The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-02-14
A CORNER ON MONEY


the request of the financiers who had
agreed to take the bonds, because they
feared the bankers would corner the gold
of the world against them if the time it
would be needed was known and the
methods by which it was to be obtained. !"
Thus spoke Hon. J. G. Carlisle, Secre-
tary of State of the United States, before
the House Committee last Monday, re-
lating to the pending sale of United States
bonds for gold.
The following quotation from Judge S.
M. Widney's financial address, made in
San Francisco, October, 1891, will be APP
preciated by the American public;
The owners of money naturally do not
want the volume increased. While it is
limited they can control the rate of inter-
est and the value of all labor and prod
ucts and can dictate the price of all prop
erty.
A corner on railroad rates is danger
Gus; so is corner on wheat, or corn, or
sugar. or wool, or any OF the staple
products But of all dangers a corner on
money is worst. A corner on money is a
corner on all the other corners combined,
and can control the social and political
as well as the producing, labor and prop
erty interests of the nation.
Producers, pressed to pay cost of living
and of production, must sell in the whole
sale market. A corner in money enables
only few to purchase, and they fix the
lowest price and pay out the least amount
of money to the producer The producer
is compelled to buy at retail all of his
various articles of consumption, directly
or indirectly, from the capitalist, who,
now having a corner on the products
charges the former producer the highest
price for cOnsumptiOn
Pharoah of old bought up all the grain
crop of Egypt during the seven years of
plenty at low price, and cornered the
grain crop. Then, during the seven years
of famine, advanced the price and sold
the cornered grain to his subjects, until at
the end of the first year he had all of
their money.
During the second year he took in all of
their tocks and herds for bread. The
third year he bought all of their lands
and all of the people. He now had, from
the original corner on money, cornered
lands, for one-fifth of the crop forever.
Then the nation, to use a common phrase,
'busted up"
The tenantry and laborers of England
and Ireland are practically today sold in
to bondage to the none: Pharaohs of
England
On "Black Friday" few men in New
Government aid would have wrecked
whole industries.
Government aid in December, 1890,
alone prevented a nations calamity under
similar circumstances. And now with
over $S0,0)O,000 coin exported and the
United States Treasury practically de-
pleted and the financial reserves on
strain, what will save from a recurrence of
Black Friday?
Secretary Window said, in his last adj
dress at the New York banquet: Had it
not been for the peculiar conditions which
enabled the United States Treasury to dis
burse over $75, 900, 900 in two and one-h half
months last fall, the stringency would have
resulted in widespread financial ruin.
1t is asserted that few men in New
York control enough money on call to
precipitate a panic, or close most of the
banks, at any time.
Money owners will fight:
First-To make money scarcer, by re-
firing national notes.
Second-To keep the finances as they
now are, saying matters are good enough.
Third-Wlll try to shape legislation so
as to place the money issue under their
control at some concealed place.
Fourth-Will use every strategy to delay
legislation from year to year, in the mean
time reaping rich harvests from forced
failures.
1t was published in the newspapers at
the time that when the administration
was arranging to put out the United
States bonds in the war crisis the money
power in a contest, said to Secretary
Chase: UNLESS you do this, as we de-
mand, we will throw our influence in favor
of the Confederacy, float their bonds and
break the United States in two" Their
dictation was acceded to at once, to the
nations loss by the millions.
When the Geneva award had been
made and the United States had
SIS, 900, 900 to its credit in the vaults
of the Bank of England, Boutwell,, then
Secretary of the Treasury, wanted to bring
the gold over to this country; but, ac-
cording to his own statement, the bank
notified him that if any attempt were
made to bring that gold over bodily, in
specie, the whole power and influence of
the Bank of England would be arrayed
against the proceeding. And Boutwell,
was compelled to obey the orders of the
Bank of England.
While we are now at peace, we should
so establish our finances that our Nation
cannot be cornered in time of danger.