Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-11-24
Now 1t Is an nEIastic Bank Currency"

Now that the Republicans are sure Of
the next Congress the Wall street shy
locks are beginning to seek their pound
of flesh. They are calling attention to
the panic of 1898, which they say was
caused by the endless chain feature OF
our national currency, and are demand
ing an ''elastic bank currency" The
''endless chain" injury was brought
about by concert of banks, and ema
mated from Wall Street. 1t was done
to squeeze the government, into know
ing they had q willing aid in Cleveland
they put their plan into effect and
squeezed the government with issuing
over two hundred and fifty millions in
bonds. This concert of the banks has
caused other trouble. They then con
spired to reduce the outstanding amount
of their own notes so as to cause times
to become hard. These hard times
they would then attribute to the Sher-
man act, which allowed silver to be
coined, and thus persuade Congress to
repeal that act. The deception worked
like charm. Cleveland played his part
well. The Democrats were deceived
and the act was repealed. The banks
have now formed another conspiracy.
They are now c0nspiring to Kill the
greenbacks, and substitute a currency
which they call an teIastic currency"
in their stead. The very name ought
to kill that currency at once, thing
that is elastic will stretch, and of course
likewise contract. The banks will
stretch 1t when they please, and con-
tract it when they please, and the public
will be at their mercy. What demand
is there for an elastic bank currency"
which Wall Street is now spreading to
view? What is there to make the
country want any more power vested in
the national banks, since we know those
banks by their contraction Of the cur
rency caused the panic of 1898? The
circular which Went out from Wall
Street just before that panic telling all
national banks to draw in your cur
rency, make times hard' was a CON
sp1racy undeniable, concocted to kill
the Sherman act. Seeing this conspir-
acy, is 1t possible the people are going to
allow other cOnspiracies to form and
the conspirators to go unpublished? 1t
is possible, they will allow it. They
have allowed it. The people, have not
yet been apprised of the result of the
last election. There were about S., :
000000 Of the Hanna corruption fund
left over. This was expended in States
where legislatures We're to be elected
which were to elect United States Sen
ators, land thus was the money power to
hold on. They carried these States, and
now the Senate is more strongly the
tool of Wall Street than even before.
The schemeswas deep laid. They would
waste no money eleeting Congressman
as the tariff people and other less astute
persons had done, when they could SO
easily control the Senate, and little
rocked they what happened so long as
that was theirs. Now it is theirs for
possibly ten and may be many more
years. This was Il very smart trick,
but those are smart fellows who sit in
their back rooms in their banks plotting
to secure the fruits of tie toll of this
country They calculated. they schem-
ed, they determined to buyAno moro
Presidential elections, nor to fool with
and waste their time and means on Con-
gressmen whose terms last but two
years. They would capture the Senate.
Now that they have it, their spe-
cious argument is, that there must be
an ''elastic bank currency" and green
backs must perish. When they succeed
they have all that IS left of the toiler.
They stole his silver dollar, they bonded
hls country to live upon his toll. Now
they will take the only thing left for
his prote greenback-and
give him the script, the shinplaster, the
worthless trash of the banks, and make
him bow his neck to the yoke and
wear it.