Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-09-18
THEN AS NOW.
IN JACkSON'S TIME THE MON.
EYED POWER TRIED TO RULE.
sold Hickory, Declared That s. BY
the Eternal!'' lie Wouldn't Have
II S0-The u. 5. bank Was a Men.
ace and Had to Go.

"Oid fl1ckOryS Declared That s. BY
the Eternal!' lie wouldn't Have
II SO-The u. 5. Bank Was a Men.
ace and Had to Go.
The particulars OF the great fight
between President Jackson and the
money power" have long been buried
in the mass of literature, and conse-
quently are inaccessible to the major
ity CT people.
The accompanying extracts from q
speech by Hon. Charles III. SchreineI,
at the Sherman House, Chicago, are
hereby commended to thoughtful cit
liens: First, to show them that there
is such thing as the money power;
second, that the controllers OF the ma
tons or peoples currency and credits
constitute that money power.
They are taken from an excellent
pamphlet issned by J. C. Roberts, of
Chicago, and are as follows:
History on the money question is
simply repeating itself; just as l my
self heard and remember it sixty years
ago, when Andrew Jackson was Pres
ident of the United States. 1 am an
old man and remember we'll the great
battle that the American people, led
by General Jackson ON the one side,
and the great money power, led by
Nicholas Biddle, the great money king
OF that day, on the other side.
Sixty years ago we had but one
great corporation in the United States.
That was the old United States bank,
with capital of $35,O0O,0OO and a
charter that expired in 20 years. The
great money power of that generation
was concentrated in that bank and its
branch banks in all the States of the
Union. Thirty.tive millions do not
seem very big when compared with
the corporations we have now, but the
old United States bank had one vast
advantage over all other corporations.
We had no United States Treasury
then, separate and apart from that
bank. and the law required that all
the money belonging to the govern
ment should be deposited in that
bank. This gave its managers millions
OF money and vast power, for money
was worth from l to 5 per cent. a
month, and no restraint on the amount
they could issue, except their good
faith.
Banks then printed their own paper
money, and the law allowed them to
circulate 50 in paper money for 81 OF
capital, with no restraint but their
good faith to prevent them from circu.
lating 800 to 81 of their capital,
which was often done.
Nicholas Biddle was President oi
the great bank. He was the money
king OF that day and generation. He
was not only banker, he was q
scholar, an orator, an author and 8
Democrat, and had supported Jackson
at his first election. He lived in 6
marble palace ON the Delaware, Il
miles above Philadelphia, and there
in that great palace of pure whit.
marble, with great Corinthian col
umns, this money king dispensed ,
hospitality equal almost to any kin,
in Europe. Thousands of peopl
thought him a vastly greater man tina,
General jackson.
was a boy then. IA or Is years o
age, working in printing office, and
remember all the papers announce,
one day that Nicholas Biddle woul
pass through our village. We had n
railroads then. People travelled in tn
old stage coach or in the canal pack
cts, four or five miles an hour. 70,
will hardly believe me when l say tha
people came 80, GO, 80 and 100 mile
Game OH foot, on horseback, in wae
ons, any way and every way. Cam
for what? Why, to see the grea
money king, Nicholas Biddle, as b
stood on the deck of the boat, goin,
north to take command of his part,
in the fight against Jackson!
These good people wanted to tel
their children that they had seen tn
great money king, Nicholas Biddle
"the man who had crushed Genera
Jackson" Of course Jackson was no
crushed, but they were sure he woul,
be.
| Well, some time before Biddle',
charter expired he took trip to Wash
| ington to have q talk with his ther
friend Jackson about new charter
for his bank. The old one would ex
pire in 1886, and as Jackson was q
candidate for reelection he thought i,
would be a good thing to tell him
about the vast power and influence o
his bank and its many branches.
lie told Jackson that the merchants
and men OF affairs through all the
States were as rule largely indebted
to his banks and that through the in
iuence Of his branch banks he could
control the election of any State in
the Union.
Then sup rose" Andrew jackson
and with suppressed emotion said:
Mr.. Biddle, if that is true, and
think it is, tell you here and now
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