The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-01
THE MAIN ISSUE.

| 1nE MAIN lSSUk.
The People Must Hustle and Have no Time
to Think.
Editor Representative
This is busy age. Those of us who
hustle to make enough at them to pro-
vide decent living; and the rest of us
who can't get any have to keep up the
appearance of like hustle to prevent
ourselves being sent as Migrants to the
rockpile. Wonder if that isn't the rea-
son so few people are ever guilty of think
ing? The necessities of the animal man
or maybe it's fears-leave most of us lit
tie time to use our think machines; and
so they have become rusty and sadly out
of repair
Anyhow, people nowadays seem to
have mighty little time or attention to
| give to politics. We need therefore, to
concentrate our efforts on the main ISSUE
| And so l want to emphasize what, in my
| opinion, is the distinctive contentious If
the Peoples Party the fundamental
| principle which all our efforts should
seek to magnify. And this, for want of
a shorter name, I'll call "The Sufficiency
of the Legal Tender Fiat of Govern
ment."
The American people have been af-
| f1icted with lots of rot on the money
| question. Learned men have labored
| hard and unfortunately with much sue
cess, to befog the public mind. Teach
| ings false in fact and logic have been in
| spired by the interested class and pro-
mulgated from high places, that the peo-
| pie should be kept in ignorance so that
Il 1fy01 hxyC fnV - 1ir,P ,,voo
| might be perpetuated. The intrinsic
value" idea, or, as the gold bugs phrase
| it, the honest money argument, is the
most colossal humbug of modern civil
| ization. TO the man with eyes in his
| brain-box the argument for it is more
| transparent than raiment of mosquito
netting
The gold-bug wants gold basis. The
| national banker wants bond basis or
| rather If he can get it, credit, stock or
bonds) of his own corporation as basis.
While the silver man, that is as distinct
from your thorough going Populist, he
also is possessed by the notion, like the
gold bug and the bank monopolist pro-
| TESS to believe that there must be intrin-
sic value in the dollar itself, or stored
up somewhere for it's redemption, else it
| is no good.
Now the whole caboodle of them, if
they believe their professions, are hug
ging fallacy, and one at that almighty
badly perfumed and brazen-faced. In
the case of silver the error is plain, even
to the man with as little brains as fence
post. A few of the big governments of
the world demonetized silver, and it's in
trinsic value dwindled one-half. Where
is the intrinsic value? In the bullion
that deprecated or in the law that keeps
the coined dollar up to par? And the
same depreciation that has befallen sill
yer bullion would affect gold bullion
were it demonetized by England, Ger
many and the United States. In the case
of the national bank notes there is an
other fraud too transparent to talk about.
The claim that the national banking cor
portions are responsible for the redemp-
ton of their notes, or that it is such re-
sponsibility that gives them value is alto
gether untrue. The bonds on which such
notes are based have no intrinsic value;
they do not pretend to have any value
pledged for this redemption other than
that depending on the faith of the gov
eminent.
Now what are the facts in this relation?
What does history teach? What is the
true basis of money? The legal tender
fiat of a responsible government never
has been known to fail in making good
money. There has been paper money it
is true, that was not good. But always
one of the things was present: Either the
Issuing government was not responsible
or If responsible such money was not
absolute legal tender. The confederate
currency neither was absolute legal ten
der, nor had behind it responsible gov
eminent. The continental currency and
the greenbacks of our time until it be-
came the policy of the government to &C
cept them in payment of duties on i'm
ports, were not absolute legal tenders.
A comparison, therefore, drawn between
such currency and the money demanded
by the Peoples Party, is not fair. But
the sixty million of demand notes first
| issued by the government as absolute
legal tender. being accepted in payment
money market of New York, brought as
high, or a higher price than gold
The notes of the bank of England were
given full legal tender power under Pitts
administration in the war with Napoleon,
and who that has read Allison's graphic
history of that period has forgotten how
the triumphant Brittons, backed by the
patriotic currency that never fees at
wars alarms, wiped the earth with the
| arch gold bug from Corsica, and from
the zenith of his power, when all Europe
lay PROSTATE at his feet and her re-
sources at his command. annihilated his
veteran armies and forced him into re-
tirement on the little island in the sea?
Free silver is all right. If we can't get
all we want we will not disdain a part.
But let us build also for the future
There is not in all history an instance
where the legal tender part of a response
BILE government, without other promise
of redemption whatever, within such gov
ernments jurisdiction and trade relations
has not been able to float such money as
is demanded by the Populist platforms at
par with gold. Let us, therefore, never
fail to teach, and the success of our par
ty will be all the more speedy, certain
and lasting as We do teach and concen-
trate our efforts on such teaching, that
money is nothing but creation of law,
and that in this truth is found our only
emancipation from the dominion of mon
ey power, the only logical solution of the
money question.
George C. Findley
Duluth, Mimi. March 49,
ANOTHER POPULIST VICTORY
Mr. Ctocv,S elton OoinU Cood Wopk