The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-08-17
Nemesis

Is the title of an article published by
the Iuvestey's Review of England, from
which the following extract is copied. 1t
shows up the rotten system of finance on
which the Financial system of England
rests and of which our present American
financial policy is copy. The Re0iew
says:
mo reader we suppose ever stops to
examine the foundation of our marvellous
system of credit, to ask himself when he
rays cheque what the amount written
upon it is composed of. He regards it as
SO many sovereigns. You draw cheque
for 100 and it is to all practical purposes
as long as honored, cheque for 100 SOW
ereigus. As matter of fact, however, it
is only so much banking credit that is
transferred from one bankers ledger to
another, and if the component elements
of this sum were, SO TO say, chemically
analysed it would be found to consist of
minute portions of an almost endless
variety of securities Along with bun
die of Consols and perhaps Northwestern
Railway stock or little Chalhams' traces
might be found of the lie Roi shares,
Associates, Chartereds,' Rand Mines,
Goldfelds, Matabetes. Ashantis. Liptons,
Salt Unions, Ivanhoes, list that might
be indefinitely extended. III other words
banks in the course of their business have
given customers credit more or less we'll
secured upon every description of stock
or share dealt in on the public market.
1.-The credit thus created is called
money! and passes from hand to hand
through cheques and other instruments
of transfer from banker to banker as
money. So long as the borrowers of this
credit, at whose instance it has been orig
mated by the banker, are able to pay in
terest charged against their loans, and to
make good their margins upon the secu-
rites pledged. all goes well; but when the
day comes that finds them unable to do
either the one or the other, then the
banker has to face loss, and in proper
ton to the loss the amount of banking
credit circulating in the market is
diminished -
This is plain honest description of the
English system of finance, of which our
so-calied gold standard is an exact copy,
except ours, by its national bank attach
ment is little worse. The notes of these
banks are founded on debt, drawing in
terest. The bank notes draw interest,
which is two interests, and on the deposit
of these notes the banks loan more credit
with the expectation of meeting the
checks against that double, triple, quadru-
pie, quintruple, ETC., credit with the notes
their customers deposit in the course of
business, which constitutes three or more
interests paid on the same debt, several
times repeated.
Now be it observed that the wealth
producers, the working business people,
the honest people who make the wheels
of trade revolve. are taxed to death pay
ing these manifold interests. Is it any
wonder there is a general pressure of hard
times experienced by the masses of the
people, especially by the farmers and
those other lines of business depending
on the farm for their support This in
tolerable mass of credit is eating up the
resources of the country. To escape the
impending destruction the owners of
small capital are combining and forming
trusts, in order to sustain prices of their
products, and the unorganized producers
of raw material are being steadily driven
closer to the wall.
Money in place of this avalanch of
credit is what the demands of the increas-
ing quantity of things to be exchanged
by it and for it demands. National bank
money is not the kind of money needed,
for it is the evidence of debt, but tangible |
government money which represents the
whole people individually and collect
lively, silver, gold and national currency
is the pressing demand of the hour and !
the day, and the only answer to this
constant cry which is going up for relief
from the producing classes. The day is |
near at hand when that cry must be
needed, or a smash in our mushroom sys- |
tenn of finance will come, such as has not
been witnessed in this country or in the
world.
BY this cunning system of credits the |
loaning class is steadily robbing all other
classes by the interest process. Finally
the parasite will destroy what it feeds
upon, debts will be repudiated, nations
will not be able longer to pay interest on |
their accommodating debts. all the multi |
tude of watered stocks must succumb to
the inevitable nemesis of bankruptcy. |
And this is the nemesis which is pursuing
our gambling systems of bushes in the
higher roles of trade.