The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-01-29
\ ror cor Loose.

Seattle. Jan. s, lSE
TO the Editor. You have been making
an attack upon the aets Of the las. legis-
lature You say that IL it was not for the
legislation known as the mortgage ard
execution sales law that there would be a
great building boom in This city. snd Ia
oorers would ne employed That on ac-
count Of the foreign capital holders being
afraid OF the Populist legislation they win
NOT ioan any money in this state. You
forget that when a man borrowS money to
Improve his property. he IS creating a debt
which VIII require him TO pay with inter-
est.
10 Il not better that we should not have
the improvements and that laboreFs should
60 without employment than to have the
owner OF the property take the burden OF
debt upon himself LOOK at Seattle today.
The large brick blocks we're all built upon
credit. The laborers got the money for
their work. and IL was divided among all
the people. bu, the owner OF the property
will have to pay it back.
II would have been better il Seattle was
city Of tents. like it was after the IRE.
than to have the magnificent buildings
now upon the streets and throughout the
city, and the owners in debt for them II
would be better to have let the iahoring
man and his family remain or move into
some other state than 10 have men put III
debt for their benefit: such argument as
you make does not appeal 10 common
sense.
You say that IL labo-er has a Hen upon
honsS ani lot for h.s work that Ii will
take him three years 10 realize upon IL,
that after he gets ,Edg E,ent he cannot sell
the property fer ore year and then he
cannot have possession Tor one year more,
and he owner can keep the property pay
10 taxes. ne street assessments. and at the
end of three years let IL go. and the labor
er viii be out of his mcney. suppose thai
is true. he can avoid that hy requiring the
employer TO pay him each day in advance.
II he does not get his pay in advance, re-
fuse To work. II the employer does not
have the money on hand he has no right
to employ a laborsr. II the iahorers can
not live in this state. let them set out.
We knew what We we're doing when we
passed the laws. We intended to destroy
the credit system: We intended 70 deter
capital from coming into this state TO be
loaned out: we do not propose that the
savings bank. the building and loan aSso-
Citations. Insurance companies and the es-
ta,es of other countries and states shall
send their money here 10 be loaned. II
they want TO invest in this country. all
right. but they mus. buy the property
straight out and not loan money upon il.
You say. Look at Kansas. by her big
crops the farmers have paid on the mort
cages which were put upon the land for
purchase money and improvements. and
now they have the land free. and If they
had not purchased the land on credit and
borrowed the money to improve ii. they
would not now have the land"
But. sir. you forget the amount of inter
es, they have paid, the years of worry
they have gone through in order to have
these farms and improvements free from
debt for themselves and families. 1t would
p hxGv r.. e. 10.
been common iaborers all of their lives
rather than 10 have bought farms upon
credit and borrowed money TO improve
them. and 10 have spent years In toll to
pay of the Indebtedness.
We are going to stop the credit business
and IL we have not made sufficient law to
keep capital out OF the state which is sent
legislature and pass laws that will pro-
hibit the collection of debts entirely. The
people Of this state had better live upon
CLANS than to go In debt.
IL IS time that people should be taught
that they have no right to borrow money.
You say that people who now have mort
cages upon their property cannot renew
them, and will lose the property. Suppose
that is true. Let them give the property
up and commence again. But You say
the property is worth more than the mort
gage. and IL they could borrow money
they could keep the property. pay the in
terest and eventually pay off the prin-
cipal and have the property clear.
Even II this Is true, it destroys a prin-
ciple which We advocate. We believe in
destroying capital. Money should be made
eaeap so that no man would want 10 Dor
row 1t. Let the government make enough
of it so that every man can have his
pockets full, and no man VIII want to
borrow money, and the Objectionable laws
can do no harm.
1t will also stop this rush to the Kion-
dixie, where men are risking their lives
for gold. In the language OF our beloved
leader, W. j. Bryan. gold is a coward; 1t
never fought battle and always snsaks
away in every emergency and hides" Il
is wrong TO have men risk their lives and
leave their families and homes and go TO
the frozen North for the cowardiy gold,
Make ii so cheap that no one Will want
Ii. and the cowardiy metal need not then
run away when war comes. The cheaper
the money the better for the people. If
the lahorers could get $l,o19 day each
for labor, in an irredeemable paper money.
times would get better and all would have
plenty of money. Ii is not the value OF
the money, but the quantity that makes
times good. POPULTST.