The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-10-20
The Money Monopoly.

ak at the root. The following natural
monopolies the Farm Journal favors
putting under government control:
"All public utilities such as the express
and transportation business, water and
gas companies of cities, telephone, tele-
graph and trolly lines, be taken over by
the government and iun as the post office
is now"
This list seems to cover all natural
monopolies but one, the greatest of them
all, which is the money monopoly. In a
private note to the editor ofthe MIDLAND
JOURNAL, who suggested the wisdom of
putting the king trust of them all in the
list of government control, friend Akin
son balks at the sight of that giant having
a bit put in its mouth by the government,
and being served as all the smaller fry,
and in the note says:
II would not want the government 10
90 into the banking business any more
than il is now We had that in the old
United States bank and you know how
that worked"
Yes, we know how that worked, and
that is the strongest reason, coupled with
the manner of all private banks, govern
ment chartered banks work. We are in
clined to conclude that the editor of the
Farm Journal has not looked as carefully
into the bank business as he has into
other monopoly abuses. The Farm Jour-
nal is radical advocate of a government
savings bank system, which is consid-
erably further advance in government
banking than at present occupied.
The old United States bank was not
government bank i'll any sense, not so
much even as the present national banks,
but merely a corporation receiving
charter from Congress, i'll which the gov
eminent was a stockholder to the amount
of several million dollars and depositor
of the public money, the same as other
stockholders and depositors. The gov
eminent voted its stock in electing officers
but had not controlling influence, hence
the election Of Nicholas Biddle as pres
ident, who fought General Jackson SO
hard, and gave him world Of trouble.
In fact that bank made the biggest polit-
ical fight the nation ever witnessed, and
threatened to override the government,
Just as the national banks are attempting
to do at present. The bank S interference
in politics and its efforts to override the
power of the government by its pressure
on Congress, and its general interference
to increase its power and perpetuate its
charter, was the main reason given by
Jackson for his battle against it.
The United States bank was simply
chartered corporation which was intent
on forming gigantic money trust, and
had no se1nblance of a government bank.
There are hundred good reasons why
the government should take the banking
business in hand, even stronger reasons
than can be named for taking charge of
transportation lines and the telegraph.
All the reasons that can be named for
government control Of these natural mo-
nopolies apply TO the banking, and yet
stronger reasons. The banking business
would be as simple and easily handled by
the government as the post office bus
mess, if not more easily; far more easily
managed than transportation and rail-
roads.
There is constant demand" by
class of economists for the government to
issue ali the currency "direct TO the peo-
pie without the intervention of banks"
Unless the government establishes its
own banks, we would like the Farm Jour
nal or anybody else to explain how the
government could do that. The individual
wise enough to answer that question has
not appeared. The government without
banking machinery could neither issue
approximately the needed supply of paper
money or control that it might issue.
Banks are the distributing agents ofthe
money employed in business, and are
necessarily so, and these custodians OF the
money in circulation can and always will
control it to advance their private interest,
and use it as powerful political machine.
They always have done so and in the very
nature of things will continne to do so
until the power is taken from private cor
porations and lodged in the government,
which is i'll the people, without the inter
venton of private banks.
All of our banks are private banks.
They are organized by few men obtain
ing a charter and starting the business Of
fleeing the rest of mankind by loaning
their deposits several times over and peck
citing the interest. The transportation
companies, telegraph, street railways,
electric and gas companies, ETC., do the
same thing, operating through the me-
dunn of the corporation with little diff
ferent kind of machinery. How any man
can advocate government ownership and
control of the varions natural monopolies
or public utilities named above and shv
when government control of the most
powerful and most dangerous monopoly
of them all is proposed is passing strange.
No reason has ever been offered why the
money monopoly should not be included.
AS the Farm Journal is very near the
farmers, a class most pitilessly shorn of
all classes, will it tell 'our folks" why
the money monopoly should not be