The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-02-14

ing to the railroad corporations alone
.942 ,492 ~forty-acre tractsSof land and
the, equivalent in value oil 100000
mules in money and bonds.
BY the s~o-called Credit Strengthen-
ing Act Of 1869 it changed the terms Of
payment of $1,000, 100000 of bonds, SO
that $500, 900 900 in value were added
to them-practically making the bond
holders a present of 100000, 900. Fig
uring the government land at the price
it sold in the market at that time, S1.25
per acre, 40 acres would be worth $50.
Add to this, n mule worth $3.50
mules were worth more then-and we
nave $500 as the value Of forty acres
and a mule" Since the bonaholders re-
ceived $500, 000, 900 at one fell swoop.
it was the equivalent of 100000 mules
and 100000 f%orty-acre tracts present.
ed to the bondholders in that one deak.
81 nee that time they have received
banuses in the way of increased van :
OF tha1r bonds, prepayment of interest.
etc. 10 fully as much again, but We{will
not take that into consideration
Inc average amount of national
Dank notes in circulation during the
past thirty years has been about $780,
OOO,OOO. These have been loaned at ans
average rate OF not less thar eight per
The government gave them to
the bankers for one per cent. TIE
banks had a bonus of the difference
or seven per cent. In one year this
would amount to $14, 900, 200. For thir-
ty years it would amount to 1920, OOO.-
OOO. At $500 valuation for the afore-
said forty acres and a mule" it would
be equivalent to 100000 forty-acre
tracts of land and 2,1OO, 900 mules. We
snail not go into details of what has
been done for other corporations,
trusts and syndicates, and what it
would amount to in forty-acre tracts
and mules. 1t is sufficient to say that
enough has been given away to make
a present to every head of a family in
the United States the value of forty
acres and a mule"
Let us r%ecapitulate.
Of f%orty-acre tracts tIe rail-
roads have received ...... 4.942492
B%ondholders have received. 5000. 900
Bankers have received ...... 100000
Iotal .10, 042, 492
The same corporations have received
value in mules as follows:
hdtlfOaQS 2 zoe, 900
B%ondholders ............. 5000. 900
BANKER 100000
Total 1900. 900
These figures are taken from the Off
cial statistics.
II there is any discrepancy we are
willing to furnish the mules and land
to make it up.
The old party papers are welcome to
all they can get out Of the forty acres
of land and a mule argument.
There are in the United States 1884,
900 farms $500. If these gifts to the
three classes of corporations
mentioned above had been dis
tributed among the actual farmers
in the United States each would have
received the equivalent in value, not
of forty acres and a mule" but of
ninety acres and nearly two mules.
The above figures and comparisons
also show that the three great propo-
sitions confronting the people are
finance, transportation and land.
This process of robbery has been 60
ing on for forty years, and every act
has been passed under the specious
plea of honesty or the public good.
And the people have been deceived by
such pleas SO often that when they4ra
now raised by the same class ~ Nea
they may DE looked upon as evidence %
another plot on hand to rob the wealth
producers.
Nothing less than a thorough smash
ing of the old party machines and a
cleaning of the Augean stables will
ever restore this government back to it's
original purity.