The herald., 1896-10-18
DANGEROUS POWER OF rlONEY
Bonds and Bribery-Stronger Central Government
5Demanded-Bullets Ballots
An "
Free Angeles

coin, and this act would cause a demand
for it at their own price,"
When discussing this exception clause
In the committee, Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens
said "Sir, wish no injury to any, nor
with our bill could any happen. but If
any must lose let it not be the soldier,
the merchant, the lab0rer and the farm
er." The bill passed the house un-
changed; but in the senate the amend
ment known as "the exception clause"
carried; and the bill went back to the
house. In reporting it to!the house Mr..
Of the house will read the amendments.
They are very important, and in my
judgment, very pernicious."
In opening the debate on the amend
ments Mr.. Spauling said: "Mr. Chair
man, desire especially to oppose the
the interest on bonds and notes to be
paid in coin semi-annually, and which
| authorizes the secretary Of the treasury
to sell per cent bonds at the market
price for coin to pay the interest.
l am opposed to all those amend
| ments of the senate which make unjust
discrimination between the creditors Of
the government. The man
who sells food. clothing, and material
of war, for the use Of the army and navy,
| Is creditor of the government. The
| capitalist who holds your 1910 treasury
is creditor of the government. All are
creditors OF the government on an equal
| footing, and all are equally entitled to
their pay in gold and silver. -. I
am opposed to all those amendments of
| the senate which discriminate in favor
| of the holders of the bonds.
! Why make this discrimination? :.
-. 1t is an unjust discrimina-
ton, which does not look well
now, and will not look we'll in history.
| Who asked to have one class of creditors
| placed on better footing than another?
Does the soldier. the farmer, the me-
chanic. or the merchant ask to have such
discrimination made in his favor? No,
I sir; no such unjust preference is asked
for by this class Of men. ThV ask for
the legal tender notes pure and simple.
| Who then are they who ask to have
preference given to them over other
creditors Of the government?
. Sir, they are not generally
among the producing classes-not
among those who. by their labor
and skill make the wealth, Of the
country; but class of men that have
accumulated wealth, who are willing to
! lend money to the government If you
will make 1t secure beyond all question,
and pay it in coin. But how
is this coin to be raised? In
less than year what will the interest
be on it at 1910 per cent? 49,.
1t will be $S7,000,000, and one-half
of that amount, $43 500, 900 must be raised
every six months for the paying of this
interest, and has to be raised in coin,
which nobody holds but the capitalists"
| 1t is evident that Mr.. Spaulding re-
! garded this exception clause as the re-
suit of scheme of the capitalists to ex-
tort money from the people; and, being
unjust legislation, was 1t not anarchistic
in it's nature?
In closing the debate MT. Stevens
No.
words to say. I approach this subject
with more depression Of spirit than I
ever before approached any question. +.
I have melancholy
foreboding that we are about to
eonsummate eons,n1 & cur, cunningly devised
| injury and great loss to all classes Of the
union, except one. With my colleague
] believe that no act Of legislation of
this government was ever hailed with as
much delight throughout the whole
| length and breadth of this union. by
passed and sent to the senate. Congrat-
ulations from all classes-merchants
traders, manufacturers. mechanics and
laborers-poured in upon us from all
quarters. 1t is true there was a doleful
| sound came up from the caverps OF bull
3, lion brokers, and from the saloons Of the
associated banks. Their cashiers and
| agents were soon on the groundJ and
| persuaded the senate, with but little de-
| liberation, to mangle and destroy what
1t had taken the house months to con-
slider, digest and pass. They fell upon
the bill in hot haste, and so disfigured
and deformed it that its father would
not have known 1t. But this is not the
worst. The tenth amendment provides,
that any holder of the United States
legal tender note, If he have hundred
and upwards. shall draw or per cent
| w IN hoE IA fIov
hundred shall draw no interest.
=. Does anyone believe that
| anyone but bankers and brokers fixed
the depreciation of currency? 4.
"a: Was evere before such a ma
chine gotten up for swindling the gov
ernment and making the fortunes of the
gold bullionists in one single year?"
| Such were the statements of Mr.. Ber-
| Key the author of work on Money,
published long before the Populist party
was thought OF, and which work was
endorsed by leading men who had been
| members of congress and knew Of the
facts and legislation referred to by that
author.
Gordon Clark, in his little work, The
! Anarchist of Wealth, referring to this
matter. says: "The scheme of Shylock
and Doodle doubled the war debt. Hav-
! ing made their interest payable in coin,
1 they cornered the coin, and at the same
|
honest money for 81 in money of corrup-
| tin and plunder.. When the people could
buy the peoples honest dollar for So
| cents in coin, those who loaded the dice
of this confidence game heaped up the
paper dollars by the millions and con-
| verted them into bonds-every bond
bearing coin interest, with the principal
ultimately of coin value. Then they
| opened their national bank shops"
Says Berkey in his work. The Legal
| Tender: Thus were the most sacred in
| terests of the people, especially of the
! producing classes-the farmer, the me-
/ chanic, the manufacturer and the labor
| ing man-grossly and wickedly betrayed
| into the hands of the money power by
| the senate of the United States. 1t will
be observed, that the points contended
| for so strenuously, and successfully, by
the conference committee, were in sub
stance and effect the same as those con-
tanned in the plan of the bankers, Of
| fered at their meeting which convened
in Washington Immediately after the
introduction of the legal tender bill into
the house. That the senate was con-
| trolled in its action in regard to the legal
tender bill by improper influences is
not a matter of conjecture, but of his
i tory. Here begins one of the darkest
chapters of American history. 1t will
be found that every step taken by con-
gress from this on in matters pertaining
| to the finances of the nation has been
/ dictated by the money power"
| Would it not have been good thing
! for tho coI1nt,,v If tba MAJ so nf tho peOp1a