The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-05-02
OUR CURRENCY.
70 the Editor of the Dispatch:


ment issue, and now I shall try to go
back a little and see if I cannot give
you pointer or two on bonds and
National banks generally. 1t IS
general impression among the people
that United States bonds were once
a necessity ir order to raise money
which with to prosecute the civil
war. Some say, too, that National
banks were created to help carry on
the war by issuing their notes ana
passing them into general circulation.
The facts of the case are that the
bonds were issued not for the pur-
pose of borrowing money but to be
used as a means of contracting the
money by using them as a banking
basis.
In order to further strengthen this
noint. 7 know of no more forcible AZ
gument than repetition of the Haz
zard circular, which was issued by
the English Bankers, and referred to
the American bankers in 1862 for con-
sideration and adoption into our ii
nancial system. It reads as follows:
Slavery is likely to be abolished by
the war power and chattle slavery
destroyed. This I and my European
friends are in favor of, for slavery is
but the owning of labor and carries
with it the care of the laborers; while
the European IAN; led on by Eng
land, is for capital to control labor
by controlling wages. This can be
done by controlling money.
"The great debt that capitalists
will see to being made out Of the
war. must be used as q means to
control the volume of money.
ITO accomplish this, the bonds
must be used as a banking basis. We
are now waiting for the Secretary Of
the Treasury to make this recon-
mendation 10 Congress. 1t will not
do to allow the Greenback, as it IS
called, to circulate as money; for we
cannot control that"
We find now from a careful peru
sal of the above circular that the cap
italists urged upon our Government
to issue bonds so that they could buy
them as a banking basis, thereby
controlling the money Of this country.
In an evil hour the Government was
tempted, it fell and its fall shook our
country to it's very centre. You see
they did not want our greenback, yes,
our good old greenback to circulate
to any extent, for it was issued direct
to the people and they could not con-
| troll it. The Government blindly,
we trust blindly, led as a lamb to the
slaughter by these money kings, and
now what do we find as result?
National banks, and greater damn
alton never befell our nation than
these national banks.
Now for the system by which these
bondholders proceed to gradually
suck our life's blood, almost imper
ceptiblc to US, but doing it just the
same.
The Government makes an issue ot
bonds presumably for the purpose OF
borrowing money. These bonds are
! to bear interest at 3 or 4 per cent. OF
thereabouts and are to be sold to any
one who may wish to buy. Of course
no one can buy them, only the money
kings. They gobble them up, mind
you, get interest upon them, Now
they turn around and deposit these
bonds back with the Government at
an expense of one per cent, and get
permission to issue to the people in
the shape of bank bills, 500 for every
500 worth of bonds SO deposited
On these bank notes they get an in
terest varying from 7 to y cents.
making an aggregate interest of prob
ably Is per cent. collected from the
people at an expense Of per cent!
Remember that the quoted circu,