The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-02-13

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gold trust.
Tic shrinkaga in the value OF prop
ertv under the rapid upward flight of
cold is SO great as to amount in many
instances to almost virtual contisca-
ton. SO rapid arc the changes and SO
otcat the dislocation of prices rs to
render impossible anything like sta
bic adjustment OF the relationship
which should exist between the differ
cnt clements that constitute the busl-
ness activities nf a people. Under
present conditions, universal appre-
hensi0n and disirrlst prevail; so far
from engaging in enterprise and IN
vastmcnt. the prevailing sentiment
even among our most successful busl.
ness men, is to stake down and try and
hold what they havcmadc; nothing is
expected to pay, or deemed safe, which
is undertaken under the blight OF fall
ing values. OF our sixty billions OF
exchanges. 50 per cent. rests on cOnli-
dencc and this confidence is based on
our volume of 500, 900, 900, and 81,
100, 900, COG OF this money depends for
final redemption on the slender Treas
ury reserve, often under 800, 900, COO
in gold. This gold is unprotected-o of
all the nations, ours is the only one
which in this intense struggle for the
scarce metal of final redemption,
leaves it's gold open to be looted by
every government and capitalist OF
Europe. Consequently, we see our
gold shipped day after day by the To-
cal connections of European houses,
and as the Treasury reserve is depleted
millions upon millions of gold bonds
have to be sold to replenish it, loading
our nation with debt and impoverish-
ing our people. Over this slender basis
of final redemption, the gold standard
gives England practical lien on two
billion Of American securities, three
fourths of these payable in gold, and
places her in the position of creditor
on call; in less than thirty days she
can drain us of our gold and complete
ly destroy our financial system.
Acting in accordance with Judge
Brawleys theory, that in all financial
legislation we should seek information
from the bankers, our public men have
sought advice from the great banking
princes of the Northeast, and these
representatives of the American branch
of the gold trust have not stickled to
sacrifice their country 10 their own
paltry pecuniary interests by recon-
mending and enforcing q policy OF
finance which has strangled great IN
dustries, crippled her resources and is
fast impoverishing the masses of her
people. A policy which has placed in
the hands of English capitalists the
stability Of our currency and finance,
gives them complete control over our
foreign exchanges and the power to fix
the price Of our exports.
Never in the history of the world
has there been q more forciblc illuStra-
ton of the thinking, interested few
ro5bing the ignorant, unthinking
many. These men first nelltralized
the natural advantages of this country
by taxing with tariffs its agriculture
to bestow boulitics on its manufacture
ers; this, Mr.. Blaine in his Twenty
Years in Congress, styled "cnlight-
encd selfsllness." When, through
the masked agency of Legislative divid-
ends, they had acquired the currency
of the nation, they then joined the
moneyed interest of Western Europe to
plunder the productive masses of the
civilized world, by striking down sill
yer and forming the gold trust. This
was nothing more or less than zen
liehtened robbery" In the language
of Sismondi, they have added the
dangerous weapons Of the banks to the
we'll tempered arms OF protection. L"
The capitalists of Western Europe,
with the Rothschilds and the Bank of
England in the van, are robbing civil
lization; our Northeastern capitalists
are robbing the South and West. CIV
irg the lions share of the plumber to
Western Europe in the shape of 80
cents wheat and cents cotton. These
leaders of the American branch of the
gold trust at the last extra session OF
Congress, asscverated that if Congress
would repeal the purchasing clause of
the Sherman act that confidence would
be restored, our local money bags un-
tied, European capital would flow in,
our great Staple products would ad-
vance and the country regain its pros
perity. OF course, Congress did what
they said. What was the result! Were
their predictions fulfilled? Not at all.
Silver Immediately dropped as COM
pared with gold about 30 per cent,
and with it down went our great staple
products; and now with bankruptcy
and ruin staring us in the face. they
again come unblushingly to the front
and declare if Congress will fund the
Treasury notes into gold bonds, give
them the interest on these bonds and
furnish them again the same amount
OF notes to lend out and m ike sec
ond interest, that the country will re-
gain its lost prosperity. They 60 even
further and say that the great drop in
value has made the silver certificate
virtually asilver greenback and squint
at their retirement in the same manner
with view of finally loading our
coined and uncoined silver on the
government to be disposed of at gov
ernment risk in the sea of commodi-
ties.
Their ultimate object is very plain,
to remove from the monetary sphere
all government paper and silver and
conIine our currency entirely to gold
and notes of National banks. No one
beyond the 4, &c of finance need be
told that this would result in q paper
despotism, automatically controlled by
the National banks. The gold stand
ard, we are informed by such leading