TOE WORST FI NANCIALSY5TE t ' . IN THE WORLD. # liT xiit iut ifar^< WITH THEiTRUE SECRET OF LINCOLN’S ASSASSINATION inif w TOr w W How few People get Rich and others become Poor. vTC . Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library i; 1 1 r-> /‘V ' MU -9 |:)B7 L161—0-1096 TO MY READERS. The newspapers, controlled by the Rothchilds-Belmont-Mor- gan Gold Ring, and subsidized by the National Bankers, have not dared to assail the facts and deductions which I make in this book. Some of them, realizing their inability to disprove my statements, have tried to discredit this book by criticising the language employed. I am not one of the non-producing graduates of colleges, supported by money filched from the people by such ghouls and monopolistic vampires as the Rockefelders, Yerkes, Drexels, Vanderbilts, and others of their kind. I am a hard workingman, who would rather write the truth ungrammatically than to pen falsehoods coutched in elegant and faultless language. If any of my critics and defamers can say as much it will be a great surprise to me. The Author. ISTOTZOE- All the mercenary persons who are working for the currency contrac- tionists, those who are interested or paid by the mortgage sharks to misrepre¬ sent things are challenged to bring forth all the dollars they can produce^ stamped or to be stamped by the United States Government as LEGAL TENDER DOLLARS, of any material, to the writer, at Washington, D. C., and receive not a fifty or seventy-five-cent dollar^ as they call it, but will receive ninety-nine cents for every dollar brought. One cent profit is what L want L have faith in the government. So come on, L mean business, and dare you to come with all you have. CART. S. NLCOLETTL, lJf20 New York Ave., Washington, D. C. A GOLD CONSPIRACY Tlie Worst FiiancialSysiein in tie forlfl. HOW THE BANKERS GET RICH AND ALL OTHERS GET POOR, H radical cbana^ neebeb* BY CAPT. S. NICOLETTl OF LOS ANGELES^ CAL. pally Illustrated. Giving the dates of all the most important Laws passed by Congress, pertaining to the money question, and Other Illustrations. PUBLISHED BY rhe Progressive American Publishing Company of New York. 1896 . Entered according to Act of Congress IN THE YEAR 1894, by the Author CAPT. S. NICOLETTI, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D C. All Rights Reserved. The Illustrations in this book are from originals and protected by copyright. Anyone infringing on said Right will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. ! > K/ n OONTENTS. A Defective Banking System and the People’s Loss on Account of National Bank Failures. A Gold Conspiracy. American Bankers’ Association’s Circulars. cv An Object Lesson. ^Are the Bonds Valid. ^ Bankers Like the Message. ^Bankers Mean What They Say. Cleveland’s Comedy of the Bonds . .. Cleveland’s Special Message. Destroying Greenbacks. Do You Read—Testimonials. English Hate Against Lincoln. Enlargement of Our National Debt by Falling Prices. . , First Paper Money in the United States. Gold Exports Before and After Repeal of the Purchase Ac Here is the Act. History Repeats Itself—What Will be the Result Here . How the Bankers Always Get the Crops and the Farm How the Bankers Fool the People. How You Are Robbed. Introduction. I Looting the Treasury—Raids First to Fourth. '^McKinley Endorses Cleveland. Newspaper Points. North and South. j Now Comes the Trouble. vOur Country’s Defective Policy. ^ Panic of 1893 . '^'Points for the People.. ^Preface to Second Edition. \ President Cleveland on Silver. J Sworn Statement of Frederick Luckenbach. Ten Million More of Honest Money.. The Assassination of Lincoln—Why?. . . . xTheir First Dirty Work. ; The Law and How Different it is Administered. ^The $100,000,000 Gold Reserve. My Readers. ^Vote on the National Banking Act. JWhat a National Banker Can Do. ■^'Why the Bonds were Not Advertised. ^Words from Wise Men.. S PAGE. 71 11-13 44-52 77 57-59 67 69 53-55 66 108 7,8 36.43 73 14-16 60 21-28 74 87 83 56 9,10 63-65 68 108-122 16-18 33 70 60-62 99-108 6 97 48 20 34-36 18-19 91 94 5 28-29 31-33 55 78-81 'i6633/ PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Since the publication of this book I have received numerous letters of commendation from all classes of people, among them a great many prominent citizens, besides the sale has proved so satisfactory that not a single copy is left of the first edition. In order to comply with the general demand for this book, it affords me pleasure to issue a second and more complete edition in which any errors in the first edition have been corrected. What I pre¬ dicted in my public addresses three years ago, came to pass as I prophesied. The friends of true financial Refiorm will undoubedly aid me in my efforts to down the evils now existing, but it is not sufficient that they send me only words of approval. The works of propaganda must be pushed vigorously, fearlessly, and with¬ out relenting. This is the true key to Success. The war-cry should be: “ Equal Rights fior All, Special Privileges to None.’^ “ Equality before the Law.’’ Most Sincerely Yours, Stephen Nicoletti. Washington, D. C., 1896. From among the thousands of letters that I have received, I select a few at random, not having space to insert here all the kind words of approval addressed to me. aKNEKAI, assembly t l ' . gt TS * »•; -'x:-' . .1. 4" •. 8i4 NtjprH Broad 5Tftcn,'RH»'>i>evp* *uA. • -'‘V 'S' . •' ... - ■ '.James M. ktniAt Of- M*S 4 AC^%»tTTJ, *• ■ ■ ' f.y Phi Lailolphit, fc.., y.x-ch 21, 180C'. S- 'Captain'’S. Jlicoletti, 192 Worth St., New York City, K.Y. - , ' ; ' ' pe^Lr .'Jir and Bro.tho8:—Heplyir)fT to yours of Uio ff-"' L'4v .. , I air. ploaoed- to say that, after exeaiihiny' your hook I^Go'ld Conspiracy” 7, aw fully oorvincod that it should he read by J^the workinc people of this entire nation. It is I’trll ,of pointed ^jnatter ,. etvikfn.^ iULustrat I.ons 'end‘unin'.peao'nafc.le feat? end you PiieserVe the con-jjratulations of all., reformers for fts co.'-ipilatioh and publication. I 'nayo not nov/ in'.my possession co^py of' tho_, Irank cfr.ciilar to. svhiclv you refer. . . ' ■■ ■. - Wishing y^u the greatest possible measure nce thereof. And why interest on the public debts ? Because it made the government (Uncle Sam) pay it back as interest on the bonds to the bondholders 42 A Gold Conspiracy, or (the bankers), wlio take it this time with their right hand so as to be ready to sell it over again to some other citizen, thus paying the duties and keep using it over and over again—the same gold—from one hand to the other and make it scarce or disappear when they want good prices for it, or force Legislation, as they do now. The exception clause in our currency and how it works; who gets the benefit. Law of Feb. 25, 1863, the way it works : The exception clause that yet exists on all the greenbacks introduced by Sherman, and Congress did as the bankers demanded with these notes. Congress issued more than $1,000,000,000, but we will say or call it $1,000,000,000. Now let us see what it cost the people ; interest and com¬ pound interest alone cost the people $1,610,000,000, making the debt $2,610,000,000 for twenty years, which cost the The Worst Financial System in the World. 43 bankers only $500,000,000 in Gold. $2,110,000,000 lost or stolen from tbe people by taking the advice of the bankers. These laws were made for the bankers and against the people by design, and in proof of this I quote John Sherman, ‘‘Honest John,” Senator of Ohio. When Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee on Dec. 12th, 1867, he said it was found necessary that without the restriction upon the greenbacks the bonds could not be negotiated, and it became necessary to depreciate the notes in order to create a market for the bonds. Bonds! Think of it! Why pay interest on a piece of paper called a bond when we can use another piece of paper and call it greenback and pay no interest at all. Which is the best ? For God’s sake if we can stand and stick together as a nation on one piece of paper called a bond, because we pay interest on it to Shylocks, we can certainly stick and stand together on the other piece, and pay no interest at all, as both pieces of paper are based on the resources of the American people and the wealth of this great land ! The volume of the notes was tripled and the right to convert them taken away under the Act of Feb. 25th, 62-63, which put the exception clause on the back of the currency and made it easy and possible for the bankei’s to buy $2,610,000,000, gold bearing non-taxable bonds with one half billion dollars; while the people were robbed of the small amount of $2,110,000,000 by taking the bankers’ advice. If that is not true let Sherman and the bankers explain why hve hundred and sixty millions dollars is all that it actually cost for the late war. If issued as was the first $60,000,000, no bonds would have been necessary. (Illustration.) Jan. 1, 1895. Jan. 1, 1895. The United States of America promises to pay on demand the sum of $100,000 to bearer, lawful money of the United States. The United States of America promises to pay the Bank of England the sum of $100,000 in gold coin, with interest at 5 percent per annum in gold coin of the United States after ten years interest and capital. (Sd) Uncle Sam. (Sd) Uncle Sam. There are two papers, both signed by Uncle Sam, the bankers say one is not good; the other is good because they own the gold, and Uncle Sam has to get some extra gold to 44 A Gold Conspiracy, or pay the interest on the loan, and for which we send yearly to England as interest on the bonds and other securities that she has, the round sum of one hundred and twenty-live millions in gold, while all the Gold the world produces is only one hundred and fifty-live millions in gold ; that is the reason why one paper, the bond, is good, and the other is not. July 17th, 1861, the law authorizing the issue of treasury notes was passed; March 17th, 1862, sixty millions dollars of greenbacks were made full legal tender, no exception clause; February 25th, 1863, National Banking Law was approved ; April 12th, 1866, the Funding Act; March 3rd, 1869, Credit Strengthening Act; July 24th, 1870, Refunding Act; February 12th, 1873, Demonetizing of Silver Act; January 14th, 1875, Resumption Act; January 12th, 1888, extended Bank Charter, and November 1st, 1893, repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchasing Act. The above laws are the reasons for it, and they were passed by influence of the bankers ; in evidence, I quote John Sherman (befv^re he became a Shylock in 1862), he said in the Senate ‘ ‘ I much prefer the credit of the United Sta¬ tes, based as it is upon all the productions and properties of the United States, to the issue of any corporation, however well guarded and managed.” The monopolizing and ‘‘corrupt” newspapers have been continuously used to fool the people and cover up the wicked work of the money lenders. Now, readers, please read care¬ fully the following circulars, which were sent out by the Bankers’ Organization on October 9th, 1878, and then make up your mind what you will do. AMERICAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION. New York, October 9th, 1878. Dear Sir: It is advisable to do all in your power to sustain such prominent daily and weekly newspapers, especially the Agricultural and Religious Press, as will oppose the issuing of greenbacks (paper money), and that you also withhold patronage or favors from all applicants who are not willing to oppose the Government issue of money. Let the Government issue the coin and the banks issue the paper money of our The Worst Financial System in the World. 