Natchitoches populist., 1898-05-20
ANOTHER CONFLICT.
THE USURERS AGAINST THE
WORLDS PRODUCERS.
How the Laborer Even Upon His Own
Land Is Robbed by the Exclusive Gold
Standard-First Principles Of Money
Clearly Illustrated.

in long articles, even through whole
volumes, when by adopting natura
process OF reasoning and going bacl
to the origin Of labor it can be made
plain! First, it will be conceded thai
all wealth was made by labor. Ant
Mill truly says that all the capital We
see with few exceptions has been made
by human labor and care within 8
very few years. so rapidly are things
destroyed by time and use. Now let us
imagine the first man at work
Whence came his wages? They must
have come out of the product Of that
labor. In some way through that
product he must have gained his sub
sistence, even if no more No old cap
itals could be called on to pay him.
And the whole product was his own,
no one else could demand any portion
OF it. AS other men began to labor
and produce things, system Of barter
ensued. That is, the exchange of one
thing for another. We can see that
here was small opportunity for one
person to get advantage over another
by cheating or abusing the necessities
Of others or by forestalling markets for
some articles. Thus some would get
rich above others. Moreover, the in
dustry and dexterity of some would al
ways make them wealthier. Also, as
| al olt In s,.on w
are some who care not to acquire
wealth. But no wrong could be done
to others, on any large scale, under
this condition. Every person would
get the whole value of his labor SO
far as his own will was concerned.
AS it often happened that in this bar
tering one thing might be worth more
than another, and could not be divided,
the trade would he uneven and would
call for boot (from Botan, Anglo-Sax..
whence one of the two words but,
used In England, meaning beside.
moreover, etc.,. Then credit began.
Then this credit was by custom given
to some article handy to carry and
generally desired. Shells, bits of
metal, ETC., were long used. Still the
laborer received the whole value OF his
products, if he desired it. No one
could deprive him Except by slavery
which grew out cf war;, no one grew
all powerful by riches. The govern
ments that raised revenues were paid
in kind. Cattle, grain, ETC., were paid
in taxes, at enormous cost to collect
and care for such things. Then some
one naturally said: why go to such
expense to collect and pay out these
revenues? The people pay these reye-
nues, and government distributes them
to its soldiers and servants. Just
give to every man billet or wedge
of metal marked st so much value and
let each one collect his own A SIM
pie invention like our postage stamp,
but saving enormous labor. These BIZ
lets so used and wedges or coigns
twhence our words bill, coin, today, !
were called billeting, or duartering on
the people, and they became very pop
ular money tokens. Still labor re-
ceived It's entire product and nothing
was taken from it but taxes to support |
the simple government established.
Later, when the spirit Of conquest grew
and force became greater, slavery and
were established, which
robbed the laborer of all but meagre
Still the free laborer re-
ceived all he produced in his own
The instruments of exchange
were simple and did the work thor
oughly. AS ocean commerce grew the
device of bills and drafts on such banks
as Amsterdam and Genoa did all the
money work in the great wholesale
for centuries 1t was not
until the court jewelers. got influence
enough with rulers to procure the en-
actment of laws declaring the billets,
wedges, coigns and other devices to
represent the instrument of exchange
should be made out OF precious metals
and should be the sole lawful tender
Ia payment Of all debts, dues and
public or private, that any
peculiar advantage over labor was
given, and in way little dreamed Of
rhe SO simple seeming law converted
he common medium Of exchanges into
he most potent lever for mastering
he world-an engine Of tremendous
md growing force-the master of all
-alues, prices, policies and labor.
labor, instead Of being
aid out of its products direct, began
O be paid out of cid capitals accumu-
ated at interest. Says John Adams In
lis inaugural: Prior to the downfall ;
f feudalism nations paid their war ex-
enses by direct revenues raised at :
he time. Since then they have run ,
nto debt and issued bonds for the
money to carry on wars"-and he :
rarns this nation to beware OF this.
Ie might also have said that labor
he war against difficulty and to sus- :
lin life-also was paid its wages d.
oct, but that now It's wages came from
capital.
See then--Irior TO this legal tender
Nv labor subEisted and progressed Oh 4
$ own produce-silca then 1t subsistS 4
1t og old capital gathered by usury j
ld borrowed BY speculation ct inter- a
& Al ~ -. e