The representative., 1899-11-09
AN INSTRUCTIVE ARTICLE
The Boer War-A Battle Waged by
PlutOcracy to Distract Public At
tentiOn.

PlutOcracy to Distract Public At
tentiOn.
We find the following very able article
| in the Missouri Populist Journal:
The war in Africa between the Beers and
| English has one phase that interests all
Americans. We believe it has an ulterior
| purpose outside OF the mere maintaining of
| British supremacy in South Africa. We
believe its greatest purpose is to distract
attention from the great monetary reform
| hight now In progress in all the governments
OF the world which amount to anything. 1t
mas been found that gOlds or even gold and
| silver. does not exist in quantities nearly
sufficient to transact the business of the
world. This necessitates the use of some
other money material, and custom has fall
| en- upon paper as the most convenient. The
issue now being fought out is, who shall
issue the paper money? Banks have seized
upon this power and purpose to hold it,
they have driven out all others from this
Held, save the governments in some places
and few rare cases like the experiment
being tried in Cincinnati by a number of
business hrms issuing trade check usable
among all subscribers. You who are older
doubtless recall many instances in the past.
especially about in 1852, when almost all
merchants issued a trade scrip that was
used locally as money. There stands on In
diana statute books now a law that au-
thorlzes insurance companies to issue bills
as money The only restraining influence
that keeps them from exercising this power
is the 10 per cent~clause'' of our national
banking law that provides that any person
or corporation that issues bills to circulate
as money, except as provided for by ma
tional banks, shall pay 10 per cent of the
face value annually to the government
The banks, therefore thavesa MONOPOLY of
the power to issue the paper money save
as the generals government. has out it's
greenbacks. Thes~eslds-and~ssilver certifi-
Gates do not count in this, as they are
merely substitutes for these. All countries
nave more or less similar arrangement as
our own for their money Up to this time
governments have held on to the function
OF Issuing their metallic coins Perhaps
this is largely due to the cost of the ma
terial being so great that the banks have
not cared to lay hold of it persistently.
But the paper. is inexpensive. Hence the
banks have sought for and obtained this
great and incomprehensibly profitable gov
ernmental power For many many years
this ground has been fought over between
capital and labor AS intelligence has ad-
Vanced' the balance seems to turn rather to
government issue of all money. ANY we'll
read man who will stop to consider the ad
vantage gained by the banks in the power to
control the issue of money, and conse-
quently its volume, cannot fail to see that
1t is too delicate power to give one class
over another. 1t is thus natural that the
demand becomes stronger each year to
withdraw that power from any class and
repose 1t In government alone. This is the
great economic battle that has ragged so
fearfully since the early nineties, and with
greater or less intensity ever since paper
money has been in use. 1t seems incredible
that the comparatively small number of the
bankers could so long maintain a conflict
which, II men would stop to think would
indeed be short and decisive. But wealth
is ever influential and very few men think
for themselves. The great body simply per-
NIT others to dictate their thoughts The
money power has taken advantage of this
well known condition of the race, and have
encouraged it. Very, very often their pa
pers and speakers have openly told the
laborlng classes to stick to their trades and
trust their party leaders to control the gov
ernment. In Kansas the expression be-
came general to raise more wheat and corn
and less hell" Actually men who were
otherwise intelligent enough to accumulate
considerable property, and build fine homes,
and otherwise conduct themselves in such
manner as to escape insane asyums took
up this idiotic cry, and, parrot like, repeat
ed it, all the time thinking it was real
smart expression. Oh, our soul revolts in
lnexpressible disgust at such exhibitions of
inanity among men! But later, by persist
ent effort, and line upon line, the masses
have begun to think very little tiny bit,
and the money power in America and Eng
land are compelled to furnish a depression
for the idiots, to amuse them while thew
rob them Therefore, a. war is furnished on
the stage First, between the United States
and Spain; and as this play pals upon the
curiosity OF the unthinking the war in
Africa Is precipitated before them Now for
a time the money power can cast about to
further entrench themselves in the power to
longer deceive the people and hold the abil-
1ty to issue money-exercise a government
function. OF course many other things are
alleged as causes, and many of these things
are plausible, and some of them reasonable;
because they have created the circumstances
and conditions that have made them both
plausible and reasonable. But away down
at the bottom of it all lies the sordid human
desire to control by retaining the power to
issue the money and control it's volume.
thereby ruling and controlling the earth by
controlling its commerce. Oh, that the fool
killer had not died from overwork some
centuries ago!
There is great deal of truth and !
force in these reflections. The world
was formerly plunged into long and
dreadful wars on account of kings and |
their mistresses. Religion was used to !
fan the people into frenzy, and men
were taught that if they died for the
king and his concubine they would 20 to |
paradise in the next world. Fortunate
ly mankind became too wise to any
longer butcher each other for these false |
and the power of kings has
shrunk to a minimum.
The real masters of the world TODAY
are the money lenders, and they plunge
the people into wars at any time to
prevent them from thinking, and to
stop reforms. Man is warlike beast
and when the guns and trumpets
sound he forgets all reason and is ready
to throw his life away for any pretense
that may be set up before him. And so
we believe. as the extract just quoted
has shown. that the war In Africa emil
mates from Threadneedle street, London.
and we also believe that the Spanish
var came out Of Wall street, New York,
and that the ultimate nurnoso ~ h,tl !