45 country, for then we can better protect each other, from repealing the law creating National Banks, or restore circulation of Government issue of money, which will be to provide the people with money, and will therefore seriously affect your individual profits as banker and money-lender. And see your member of Congress at once and engage him to support our interest, that we may control Legislation. This circular was signed by James Buel, secretary. No. 247 Broadway, New York, and was sent out to nearly all the bankers in the country. It will be noticed that special effort was to be made to control the Agricultural and Beligious Press, and have them oppose the issue of greenbacks; then it says, “See your member of Congress at once,” and it is generally believed now that a great many Congressmen were seen and engaged for their work. Two other kinds of circulars were also sent out, one to prominent Republican papers, and the other to prominent Democratic papers ; one of them fell into the hands of Colonel Pierce, who was then publishing the Chicago Inter-Ocean\ Colonel Pierce was a man who believed in fair play, and despised a liar or a coward, and the following is what appeared in the Inter-Ocean after his receipt of the circular. The Inter-Ocean acknowledges the receipt of the following singular document, which came to our office from New York, Saturday morning: THE AMERICAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION. No. 247 Broadway, Room 4. New York, Oct. 9th, 1878. (Strictly private.) Dear Sir: Please insert the enclosed printed slip as leaded matter on the Editorial page of your first issue immediately following ice receipt of this and send marked copy with bill to Yours truly, James Buel, Secretary, 247 Broadway, Room y the same confidence which now exists in the mind of the holder of a note, shall also exist in the mind of a depositor, and that virtually the one shall be equally secured with the other. This being done, we shall have no more runs on National Banks, no more wild panics by reason of the fear of loss therefrom, no Clearing House loan certificates, no needless failures. ’ ’ Here we have the conclusive proof and facts showing that the present banking system is defective, and that the depositors must take the chances on receiving back their deposits, because the banker can fail when he wants to, and makes money out of such failure. Mr. Flannagan, in continuation, wanted the repeal of the tax on National Bank circulation as the only remedy and so¬ lution of the defect, which, of course, was accepted and adopted by his associate bankers in the convention. The writer would like to ask Mr. Flannagan, or any other National Banker, how the re¬ peal of the tax on National Bank circulation would stop and cure the mismanagement and frauds committed by dishonest Bankers ? Let them come to the front and prove how the repeal of the tax would stop the wild speculations and gambling on stock exchanges and race horses, real estate deals, etc., with the depositor’s money. No! dishonesty will continue until the Government establishes banks of its own, and honesty takes care of the people’s money. Why did the money lenders of the world w^ant to get hold of American resources ? They looked for a fresh, new field and found in the United States a bonanza. Europe was heavily mortgaged The Worst Financial System in the World. 73 and they did not care to lend much more money there. This is the reason why American bonds are preferred and in great demand. The following figures may be of interest : “ If the richness of a country should be measured by the amount of its national debt, Europe must be immensely wealthy. The following may prove interesting in this respect. The figures represent francs, the value of which is based on the twenty- franc gold-piece : England owes 41,500,000,000 ; France, 30,481,158,926 ; Austria, 15,875,611,153.20 centimes ; Germany, 14,366,955,667.50 centimes ; Italy, 11,000,- 000,000; Spain, 5,000,000,000, of which 1,342,640 are due to government employes ; Turkey, 2,600,000,000 ; Belgium, 2,000,000,000 ; Roumania, 1,000,- 000,000 ; Greece, 730,979,175 ; Portugal, 668,205,869 ; Sweden and Norway, 582,677,236.78 centimes : Servia, 340,692,542 ; Denmark, 227,661,982 ; Switzer¬ land, 64,546,821 ; Luxemburg, 16,500,000 ; Montenegro, 2,500,000. Neglecting smaller countries, which are also largely indebted, this makes a grand total of 126,000,000,000, which bear at 4 per cent, an interest amounting to 4,040,000,000 francs yearly. The taxpayers have to foot the bill, as a matter of course. ’ ’ THE ENLARGEMENT OF DEBT OF OQR COUNTRY BY FALLING PRICES. But there is another and more serious consequence of the persistent decline of prices, a consequence to which the friends of the British gold-standard are quite averse to alluding in their discussions of the subject. As prices go down the di¬ mensions of all fixed obligations experience enlargement. The whole world is in debt. In our own country, in 1890, the State, national, city and school debts amounted in round numbers to $2,000,000,000. The mortgage debt u^Don real es¬ tate reached the sum of $6,000,000,000. Besides, there are the railroad debts and the personal and other debts, so that it may not be an exaggeration to assert that the indebtedness of the American people is not far short of $15,000,000,000. These debts, in fact, are owed by the people, for the people have to pay them. No man can say that he is out of debt. Each bond is an order for commodities created by human toil. The debts are paid finally in the articles which men pro¬ duce. Thus, as prices fall, more and more of such articles must be given to meet the requirements of fixed obligation. Men are accustomed to think of buying as an operation performed solely with money. But the farmer who sells his products buys the money as truly as the person to whom he sells them purchases his wares. As prices fall, money becomes continually dearer and demands an increasing sacrifice from him who would procure it for any purpose. The operation of this increase may be indicated by consideration of the following statement, which I did not pre¬ pare, but which I believe to be trustworthy : THE NATIONAL DEBT. Years. In 1866 It was.$2,000,000,000 Paid principal, interest and premium. 4,350,000,000 In 1894 Balance due, in dollars, about, 900,000,000 74 A Gold Conspiracy, or Bales. In 1866 It could have been paid in cotton, 14,184,000 Paid principal, interest, etc., in cotton. 94,690,000 In 1894 Balance due in cotton at 5 cts., 51,000,000 Bushels. In 1866 It could have been paid in wheat, 1,007,000,000 Paid principal, interest, etc., in wheat . 5,022,000,000 , In 1894 Balance due in wheat. 2,054,900,000 Accepting this statement as accurate, we find that, after paying in cotton nearly seven times the original amount of the national debt, the American people still owe, in cotton, nearly four times the original debt; and in cotton, wheat and similar materials this debt and all other debts are, as a matter of fact, paid. When such figures as these are presented, with the appalling fact of the de¬ struction of w^ealth which they indicate, there is no longer reason for astonishment that, between 1880 and 1895 the number of homes stolen from the people by fore¬ closure of mortgages (owned by the bankers), amounted to the enormous number of 18,000,000. This can be called by no milder name than Legalized Robbery.— Heher Clark's Speech Before the Pennsylvania Legislature. