Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-05-31
Revolution Gould Not Have
Succeeded Without Money.
CASH CARRIES TRENCHES
Great Moral Can Be Gained From Read
ing American History, Says Cornell
Professor-Buy Liberty Bond So
That Our Great Grandchildren Will
Speak Gratefully.
BY HENDRIX WILLEM VAN LOON
OF the Violantes.

BY HENDRIX WILLEM VAN LOON
OF the Vigilantes.
Professor of history at Cornell univer-
sity.]
One of the most momentous strug-
giles of the American Revolution did
not take place ON the American conti-
nent.
1t was fought out between the dip
lomatic agents of the newly formed
commonwealth and the bankers of
France and Holland.
1t was comparatively easy to get men
who were willing and able to carry
arms in the fight for liberty. But it
was difficult to make the European
bankers see the great future of a dozen
forlorn colonies engaged upon the hope
less task Of defeating the mighty Brit
ish empire.
Conditions in the year 1871 were not
different from those in the year 1917.
Napoleon remarked that war was
question of money, money and more
money" That was true when Wash
ington guided his men against York
town. 1t is still true when the allied
powers are trying to defeat the Prus-
sian idea of world domination. The
golden bullets of America will demol-
ish the Hindenburg line and will ulti-
mately defeat the submarine.
Money talks. And money also car.
ries trenches.
Five American Patriots.
There are five American patriots
whose lives and letters make interest
ing reading these days Of the liberty
Morris and Livingston, who fought
the war for Americas independence on
European soil. They were brave fight.
ers, these five. Often they did not
have enough cash in their pockets to
pay their own board bill. But they
kept fighting. And they finally obtain.
ed the foreign loans which carried the
American Revolution to a successful
end and put the weak colonies firmly
upon their feet as an independent and
sovereign nation.
1t was John Adams, in 1880, who
began the negotiations for the first
great Dutch loan. At that time con-
gress was so hard up for ready cash
that it had begun to draw bills Of ex.
change for money which had not yet
been obtained. 1t was left to their
commissioners in Europe to find the
necessary funds. The treason Of Ar.
mold and the capture Of the latest con-
gressional missionary together with
were fished out Of the ocean after he
had thrown them overbOard-had made
the Dutch financiers very skeptical
about the ultimate success of the CO.
lonial uprising. The surrender of
CORVALLIS in October Of the next year,
however, offset these fears of ultimate
defeat, and a combination of Dutch
firms ventured to invest 100000
guilders in a congressional loan. In
September OF 1882 congress affirmed
this losn and at once received 1.3OO.-
600 guilders, more money in actual
cash than had been seen on the Amer
lean shores since the beginning of the
Revolution.
Total of Eleven Loans.
During. the following years other
Dutch loans followed each other with
out interruption. In 1854. when the
American congress was willing to pay
almost any premium to maintain the
credit of the new nati,m, another loan
Of 100000 guilders at 6 per cent was
placed with several Amsterdam bank
ing firms. In 1887 the third loan fol
lowed. Then in rapid succession came
the loans of 1888, 1870, March, Sep
tember and December of the year 1791,
the loans of 1892, 1913 and 1894. These
loans, indeed, became an annual event,
and a greater part Of the running ex.
penses of th. new and unstable con-
gressional government was paid for
with Dutch money. All in all eleven
such loans. averaging between $2,OOO,-
600 and $5,OOO,OO0 each, were placed In
Holland during and Immediately after
the Revolution.
The garden of American liberty was
laid out and the seed therein was plant.
ed by the genius of Washington and
the men who co-operated with him, in.
cluding the French volunteers. But
the final growth and prosperity of the
American commonwealth was in a
great measure due to the steady
stream of gold which the banking
houses of Holland procured from the
Dutch people for the benefit of their
sister republic across the ocean.
There is a moral in this.
Our freedom was won by the sword
backed by hard cash. Our freedom
can be preserved only by the sword
backed by a bigger pile of hard cash
than those thrifty Dutch bankers ever
dreamed existed.
Here is the moral:
Buy a liberty bond. so that your
great-grandchildren will speak as crate.
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