The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-03-10
SAM JONES ON
The Present Trouble Due to Igno-
rance, Egotism and Infemy.
He Characterlzes Congress as a Co1Iec-
ton of Hox-Ankled. Bandy-LeGged.
Prainiess Jackasses, Command
ed by Satan Himself.
i~COPYRIGHT, 1894

LCOE4 h4Ga1, 1871
CARTERsvLLE, Ga, March Sd in
tended for this letter to begin a series
of character sketches, but have CON
cluded to devote it instead to the fnan-
cial problem.
I arrived at this conclusion after
reading some letters which have come
to me and hearing some things on
hat question.
One Of my correspondents says that:
The financial question involves all
business questions, including mercan-
tile, farming, mining, manufacturing
and the employment of all labor, every
where and in every department OF
life He says: Money is property
on the one side, and everything of
value on the other side is property.
The one is a circulating medium, a
yard-stick, and fixes all values"
The proportion of property IS as fol-
lows: One billion seven hundred mil
lions in money; all other property, sew
entv billions Of dollarsin value. There
fore, if the one billion seven hundred
millions of money is used as the yard
stick to measure all other property,
then we can see very readily how the
few are holding the vantage ground
I'VE the many.
When M billion of the money prop
crty of the country is in the banks of
the three cities Of New York, Boston
and Philadelphia, lying idle to-day,
and the seventy billions Of other prop
ertv almost idle, having shrunk in value
nearly One-half within the last twelve
months, then business paralysis and
commercial depression are inevitable.
Does Government favOritism, by its
protection of National Banks in the
taxing of State Banks, have anything to
do with this abnormal state of things?
Has money gone up as all other com
modities have gone down? Some n
Money is cheap. You may
borrow it at three per cent" But 1t is
not a question of interest. It's pur-
chasing power determines its value.
When values of other properties, not
money, are increasing we may pay
large interest and yet make good
profits.
Our money property is too small by
onc-half. We have too little money,
for SO much other values, or property.
Men whose holdings are nearly ex-
clusively in money and securities, are
interested in the contraction Of the
currency, or a single gold standard.
Every advance in money enhances
their wealth, at the cost of every other
man whose holdings are IN other prop
critics, not money. They are the men
interested in the contraction Of the
currency. While, on the other
hand, the expansion Of the cur
rency will work to the in
terest of commercial values, such
rs manufactures, railroads, farms,
mines, etc. The men in these indus
tries are the men who have built L
and railroads, our factories and
furnaces, who cultivate u farms and
produce our food and clothing. 1t is
this class Of men who are now il debt
and can find but poor markets fortheir
products and but little employment
their willing hands
The contraction Of the currency viii
make these classes less able to pay
their debts and push their enter
Increase the purchasing power Of
the dollar one hundred per cent. and
you increase the burdens of the debtor
class in the ane ratio.
Can this inspire confidence? 1t will
inevitably produce encouragement
and despair, unhinGe the mind,
cause suicide, and bring on complete
paralysis in business.
Money is now the best property in
H. --o~1I A,,I tho raItinc who ho-o |
money know it, and they will hold on
to it because it is the best thing in
sight.
| heard Mr.. Ingalls, say, in his lecture
the 'PrOblems of the First Two
Centuries of Our Country that
men would hoard good money but
doubtful money. He said when
one had a silver quarter, not silver, |
not having the right look and ring, he
lid not put that quarter away and
Keep it, but he put it off on the first
Banana Dago down on the street, or,
f it was on Saturday that he made the
discovery that it was not a good quar-
he put it away for the contribution
basket at the church the next day.
True, men will not hoard money
when there is something better than
After all, if it's a want of confidence,
What will give confidence? The same
hing that gave the Dutchman conf
lence when a nan who owed him
money had the money. Then" said
he Dutchman, "if you has the money, I
want it, but If you had not had
he money l was obliged to have it
The ability Of the debtor to pay begets
and nothing else viii.
Now, if congress will repeal the ten
cent. tax on State Banks, and give
IS forty-four mOnied centers instead of
me, free coinage of gold and silver with
parity Of the metals. until our circu-
reaches at least fifty dollars per
tax industries as little as pos
ible; protect our manufactures so as
lot to build upmonopolies; tax the peo-
lie as little as possible; issue no
nore bonds. for a nOn-interest bearing
,ebt is easier paid than an interest
debt; last but not least, stop
he gambling bells Of Wall street. all
IaaIiU-S in Trrr,-aS and rlrr1ar;opc in