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF—WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT IN AMERICA. Rome was once the grandest and most democratic nation on the earth. Her wealth was then distributed among the multi¬ tude, and as a result her people were happy. The land was owned and divided among the millions. Her great soldiers and statesman were still greater farmers. Eighty-five per cent, of the population were land-owners, and knew that they had something to fight for, and as a consequence the Roman soldiers were invin¬ cible. The great German historian, Neibhur, says: “To what more than to her system of colonizatiou, a branch of her agrarian scheme, w^as she (Rome) indebted for the security and extension of her frontier? A hosts of warriors were trained up ready to take the field at the call of their country, yet no less ready to exchange the sword for the plow-share. It is not, however, in a military point of view that the value of this institution is evident. Tliey were of no less domestic importance in providing against the phenomena so fre¬ quently met with in great cities, of the squalid indingence by the side of the most profuse extravagance. ’ ’ In one of his most eloquent sermons, the Rev. Gilbert De La Matyer uses the following language: The Worst Financial System in the World 75 “ With the history of mighty Rome we are all familiar. At the zenith of her real greatness and power, eighty five per cent, of her population held titles in lands, and cultivated their own. Then her people were happy, prosperous, hardy and brave ; her legions were invincible. Then her currency was in volume one thousand and eight hundred millions ; when Rome perished, her lands and wealth were in the hands of two thousand inviduals. Dr. Lord says: ‘ ‘ These two thousand persons owned the world ; her currency had been con¬ tracted by class legislation to less than two hundred millions.'’' Allison says: “The fall of the Roman Empire, so long ascribed to ignorance, slavery, heathenism and moral corruption, was really brought about by a decline in the gold and silver mines of Spain and Greece. ’ ’ The German historian, Neibhnr, from whom I quoted beforp, says: ‘ ‘ The people gave themselves up in dispair in the fields as beasts of burden lie beneath their load and refused to rise. The disintegration of society was almost complete, all public spirit, all generous emotions, all noble aspirations of man shriveled and disappeared as the volume of money shrank and prices fell ; as men decayed wealth accumulated in the hands of the few. Not only did whole provinces (states) become the property of one man, but usury existed in so fright¬ ful a form that even the virtuous Brutus received sixty per cent, for the use of money.” Pliny says : “These colossal fortunes which ruined Italy were due to the contraction of estates through usury, so scarce was money. ’ ’ Quotations of this character could be pursued much further, but the writer thinks this is sufficient to convince any intelligent person of the real cause of depreciation of value and the hard times in our country. Col. Heath, the late lamented brilliant writer, in one of his newspaper articles truthfully said : Egypt died when ninety-seven per cent, of her wealth became centered in three per cent, of her population.” Babylon’s fall was caused by ninety-eight per cent, of her wealth centering in two per cent, of her people.” Persia, the empire of a hundred and seven and twenty provinces (states), kicked the bucket when one per cent, of her population had gobbled up the wealth of the realm.” 76 A Gold Conspiracy, or “ Greece, with more tenacity, succum))ed to apoplexy when less than one per cent, of her wealth was distributed among ninety-nine per cent, of her people. “ Rome gave up the ghost when two thousand of her nobles owned the world.” “ In the American Republic the wealth producers own less than ten per cent, of what they have created.” Why did Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome become decrepit and die? Because they committed suicide by enslaving and starving their working people, through robbing and oppressing them by concentrating the wealth in the hands of the few. Will the United States follow their example and commit suicide ? Or will it profit from those countries’ experience, and avoid their fate? The American people are almost face to face with three things, despotism, reformation or dissolution. Which will they choose ? The writer asks every true, intelligent lover of liberty to carefully consider this example, and do their best to avoid his¬ tory repeating itself in this rich land. It is not a matter of party lines, but it is the sustaining of our republic and free institu¬ tions. As we see daily the moneyed people of our country buy¬ ing titles of counts, etc., by marriages, and also going to Europe and spending millions to get into aristocratic society. Henry Teller, a true, liberty-loving and honest American statesman, and the others, would never have severed their connection with the party of Lincoln (which they helped to organize) if they had not known that the party of Lincoln had passed in the hands of the money sharks that really caused the assassination of the liberator of 4,000,000 slaves in order to enslave black and white to the gold usurers of the world. The Worst Financial System in the World. 77 AN OBJECT LESSON. One year’s experience with the gold standard shows the gen¬ eral devastation of over §400,000,000 by the official figures of forty-three States, in fact the table and figures show that there is no need of further explanation. The depreciation of value in one year, and it is but a beginning, shows what a continuation of the ruinous gold standard would bring to the great mass of the people. This table is taken from the Atlanta Conditution. STATE. 1893. A In Hama.. $260,172,590 28,468,183 173,526,484 1,216,700,000 238,722,417 102,965,406 452,644,907 A.rizoiitir* •••••••• -•-••• A rL'jin.. 11 fr\rm n. r^nl r»rn.fl n. Elnrifla. fTpnr(ria... • • TflaLf*. 33^000^000 847,197,516 1,302,004,669 565,857,799 356,621,818 706,799,076 Tlliiirti's. Tn/11 . Tnwa.. I>r a.n . T^pnl.nfvVv. T .nnisin.na. 250'045'503 Ara.rvla.nfl . 524,056,241 270,012,782 2,791,582,144 642,903,657 Alainp.. A r a.asar-l in sp.f.t.a. ATinnpsnf.a. All asi aai nm.. 160,'946'527 994,589,787 127,548,175 AT ri. ATnnf.n.na... NpHra.alra.. 194,733,124 26,178,060 274,816,342 768,295,274 43,630,240 4,038,058,994 261,717,727 15,029,927 1,752,990,930 168,088,905 9,115,320,549 170,242,261 136,0.32,840 338,731,726 886,175,395 AJpva.fla.. New Hampshire. T'Jpw -Tprspv . AJpw Arpvip.n. Vpw Vnrk". North Carolina. OV In 1mm a.. Ohif). OrPfron . T^pn 11 iivl vn.n lA.. South Carolina. South Dakota . Tpnnpaspp.. T exa*^ . TTf.a.h . 117,50.5,375 176,051,365 466,945,118 Vprnmnt"..... Virtrinia. AV a.ali i n frtnn. 285,634,246 222,218,154 6.54,000,000 32,356,801 AVpat. Virfrinia. AV 1 ap.nn si n. AV vmn incr. . Totals . j . 1894. INCREASE. DECREASE. $243,771,677 $17,000,913 27,061,974 1,406,209 171,965,480 1,597,004 1,20.5,918,000 10,782,000 208,905,279 29,817,138 114,246,969 1,281,563 429,012,923 2,-363,984 28,000,000 5,000,000 824,651,628 22,539,888 1,275,435,377 26,569,292 556,412,766 9,445,033 337,501,722 19,120,096 696,220,342 10,578,7.34 251,091,348 1,045,84.5 529,138,103 5,081,862 272,319,370 1,-506,588 2,815,883,621 24,307,477 648,759,245 5,855,603 159,058,436 1,891,091 999,951,960 5,372,137 118,850,892 8,698,088 183,417,498 10,015,622 23,628,720 269,683,799 774,398,332 2,544,340 6,703,058 41,128,620 2,501,620 4,273,942,431 23.5,883,482 262,917,119 1,209,392 14,830,495 199,432 1,742,662,115 10,328,815 1.50, .399,383 17,689,522 3,162,114,251 46,79.3,702 173,-508,269 3,266,088 % 128,046,765 7,986,075 319,822,187 18,909,-529 867,814,305 18,361,090 99,542,472 17,962,903 175,132,912 918,453 464,0.38,922 2,906,196 228,3.56,572 57,277,674 2,210,747 220,007,407 600,000,000 28,198,041 54,000,000 3,155,760 $337,700,7.53 $417,180,790 78 A Gold Conspiracy, or Here we have an object lesson worth studying, the beauties of the gold standard for the money centers. We find only twelve States out of forty-three which have in¬ creased in valuation, $337,700,753, and by deducting the amount of increase from the $477,lb0,790, decrease we find $79,480,037, a decrease in valuation that we cannot account for. Why ? Because the value of wealth was destroyed by the contraction of the cur¬ rency, which advanced in value, because every time you create contraction the value of money raises thereof. By studying the figures we find that New York (a money center) alone has $235,883,482 of the increase, or 70 per cent. The next comes Pennsyvania (another money center) with $46,- 793,702 increase, and Massachusetts, with $24,301,477. So we find that these three States (the money centers of the country) increased their valuation $306,978,761, leaving only $30,731,992 for the other nine States quoted in the increase. AVhen we con¬ sider this we cannot come to any other conclusion than to see so plain by the figures that the gold standard is the ruin of all the States except these three, and even at that, the people (the masses I mean) of these three States are not in any better condition than their equal in all other States of the Union, because there is more misery in New York State with $235,883,482 increase than in any other State. The fact is, that the ones which reap the benefit of the gold standard are the Wall Street Bankers, and a few other money lenders and Mortgage Owners, at the expense of all other people. Will the voters see ? WORDS FROM WISE MEN. ‘ ‘ A specie-payment system is a contrivance invented to cheat the laboring classes of mankind .”—Daniel Webster. The Republican party demands such a system for this country. ‘ ‘ Liberty cannot long endure in any country where the tendency of legislation is to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few .—Daniel Webster. The Republican party started to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, and Grover Cleveland, the Mugwump, has done the same. The Worst Financial System in the World. 79 “ Wlioever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce .”—James A. Garfield. The people should not allow the National banks to live long, because they will then control the volume of money more than they do now, as the vampires have in view the retirement of the greenbacks and replace the National bank notes instead in order to perpetuate the system and keep on bonding and robbing the people. ‘‘ The greenback currency, based as it is upon the credit of the nation, is the best money the world ever saw.”— U. S. Grant. General Grant hit the nail on the head when he said that, because paper money is the cheapest, lightest and best money in the world, for that reason the bankers want to issue it themselves. “ I affirm it as my conviction that class laws, placing capital above labor in the structure of government, is more dangerous to the Republic than was chattel slavery in the days of its haughtiest supremacy .”—Abraham Lincoln. Who to-day, doubts for a moment that the whole legislation in Congress is dictated by capital and corporations for their interest only ? “ If a government should contract a debt with a certain amount of money in circulation, and then contracted the money volume before the debt was paid, it would be the most henious crime a government could commit against the people.” —Abraham Lincoln. That is just what this government has done, it contracted the war debt, and afterward not only contracted the money volume but destroyed it and funded the debt, and afterward, in 1873, destroyed half of the volume of money and they expect to keep on doing it all the time. “ Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration .”