The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-02-15
THE QUESTION OF BoUNT1Es.
An Open Letter to James j. Hill.
saltwater. MINI.

Saltwater, MINI.
James J. Hill, President of the Great North
ern Railroad system.
st. Paul, MINI.
Dear Sir:-I had the pleasure Of hearing
your very able and instructive address de-
livered before the Farmers Alliance Jan.
4th. While I agree with you upon many
OF the points in your address. yet there is
one point and one Of very great Importance
to this country upon which I differ with
YOU You asked us to see our congressman
and urge upon them the necessity Of subsi-
dizing shipowners to induce them to en-
gage in the Oriental trade and extend our
markets in that direction.
My dear sir, I am just as anxious that
our trade with foreign countries should in
crease as you are. Yet it does seem to me
that this government has already granted
subsidies to great corporations in various
forms until they actually dictate the policy
of this government and threaten to turn
this republic into an oligarchy of wealth.
Now, Mr.. Hill, would it not be better for
the people that form this government to
issue full legal tender United States treasury
notes based on the producing capacity and
the taxing power of this government and
build a line Of. steamships to engage In the
Oriental trade and western European coun-
tries that buy $50 millions bushels Of wheat
Der annum more than they produce? They
could be built as reserve for our navy and
constructed extra plating could be put
on in short order In time Of trouble, in
this way we could have the most powerful
navy in the world and it would be self
sustaining, carrying the products of our
fields and factories to foreign countries at
actual cost, Saving hundreds of millions Of
dollars for our people that now goes to for
eign shipowners.
1 will illustrate how a line of ships could
be built they would be blessing to our
people instead of bonded debt, our rail-
roads have been. If congress should au-
thoriZe the secretary of treasury to issue
800 600, coo in United States treasury notes
to build say so ships at a cost of two mil
lions each, the notes are issued and ex-
pended for labor and material, in com ng
into circulation they create so ships that be-
long to all the people, the government is
100 millions richer in ships and we have 100
millions of dollars in circulation that be-
long to the people and no bank or banker
has collected tribute.
Some Of our people who have not studied
the money question except from a selhsh
standpoint. will say these notes are no
good because hey have no gold behind
them. I would have them remember that
there is no gold behind our national bonds,
yet they are the best in the world. What
is it that makes them good? They are is
sued by a government Of almost limitless
resources, producing three times much
agricultural products fer export as any 9TH
Ell country in the world and our resources
not half developed. There is veryfthing
behind the legal tender that there is be-
hind the bond. The same people, the same
property. If one Is good the other Is also.
Some people will say they would be all
right at home but they would be no good
in Europe. We don't care whether they
are not. We are empire within our
selves, producing everything that pertains
to the comforts and the we'll being of man.
kind.
Besides we are not making money for
Europe; we are making 1t for ourselves.
And if we honor 1t other nations that trade
with will be apt to. If a few millions
of those notes should stray over to Europe
those fellows over there know that we p:c-
duce surplus Of agricultural products and
they can send them back and we farmers
will redeem them with our produce.
Gladstone, the great English co:nmoner,
told us, short time before he died, that
Great Britain did not want our gold or
our silver; she wanted the products CT our
fields and our forests.
So you it is not a few dollars in gold
in our national treasury, borrowed On In
terest-bearing bonds Of foreign bankers,
that makes our money good or our 'redit
gilt-edged. We might have al the gold
there is in the entire world and then let
wave of sand sweep over our country and
make 1t desolate and barren and the bond
of the Great Northern would be valueless-
likewise our government bonds.
So you see 1t is the producing capacity
of our fertile soil that makes our credit
good, and when our people become wise
enough to use 1t for the benefit of all tie
people instead Of allowing It to be monop-
olized by few who use it COR self-aggrand-
izement, then they will grow rich, happy
and content.
During the last fiscal year, ending about
Oct. I, our exports exce9 led our imports
by Si0.000,0G0 If conditions were right in this
country, other countries would have laid
US $640, 000.600 in gold. But instead Of re-
ceiVing
10000 OF the balance about s300.9o000o
went to pay interest on foreign debts. p 1T
upon us by corporations of various kinds;
600 more went to PAY foreign ship
markets.
This is tremendous burden sadd,ed
upon the people of this nation by private
corporations for individual profit. beca1 Sc
they did not know enough to use their own
credit. 1 mean the credit OF all the people,
backed by all the property, for universal
benefit instead of granting charters and
franchises to individuals wh1 have grown
immensely rich.
In the last 81 years mi!ionaires have in
creased a thousand fold and trlmps and
paupers at a much larger ratio. and our
criminal record has increased 300 per cent
in the same period. 1t + :, dreadful record
when you take into consideration that this
country is made I'D of the best ana braves.
Of every land. We know this to b. rue.
Scotchman. the Irishman. the buchanan,
the Frenchman. tie Swede and the Norwe-
Eian on the field OF battle, when the bullets
were flying tn Ok that no man could tell
but the next moment would be his last. and
it was impossible for any man TO tell "-hich
was the Drawer, the forei ,n-born citizen
or the direct descendants Of the brave nsn
that fought the battles Of liberty from
Lexington to Yorktow
There are no ours II this county only
those that We're imported by subsidized
corporations subsidized by high rrotac-
tive tariff The most of our fore;-sn-oirn
CT izens crossed the ocean to better their
condition and get out from under the hand
Of the oppressor, and when they find they
are "a cling the same conditions they sousht
to avoid they may refuse to listen to the
sophistries Of the pubic press. and may
rise up. did the people of France. and
your children or your grandchildren may
become victims of the guillotane.
l remain yours truly,
S. u. POWELL.
THE THYME DEAL.
Tv~k~