The record-union., 1896-12-21

change of commodities and services
among the associates and the public.
Second = To alleviate the sufferings
incident to, and avert the social dan
gers which may arise from a constantly
increasing class of unemployed, by
furnishing to this class useful occupa-
ton, and saving the wealth thus pro-
duced for the use and benefit of the
actual producers and their dependents.
Third To tighten the burden or
charitable institutions, by establishing
one self-sustaining.
By and through such employment OF
idle labor as aforesaid, this ASSOCIATION
aims to furnish food, clothing and the
comforts of a home to those thus uh-
employed; establish depotS for mutual
exchange; operate boarding-houses Tor
the same purpose; and also provide
for education, the elevation of charac-
ter and the amenities of life, by MAIN
tanning schools and other places of in
struction.
The plan contemplates the issue OF
labor certificates which Will be re-
ceived by merchants signing the roll IN
return for goods. and these checks Will
then be received by the association III
return for articles which it manufac-
lures, and produce which is left with II
by its members to be sold
The organization, the speaker con-
tinued, acted the part of a clearance
house between producer and consumer,
and the Supreme Court Of the United
States had decided that labor eX-
changes had the right to issue checks
for the purpose of balancing accounts,
without paying the 2l2 per cent tax
usually charged banking institutions or
clearance houses.
Again the speaker referred to the
money question, taking the stand main
tanned twenty centuries ago by Ar1sto-
tie, that there is no such thing as nat
ura1 money" and quoting Benjamin
Franklin to prove that iron has more
| intrinsic value than either gold or sill
Yer. He also quoted Noah Webster to
show that anything that passed cur
rent as a balance of accounts is money
and by degrees he came around to the
original proposition that the present
banking system might be dispenses with
by an issuance of bills of exchange,
drawn upon consumers by producers,
and vice versa. The proposition was to
wipe out the credit system entirely.
The bills of exchange proposition was
dwelt on at considerable length, in or
der to show that once the system was
III operation it acted as an endless
chain, and that other money was en-
tirely unnecessary. These checks We're
more desirable than gold, as was shown
by the fact that in Washington last
year they We're at a premium of :
cents on the dollar. In Stockton to-
day they are more desirable than gold
for the reason that the holder can get
more produce for them than he can for
gold.
Throughout the speaker contended
that labor exchanges had been uni
versally successful. All that can be
done with money is to square accounts,
and wherever labor exchanges are es-
| tablished, labor exchange checks an
swer the same purpose as money. Con-
sequently it was contended that the
check is just as good money as any to
be had.
1t was not the intention of the or
ganiza ton, the speaker said, to rob any
man of his money, but independence
went hand in hand with labor ex-
CndDSeS. O0uer lndI system lilc pro-
ducer could say to the banker: Eat
your old gold; we don't want it," The
speaker said he had no objection to
moneyed men, as men, only to the way
they got their living. The bedbug an
swered the purpose of a bedbug we'll
enough, but the way it got it's living
was the Objectionable feature.
He ended with an appeal for those
present to organize, and opened the
rolls for membership. While there was
some hanging back. the audience at
length began to respond, and when the
meeting adjourned at O'Clock to meet
on Tuesday evening for the purpose of
perfecting the organization, the rolls
bore the following names: George t.
Boyd, d. Power, Frank Cooke, l.. D.
Wilgus, DR.. Wagner, E. b. Taylor, +.
Balls. H. w. Baumann, c. L. Hunt, G..
w. Wilderman, Dr. Powers, w. j. Boyd
and George NJ Birch