—Abraham Lin¬ coln. These words were in a message to the Congress of the United States. Does the legislation of that body for the past thirty years look as though our law-makers believed these words of Lincoln ? I quote these words to prove that the Republican party of Lincoln is dead, for the party of that name is now absolutely dominated by capitalists and syndicates. 80 A Gold Conspiracy, or ‘ ‘ If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corpora¬ tions.”— Andrew Jackson. The political mercenary tools in Congress have sold out this right to the National banks for good prices, or they are themselves interested in the banks, and they vote for their own interest all the time. “ I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependance for continued freedom ; and to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.”— Thomas Jefferson. Grover Cleveland differs from the founder of democracy and the author of that sacred document, the Declaration of Indepen¬ dence, which freed us from England. Grover now seeks to annul it by enslaving the people to the gold lords of England with an intent to perpetuate the debt. “ I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have set up a money aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the government and the people, to whom it properly belongs. Let the banks exist, but let them bank on coin or treasury notes.”— Thomas Jefferson. Here is another very different stand taken by Jefferson, than the one taken in oppossition now by the would-be patriots and Democrats of the present Administration. It is true that the Republicans took the cake in favoring the National bankers, but Grover and the clique want to do better and get away with the whole bakery by giving the bankers the sole right to issue money and keep up the aristocracy. “The national banks are responsible for the destruction of the greenbacks, the payment of the bonds in coin, the funding acts, the demonitization of silver, and all the corrupt financial legislation in this country for the past thirty years. They have boycotted and discriminated against every kind of money that promised re¬ lief to the debtor class and prosperity to the industrial masses. They are boycot- ters of the most cruel and merciless kind.”— Grand Master J. R. Sovereign of the Knights of Labor. Yes, you are right Mr. Sovereign, but John Sherman, of Ohio, whom many Americans believe to be a great patriot and financier (?), did all the dirty work necessary to carry into law the acts and schemes of the bankers. He is still at it, and expects to succeed Carlisle should McKinley get elected, whom the chumps will vote for and believe that he is the working The Worst Financial System in the World. 81 men’s friend. Oh yes, they will find out later on. Sherman intends to do great work for the Rothschilds when he gets there. Will he have the chance? “Fifty men in these United States have it in their power, by reason of the wealth which they control, to come together within twenty-four hours and arrive at an understanding by which every wheel of commerce may be stopped, and every electric key struck dumb. These fifty men can paralyze the whole country, for they can control the circulation of the currency and create a panic whenever they will .”—Chauncey 31. Depew. If Depew never told the truth before, he told it at the time he said this, because it was only ten bankers that created the panic of 1893, and it only takes about double that number to paralyze commerce as things are run only to suit the government of aristocracy nowadays. And they are making threats of panic right now. ‘ ‘ My agency in procuring the passage of the National Bank Act was the great¬ est financial mistake of my life. It has built up a monopoly that affects every in¬ terest in the country. It should be repealed ; but, before this can be accomplished, the people will be arrayed on one side and the banks on the other, in a contest such as we have never seen in this country .”—Salmon P. Chase. This was said by Mr. Chase shortly before he died. Chase was the Secretary of the Treasury under Mr. Lincoln, whom the bankers had fixed or persuaded to push the National Banking Act, and he told Lincoln he would resign his office if the Presi¬ dent did not sign the Act within two hours. All the greatest men of this country were for both gold and sil¬ ver and against the gold standard, to wit: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Blaine and many others. Harrison (who now says he will stump for McKinley) signed the Sherman Silver Purchasing Act, after the bankers had sent 1400 telegrams to veto it, and that was the reason the hankers defeated him. The writer got money from a Republican National bank president of Los Angeles, Cal., to defeat him, and I know what I am talking about. So be patriotic and American above party. The bankers have always fixed things so as to have the Secretary of the Treasury and Comptroller of the Currency with them, and get the Secretary of Treasury to deposit the money of the people with them so that they can get interest upon it, and 6 82 A Gold Conspiracy, or also by controlling it, create panics and force bond issues at their will. The old bonds would have expired in 1907, which would have ended the National banking system. They had too good a snap to let it go easily. So they created the panic, and arranged with Cleveland and Carlisle to issue more bonds in order to pro¬ long for thirty years or more their system of usury and legalized robbery. This nation Avill never get out of debt as long as the National banking law is in the Statute Books of our country, because the banker will do anything to prolong it if they have to spend millions, which they get back double. God save this country from falling in the hands of Ohio’s statesmen. (?) They have been a disgrace in the past, to wit: Salmon P. Chase was twice Governor of Ohio, and the agent who procured the passage of the National Banking Act. Senator Wade, who said: “ By the gods, Johnson (who succeeded Lincoln), we have faith in you, there will not he any trouble now in running the government” After Lincoln’s death he was leading U. S. Sena¬ tor from Ohio. John Sherman, ‘‘the author of Hard Times,” who sold this country, and who will, it is reported, take the stump to endeavor to prevent the people from redeeming it, is from Ohio. Corporation Lawyer Foraker (Senator-elect to do the work for corporations, as Sherman is too old), who worked for the gold platform in St. Louis, and moved to lay on the table Senator Teller’s bimetallic substitute, is from Ohio. McKinley, the Hanna trust and syndicate man, is from Ohio. People will find out their mistake if they do not stop it, because the result will be the ful¬ filling of Lincoln’s prophecy (the destruction of this republic), just as sure as Csesar and the wealthy classes destroyed the grand Roman republic, that cost Csesar his life. Do you wish to estab¬ lish a potentate government in this country ? Here is what the potentates get per day, besides other things: Emperor (Czar) of Russia.$25,000 Sultan (Despot) of Turkey. 18,000 Emperor (Bigot) of Austria. 10,000 King (Humbug) of Italy. 8,600 Emperor William of Germany. 8,000 Queen Victoria of England. 5,000 Considering the services of those people, are they not over paid? Yes! But these people and the shylocks are protecting their interest ? Why is it that the masses do not do the same ? The Wokst Financial System in the Would. 83 HOW THE BANKERS FOOL THE PEOPLE. Let us see how the Bankers have fooled the people so long and still fool them, and the people do hot know yet how it is done, and why the bankers have all they want and good times, while millions of other people and their innocent children and wives starve and freeze and become paupers more and more, while the bankers and money lenders become millionaires. Here it is in a nut shell, how it is done; about a year or so prior to the election the bankers set their machines to work, the lying and corrupt newspaper-politicians, and they com¬ mence writing articles over articles, who should be the best man to nominate for President, etc., the best man for the people of both parties; and they do like the nut-shell swindlers or presto change sure thing man, on the table of sectional hate, they being working and working it yet. The Mason and Dixon Line is their table North and South, Free Trade and Protection, “you know,” and with said articles over articles they get the people excited and prejudiced against one another about it, as they are doing now and all the time the same thing, until about a few days before the primaries election for delegates to the convention ; then Mr. Banker sends for the ward heeler or the boss politician, you know him, the fellow that never work hard, but has soft jobs and big pay or does not work at all, but wears good clothes at our expense, and the bankers tell him about the newspaper articles, etc., and who will be the best man to nominate, and who should be the delegates to the convention, and will furnish the money to carry out his plan. The fellow takes it of course, and puts it where it does the most good, in his pocket, except a few dollars to fool the people ; the warm¬ up to treat them and promises great times and good jobs with big pay, and commences his work this way. “ Say boys did you see the article in the papers this morning about Mr. C., that was a good article ; was it not ? Mr. C. is no good ; we don’t want to nominate him ; we want Mr. Me., he is a good man and a good candidate and will sweep the country, and we must nominate him; he is all right, boys, and if we nominate and elect him we will have good times sure. Mr. Barkeeper give us a drink ; come boys all take a drink with 84 A Gold Conspiiiacy, or me, and here’s looking at you, here’s for Me., liere’s for liar,, here’s for Reed ; give us another drink Mr. Barkeej)er, as they are getting warmed up in great shape,” and my friend’s man will get there sure, the Banker’s man. After the first drink ; “Now let me tell you, boys, if we nominate Mr. Me., we are all right, as he is for good wages, good times and protection to American labor and x)lenty of work, because it protects the American peoj^le,” and for that reason we must nominate him; give us another drink ; drink what you want, boys. I want California wine. I take Col. Booze, of Kentucky, says another that is spilling it already, and finally he has got them in such shape that they do not think of their wives and children waiting home, and i)uts them in line with torches and marches them to hear the great L.