Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-11-03
The National Octopus.

The people of this country have no
awakened to the fact that there wa
pending before the last Congress ant
will be up for passage in December mex
this country over to national banks
That is, take all control of the pape
money of this country out of the hand
of the government and place it in thu
hands of the national banks. This ha
been limited at often before, but nevel
have the banking interests been quite
bold enough to undertake such schem,
until now. But now the rails are laid
the bill is to be taken up as soon a!
Congress meets aud to be made the spe
cial order of the tenth day of the ses
sion, and it will almost surely pass. Il
is House bill No. 10, $50, and is know
as the McCleary Bill, and will give ma
tional banks the sole right to issue paper
money. 1t also gives them the right tC
establish branch banks. The first in.
iquity is to turn over to them the entire
control of the paper currency. The sec
ond, in allowing them to establish branch
banks. This. as will be seen, will in
corporate one great metropolitan bank
in New York, headed, say by J. P.
Morgan & Company, and from it will
extend branches into all points of the
United States, driving out all opposi
nj, 1c E
troll the nation and its money and be
the sole issuer of paper money. Having
such vast interest within its grasp as
it soon would, the people would be at its
mercy. Whether it would use its vast
power for good or evil, would be only a
question of opinion, but 10 free people
ought to place such power in the hands
of any set OF human beings and if prop
erly enlightened they would not. But
they are not enlightened and do not
know what an awful calamity is hang
ing over them. The party in power is
avowedly for trusts, and this mammoth
trust is the acme-the elimination of
all trusts yet established-because it
gives government sanction to one set of
men to form into one trust all the ma
tiOnal banks of the nation. This trust
is insidiously now putting out its bony
arms and clutching many things which
will help it in its grasp OH the throat of
the nation which are too numerous to
be noticed in an article of the length
here proposed. We can only sound now
the warning, point out the horror of
such bill and comment more in detail
hereafter. This National Banking
Trust, if formed, will in our opinion
lead to revolution; SO dangerous will it
be to the nations life.
Under this enormous bill all paper
money now issued by the government is
to be withdrawn from circulation, and
the banks are left TO issue such paper
money as they choose, and of course
can make and enforce the conditions
upon which it is issued. After eight
years these notes are not to be secured
by government bonds, as now. but are
se be d preferred lien on the assets of the ,
bank. II the bank has no assets. and
many of them now do not have, the |
holder of the note will have nothing
but the promise of defunct bank ,
nicely printed on good paper, and in ad-
dition has no restriction on withdraw
ing the ISSUE so thu entire issue may
be withdrawn whenever Mr.. Morgans
b nix syndicate wills it, and the last
drop of blood squeezed out of the peo-
pie. We shall notice this devil fish
hereafter,