Year: 1878

/
BY MIR. FRANK HIEGEL, OF PHILADEL-
| PHIA-A LUCID EXPLANATIoN OF THE
MONEY QUESTION.
BY eight O'Clock, last evening fifty
/ eight white men, one colored man and
three reporters had assembled in the


Sanger Hall, on Fourth street, belo W


Walnut, to attend the public meeting of
the National Greenback Labor Party of


this city. Later in the evening the au-
dience was increased to seventy-tive per-
sons, but the long-windedness of the
speaker reduced the number to less than


fifty before the meeting adjourned:


The meeting was called to order by the
President, VIM. +. Pierce, who intro
duced the speaker of the evening, Mr..


Frank Higel of Philadelphia.


Mr.. Higel said he was pleased TO see
such gatherings. They are being held


all over this country, and are being


"caused by the same causes" These ga
therings are like the little rivulets that
flow into larger brooks and thence into
mighty river, and like them this move
ment will spread, and swell and gather
strength, until ii shall overwhelm the
thieves and vagabonds who are bringing


this country to the verge of ruin. Ap-
| plause.


One year ago this movement commence


ed and was Immediately denounced by


the party press of the country. 1t was
organized because the men entrusted


with the legislation of the country were


derelct in their duty and enacted sys-


TEN of iniquitous legislation that degrad-
ed and lowered the standard of labor i'll
the interest of capital.


We've got to reclaim the rights that
have been wrested from as by these bad
men. We are fast becoming Europeaniz-


ed financially and economically, and in
this respect are as much the subjects of
| Great Bri tain as the old, thirteen origf-
apl ,piae Tho fri hnta Ylai1 In
Grear Britain by the colonies would


scarcely fill a hat, but the tribute now
paid annually would build monument
equal to Bunker Hill. Our debts are


held by British capitalists, and we are


compelled to pay them interest. 1t is
astonishing how we bear up under the


burden. We pay them twice as much
interest as their money will produce at
home and this constant drain upon our
resources is the cause of our frequently
yrecurring panics. We are squeezed by
the Shylocks until we are fiat, and as
soon as we partially recover we are
Isqueezed again. We must defend our


selves by passing laws to prevent these
frequent panics, and this can only be


done by the National Greenback Labor


Party. This party is progressing favor


ably and it is not only possible but proba-
BILE that some of these fine mornings the


old party fossils will wake up ami find
| that our great work has been achieved.
Applause


Notwithstanding the rapid progress


of our country during the last century,


it has retrogressed fully one hundrd years


during the last fifteen, until we now find
| ourselves in the same position that our
forefathers found themselves IN, viz.


suffering under oppressive laws. They
gave us the right to amend oppressive


laws SO as to bring happiness to major
ity of the people, and we intend to hold


on to that right. They gave us the right
TO revoltitionize the Government though
the peaceful agency of the ballot and this


Is the right the National Greenback La
Dor Party proposes to avail itself Of APP
plause.l The platform of the party as
proclaimed at Toledo shows the princl-
p es of the party, and its underlying pre-
| uepIs are Justice and liberty. This plat


form win stand until the National Con-


ventiou of 1880, when candidates for


President and Vice President will be
Nominated aud then it will be altered


and amended only so far as may bs re-
Iquired by the exigencies of the times or


wants of the people. There is not


level-headed man in this community, but
who, when he learns what we want, Will


say you are right. Applause


| The financial question OF the present
time, as stated by the National Green


back Labor Party is, Shall we proclaim
our independence before the world, and
take step in advance of civilization, or
Ishall we continue that system of finance


that has been drag uponthe country for
the past fifty years


| Wherever the blightng effects of the


English monetary system is forced upon
| a people their country becomes wreck.
THIS thing must be stopped. If the Eng


lish capitalists want gold, let them buy t
in the bar, as they do lead and iron. And
if they won't take our greenbacks for the
interest on their bonds, let them do with


out it. Applause,l


THE MEANING AND USE OF MoNEr-A
| LUCID EXPLANATION


| Money is used as medium in the ex-
change of commodities, anu need have
no intrinsic value ofits own. If / have
a farm out West and wish to exchange it
for house in this city, can not bring
the farm here, neither can the owner OF
1.-THE house takeit out West. | can simply
give him one piece of paper like this
l[holding up small card or thousand
D ees, and then and then Here the
sneaker frankly admitted that another
thought had popped into his head and


rather spoiled HIS effort to practically ex-
plain the value of money as medium of


exchanged
, medium of exchange is, it is only to re-
present the value of the commodities ex-


changed. If we have only single
medium of exchange, and that medium


becomes limited, the exchange of COM
modities decreases as the medium be-
comes scarcer. A war in England on a
specie basis-and that is how England


would try to conduct war, would take


all the metal coin from this country, 80
thatif under single gold standard there


were only twenty 'llars in gold in this
country, all by one man, that man could
buy up all the property in the whole
country at Sheritf's sale.


| .
After denouncing the attempt of the
Government to return to a specie basis
az the cause of all the business depres-
sion that has existed during the past four
or i've years, the speaker said: The
time tor q change has come. All we ask
lis for the Government to issue dollars.


To stamp upon piece of paper, PAP, nddr This isis is
and ali circumstances" We ask that the
interest M res o. on the pubic debt shall cease ON


certain day, and that afIer that the
Government shall give OUT Tor every Si0o
| l...l hearing no interest, We