The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-11-12
III ...:.+'
)u'up fMe
E.U.C.T.A..,
An Eternal Struggle.
Short and Ugly Way.
One Strike on Him.
The Crime Motive.
Outstanding Record.

Mans eternal struggle for home
Why must it be made when the home
is the base of all civilization, all gov
eminent and of human society? The
answer may be found in the facts
given here. More than six billion
dollars in actual money is in circula-
ton for the use of the people of the
United States. This base of money
carries a huge pyramid of credit to
make possible the operations of the
| financial system of this country. That
six billions of real money-paper and
coin-sustains somehow a debt load
of $50 billion dollars in the United
States. That $50 billion is made up
of debts owed by state governments
and their subdivisions, by the federal
government, by corporations and in
dividuals. The average rate of in
terest is estimated at percent. That
means that the interest cost to the
nation is around 1874 billion dollars
each year-about twice the amount of
money in circulation! The very exis-
tence of our financial economy de-
ponds for sustenance upon the crea-
ton of debt and interest from debt.
With a 1914 billion interest bill
each year, one-sixth of the annual in
come of the whole people goes to
those who create and carry this debt.
1t is about four times the amount the
nations pays each year for educational
purposes. By educational purposes"
is meant all public and private
schools, colleges and universities.
This same IL " billion interest load is
Just short of the country's annual
crime bill. Loss through crime-bad
living, evil practices, corrupt social
conditions-paid for law enforcement,
police departments, ETC., is in excess
of 10 billion dollars each year. A
long investigation by U. S. senate
committee established this figure.
Crime is a complement of our finan-
cial system 1t is the short and ugly
way to get money by violation of the
criminal laws. Crime does not pay
the criminal = nor the law-abiding,
either.
The average man may begin to
why he is so hard put to
gain a home and keep it, when one
third of the nations income is taken
for interest and crime. Such ire
mendous bite" puts one strike of
three on the home-owner before he
reaches the plate.
Nothing is so conducive to abate-
ment of crime as an understanding of
the cooperative method of doing bust
ness, because by its very nature, it
tends to give every man a fair oppor-
tunity in labor, as a farmer or as an
office worker, to protect his employ
ment, his business, the sale of his |
products or the purchase of his sup
plies with the least possible tribute |
to anybody. 1t carries out the prin- !
ciple of the Golden Rule. This, of !
necessity, has an influence against the
motive to crime. The better condi-
tons men have, the less temptation
there is to take the short cut and do |
wrong as means of avoiding the
pressure of desperation, created by
our economic system.
OF all men, the farmer is most af-
'ected by the interest tribute paid on
iebt He must carry a heavier debt
Dad The nature of his business re-
lures it. Most farmers even owe
on their farm plant Practi-
,ally all borrow money to carry plant
equipment and for production pur-
poses. That becomes a constant
threat to his home. He cannot say
What his production will be next year