—Speaker, the Banker’s mouth-piece, and they hurrah and whoop it up for the G. O. P. That night is solid North Republican and protection to American Labor, good wages and lots of work and down with Free Trade and the solid South, and sometimes they fight the war over and knock one another silly, etc. The WoiiST FmANCiAL System in the World. 85 About a week or so after, the Democratic Bankers send for the Democratic Boss Politician, dem-primaries you know, and furnishes him the warm up, may be not so much, but he must have it to go through the same story, and that night is Solid South Democracy and Government by the people and for the people, and down with trusts and the robbers’ tariff, etc., etc. You see one night Solid North and another night (presto- change) Solid South, until the nominations are made ; after the nominations the Bankers go to a summer resort or other places and have good times on the result, as they know now that it is head they win, and tail we lose, which ever way it goes, and leaves them to fight it out until Election Day, and after election the North raises his cover, and presto-change, the great good times, good wages and protection to American Labor are gone. The South raises his cover, and also the great promises of Government for the people and by the people, and down with monopoly and trusts, are gone (one Sugar Trust got down on the people) and now comes Mr. Banker from behind and raises his cover, and there is his gold that with the vicious laws passed^ grows and grows, and everything else down and decreasing, he has the laugh on us all. Democrats and Republicans he fools, both North and South, on sectional hate, while our interest is intrinsically the same. Lots of fun for the Banker and you. See, see! 86 A Gold Coxspikacy, ok How the Bankers fool the people. Sectional hate Mason and Dixon line. The Worst Financial System in the World. 87 HOW THE “BANKER” GETS THE CROPS, RAIN OR SHINE, OR GETS THE FARM The contraction and monopoly of our currency for not having the government issue it, and not having sufficient medium of exchange (money) in circulation according to the demand, and how the Bankers get the benefit. Now we take a city with a farmer, a merchant, a miller, a banker, etc. ; the farmer has a good farm and wishes to seed it; he is out of debt, and has everything—horses, plows, seed, etc., but he has not the money to pay his help or get provisions. We say he has the above mentioned properties, but how many farmers have not even that. He wishes to seed his farm and he asks his neighbor if he can loan him $1,000. “No, I have not got it John, I had some money and I put it in the bank, and it failed and I lost it.” (And there is where the people put the money in these days, and the bankers get the interest on the people’s money, and sometimes get it all). So Mr. John has to start for the bank where the money is and our government has given Mr. Banker the monopoly, and even the people keep there what little they have, and there goes Mr. John, the farmer, to the bank. Mr. Clerk comes “What can I do for you, Mr. John.” “ I wish to borrow some money to seed my farm.” “Will you please wait a few minutes, the President or the Cashier will talk to you.” Mr. President comes—“What can I do for you, John.” “I wish to borrow $1,000 on my ranch to seed it.” “Oh, money is very tight with us just now and I don’t think that we can accommodate you, Mr. John.” That is the first statement they make to John. “Well, gentlemen, I must have $1,000 to seed my farm which is clear of mortgages, etc., and I have the seed, etc., only need the money. I have been a good customer of the bank for many years, too.” “ Well, come in to-morrow, we will consider the matter and try to accommodate you” they say to him. Now they consult and see how much interest they should charge him. “ Oh, those farmers make plenty of money with their crops,” said the Cashier. Well we will charge him 12 per cent if he wants the money; he says he must have it,” answers the President. “ So much the 88 A Gold Conspiracy, or better, then,” says the Cashier, “and see that the pajiers or mortgage and notes are all drawn straight by our lawyers ’ ’ (the best in town, you know). John comes the next day and asks if they have concluded to accommodate him. “Yes, Mr. John,” says the Clerk ; “I had a hard time to persuade them to make the loan, as money is very tight, you know, and we have to charge you 12 per cent and you to jiay the cost of drawing the papers, etc., if you wish the loan.” It is too much interest, but what can the farmer do ; he has to have the money or not seed the ranch. So the papers are drawn and recorded and John gets the money—about $850 after the interest and other expenses are taken off, and he goes to work and seeds his ranch, we say with wheat, but it applies to every other crop raised, and he has to take all the chances of scarcity of rain, of too much rain, that floods his crops, of storms coming and destroying it, or other elements that he cannot help ; but not a single chance is taken by the cold¬ blooded and sure-thing Banker ; he has a first mortgage on the farm and the crops. But suppose we say this time the farmer is lucky and he gets a good crop—now the time is getting near to pay the mortgage and he has to hustle and get his crops to market or the Banker will foreclose on him ; so he j)uts his wheat in the wagon and goes to town to sell it and he sees the merchant. ^^Say, Jack, do you want to buy some wheat ? I will sell it to you cheap so that you can make money on it.” “ How cheap, John ?” 40c. a bushel, and it is the best wheat you ever saw ; come and look at it outside in the wagon.” Jack sees the wheat and it is good and he would like to buy it, but he is in the same fix as John was (con¬ traction you know brings the money where it starts from). “I tell you John what I will do I will trade with you,” says Jack. “Ho, no Jack, I have to have money to pay out, and the fellows I owe it to do not want goods.” “ I know it, but I will do my trading with you some other time, and I will patronize you if you patronize me,” and so as Jack likes the wheat and wants to get John’s trade and wishes to speculate with John, he says wait ‘ d will see if I can buy it, ’ ’ and he goes to the bank, may be some other bank, but a bank anyway. “Gentlemen, I have a chance to buy John’s wheat cheap and it is good, and I am short of money just now ; I paid some The Woest Financial System in the Woeld. 89 heavy bills and I would like to borrow $1,200.*’ ‘‘ Money is very tight with us just now”—same old story—‘‘but if you have a chance to make money we will accommodate you, being an old customer of the bank, but we have to charge a little more interest than usual.” “How much,” asks Jack. “ Oh, 12 per cent, you know you will make money and you will make it with our money and get John’s trade, too.” “All right,” says JackAnoflier mortgage on the merchant’s property and he gets the money, buys the wheat and pays John and John returns it back to the bank where it started from. Now the merchant has the wheat and he holds it to see if prices will go up so that he may make something on it, but the time gets near when his note will be due and he has to hustle too or the Banker will have a Sheriff lock on his door, and Jack hunts up Peter the miller. “Say, Peter, I have good wheat ! bought cheap from John when he needed money. I would like to sell it now. Come and look at it.” Peter goes. “See, Peter, fine wheat, just as good as gold” says Jack (who does not know that it is better than gold—can we eat gold). Peter likes it, and they agree on the price as Jack needs money now, and Peter goes and borrows from the bank, pays Jack and Jack returns it to the bank where it started from. We leave the baker alone ; say he buys a small quantity and pays cash or weekly, but before that bread is eaten by the consumers it has paid three interests, 36 per cent to the Banker, which the consumer must pay for—and does the Banker work for it ? Usurers and Shylocks repeal the National Banking Act. Issue the money by the government and the Banker cannot rob the people and cannot create panics and force legislation in their favor to issue more bonds and perpetuate this robbery. 90 A Gold Conspiracy, or BAN kO CITY OF “BANKERS COUNTRY." How the Bankers get the Crops, rain or shine, or get the Farm. The Worst Financial System in the World. 