The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-09-16
INNEAPOLIS WEDNESDAY,
OUR FINANCES.
The True Source of America S
Wealth is Retarded by
Gold.
VIEWS OF CHARLES X. lands,
OF VINELAND, N. j.

VINELAND, N. j., Aug. 5.-Our
representative had pleasant talk with
Charles X. Landis, the founder of this
place, and in reply to request for his
views upon the financial question, that
gentleman said:
Many people confound together gold
and wealth.
What is wealth? 1t is farms, dwell
ings, business houses, mines. coal, iron,
etc., railroads, canals, telegraph lines,
etc., and the products of industry. What
is needed to make this wealth transfer
able among the people, to enable them
to exchange it with each other? A me-
dunn of exchange. What is this medi-
um of exchange? Money, gold, silver,
treasury notes (greenbacksJ, or bank
notes. How can this wealth be con-
trolled by bankers and brokers? By con-
tracing and expanding the currency, or
medium of exchange. How can this be
made the most easy to do? BY limiting
the medium of exchange of a nation as
much as possible until those who have
the means to do sO-enOugh mOney-can
work this medium by withdrawing it
from circulation, or letting it out as cas-
lily as the engineer can work the valve of
a steam engine. How could this me-
dunn of exchange be limited the most?
BY making gold only legal tender. Why
is this illegal? Because there is a pro-
vision in the constitution to protect the
nation against this crime, by making
gold and silver legal tender. Why is
it crime? Because in the case of a
nation it shrivels up the exchangeable
values of all properties and industries,
wrecking the solvency, homes and well
fare of Millions of people. What is hon
est money? 1t is the money that assures
to the workingman the value of his la
Dor, to the farmer the value of his farm
or his produce. The money that does not
do this is not honest money by reason
of dishonest financiering. A bushel of
wheat is worth 81 .5O a bushel does not
vary, but any money that reduces it to
so cents is dishonest, even if it is gold,
double refined. At 81 so, and 20 bushels
to the acre, thai is only $50 for plowing,
seeding, sowing, reaping, threshing and
marketing 2OS square feet of land. At
SO cents all the farmer gets for this
work is $40, which is not cost. Is such
money honest?
What is fiat? The power Of nations.
Why have greenbacks and government
bonds value? BY reason of the power of
the United States, making the green
backs legal tender and commanding
that bonds shall be paid at a certain
time. When the power of the govern
ment makes silver a legal tender it will
be restored to it's value.
A misfortune to the country has been
that our administrations, either through
corruption or ignorance, have followed
the suggestions of bankers and brokers
of New York, engaged more or less in
foreign banking business. A bankers
idea or theories are different from those
of a statesman. The latter necessarily
requires creative faculty; the banker
the faculty to possess and to hold on.
The statesmen l speak of are those who
are honest and seek the public welfare.
The banker seeks his own private well
fare and the gain to himself or his firm.
This is why he does business. His
sphere is necessarily narrow and a sell
fish one. At the crisis of 1861, the
money that was offered by the bankers
to the government was offered at II per
cent, and not enough at that. The
statesman, Salmon p. Chase, solved the
problem by issuing treasury notes
(greenbacks), and relieved the nation of
it's necessities without the aid of bank
ers. l remember that he was at that
time assailed by the newspaper organs
of bankers as swindler, alleging that
these greenbacks were only worthless
paper They pretended that they did
1nf ho1i in fiof Ernr hot inn ho
government was independent of brokers,
ter for it, We never had more prosper
Gus times. 1t was fortunate that at
that time we had statesmen at the head
of affairs. Bankers make no study of
craftsmanship. l do not wish to say
their place, but bankers they are, and
they are not statesmen. Their capital
is money. Their interest is to create a
demand for it by contraction, and to ac-
cumulate money for themselves or firms,
and to make profits out of individuals or
nations. You would not go to a banker
to have your shoes mended, neither
should you 60 to them to mend the
finances of your country, because, con-
sistently with his business, his interest
CdQuOC D0 your luCeTcSC. he UOcS NOT
make two blades of grass grow where
one grew before, but his business is to
make you grow the grass, to reap it for
him, and place it in his NOW.
do not wish to say anything person.
ally in disparagement of the bankers.
They are handsome, we'll dressed and
clever-very good in their place, but you
must not go to Wall street or LOmb mbard
street for statesmen or angels. The uses
of money may be illustrated for an anec-
dote. Last winter two years ago was
in Monterey, Mexico. I saw walking
around the hotel tall, sallow man in
baggy black clothes, long tailed coat,
features handsome, intellectual and fine
ly cut. decided to make his acquain-
tance. broached that original subject,
the weather, and soon got acquainted.
He was from county in Western Texas.
How is business in your county?"
remarked. well, our people cannot do
much, as we have no money" he replied.
Everything has to be done by barter, I
am a lawyer by profession, and have
two large barns to hold my fees: one
barn for the old saddles, wagons, furni-
ture, and all the old rattletraps you can