The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-10

try on the face of the globe, vast and va
ried cline peopled with an intelligent in
dustrious, tenterprising people; that are
capable of producing surplus Of any and
all agricultural products. They know it's
the producing capacity of a nation or
country that makes it rich and It's credit
sound and not a few million dollars in
gold. that is borrowed of foreign bankers
on interest bearing bonds. If Secretary
Carlisle and President Cleveland have not
discovered that simple fact it is time that
they resigned their high offices and Secre-
tary Carlisle retired to the Mammoth
Cave of Kentucky and President Cleve-
land to Hog Island.
1t is time the people of this republic
with a debt of 80 billions of dollars staring
them in the face considered the difference
in cost of getting and keeping money in
circulation through our present national
banking system and national improve
nents. To get and keep in circulation 500
millions of dollars for one year by our ma
tional banking system will cost SCI ,436,-
$4,000. The same amount issued by the
general government to come into circula
ton by national improvement; say the
building of a railroad across the CONT
nent from east to west with feeders run
ming north and south would stand as fol-
lows: 800 millions paid for labor and ma
terial would be in circulation and would
belong to the people and not the banks
full 500 millions. Thus it would be ST.
o6l .436, $4,000 in favor Of national improve
ment. a Just and simple method to get
money into circulation, just think for a
moment how it would squeeze the water
out of stock and bonds of competing lines,
when they had to compete with roads that
cost nothing but it's running expense and
what blow we would strike the tyrants
and robbers OF England that joined
hands with the robbers and tyrants of this
country to rob and enslave the producers
by creating fictitious values by working
a ring within a ring.
Say five or six men receive a charter of
the government to build a railroad from
one point to another having received their
charter they proceed to organize Il stock
company, adjust shares and sell stock,
then they call meeting of the stock hold
ers and issue first mortgage bonds to get
money to build the roads with. If they
need million dollars of actual money
they issue and sell to themselves % mil
lions of bonds at 20 cents on the dollar.
When the road is completed and ready
to do business they adjust the tariff so as
to pay salaries to officers and supernum-
eraries and to pay or per cent on 25
million of bonds, 90 that represents moth
ing but paper. Thus you see they draw
from the producers from 80 to AZ per cent
per annum on every dollar of actual
money invested. Besides this, they hold
salaried office that pays them five times
as much as they could get in any other
capacity.
If the Peoples party and the free
silver advocates can unite on the
above plank it will remedy a multitude of
evils that are depressing the people. First
1t employs the idle labor that infests our
cities and towns and tramp the public
highways breeding crime and discord
filling our jails and prisons with wretched
humanity Second it gives us a medium
Of exchange that has cost us nothing and
has built railroad. 1t being built with
actual money forms the base for govern
ment ownership of all other railroads thus
the problem of government ownership of
railroads is practically solved likewise
the problem of getting money into circu-
lation Then the question arises how to
keep it in circulation. The question is cas-
lily answered. Just adopt another plank
of the Peoples party PLATFORM the grad
uated income tax. Say tax all incomes
of $50 and over, a two mill tax on $780,
and increase at the rate Of One-half a
mill on each additional $500. With a tax of
this description no individual, corpora
ton or combination could gather in a half
million dollars per annum. 1t would prac-
tlcally break up and dissolve all mOnopO-
lies and the money would cover back into
the national trasury to go out again and
render another service for the people, and
thus it would be kept revolving, each time
rendering service until our country would
bloom in beauty and prosperity. The free
coinage Of silver will restore our COM
merce and give US 60 or 70 millions of new
money each year.
The initiative and referendum will give
the people an opportunity to say what
shall and what shall not be law The
issuing of legal tender treasury notes to
come into circulation by national improve
ments solves the money question, the la
nd no
ship of railroads. Now we want plank
that will so completely undermine the ma
tional banking system so that it will topic
over Of its own weight. The plank that
will accomplish that is government postal
saving banks, another plank of the Peo-
pies party platform. With such banks in
existence no one would think of deposit
ing their money in private banks that are
so liable to fail when they have banks
with all the people and all the property
in the United States behind them.
$. w. Powell.