The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-22
RIGHT TO THE POINT.
The Crime of Usury-S Stand by the Omaha
Platform.

hlUd1 ~ lHE IOlNAs
The Crime of Usury-Stand by the Omaha
Platform.
Editor Representative:
T. At this time 1000. 900 farmers are cult
waiting rented farms that were once owned
by themselves or their fathers. These are
the fruits of a gold-bug civilization. 1t
il time to ask, What is the most direct
cause of this condition." My answer is
usury! or the power given to money to
increase In use. There is modern name
for the same thing that strikes the ear
with less harshness, for our laws allow Its
workings, its cravings, Its robbery 10
certain extent in the supposed interest OF
business for the lack of money enough In
circulation to buy and sell on cash basis.
But l apprehend that, stripped of it's COW
ering. exposed in its real naked deformity
anG it's internal savageness 1t would be
classed under what A. Lincoln called le-r
galized robberies.
Let us suppose that the above mentioned
two million farmers who might without
any great stretch of Imagination, be sup
posed to have either pre-empted these
farms or to have bought them in their
wild state for merely nominal price, and
yet hardly a generation has passed with
an average of good crops when lo-presto-
change! we find their once owners dis
possessed; and the farms are now owned
by money changers, loan agents and cent
per cent absorbers.
by what kind Of legerdemain have they
accomplished this miraculous change of
ownership" To answer this 1t is neces-
sary to ask another, would this change
have been made without the use of inter-
est on money loaned? And would not the
money have been paid back had not the
policy of contraction of money so reduced
prices Of all products Of the farm below
above
labor COST"
This brings up the question of the orig
in of usury. 1t was system originated
by the monied class to get an income from
the labor of the other fellows, on the same
principle that the priesthood demanded
one-tenth Of the products of the field and
one-tenth of the fiocks and herds as a
pious offering to Jehovah, while. they
never even shared with Jehovah the hogs.
But they were supposed to spend their
time in mnistering to the spiritual needs
Of the people from whom they draw their
physical needs; and of course 1t took more
in bulk to supply the physical wants of
the few than the physical needs of the
many, so that while ten shared, their prod
ucts with one priest, one priest could share
or more. And here is where the Unequal
ity comes in. If ten or dozen farmers
considered their spiritual benefits equal in
, worth to- one-tenth of their physical pro-
QuCtlOn al Tight. An even exchange
hurts nobody but when the fold is in
creased to a thousand it Increases the
priests living to a thousand, times that of
each contributing farmer. To Illustrate
when the whole wealth of the nation is
estimated at $4,000, 100000 and the people
ofthe nation are collectively paying inter-
est on at least $40, O00, 900 900 at per cent,
1t would require $4,000, 00O, 600 worth of the
annual increase of wealth created by Ia Dor
to pay the interest of our Indebtedness;
and that would not leave enough for the
most economical support Of the inha BIZ
tants; consequently the interest is never
all paid and the balance is added to the
principal, and the debt is continually in
creasing. When the annual increase Of
wealth above bare living for the produce
ers will. not suffice to pay the interest Of
our indebtedness, where shall we look for
relief? Will it come from increacing ou
bonded Indebtedness? DID, it come by de-
stroying $1,200,000,0 900 of the peoples green
backs in a few years Was that for the
benefit of the producers of wealth? Or
was 1t by demonetizing one-half of our
constitutional money? Or will good times
reappear when our rulers shall have d.
verified $500, 600, 600 more of the peoples
money into interest-bearing bonds, for the
benefit Of our European friends? Or is it
the contamination of the Hazards cir
cular the European plan Ito control labor
by controlling money"
Stop and think what a condition con-
fronts us-our children and our children's
children. We who boast Of liberty-loving
ancestors, who declared our inalienable
right to life liberty and the pursuit of hap
piness? ~
Our friends tell us that the common
people are too ignorant to embrace but
one idea Of reform at a time; that if we
should succeed in turning the rascals
OUT and remonetizing silver and excusing
the bankers from their onerous task of
furnishing our money and running our
government. And If we should succeed in
doing that. then, after four years of dill
gent study and education, we may be al
lowed to run another campaign of reform
and take in another imperative reform
If so be we can convince a majority to
help us. For don't they tell us that houses
are built by laying one brick at a time,
but 1t seems to me that masons don't have
to wait four years between bricks.
I, for one, prefer natures plan when she
finds it time to change she organizes her
forces, the SUMS direct rays, the springs
mOiStue, the long days, and she carries her
reforms all at once. The buds on the nak-
ed trees and shrubbery begin to swell, the
grass starts. the seeds sprout and soon
the face Of all nature changes for the re-
joicing of all mankind. So would advo-
cate the whole Of the Omaha platform,
containing not one plank too much Of re-
form and no reform but is absolutely nec-
essary for the welfare Of the people. Six
+ years had it been before the people, and
during that time no good reason has been
offered against one of them; and yet the
: most determined opposition is without
doubt against the first and second; are
we to walt for this to be removed before
: we make an effort to carry an effor to car
~ 1t In triumph against the most powerful
opposition that any part of it will encoun-
ter. Humanity forbid. Speak unto the
Children Of Israel that they go forward .
Give us unlimited paper money based on
the wealth of the whole, nation; the most
civilized money the world ever saw; and
may 1t soon supplant all the metallic
money Of the monopolists. Then we shall
Dnce more be free from the power of Great
Britain and her minions
Jonas H. Howe.