The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-04-27
Poverty's Coin.

Poverty's Coin.
The trust papers are beginning to agi.
tate the coinage of the half cent which
was dropped from the U. S. coins. The
nations Of Europe have very small frac-
tional coins, some as small as one-sixth
of a cent. China has coins as small as
one-tenth of cent.
When poverty begins to separate and
set apart a distinct class of the people
from those above them and which is
known as the very poor, then that portion
of the community which has been con
signed by want to remain hopelessly poor
must have denomination of money pro.
vided especially to suit its needs. We
are not surprised to see the subject of q
smaller coin beginning to be agitatedi
and the suggestion IS reported as origi-
mating or emanting from the Treasury
Department at Washington.
The United States is on the borderland
of forming and setting aside class of the
hopelessly poor and coins of in6nitesimal
value must be provided for the use of such
a class.
The multimillionaire and the hopelessly
poor are as natural to the same social and
political condition as day and night to our
planetary system. A tfnancinl system
that makes money scarce and dear is
bound to place an ever widening gulf be-
tween the rich and the poor. The fnan-
.cial system that uses credit for its great
business transactions and money only for
change and small balances, is breeding a
class of luxurious rich and class of des-
perately poor. Credit means interest on
every dollar or the representative of a
dollar, aud that interest comes of of the
producer and the man and woman who
have but their labor to sell.
The nation which POUNDS its financial
system on credit will concentrate wealth
rapidly in the hands of few gifts shrewd
avoracious people and spread poverty
broadcast among the masses. Our nation
is engaged in that very thing now. That
is what is meant by the gold standard;
scarcity Of money and large volume of
credit. Credit maintains a steady pump
ing of wealth from the pockets of labor
which creates it all, into the pockets of
the cunning rich who do the organizing.
Our financial system by the late act of
a mercenary Congress is reduced to
scarce money system. for by it all money
except gold is only credit-something
that lis subject to be redeemed by gold,
and is a part and parcel of the credit sys-
fem. Our banks are founded on debt
government bonds-which is foundation
stone of credit, and their notes are not a
legal tender, not money in its true sense
at all, ouly phase of credit They all
call for gold. The entire system is an
interest pump. And that is what is called
a gold standard.
Gold is the scarcest metal in the world
which can be melted repeatedly and
worked over without losing some of it in
the process. Hence it is picked out by
the cunning because the money volume
can be kept always small while confined
to that one metal. Gold has been en-
throned king in the financial realm by
the GINNING class, with all other forms
and tokens representing money subject 10
its mandate. Our entire business system
is founded on debt and every dollar is
drawing interest. The farmer, the me-
chanic, the day laborer, the merchant,
the manufacturer are all contributing
their tax of interest to this system and
the money kings are harvesting the fruits
Of the brain and Drawn of this mighty
slave army. For under the financial
system whose money is confined to gold,
which creates chronic money famine.
business must depend on credit in place
of money to enable exchanges to be made,
and that credit is an interest pump with
sucker in every mans pocket. Hence
the order from the anarchists of wealth to
their servants at Washington that the
time has. come when class has been
created in this country SO hopelessly poor
that the fraction of cent coin is needed
for their use. We have reached the con-
dition portrayed by Goldsmith
.slll fares the land to fastening i'll prey,
When wealth accumulates and men decay"
and the half.cent coin is needed.