The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1899-03-16

The answer is, the United States is q
debtor nation, having an enormous
interest account to meet in Europe
each year. AS near as it can be aScer-
tanned, the Indebtedness of the people
of the United States to the people OF
Europe amounts to six billion dollars
consisting of national, State, city and
county bonds, the bonds of railroad and
other corporations and mortgages on
city property and farms. The interest
Oh this Indebtedness, together with
rents on American property owned by
foreigners, must be paid by Americans
to foreign ship-owners for freight and
the money expended by American trav-
elers abroad, fully accounts for the diff
ference between the amount we receiv-
ed and the amount that was due to bal
ance the accounts of last year, as here
in set forth.
Thus it will be seen how completely
the industrial forces Of the United
States are within the grasp and at the
mercy of the bOndocrats or gold trust
that has ever accrued to the credit of
the United States prior to 1898 was in
1897, when it amounted to S2S6, ,263, IA,
or 1858, ,346, 800 less than that of last
year. Therefore it will be seen that if
We We're able to draw from Europe
last year only $1O4. .9S5,2S5, we must
have largely added to our foreign debt
in 1897, Notwithstanding the large trade
balance in our favor, and that our for
eign indebtedness must have been
greatly augmented yearly for many
years prior thereto. We have abundant
evidence that this Is the case, because
for many years 1t has been common
knowledge that foreign capital was be
ing used in the construction of rail
roads. and that foreign capitalists We're
making large investments in our -four
ing mills, breweries, mines and other
enterprises. The treasury tables during
these years failed to show that gold, to
represent these investments, had been
in our favor every year except three for
the past twenty-three years. The in
vestments made by foreigners in this
country have simply been reinvest-
ments of the interest and dividends
accruing to them on their American
holdings.
The foundation of our vast foreign
debt was laid in the years Immediately
following the civil war, through the
manipulation of American securities
by British financiers. This country
was at that time under a suspension
of specie payments, and English finan-
ciers not only manipulated our markets
through the gold board, but through
their agents and partners manipulated
our politics, and secured legislation to
force the resumption of specie pay
ments through policy of violent cur
rency contraction, which eliminated
in their succeeding in forcing resump-
ton in gold alone. The history of every
step taken in the manipulation of our
public debt and currency from the
close of the war down to and includ-
ing the decentralization of silver in
1873, is history of crime against
American producers and laborers in
the interest of foreign and domestic
bondholders and money dealers.
When resumption took place it was
on borrowed gold. and our foreign obli
cations outstanding at the time repre-
sented many times over the amount of
gold in the country. The folly of clos
ing the mints to the coinage of silver
which was at par with gold the world
over at the ratio of 15la to 1, is not fully
known to our people. The growth of
foreign and domestic Indebtedness dur
ing the past quarter of a century, the
development of millionaires and pau
pers and the multiplication of the
homeless are among its fruits, and its
deadly work, which is yet but fairly
begun, if persevered in, will in the end
reduce our people to dependent ten
antry
For Workingmen to Ponder.