Norwich bulletin., 1912-07-12
The High Cost of Living.


 Mir Editor: About the first thing to be done is to find out the process by which 1t is possible for the "coal and beef barons to make the price of com modities." It is a well confirmed fact that the owners or controllers of mon ey are the masters of the situation, and consequently can make the prices of all commodities that are named in money units.
 It 1s to prove that the barons (not only the coal and beef barons, but the heads of all the other trusts, such as the Steel. Standard Oil, Tobacco, rail- roads, and so on down theline) own and control all the money and cur rency in the United States, that I re- fer to the authority referred to in previous letter. Hon. E. G. Spaulding of Buffalo, N. Y, was a congressman from the Buffalo district, and was chairman of the sub- committee of ways and means, and helped to formu- late most of the financial laws during the war of the rebellion, and wrote a financial history of the legal tender paper money issued during the war, which was published in 1869. This book contains about 250 pages, inelud- ing an appendix. On page two of this appendix in a speech in congress Feb. 19, 1S63 made by MT. Spaulding, advocating the national currency bank bill, had the following to say:
 Legal tender notes issued direct from the treasury constitute a loan to the government without interest. Bank notes, under this bill, would be loaned to the government and the peo- pie at and per cent. interest. We give to the banking associations the interest on the national currency is sued by them, as an inducement to them to form these associations and become liable for it's redemption. In- stead of the government issuing this national currency direct to the soldiers and other creditors without interest, it sells its own per cent. bonds to the banking associations, and takes it's pay in legal tender notes tgreen+ baclzs); the banking associations take l the per cent. bonds from the secre- | tary of the treasury and deposit them with the treasurer, and thereupon the comptroller of the currency furnishes to such banking associations the na- 1 tional currency (bank bills), the treas urer holding the bonds as security for 1 their redemption. This national cur rency Is, then, money owned by such associations, like any other bank bills 1 They may be loaned to the people or | the government, like any other money | belonging to bank; and when loaned the banking associations get S or per cent. interest for its use. The asso- citations also draw the interest on the bonds previously hypothecated (de- l posited) with the treasurer. By this operation the associations gain, first ] $ per cent, interest on it's loan and i second, per cent interest on the bonds hypothecated with the treas T urer. In this way the banking asso- citations get 10 or 12 per cent. gross interest per annum, and the govern. ment pays of it on the bonds sold tC the associations, and which are hy- pothecated with the treasurer. The l government gives this bonus and the l privileges of banking to capitalists, tC induce them to combine their credit with the credit of the government 1T issuing this national currency, and providing for it's redemption, during suspension. in legal tender notes | (greenbacks), and after resumption o I specie payments, in coin. This is in | disputsble evidence that Wall stree and the banking asseciations' owl all the money and currency, and tht trust bar0ns own and control th' banks. These barons have the priv ilege Of drawing two rates of inter
 est, one on the bonds and another or the bills. The people pay both. Is i
 any wonder the cost of living is high
 Under this system prices will ,contin ue 10 soar. Great stress is placed or the gold standard of values. Ar
 bank bills redeemabls in gold or coin
 Think 1t over.
 J. c. vALLETTE.
 North Franklin, Conn.