The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-07-06
Picked Clean
by Bankers

i1'Ai Ill nat s "nat the bankers
say it is. And when we consider the
vast wealth and the trenmdous pow
er 1t gives to our patriotic national
bankers, we agree that is the best
system on earth" FOR THEM
Here is an editorial which the
Ohio TRI-CITY Labor Review says
zine:
| We must proceed with caution
and guard we'll every move made,
| for the lower orders of the people
are already showing signs of restless
commotion.
The Farmers Alliance and Social
ist organization in the United States
should be carefully watched by our
trusted men, and we must take i'm
m ediate steps to control these organ
iZations in our interest or disrupt
them.
The courts must be called to our
aid. debts must be collected, bonds
and mortgages must be foreclosed
as rapidly as possible.
| When, through a process of law,
| the common people have lost their
homes, they will be more tractable
| and easily governed through the in
uence of the strong arm of govern
ment applied by central power
| of imperial wealth under the con-
troll of leading financiers. people
without homes will not quarrel with
their rulers.
The question of tariff reform
| must be urged through the organi-
zation known as the Democratic
party, and the question of protection
with reciprocity must be forced to
view through the Republican party.
BY thus dividing the voters we
can get them to eXpend their ener-
gies in fighting over question of no
Importance to us except as teachers
to lead the common herd. Thus by
discreet action we can secure all
that has been so generously planned
and successfully accomplished.
What do you say to that, my son?
That article would even make
dead man sit UP and take notice
wouldn't it?
Our patriotic bankers are about to
set in operation another endless
chain" 1t has taken them nineteen
years to perfect it, but it is ready
to start now, and when it begins to
grind it will absorb all the wealth of
the country within a short time
The bankers are keen on this end
less chain business. They engineer
ed one in 1898, and it worked to
perfection. Their immediate profits
on that deal amounted to $16,OOO,-
900. In that year the national bank
ers committed President Cleveland
and Secretary Carlisle to the mon
strous proposition that the paper
money issued to pay for silver bull
lion must be redeemed in gold when
the holders demanded it.
The law provided that these silver
purchase notes should be redeemed
in silver dollars, coined out of the
bullion bought with the notes.
By a treasury ruling in 1900
gold reserve had been set aside.
THERE WAS NO LAW FOR IT
The excuse was that som ebody might
want the greenbacks redeemed"
Even had there been anybody VINO
wanted his green backs redeemed
the law gave the government a per-
feet right to swap silver for the
paper.
But John Sherman. Secretary of
the Treasurey, had created a gold
reserve, and the national bankers
wanted that gold. So the endless
chain was put in motion.
They went to the Treasury with
paper money and demanded that it
be redeemed in gold. Carlisle gave
them gold day by day until the gold
reserve became 'impaired.' Then
it had to be increased. So the gov
ernment issued bonds and the bank
ers who had taken the gold out of
the Treasury put it back and got
the bonds. Then they came with
paper money again. took the gold
out again. Then the government is
the same bankers to get back the
same gold.
This illegal thing went on until
such a clamor broke out that tn,
bankers got frightened and stopped.
But they had saddled the unnecessa-
| ry debt of S262, 100000 on the
| backs of the toilers before the end
| LEI SIS chain was broken.
Our patriotic bankers have te'Zed
/ the sovereign prerogative of creatin 6
| money and are using that vast ad-
| vantage for their own private gains
i-tyranniZing over the country by
| concentrating the peoples money in
! the big cities and keeping it out of
ci, CT. ,.lation.
| In the 1907 panic the bankers
took the real money of the people
| and loaned it to Wall Street gamb-
| lers at from 20 to 500 per cent
interest. Then they issued S91 OOC,-
| 900 of unlawful. dishonest, counter