The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1900-05-31

the plan has from tho beginning beez
to fasten upon posterity debt bondas(
from which it shall never be enamel
| pated.
Lastly. our financial system is a des-
potism. pure and simple. The record
shows that, beginning with Hamilton
and continuing since jackson, especially
since the outbreak Of the civil war, and
eliminating with the atrocity placed by
the present congress upon our federal
statutes. one consistent, clearly defined
purpose runs through all our financial
legislation. that, namely, of centering
In the hands of a single private manage
ment. now the money trust, the entire
financial system of the nation. This
system Is to be system in fact. It is
to radiate from central Wall street
bank, itself branch Of the Bank of
England. Its great arteries are to run
to every important city of America,
and its smaller lines of connection are
to touch every village and hamlet in
the land. The head of this trust will
possess power rivalling that of Nero.
AT his word the currency may be con-
tracted, exchanges paralyzed, business
Frustrated, the market beared and prop
erty bought at the trusts figures. The
currency may then be inflated, the
exchanges made possible, business rem
dered prosperous, the market bulled
and property sold at top prices for the
benefit of the trust. This process may
then be repeated indefinitely and at
pleasure.
l announce no new discovery. This
plot was clearly disclosed by Benton in
his war with Jackson on the old United
States bank; but the little finger of the
present banking trust is thicker than
the loins of the Goliath Jackson slew.
Before such a power a political party
Will be pigmy. Elections can be con-
trolled by the extension or refusal Of
Accommodations" the balance of power
In congress or the supreme court bought
like cigar and the national admins
tration and the nation itself terrorized
with the threat of panic beside which
that of 1898 was insignificant.
What do we propose? That Carthage
be destroyed. How? BY transferring
the control of our national finances from
the trust to the people And how NAV
this be done? BY establishing stable
money and stable prices.
Five fundamental propositions.
l. In addition to prices of individual
Things, as wheat or iron or land. there
is general average of prices of all
commodities taken together; "sea lev
ell of prices"
z. This sea level Of prices may be
statistically determined; in fact. it has
Tor many years been thus determined
for many commodities by such statistic
fans as Soetbeer, Jevons, the London
economist, and Others
3. 1t may be graphically depicted in
diagrammatic form and thus presented
to the eye at a glance.
4. Inspection of such diagram reveals
Two movements; an oscillatory, violent
~ fuctuating, through short periods as
months, years and decades, and a GEN
eral trend, which, from 1910 to 1852
and from 1873 to 1897, was a terrific
downward sweep. Since 1897 general
prices have temporarily and in a meas
ure recovered.
o. Both these movements are vicious.
the oscillatory fostering the speculative
spirit, turning business from the work
OF producing for the satisfaction of
consumption into that of getting on the
market" and reducing, 1t, in a large
measure, to gambling game; while the
steady downward trend of prices robs
the debtors to the advantage of credit
ors, makes longtime debts more and
more difficult to pay, leads to the fore
closure OF mortgages, emphasizes the in
equalities of distribution, imnels ahan-
donment of the legitimate arts of pro-
auction, since business men will not
produce against falling market"
leads instead to an increasing demand
for safe investments as bonds unon COW
ernments and other sound securities
encourages the building up of huge ma
tlonal debts, makes times hard and re-
suits In panics, bread riots and revo- |
lutlons Not that steady and continu-
GUS upward trend Of prices is desirable.
Prices should be raised to the norm
Inc point at which exchanges can most |
readily be effected, and held there.
| offer two propositions. The first
desirable, the second ESSENTIAL. First.
exhibit of the double move-
ment OF prices should be made as
trustworthy as possible. To this end
The force of our national treasury de-
partment should be enlarged by the
creation OF permanent commission OF
experts in statistics of industry and
anance, non-partisan in character and
representing various economic points of I
view. To this commission should no
entrusted the work of collecting statis-
les OF general prices, weighing the
same as their relative Importance NAV
'equire, constructing the price line and
the same at short intervals
such form as shall display the douh,e
movement OF general prices through a
period of time. as half \
century or century md ~, -,