Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-05-12
BANKS AND TRUSTS.
HOW THE COILS OF WEALTH ARE
CLOSING ON INDUSTRY.

TfutS OF NiCtOTy AS DioSSoiIt"S w ue
Trusts-The Result Was Foretold With Won.
derfuI Prophssy in 1896.
National Watchman.
The Republican party is no longer
in any sense party of the people.
The organization and machinery of
the party are in the clutches of the
money power and monopolies. 1t is
SO completely within their grasp that
the honest members of the party have
no longer any ground to hope for its
redemption. Honest men, who have
heretofore affiliated with the Republi-
can party have the alternative to vote
for the agents of organized rapacity or
leave the party.
During the intermission between
the adjournment of the Fifth-fiith
Congress and the assembling of the
Fifty-sixth Congress wealth is busy fix
ing up banking scheme to create a
mammoth paper money trust. The
bankers have already selected the men,
bers-elect whom they want OH the COM
mittees of Banking and Currency and
Coinage, Weights and Measures and
have these men in training, preparing
to champion their measures and force
them through Congress the coming
winter. The members who constitute
these committees are holding private
and unofficial sessions in the Eastern
States and receiving instructions from
the bankers and their attorneys. The
object is to have them agree upon
measure and familiarize themselves
with its detail, so that when Congress
they will be ready for work.
1t is safe to say that no man can be
elected Speaker of the Fifth-sixth Con-
gress who will not pledge himself in
advance to the appointment on the
committees of the members
whom the bankers have selected. As
a matter OF fact the banks and trusts
are in such perfect control OF the party
that the members of Congress who
desire important assignment on COM
mittees feel the necessity of proving in
advance not only their willingness but
their ability to serve them.
The multiplication of trusts has
the power of the banks.
The money trust is not only the par.
ent of other trusts, but will continue
to be their masters. When all the
business of the country in one line is
under one head the con-
troll of the banks over all who are in-
terested in such line of business be-
comes greatly simplified. Take for ex-
ample the paper manufacturers of this
country. Before the organization OF
the trust in order for the bankers to
compel the paper makers to favor
their schemes it was necessary for one
hundred bankers to act in concert
dealing with one hundred firms. But
since the firms are all pooled under
one business head only one establish
ment has to be refused bank accom-
modation to involve the entire line of
business in financial difficulty and
through an understanding between
the banks themselves the trust cannot
secure the accommodation necessary
to enable it to successfully carry on
its business without bowling to the
will of the banks.
Ever since the close of the civil war
the banks have been trying to force
Congress to yield TO their demand and
convert the greenbacks into bonded
debt and confer upon the banks the
sole power to issue paper money. The
national banks have never been salts
fed with receiving full interest on
their bonds and in addition to have
ninety per cent. of their capital re-
funded to them in the form of notes
for circulation, but have incessantly
that they not only receive
interest upon the full amount of their
investment in bonds, but that they re-
ceive in addition the whole amount of
capital invested back in the form of
bank notes for circulation.
Senator Gage had the gall to appear
before the committee on Banking and
Currency in the last Congress and ad-
vocate the passage of what was known
as the McCleary-Gage bill, which asked
for the power to issue unlimited paper
money based upon a fiction called
bank assets. They have now a bill be.
fore Congress for the demonstration
of all silver dollars that are now in
use, the annihilation of silver certifi.
Gates, and a provision that they may
issue notes to the full amount OF their
bonds and that the government shall
pledge itself to their redemption.
They demand that the government in
crease the interest.bearing debt to the
amount of all outstanding legal tender
government paper money to make
room for their isues, and they further
demand that the government either
tax the people for the money or bor-
row it on bonds to redeem outstanding
silver dollars. Their hill Drnvides that