt has brought ruin to
the south. The capitalists of Wall
street, New York city, and of New En-
gland have made the south tributary to
them, and the ownership of the pro-
ductive cotton lands will soon be by
syndicates of Yankee capitalists, if re-
lief cannot be had from Washington
to the southern agriculturists.
The southern planter, then, is no
longer n capitalist. He is q tributary
slave to the money power. The only
hope for the south and west lies in the
direction toward which the Farmers
Alliance points-the coinage of land
into money at a rate of interest, or
tax on circulation, like that of ma
tional bank currency, not above one
per cent per annum. | am not particu-
lar how the goal of free money may
| be reached. There are many roads
leading that way. 1t may be reached
| by the 'sub-treasury" path, or it may
be reached by the state bank route,
with land as basis for banking. But
we cannot have the old wildcat banks
! or wildcat bank paper again. But by
| state system of banking. authorized by
national law, the bills made 'receiv-
| able" the same as are national bank
| bills, i. e., quasi legal tender, the farm
ers will find relief, provided each farm
! er may hypOthecate his homestead as
! basis for banking stock in bank and
| security for the paper money issued.
! OF course that money, made practically
| legal tender, will never come home for
redemption, for the redemption of one
! money with another, both legal tender,
| is preposterous. 1t will never be called
for. Let us favor any measure that
| promises relief. Let us not be sticklerS
for our plan" l care not what road
| / take SO ! may reach the altar of safe
! ty-redemption from mortgage indebt-
| edness and IS per cent" that is eating
the world up. The trend of evolution
IS toward an increase of land values.
The cities will become tenantless by
means of rapid and cheap transit pro-
dnced by electricity and public owner
ship of railroads. Population will
spread all over the country and flats
in the towns will be Ito let" They
will be deserted. The workers will
own little homesteads in the free and
| joyous country, with orchard and pas
ture and small field to employ their
boys in the healthiest of pursuits and
the best adapted to develop true and
noble manhood-tillage.
The tools of production must be re-
leased from private control. BY capi-
talistS owning and controlling the tools
of production is labor robbed of it's
rightful reward. All that capital aims
at is reduction of wages. Not only by
not giving to the producer full reward
of his labor, but holding out of his
grasp the very wealth he produces, is
capital increased in the hands of the
spectators. That capitalists are cor
morants preying on labor is made plain
by the following from Ricardo's Econ
omy and Taxation" He says: SIT has
been my endeavor to show throughout
this work that the rate of profits can
never be increased but by fall in
wages" And John Stuart Mill saws:
eve thus arrive at the conclusion of
Ricardo and others that the rate of
profit depends upon wages, rising as
| wages fall and falling as wages rise"
The profits of investment in the tools
of production depend then upon how
great a per cent. may be held back from
the grasp of creators of wealth. Hence
to emancipate labor it is essential that
we free the tools of production"
Whatever shall be paid for the use
OF lands, tools and money must be
paid into the common treasury and not
TO private capitalists. We pay to-day
to capitalists interest averaging an
nually not less than per cent. on $780,
900, 0O0, 600. The amount of the yearly
tax paid by the producers of America
for the use of money is s1,9S0, 600, 900.
This interest may be reduced to 1 per
cent. and the people be relieved of an
annual interest burden of 81, $50, 900, 900,
reducing the annual tribute paid for
the use of the tool, money, to $3.50, ,000,-
000 and this will be paid to the govern
ment in lieu of other taxes
But what does it mean to free the
'tools of productions" First, it means
government ownership of railroads,
the biggest tool of production that
has fallen under private and corporate
control. Divert the cash paid to rail-
road corporations to enrich the Goulds
and Vanderbilts into the national treas
ury. Then we must build up cooper
ative manufacturing and SO do away
with private capital employing labor.
But what is the end of all this?
Pear We one another's burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ" That is
and ever has been the labor movement
the fulfilling of the law of Christ. All
things will one day flow like great
river in the channel of the common
veal What was the condition of the
first Christian society? What of the
primitive apostolic church? .'All that
believed had all things common -
Leonard Brown, in Texas Advance
Thus labor is gradually, but surely
getting its bearings and answering the
question whittier are we drifting"
figure the total burden of interest, div
idends and rent, resting upon the peo
pie in $780, as follows:
Bank, etc loans and discounts ...s 1000 900. 90
. Railroad indebtedness. 5000, coo 90
United States state, county ami
municipal bonds. 100000, ,oo
Farm and home mortgages. - 4,0No1lOO
Bonds of street car, ,waterworksg
and electric light companies brew