The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-05-17
LIVE ISSUES.
The Red-shieId's "Best Dollar"

The Red-Shield's "Best DOllar.'
Says Mr.. Fawcet, in his book ON
"Gold and Debt"
cit is a trick of capital, in all
countries, to persuade the people
that their honor is at stake in the
payment of war-debts at the highest
valuation the avarice of the holders
may set on them"
AS soon as the national debt of
England had been scooped in at half
value by the false-pretenses of the
Red-Shield, a noise went up as Of
all Israel, from Cain to Ricardo,
splitting throat and nose over "the
sacredness of the public credit"
The din meant simply that all
England was mortgaged to the Red
Shield Fund Holders, who wanted
to settle in money so scarce that a
million people must sell their all,
and then starve and die, to get it.
So the new band of Herod butchered
"the innocents" as effectually as did
the old monster of Judea.
During our civil war, one part of
the National Debt of the United
States took the form of olive
Twenty Bonds'-that is, large
notes, bearing interest at six per
cent, payable at the option of the
Government after five years if de-
sirable, but not otherwise due until
the end of twenty years. Four
hundred and twenty millions Of
these obligations were bought by
Baron James Rothschild. For the
purpose of this purchase the green
backs had been pushed down to
almost their lowest point. When
gold had been so manipulated that
forty two cents of "coin" would buy
a dollar greenback, the greenbacks
were gobbled at that figure, and
turned into the bonds at pawn
brokerage of fifty eight dollars on
the hundred.
The five-twenty bonds were ex-
plicitly payable in ''lawful money"
and greenbacks we've explicitly de-
clared to be lawful money for every
thing except interest on the public
debt and duties on imports. Such
was the law. Nobody questioned it.
But, as soon as the war closed, the
English Red-Shield and the Amer
icanTory Three Balls began to
conspire for the immediate payment
of the five-twenty bonds in gold,
every "shekel" of which, owing to
their own iniquities, was still
"great" as against every green
back, and against every "epha" of
the peoples bread.
So great was the greed of the
bond-shark that even his pilot fish,
John Sherman, turned away from
him for a moment, with horror.
The fish "spake" thus:
81 think the bond holder violates
his promise when he refuses to take
the same kind of money he paid for
the bonds. x !; He is a re-
pudiator and extortioner to demand
money more valuable than hegave."
The word of the pilot fish was
uttered ON the 30th of March, 1868.
g "In less than ten MONTHS" accord
ing to the mouth of Daniel Woolsey
Voorhees,
"JOhn Sherman, then a senator,
advocated and procured the passage
of the the act of March, 1869, for
the payment of the bonds in coin,
which he had declared payable in
currency, thereby establishing the
open reputation Of a solemn and
binding contract, and fastening an
extortion of not less than five hun
dred millions of dollars on the
staggering industries of the country
as the speculative profits of the
operation"
Another Senator, Garrett Davis,
said:
''To guarantee or give pledge,
on the part of the United States,
that the bonds shall be paid in gold
or silver, makes difference in the
burden of the debt of seven hun
dred and fifty millions of dollars"
When history becomes truth,
Dick Turpin, Captain Kidd and
William M. Tweed, will be permit
ted to wear the lhalos of saints in
the presence of John Sherman and
the Red Shield. But the thing by
which such fiends have stolen more
property and wrecked more lives
than have all the pirates and pick