The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-08-14
LIVE ISSUES.
Extracts From Tom Watson's Speech

Inoy say JnaC you are teeplS
concerned about free silver. You
are concerned about it, and you
ought to be. We are the free silver
party, but that is not all that we
complain of. That is not the whole
, of our grievance. We arraign the
government Of the, United States
and indict it before God and the
American people of high crimes
and misdemeanors against the PEG
pie. We charge that they have
governed this country in the inter
est of the few as against the many,
in the interest of the classes as
against the producer.
POWER TO MAKE MONEY.
And we further arraign it for
having delegated to individuals its
special prerogative to make money.
1t always has been and always
ought to be the privilege of the
Government to make money. 1t is
a power that belongs to the king
and to the sovereign. 1t ought to
be exercised by the sovereign and
by the government, and it ought to
be exercised for the benefit of all.
But what has been done? The
right to make money has been taken
from the people and has been given
to the national banks, until now
more than 5000 of them exercise
the power to create and issue money
and to expand or contract the cur
rency, to control prices and thereby
to affect the prosperity of every
citizen of the United States.
We arraign the Government for
having delegated this power to a
special class. We have no war to
make on the national banks, we
make war on the system and I say
that it is wrong. 1t is a power
that no individual ought to have
the right to exercise. tits power
that the Government alone should
have, and which it should exercise
for the benefit of all alike.
Furthermore, we say that the
taxes of this country are not fairly
levied. We claim that they do not
tax the wealth of the Republic.
The bondholders, the great manu-
facturers and the great corporations
of the country are untaXed. The
tariff is levied to very great ex-
tent on the actual necessaries of
life-on clothing, shoes and innum-
cradle other articles that are nee
essary to the people.
What else do we complain of
We say that the money of this
Government didn't happen just so.
A. great many people seem to think
that money was always here, like
trees and water and flowers and
skies and stars, and that it just
happened so.
A great many people believe that
God made money. God no more
made $40 than he did tenpenny
nail, or a nickel than he did a
ginger cake.
The Government made the money
and it still makes the money. 1t
makes it to facilitate business, ex-
changes and obligations.
SARCASTIC TOWARD EDITORS.
Many people seem to think that
the money question is deep and
terrible subject, and that it is be-
You'd the understanding of the
average mortal. They think that
it should be left to the politicians
and to the editors. God pity the
country that is left to the editors
and to the politicians.
My friends, the money question
is only difficult to the man who
won't understand or listen. II
money is made to carry on business
with, is it not true that the greater
the volume of business the greater
the amount of money is needed.i
AS population increases, business
increases and the supply of money
ought to increase.
If that is done, the equilibrium
will be sustained, but as the people
increase and business increases, II
the work which the money was in,
tended to do is constantly on the
increase, while the money itself is
on the decrease, where is the mai