91 THE LAW AND HOW DIFFERENTLY IT IS AD¬ MINISTERED BY OUR COURTS, OR MADAME JUSTICE, AND HOW SHE APPEARS WHEN SAME IS TO BE ADMINISTERED. These are facts, and on record, and we are all familiar with them, and no one can call me to account that our laws are violated by Capitalists and Corporations and there is no punishment for them, while on the other hand the poor are declared guilty in advance and before trying their cases, by pseudo law abiding citizens and defiers of the law of the land. Let us prove this assertion. On August 5th, 1892, Congress passed a law authorizing the outright gift of $2,500,000 of the people’s money as Souvenir Coin to the Columbian Exposition Company, a corporation of Chicago Capitalists, and in order to effect the passage of said law the said corporation of Chicago Capital¬ ists accepted and agreed to allow a clause to be added (so j)lain for any one to understand it) closing the World’s Columbian Exposition on Sunday. And the corporation was paid $2,500,000 to obey that law of Congress, which was passed by a majority of 48 and was signed by President Harrison on the same day, and they took that money on those conditions, but they did not obey the law. After three Sunday closings of said Exposition, or on May 12th, 1893, the Legislative Committee of the directors of said corpora, tion, composed of Edwin Walker (chairman), Ferd. W. Peck, F. S. Yinton and Arthur Dixon, as his associates, reported and deliberately said Congress had no power to pass such a law (but they took the money on that condition). The directors of said corporation, Lyman J. Gage, Davis, Hutchinson, McNally, Kerfoot and Lawson, acting upon said report from the Legislative Committee and declaring themselves the champion law-makers of the land. On May 16th, 1893, under the rules of said corporation they ordered the Fair ojiened on Sunday, against the protests of the National Commissioners, and some of said Commissioners advocated that the general government would be applied to for the sending of troops to close said Fair, to no avail, as 92 A Gold Conspiracy, or the Administrative Committee of said Fair, under the rules, opened the gates of the Fair and defied the law on May 28, 1893. What was the result ? The government brought suit against said corporation to obey the law and close the Fair, and on June 8th a temporary Injunction was granted to the United States District Attorney Milchrist, but when the case went before the U. S. Court, Chief Justice Fuller of the U. S. Supreme Court, Justice Bunn of Wisconsin and Allen of Illinois, decided the case against the Government and in favor of the corporation. Edwin Walker was the Attorney for the corporation (in which he was interested). And after it did not pan out as they wanted, they were saying they wanted to ' give a chance to the Workingmen of Chicago to see the Fair, but they cared more for the 50c. of the workingmen than all the workingmen of the world. What they were after was the 50c., so the workingmen did not patronize Sunday opening, and all the foreign exhibits were covered, and the press out¬ side of Chicago, and especially the religious press, started to boycott the Fair. The directors, on July 14th, 1893, in order to clear themselves of moral obligation, rescinded their order to open the Fair, and on July 22nd the Council of Adminis¬ tration ordered the Fair closed, which was done the next day, Sunday July 23rd. They did as they pleased ; disobeyed the laws of Congress and the orders of the U. S. Courts. One Chas. W. Clingman did better than the government on law enforcing, and had the directors fined for contempt of court before Judge Stein, Mr. Davis was fined $250 and the others $1,000 each. Here comes another important case that we all also know; the A. R. U., not a corporation but workingmen that tried to protect themselves from starving and striked. Debs, Howard, Keliher, Rogers and others, in which Mr. Edwin Walker of the World’s Fair fame was the Special Attorney to prosecute those people (and he says in advance according to an associated press dispatch, sent broadcast all over the land) guilty in advance of the trying of their case ‘‘we want Debs and every man that has trampled on the law to be punished,” and he was a mascot, as Federal Judge William A. Woods sentenced them to six months each, but at least if Debs and his associates violated the Interstate Commerce Law they The Worst Financial System in the World 9.3 surely did not get $2,500,000 and then break the law. Here is what Mr. Walker is supposed to have said : THEY WANT DEBS. National Government Will Punish all the Strike Leaders. Chicago^ July 5.—“If the strike was settled to-day it would not make any difference,’’ said Edwin Walker, special counsel for the Government. “Every man who has trampled on the law will be punished. I do not care anything about the few misguided men who have been arrested. It is the instigator of the lawlessness that the Government wants to punish. That is Debs. We shall have Debs. We have the evidence against him now, and he will be punished.” A special grand jury to sit next Tuesday was summoned this morning .—Cincinnati Tribune^ July 6, 1894. Debs and the others went in jail. It reminds the writer of the Tyrant Emperor Tiberius, of the Roman Empire, when he was decreeing so many laws and wanted them strictly obeyed, but his majesty’s empolyes were violating them by the wholesale, and one day Tiberius, asked his Prime Minister Tacitus what he thought of the last law that he, Tiberius, had decreed, and Tacitus philosophically answered and said: ‘ ‘Your Majesty, to tell you the truth about the matter, you are decreeing so many laws that it is impossible to execute them, and your own lawyers and judges do not obey them. What can you expect from the other people that see the examples” (good for Tacitus, he was for good examples). Tiberius was assassinated. The writer could quote hundreds of such cases all over the land. See Editorial of the Chicago Times about the Santa Fe R. R. (Page.ll3)Here is an example while I was in Cincinnati. Food Inspector Pendergast arrested a poor milkman for having put a little water in the milk that he was selling; he was convicted, fined and sent to the Workhouse. The R. R- and other corporations water their stocks very heavy and what do they get for punishment? The best 94 A. Gold Conspiracy, or seats in the U. S. Senate and House of liepresentatives. See the difference in the Law and Madame Justice as she appears when Justice is to be delivered, quite different you know. MADAME JUSTICE, AND HOW SHE APPEARS WHEN JUSTICE IS TO BE DELIVERED. The Law and how different it is Administered IN OUR Country. The $100,000,000 gold reserve in the United States Treasury is without any law, for it was established by John Sherman when he was Secretary of the Treasury in 1875. No need for it but only kept there for the bankers to gamble on. They made the Secretary of the Treasury make a hole in it and run it down to 40 or 50 millions, by paying the expenses of the government in gold, when he can pay them in silver, as the law says in coin and gives the Secretary the power to use his discretion about it. Now by iiaying the expenses in gold it makes a hole in the gold reserve and the bankers commence to say your credit is running down and you had better issue some bonds and till the hole, and the Government, do issue The AVokst Financial System in the World. 95 bonds and fill it. Then the Secretary digs another hole and again the same old story; your credit is running down, issue more bonds and fill the hole, and by making and filling the holes God knows when they will stop issuing bonds. Is the credit of a man or of a government that keeps $100,000,000 in gold lying idle in his safe (only there for bankers to speculate with) any better than another man or government that instead of keeping the $100,000,000 idle in the safe has it invested in good paying properties that bring him revenue and keeps it increasing and furnishes employment to his fellow citizens and so increases wealth? That man or government is a progressive one, while the other is not. Now if the One hundred million dollars gold reserve were used and put in such properties as Railroad and Telegraph lines that ought to be owned by the government, it would bring revenue to the government and employ citizens of the said government (and it is the duty of every civilized govern¬ ment to take care of its citizens if said government wishes to exist, and it is said that a friend in need is a friend indeed) and stop strikes, and no extortionate rate would be charged for transportation of any matter by Railroad or Telegraph lines, or even so it would go back to the people. No paralelling of Railroads to freeze out small concerns and freezing out of small stockholders. The post-office and the telegraph ought to be combined together. The government or the people of the United States have done more for the developing of the telegraph invention than the owners, as the government gave Professor Samuel F. B. Morse $30,000 on March 3rd, 1843, for an experiment of his invention, by the passage of the telegram bill, and the invention was tried and it proved a success on the first telegram, which was sent on Friday, May 24th, 1844, at 8»45 A. M. from Washington to Baltimore. After it proved a success the money power commenced to grab it, but before that they were saying Morse was crazy and he had to work from 1832 to 1843 to get the government to help him out as no capitalist or corporation would take chances (The government or the people have given too much money and also land grants to enrich a few men and it is about time to stop and have / 96 A Gold Conspiracy, or government ownership of Railroads and Telegraph lines, and stop strikes trouble and killing of j)eople. It has been the defect and contraction of our currency for not having the government issue it according to business demands that has made it easy for the moneyed men of ' England to buy our best paying properties and no wonder gold finds its way to England. There are 9 million of mortaged homes in the United States that the money sharks are going to grab, and they are cutting wages to starvation and causing strikes trouble and increasing crime in our land. The Tariff Question is a sectional hate scheme, and it is used by the bankers only to keep the people in the dark concerning the main and vital question, the money question, and keep the people divided in sectional hate and prejudiced, fighting one another. Now if the United States government protects one citizen it has to protect the others, or if it protects the State of Louisiana with her rice, sugar, etc., it must protect California with her oranges, grapes etc., and so on with every State and their industries, as they are all entitled to the same protection under the same government; protect all or none. And by our government having protected certain citizens it created dissension and just prejudice by the non-protected ones, and the bankers and money power have got in their fine work and got away with the money question and vicious laws. The money question if properly agitated will unite the people from Maine to California and from the Canadian line to the Gulf of Mexico, as all the American people will be and are interested in it, and they see now the suffering on that account, so interest yourself in the most important question that has and is yet agitating the world, the money question. Remember that the bankers have no scruples and will do it every time and they have ruined great and powerful nations of this earth whenever they had a chance or a foothold. They will ruin ours if we let them go on, so let us stop them if we are sincere and true Americans. The Worst Fh^-ancial System in the World. 