The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-08-30
OTTO REPLIES TO MCGEE.
lie Does Not Agree With the Senator's
Position.
LAND LOAN SCHEME Accom- THING
49, :, BY Any Means, as Europeon
r - onsas Tried 1t successfully
,ve7 5Ise en- a ~century-More Cur
enc W IS Badly Neeaed.
Ed THE ID i9}uS1oS.

Z Z $, s.: s5 August ,,,. Senate, Nc.
ic'ha an article ciriticisinp the land loan
scEelne which cannot go out as sound popu-
list doctrine without challange. I am as
tonlslled that a reputable thinker like Judge
MCGEE should allow such an article to es-
cape from his privacy. 1t contradicts itself
from beginning to end, and looks more like a
iabored product of a gold bug than the eff
tort OF an advocate Of scientific money.
In the first place the land loan scheme as
1t is commonly called is not new by any
means. Most countries of Europe have had
it in force more than a century and it is con-
s1dered the greatest safe guard to law and or
der eXtant. The senator calls the man groan-
ing under a heavy mortgage selfish if he
should use his ballot to ease his condition
| call 1t self-preservation. Will he tell us
how to get out of debt. SO long as the credi-
tors control all the money? He says he op-
poses loans on land, first: Because no money
could be got in circulation without being Dor
rowed. Vel how is it got out now except
by being borrowed out under the very worst
conditions; viz: favoritlsm or vassallage.
Many a man in Pennington county and South
Dakota has been refused a loan because he
was a known opponent to our present banking
say their souls are their own because they
owe the bankers or some one else in money.
The only money issued today which does not
pay interest from the start is our gold coinage
about thirty-hve millions. But as our export
of coin is on an average twice that amount it
cuts no figure. That an elastic currency is an
money enough for the work required. The
people have this year produced a crop
(wealth) estimated at many millions IN value.
Where is the increased volume of money to
exchange that new wealth with? 1t is not
here and the consequence is that the owners
of money Will set the price regardless of cost
of production. If the farmers should take it
into their heads to refuse to sell unless re-
munerative prices are offered. What then?
The Chicago Times-Herald says:
"The farmers must sell at the prices offered
and pay their debts"
Under present conditions we will always
be in debt. Here we have perpetual motion.
The idea here presented, that a system which
allows any one to borrow money whe has Sc
curity to offer, would cause a panic, is a stun
ner. If the bankers who owed their deposit
tors ten dollars for every dollar IN circulation
hadn't been afraid that their depositors would
demand their money faster than other fools
would psf their cash in their keeping there
would nave bean no contracting Of loans, nor
lock-ups of money and no panic.
With the government as banker and land
as security there would be no scarcity of
money and no loss of confidence and no
panics. This axiom will do to tie to: When
men could and make money by borrowing,they
would not borrow. No one in the good
times coming will pay interest tor the fun of
the thing or as we do now, to keep the bank
ers slick and fat. No senator, that would
regulate itself to perfection. What we want
to get rid of, is a liked volume of money
capable of being locked up in the vaults of
the bankers; until every industry bows down
and begs as a favor for the means wherewith
to create new wealth. His second objection
is a revelation. The most effective argumen
of che single takers is that which the com-
Tin y creates, should belong to the commu-
AK a whole, which is sound doctrine.
Lam. Md money are identical in several re-
spects. No one has or can create land. The
government says no one shall create money
but we as laA=zeayould be worthless without
people, so n q would be worthless without
a governmA # it is right to take from
land partl n.value created by the com
munlty fg3Syepg of all. Then it is right
for the government to charge a royalty to all
which should be uniform at all times for the
use of money, for the benefit of all. If only
the land owner borrowed money, then he will
be the only one to pay taxes. If we owed
80, 900, 600 1000 to the government instead Of
to foreign bankers and private individuals we
would have a revenue of 81, 200, 900. One
billion, two hundred millions at the low rate
of four per cent pea Annun, at a rate of two
tive per cent we would have enough to run
this government at our present extravagent
scale and could do away with all other forms