The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-10-18

Old party papers makes great hue
and cry over the amount OF money 1t
would have taken had the Populist bills
introduced in congress become laws.
They fail to show that the present con
yress, Democratic to the core, intro
duced bills making appropriations az
gregating the stupendious and incom-
prehensible sum of $lOl, 748, O34, .I. 90.
If those bills had become law it would
have created that many gold bonds
bearing a gold interest. Absorb that
fact, for last February the Democratic
administration issued fifty millions OF
bonds to get money for running expen-
ses, after absorbing the huge amount
derived from the Mckinley tariff law.
Now this debt they proposed to create
and introduced bills to that effect
amounts to $40. for every 20 cents
worth of property in the United States,
a debt greater by four times than was
ever dreamed of by the 'wildest-eyed,
'wooliest" Populist that was ever born.
Yet Wall street papers raise their
hands in holly horror against the Pop
ulists. But let us look at this matter
further. The POpulist plan was nom
interest bearing debt and not a gold
basis debt. Mark these two facts. 1t
is precisely like our grcenback money,
which has served the people for thirty
l., hnv a
cent of interest. Another fact worth
mention IS that the people owe tn ,
greenback debt to themselves and not
to the shylocks. The debts the Demo
Gratis would create would be owed to the
shylocks and payable in gold and bear
II gold interest. The Populist plan is
for the people to create their own mon
cy instead of borrowing it. of money
lenders. If they do this they save the
interest and have a debt that can be
paid, because the money that makes the
debt will pay it. Let us examine this
proposed Democratic debt little clos
err: The gold interest on that debt tor
one year at five per cent (the interest
drawn by bondsl amounts to over five
billions. 1t would take every voter in
the United State three hundred days at
Sl.25 day to pay it. 1t would take all
the wheat raised IN the United States
during the past twenty years to pay
four-tifths of the interest for one year.
Yet these fellows harp about the popu
list debt that would bear no interest al
all! The proposed populist debt beside
the proposed democratic debt is like q
mole-hill beside a mountain, with this
difference. the populist mole-hill would
not grow larger with interest while the
democratic mountain would double
every few years: and also this differ
ance. the populist mole-hill would be
cratic mountain would be payable il
gold not in existence. The populis,
plan is much better superior to the
Democratic plan as the sun is superio,
to a jack-o-lantern in the Disma
Swamp. If the people of the United
States could issue BAG millions of pape,
money and use it for thirty years with
out costing cent of interest. VIII,
should they borrow gold to-day and pa,
a gold interest for it? If the peopl.
need 500 millions Of new money VIII,
not create it according &c the Consti,u
tion and save the interest, instead O
borrowing it from Europe and letting
the interest feed and fatten a lot o
palnpered plutocrats across the seas a
expense of Americas toiling millions:
Il -s~-