97 The Tariff question and how it is used by the Bankers. PRESIDENT CLEVELAND ON SILVER. Here are the three last paragraphs of his message of March 29th, 1894, vetoing the Bland Bill for the coinage of fifty-five millions of silver seignorage in our treasury. This leads me to earnestly present the desirability of granting to the secretary of the treasury a better power than now exists to issue bonds to protect our gold reserve when for any reason it should be necessary. Our currency is in such a confused condition and our financial affairs are apt to assume at any time so critical a position that it seems to me such a course is dictated by ordinary prudence. I am not insensible to the arguments in favor of coining the bullion seigniorage now in the treasury, and I believe it could be done safely and with advantage, if the secretary of 7 98 A Gold Conspikacy, ok the treasury had the power to issue bonds at a low rate of interest under authority in substitution of that now existing, and better suited to the protection of the treasury. I hope a way will present itself m the near future for the adjustment of our monetary affairs in such a comprehensive and conservative manner as will afford to silver its proper place in our currency, but in the meantime I am extremely solicitous that whatever action we take on this subject may be such as to prevent loss and discouragement to our people at home and the destruction of confidence in our financial management abroad. GROVER CLEVELAND. Executive Mansion, March 29, 1894. Mr. Cleveland says that Congress should give more power to the Secretary of the Treasury, (which has too much power now) to issue bonds at small rates of interest, so that we can then coin the silver bullion in the treasury; but if Congress does not give such power we cannot coin it, and he vetoes it. If we pay interest we can, if we do not pay interest we can’t, you see. Which private citizen or concern would go to work and issue his interest paying note to another man (an outsider) for the privilege of using his own or their material, that he or they have in their store. Would you do it? Certaiidy not. Now, the people have the Silver Bullion in the Treasury and want to have it coined so as to use it; and Congress passed the Bland Seignorage silver Coining Bill; the Senate passed it too. Mr. Banker sees Mr. Cleveland and tells him that we have to issue bonds to pay them the interest and then we can coin and use it, but if we don’t pay them interest we cannot use it, and Mr. Cleveland vetoes it; and he is for bonds because he knows the reason why, there is something loose somewhere. God may bless you Mr. President, but don't ffatter yourself that you can play patriot or democrat, because you do not know how and your own actions show it. The Worst Financial System in the World. 99 POINTS FOR THE PEOPLE. Lincoln was the President of the people and he opposed any scheme that tended to rob them' He also was against the usurers and was assassinated. Christ was a bi-metallist and preached against usurers and for the elevation of mankind. He was cruci¬ fied for it. But look to-day what the world thinks of them, and you will not be able to withstand preaching the same as they did, and God will be with you. Why not? This is a cause of hu¬ manity vs. oppression. When there is enough money in circulation it will start plenty of work, and the result will be good times and prosperity for all, because the working people are the ones who spend and put their money into circulation as soon as they get it. From 1791 (when gold and silver were made the unit of value) up to 1873, when this nation was nothing compared with to-day’s strength, the illustrious patriots did not need to ask or wait for the consent of any other nation. A free, self government that has to obtain the consent of a foreign power before it can legislate vital laws for its people is no longer a free, self government but a subservient government not worth having. Such has been the case with this government since 1873, and it is still evident with the narrow-minded or interested leaders in the present financial imbroglio. . Not only do they not know what they want in the way of legislation for the relief of the people, but, according to the doctrines in vogue, they have to secure first the good will of England or the Rothschilds (which will never be given) and then legislate. When John Bull adopted the gold standard in 1816 (three years after the defeat of Napoleon) he did not care a continental for the consent of any other nation. He acted in accordance with his own sweet will and for the benefit of England, which is a creditor nation and whose best interest is served by keeping up the gold standard so as to control the world, which is against her. Her fall is not far distant. What is the use, then, for the United States to be a country of enormous strength, wealth and resources ? If we would only lead in finances, others would surely follow; but to do this we should not believe in and be led by the chicken- hearted politicians and newspapers under the control of the money sharks. 100 A Gold Conspiracy, or Cleveland made one of his bluffs (in order to avoid criticism on bis last bond sale) with bis Venezuela message, which nearly put this country in a position which meant nothing less than a stupid war when we were not prepared, possessing only a small standing army and an embryotic navy. The Monroe Doctrine is most respectable, hut it is criminal to use it as a machine for the benefit of the money brokers. The people were deceived at first, but better sense prevailed. That we must and shall fight England there is not the least doubt, but it is not on land or sea we must annihilate the British Lion, but attack it in its stronghold—the control of the world’s finances. The Britishers are after our land and resources. That is what they want. Let us come to the rescue and keep up the prices by having more money in circula¬ tion through bi-metallism and retaining the control of our pro¬ ducts and properties. England will have to starve or come to terms. This is the true solution, and there is no necessity of going to Venezuela. When the free coinage of gold and silver at the present ratio of 16 to 1 is started, this countr}^ will begin an era of prosperity never equalled in her history, and it will force England into bi¬ metallism too, because the Latin Union will join with us and England and Germany will be put into a position whereby they will be the loosers, as it will give the advantage to the countries adopting bi-metallism of receiving the difference on exchange, and they will soon see into it. This is the true way to universal bi-metallism. The money lenders of the whole world say, that with more money in circulation the price of products (necessaries of life) will rise, and as they generally are non-producers^ they oppose the increase of money. Why ? Because they want to get products of Labor at their own prices and then squeeze the producer. They know what is good; you don’t. The Bankers know what a good thing is, and they want it. Now, is it not a good thing to take care of, use and get away with other people’s money ? They swindle, menace and keep down the masses with their own weap¬ ons (the money which the people keep in the banks), which they allow the bankers to have and use, and they do use it with de¬ cisive effect. If you do not wish to enslave your children and yourself, and make money, write at once to the author of this book for terms, The Worst Financial System in the World. 101 then spread the light and get your friends to buy a copy and read it. They will know then how they have been robbed and what makes the hard times, no work and deprivation. Suppose some¬ thing would happen that would destroy all the gold there is in the world out of the earth, would the world stop from existing ? No, certainly not. The sun would rise and warm the earth, and cabbage “head” and cucumbers will grow as before. Yet there are plenty of intelligent (?) people who believe that the world cannot transact business without gold as money. Why is it that the bankers want the government to coin money of gold and they have the issuing of paper money ? It is because the money sharks of the world can corner (monopolize) gold, of which there is not enough for the smallest nation to do business with, but they want to issue the paper money, because no one can ever corner it, as there is too much of it, provided the government will allow them to do so. Also, because paper is cheap, light to carry and answers the purposes. As a matter of business and economy, let us illustrate: If you needed money, or say a bucket; there were three kinds of bucket in the market, one of gold, §5.00; one of silver, §2.50, and one of paper, 25 cents— any of them would do the work and answer the purpose—which one would you buy ? The world is getting so enlightened and machinery of every kind is improving all industries, but few people of the world want to go backward and contract the circu¬ lating medium of exchange (currency), instead of expanding it, according to demands. Why? Rothschilds & Co. said they want to own the world and all the people in it. Will the people allow him to do it ? Bimetallism will drive the many idle people from the cities to the country to work. The result will be less misery, less crime, less injustice and finally the elevation of mankind, for which Christ sacrificed His young life. What is the matter wdth religious preachers, are they mortgaged too ? A better opportunity than now to do good will never present itself Why don’t they grasp it? Touch a man’s pocketbook or tell him the truth about his crookedness and he will surely squeal and say you are a crank, an anarchist and many other obnoxious names. Is that good argument? No. That is exactly the case now with the law- 102 A Gold Conspiracy, or protected crooks that criticise the people who composed the Chicago Convention. England’s newspapers said they were cow¬ boys. Why ? Because her agents, who went there, could not do as they have done before, and as a result, all those interested with her say stop the anarchist, because they want to refuse to pay us tribute any longer. Will you listen to them? Oh, Crank, Lunatic, Silver Crazy, etc., is this good argument ? Give me the