The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-07-19

up all the paper money. which they bought for
. song, upon his intimatton that they might
exchange ii, dollar for dollar. for government
bonds bearing high rate Of interest. He de-
n0unced this funding scheme as q plot to get
the money and the wealth of the country into
the hands Of . favored few. The national
bank was eyen more pernicious. Listen to his
words. In . letter to Mr.. Gallatin in 1903 he
writes:
This institution national bank is one OF
the most deadly hostilities existing against the
principles and form Of our government.
Ought we, then, to give further growth to an
institution so powerful. SO hostile? Now.
while we are strong. it is the greatest duty we
owe to the safety Of our constitution to bring
this powerful enemy to q perfect subOrdination
under its authorities. The first measure would
be to reduce them to an equal footing with
other banks as to the favors of the government.
But in order to be able to meet a combination
of the banks against us in a critical emergency
could we not make q beginning toward an in.
dependent use of our own money through the
governments subtreasuries?''
He predicted that the special favors granted
by the government to the national bankers
would result In creating an aristocracy Of cap
ital which would dominate legislation, cor.
ruptly influence elections md substitute the
press.
he was still severer on state banks.
In his famous letter to John w. Eppes he en-
tered into an elaborate discussion of the dan
gers, the rascalities, the corrupting influences
and the swindling capacities of state banks. ]
mean Of course state banks of ISSUE
Mr.. Jefferson writes: And SO the
nation may continue to issue its bills so far as
its wants require and the limits of circulation
will admit. Those limits are understood to ex.
tend with us, at present, to $500 100000.
But this, the only resource which the gov.
eminent can command with certainty, the
states have unfortunately fooled away-nay
corruptly alienated to swipdlers and shavefx
under the cover Of private banks.
But although we have so improvidentlx
suffered the field of circulating mediums to BIZ
hlched from Us by private individuals. vet !
think we may recover it il the states win 20.
OPERATE with u.s."
In another letter he sums up the whole mat.
ter by saying that the object of these private
banks OF issue lis to enrich swindlers at ~
expense tSa OF the honest and industrious x6ft Of
What, then. were Jefferson's an.r.,., dr.
trines? Ananclai ooc
l. He believed in the free and unlimited
coinage of silver and gold. His report to that
effect was the law Of the land from 1792 till
1873. The ratio was slightly altered once. but
the principle was never violated until John
Sherman, the Republican, and Thomas F. Bay.
ard, the Democrat, demonetized NlYeI u 1873
On page 1,15O Of The Confessional Globe, part
2, second session, Forty-seco9d congress nS72 81.
you will find the proofs of what say. Mr..
Bayard's name is signed to the conference re.
g gSsE% Hafh s sgHsa down silver JUS
2. he believed tn q direct issue Of treasury
notes by the government in Quantity as great
as the needs Of the hour demanded and the
channels Of circulation could hold. In 1893 he
said the limit of the treasury notes the country
could stand was $500, OO,0OO.
Since that time the population and the bust.
| ness have increased more than tenfold. There
fore the country could now carry without de.
probation 81. 1000 of treasury notes, &C.
| cording to Jefferson's own figures.
How many do they actually give us?
Only $346 OOO, 900, not one-fifth of what Jeffer.
son said we could safely carry.
| All the balance of our paper money is merely
representative of coin which does not circulate
But the main question is, Has Jeffersons
warning proved to have been we'll founded
| Was he right when he said the national bank.
were institutions of deadly hostility to thu
spirit of our government? Was he right wher
he foretold that they would create an aristoc
racy of wealth, which would dictate the pol
itics and the legislation of this country? TIL,
evidences which meet us upon every hant
! show that his statements were not only true
but appallingly true.
Obtaining their supply of money from tn,
government at l per cent, lending it to tn,
business men at from to 20 per cent, clothed
! with the enormous advantage of CONTRACTING
| and expanding the volume of currency a.
| pleasure, the national banks have had sine,
the war the most amazing opportunities o
| making money at the expense of the masses O
| the people that any government ever granted
to q favored class.
Their net gains from this special privilege
| granted them at the expense of the people a
large, have equaled the enormous average O
600 per year for the last rs years. VIII,
doubts that they have corruptly CONTROLLED
legislation? How else can you explain the law
and the policies which have been adopted il
their favor?
Writing from Paris to Mr.. Madison, in 1881
| Mr.. Jefferson said that one of his chief Objec
tions to our present constitution was that it dit
not more strongly provide for the restriction @
| mOnOplies.
The corporation is dangerous enough, HEAVIER
knows But when you allow the resistles
power OF the corporation to unite itself to tn
| evil spirit of monopoly the issue of the foul co
habitation is tyranny of the most ruinous sort
Take every one of the colossal estates whicl
are today menace to the republic, and 70,
will see that monopoly created it. And rail
road monopoly has created more of them thai
| all the other branches OF business combined
We have no farmer millionaires-a fact tina
may be worth digesting at your leisure. W.
have few merchant millionares We hav
scores of manufacturing millionaires. We hav
many among the national bankers. But it i
in the corporate monopoly in it's worst form
that we have individual fortunes climbing III
into the hundreds of millions.
Consider the half dozen men who have grow
so fabulously rich from the Standard Oil mo
nopoly-a corporation which in its march t.
power has committed almost every crim
known to the code! 1t has subsidized news
papers, corrupted the ballot box, bribe(
judges, used railroads as accomplices in felony
driven individual property owners to beggar,
and ruin, and today has it's attorneys in tn,
United States senate to guard its interests.
Go read the record of the methods by which
Jay Gould and Stanford and Hun tington ant
Vanderbilt made their fortunes. The story il
ever the same-monopoly. And in nine cases gu
of ten it is railroad monopoly. No nation eve
allowed such magnificent robbery as we hav,
permitted to the railroad managers since tn,
war. Of the public land, which was paid TO
in the money of our taxpayers and in the bloot
of our soldiers, corrupt legislators have givel