The herald., 1893-10-29
THE CONSPIRACY OF CONTRACTION.

standard upon the. country. The lead
ing money changers of New York, by
concerted action, closed their vaults
against western loans and coerced their
correspondents in the west to do the same.
Col. r. J. Hinton gave us the particu-
lars OF several transactions that warrant
this conclusion. One of these was
where water syndicate in Kansas had
perfected negotiations for large sum on
a Monday, and the money was to be
forthcoming on the next day. On going
to the bank the negotiators were told
that the deal was off; that the bank had
received notice that morning that no
more accommodations were to be ex-
tended from the leading financial houses
in New York to the western borrowers.
We now see that the organs OF Wall
street are piping lively tunes about the
good effects of the outlook for the repeal
OF the Sherman act. They say that bus
mess will at once revive and that many
OF the closed down mills and factories
will reopen as soon as the measure IS
passed. How is this sudden revival to
take place unless it is true that the
crisis was artifcially brought about by
the Wall street fnanciers and their
allies, who stopped the wheels of in
dustry by simply locking their vaults
and keeping the money they had drawn
into them from circulation? Having
accomplished their shameful purpose.
they are now willing to take their hands
from the throat OF the nation and let its
life-blood again circulate freely.
But the people of the United States
have in the meantime received an
object lesson which they will not soon
forget. They nave learned that the fate
OF every enterprise and OF all industries
is in the hands of few conscieneeless
men who can, at will, make times pros
porous or the reverse. They have
learned that there is not per cent Of
gold available in the country to meet
the outstanding obligations redeemsble
in that metal, and yet that the clique
who control the gold ale determined to
weaken the debtor class by demonetiz.
ing silver, which would at least give the
latter better chance to meet their
debts. They can plainly see that the
game of the gold-bug is to depreciate
all values and take advantage OF the
distress they have brought about by
adding to their already enormous &C.
cumu.ations.
Sir Giles Overreach, in Massinger's
play of A New Way to Pay Old Debts,
was sctusted by the very policy which
Wall street has developed in its attack
upon silver. When, through the un-
scrupulous agency of his man Marrall,
he had undermined the fortunes of all
his neighbora, and by usury got posses
sion of the great bulk OF the ready
money they had, he sends out his jackal
to buy up their estates at greatly de-
pTeciated value. 81 must have all
sellers and l the only purchaser" says
this willy and interruptions forerunner
of the Wall street conspirators, who,
having knocked all values on the head,
are now ready .c buy them mp for
song.
But country like this and a people
of the intelligence of the Americans
cannot be made battledores OF these ex-
pert players at shuttlecock. They will
block the game of ruin which the gold
bugs have 80 successfully played thus
far. They will see that the govern.
ment, which is creature of their
creation and control. shall not be made
to dance to the piping of coterie of
money sharks. They will say to them,
if you have been able by contraction to
bring the industry and enterprise OF the
nation to grief, we shall take that
power from your hands. You have
made it plain how the control OF about
two per cent of the metal wealth OF the
nation has enabled you to dominate the
business of the country, and to let it
progress or stand still at your will by
the pressure of button. There shall
be no more of this. Ii, even with the
two precious metals exercising their
legitimate functions side by side. there
is only basis of credit which is ridicu-
lously small in view of the mountain
OF obligations in the shape Of bonds and
securities that is built up ON them, we
shall supplement this basis of credit
with one that will be universally recog-
nized as sound. You have controlled
the purse to our sorrow. We shall now
control it to our great JOY and permanent
relief The circulation OF this country
we shall increase until it is sufficient for
all the legitimate wants of trade, in
dustry and development. That circula-
ton will be based on the broad basis of
the credit OF the nation, and it will be
of such volume and 30 distributed
that no clique OF usurers can control it..
The people of this country have never
yet had to meet crisis, financial or
political, which they have not been able
to overcome; and the present crisis, the
result OF heartles and sordid conspir-
acy on the part of handful of unscrup-
ulous plutocrats, they will know how to
handle. Had the conspirators not so
plainly shown their hand they might for
a time have continued their three-card
monte game. But now that the people
have seen the trick and detected the
mark on the cards, the jig is up. A free
people, with free ballots to elect a free
government will find permanent