The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-08-03

The seoarg~ which la. Fallen Upon
America. workers-One of the Great
..t Question. In Our CivtiiEAtion--'o
Liberty. What Crime. Are Com mItssd Ia
Thy Same"'-The People Are Aroused
at Last
lCopyright. Isaa. by American Press Assooia-
ton
The past 90 years have been full Of ex-
pensive lessons to the American people
The unnecessary sacrifice Of life and
the loss Of property To its rightfui own
ers during this span Of years have ex-
ceelled many times the devastations Of
the late war, and the great wrong Will
continue 10 affiict its cruel scars on the
character of our people for many gen
erations. This pitlless scourge has fall
en-, too. in greatest fury upon that por-
ton Of our people who have been hon
estly striving to accumulate by produc-
ton. the noblest Of all methods known
among men To fully understand the
present deplorable situation We should
look ar few antecedent facts which lie
beyond the period indicated in the cap
ton of this article. Thirty years is but
a span in the life Of nation, and good
or baleful influences planted in the field
Of national life barely find time in so
brief a period to show their fruitage.
At the close of the war, 1865, the cir
culating media Of the United States were
in the hands OF 25,0O0,O00 people in the
north We now have g., 000, 900 to sup
ply and have less money in circulation
than we had at that time-that Is to
say. the demand for money, reckoned by
our money using population alone, has
increased over 80 per cent since 1865,
while our stock of money, as can be cas-
! ily shown, has in fact decreased. The
inevitable results of inflated credit, an
enormous demand for money, with all
/ kinds of property at zero and drug IN
/ the market, are now visible to all eyes.
! To add to the delirium Of the situation,
part of our money, gold, is leaving our
/ shores. as 1t always does in emergencies,
while an imbecile and recreant admins
tration is doing its utmost TO force the
country to use but one kind Of money,
and that the kind which we cannot get.
PARALLELS.
The secretary of the treasury, Hugh
McCulloch, in his official report made to
congress Dec. 4, 1865, made an urgent
appeal for authority to contract the cur
rency, which he declared to be so redun-
dant as to foster idleness and unduly slim
ulate speculation. Unmindful of the i'm
portant fact that ten millions of money
less people had just been added to our
population in single day by the return
of the southern states, congress passed
the act of April II, 1866, which author
lied the secretary to issue bonds in ex-
change for United States notes, whether
bearing interest or not, and to retire the
notes. The secretary entered at once
upon the murderous work of destroying
our money, and hundreds of millions OF
it were committed to the flames. Mean,
time a great share of that which escaped
the treasury bonfres was called for il
the south to rebuild the fortunes of that
afflicted section.
; Stringency ensued. of course, but the
secretary and his home and foreign ad
l yisers We're inexorable, and so the worl
of cremation went on. Business and In
dustrial circles were unmindfUl and ig
norant of what was taking place. They
: knew that money was growing shy, bu
, they did not stop to look for the cause
4 but pushed ahead believing that tn
= rigor was of no consequence and would
. soon disappear. Six years of dlsap
pointment passed, and congress convened
: in December, 1872 On the 18th da,
/, of February, 1873, the act was passed
!, which struck down the standard silve
;, dollar and forbade its coinage. 1t Wa
known to money circles that the silve
!, mines in the west were rich in ore, ant
/ the purpose of this act, passed b,
d stealth, was to strike silver from tn
;, money metals, keep the circulating
g media scarce and thus enhance the valu
b of gold.
s Inflated private credit soon ran it
e course, and in October, 1878, the PAM
broke upon the country like roarin
It sea which had strayed from its barriers
a For six years it struck every part Of tn
d continent and submerged all lines 9
business. The men who brought it or
having copied from the British prece
dent, knew exactly what was comm
and were doggedly persistent in carry
ing it out. Contraction had been detel
Is mined upon. and contraction they woul
: have though the whole country be swa
lowed ND in ruin. With the panic sti
1t fragrant the country filed with tramp
'e and millions of men suffering from el
l. forced idleness, the SO called resumptio
act of Jan. IA, 1870, was passed, whic
Is provided for retiring the whole volun
a of greenbacks then outstanding.
y To allay apprehensions the people wei
told that the national banks would Il
I'D crease their circulating notes and thI
re help them out. But public sentimel
goaded into fury rose to such pitch
:" INDIGNATION that congress was forced
e. bass the act of Feb. %, 1873, know
I'd as the Bland law, which provided Fl
the purchase and coinage into standal
III 1lyer dollars of not less than s., OOO, %
L nor more than 1000 900 worth of BIT
to lion per month. This was followed
the act of May 81, 1878, forbidding t
y further destruction of greenbacks. He
OF was first blood for the people in the gre
ct struggle with plutocracy.
Confidence slowly returned as the S
yer dollars began to appear, but u
without occasional symptoms Of conv'
II sion, which plainly told that the mala'
had only been temporarily checked, b
C. not eradicated The national banks, {
ak consp1rauors In the crime, then co
menced to retire their notes as RAPID
II az silver dollars were coined. Mel
h while presidents. treasury officials, Gle
h ing houses and leading money cent
.tl simultaneously opened furious war
silver, which has been kept up from Il
day until the present time. Every
"a elimination known to the ingenuity
,u- experienced foreign and domestic ga
Il, blers and money sharks has been cal
''l' into requisition to discredit silver
oW drive it from circulation. The n
WI York clearing house. the United Sta
= treasury being member thereof,
VIC steadily refused to receive it except
.,ooo;a1 5eToSit 70 he Maid hack in kl