monopoly of the currency of any country, and take every¬ thing else, in fifty years I will own it. There were two farmers, prior to 1873, supplying the corn for the chickens of this country. One raised yellow and the other white corn. As a result there were two kinds of corn on the market. If the farmer with the yellow corn wanted too much for his corn the chickens would buy and use white corn, which answered the purpose, and the owner would raise more to supply the customers. The farmer with the yellow corn sent his man to Capitol Hill with plenty of yellow corn, and fed a few big roosters, and they didn’t do a thing but quietly stop all the chickens from having plenty of white corn to eat. No good, says the roosters ; yellow corn the best to eat. The chickens began starving, and the farmer with the yellow corn is getting so fat out of the poor chickens’ many eggs that he is ready to burst out of his clothes. The chickens got together in Chicago and put forward a good fighting rooster, named White, to boss the show for them and see that the chickens would not be robbed any longer of plenty of corn, white and yellow, and lay plenty of eggs again by taking the monopoly off of the good corn. The yellow corn farmer hired all the roosters to sing for him and to stop the white corn man from seeding and raising a crop and coming round with his corn again. The chickens did not be¬ lieve those roosters. No, they got together for the first time, say¬ ing opposition is the life of trade, and the chickens got and are getting so many good roosters on their side that when November comes there will not be none left for the yellow corn agent of Ohio to celebrate with. The chickens mean business this time. They want plenty of corn, and they are going to have it. They secured a farmer boy from a good corn-raising State too. He can beat all other roosters singing. As soon as the chickens The Worst Financial System in the World. 103 heard him sing, they wanted and got him. Oh wait and see all the boys’ roosters go to the rescue of the poor, good chickens that lay the eggs for all, and it will be a great song for more corn, more fun, more Democrats, more prosperity. Plenty of corn, white and yellow. Victory—doo-doodle-dee-doo is the song. The Irish National Convention, held at Chicago last October, resolved to use every means to cripple England. Now is the right time for our Irish-Americans to do it by voting against the syndicate which will own the candidate of the gold standard that England has foisted on to the civilized world for her agrandise- ment, and by means of which she is enabled to keep Ireland in bondage. Now is the time for every Irish-American to do it. Bryan is a friend of Ireland and an enemy of England. Did you see what the English papers had to say about him and the Chicago Convention ? Cowboys, anarchists and repudiators. Poor, old England. The Irish will go for you this time. They cannot be fooled any more. The money power press and the English gold lords, with the American Tories, who rob the American people and spend the stolen money in England, are again trying to create sectionalism and plunge us into a civil war again. Suppress the first one that talks sectionalism to you, if you are a true American patriot. It was England’s scheme in 1861-65 to divide us, and that was the reason she helped the South and would have recognized them if only one great battle in the North, such as that of Gettysburg, had been decisively won by her. Be a patriot and not a tool of an enemy in disguise. The calling of hard names by the gold mortgage sharks does not give them votes, and it only shows that they have no ground for argument. Germany adopted the gold standard after she got six billions of francs in gold from France as indemnity of war in order to make it increase in value. About the same time a bill was passed in Congress, by trickery, demonetizing silver, which no one seems able to account for. How was silver demonetized? By what method w^ere the United States put upon a gold basis? Did any of the old party platforms twenty odd years ago demand the change? Not at all. The Act of 1873 was passed ‘‘silently;” a more suitable 104 A Gold Conspiracy, or word would be stealthily. In evidence I quote from the “ Con gressional Record : ” “ Mr. Beck : What I complain of, and what I think I have proved, is that the House never knew w’hat was in that bill.” (First session of the Fiftieth Congress. Senate.) Senator Bogy, of Missouri, uttered the following words in a speech made in the Senate, June 27, 1876 : ‘5 Why the Act of 1873, which forbids the coinage of the silver dollar, was passed, no one at this day can give a good reason.” (‘‘Congressional Record,” Vol. 4, part 5, Forty-fourth Congress, first session, page 4178.) Senator Hereford, in the Senate, on February 15, 1878, in the discussion of the demonetization of silver, said : “ So that I say beyond the possibility of a doubt (and there is no di.sputing it) that bill which demonetized silver, as it passed, never -was read, never was dis cussed, and the chairman of the committee who reported it (who offered the sub. stitute), said to Mr. Holman, when inquired of, that it did not affect the coinage in any way whatever.” {Ihid^ page 989.) Mr. Holman, in a speech delivered in the House of Represen¬ tatives July 13, 1876, said : “ I have before me the record of the proceedings of this House on the passage of that measure, a record of which no man can read without Ijeiug convinced that the measure and the method of its passage through the House was a ‘ colossal swindle. ’ I assert that the measure never had the sanction of this Honse, and it does not pos¬ sess the moral force of law.” (“Congressional Record,” Vol. 4, part 6, Forty- fourth Congress, first session, appendix page 193.) Senator Allison, on February 15, 1878, when the bill (H. R. 1093) to authorize the free coinage of the silver dollar was under consideration, said : “ But when the secret history of this bill of 1873 comes to be told, it will dis¬ close the fact that the House of Representatives intended to coin both gold and silver, and intended to place both metals upon the French relation instead of upon our own, which 'was the true scientific position with reference to this subject in 1873, but that the bill afterwards was doctored.” Senator Stewart, of Nevada, on April 29th, 1896, when in open Senate, calling Senator Sherman, of Ohio, “the author of hard times,” said : “The original Act in 1873 was passed through strategy and fraud. The clause which demonetized silver was not read in the Senate during the discussion of the bill. It is a remarkable fact that no mention was made during the pendency of The Worst Financial System in the World. 105 the Mint Act which demonetized silver, that the silver dollar was omitted from the list of coinage. The Senator from Ohio (Sherman) had charge of the bill and never alluded to the fact that he was demonetizing silver or adopting the gold standard. If he had done so, his object would have been defeated.” Quotations of this character could be pursued much further, but the American people ought to know by this time that they need more money in circulation to transact the increasing busi¬ ness, and they never will get it by contracting the currency (adopting the gold standard). France paid her war debt to Ger¬ many before it became due, surprising old Bismarck, who said : “ The greatest mistake in my life was to not ask more than six billion francs. I thought she would never be able to pay it iu such a short time.” The French people went to the rescue of their country and paid the debt, and France owes it to Frenchmen, her people. She is to-day the most prosperous nation on earth. She has $38 per capita circulating medium, while we only have $21.30, including the $784,000,000 in the treasury, which is not in circulation, and when we consider our land wealth and resources in comparison with that of France, we ought to have $250.00 per capita. The articles to be exchanged increases every day, and money (the medium of exchange) should increase also to facilitate commerce. England is getting away with everything we have nowadays, while the fathers of this country revolted against her for only 20 cents on tea, the would-be patriots are asleep. Wm. Glad¬ stone, in his last speech in Parliament, said: “ England is the greatest creditor nation of the world. All other nations are in debt and owe England $22,000,000,000 in gold, and it is to England’s interest to keep up the gold standard for our benefit.” Considering this, it does not appear that England is going to agree to bimetallism until she is forced to it and sees that she will be the looser, which will be the case as soon as this country starts it. France, Italy and Spain will follow and England and Germany then will come into line, too. The United States produces more gold than any other country in the world, and, according to the system in vogue, it seems that we go down deep in the earth to dig the yellow metal for the sole purpose of sending it to Rothschilds, who always want more. Now, we will suppose the Government wishes to build a deep-water harbor at San Pedro, California (where they need one), for the commerce of Southern California, and Congress passes 106 A Gold Conspiracy, or an act authorizing the. Secretary of the Treasury to issue certificates of deposit to pay them for labor and material, and make them a full legal tender for all debts, public and private, the harbor is the basis of that currency, and all the people and all the wealth of this Nation are the security. Does anyone say that they are not good? Explain if the present system of issuing bonds is any better. Here is how the bankers drain the gold from the people and from the Treasury. The merchants go and deposit their money in the banks ; the bankers assort it and keep all the Treasury Notes redeemable in gold, and keep whatever gold the merchants may bring, and pay the merchants back with bank notes and silver certificates , the merchants think they have the same amount of money, and don’t think or knows that the bankers plays that kind of a joke every time that they deposit and draw their money, and the bankers make the profits or let gold become scarce and create panics to force Legislation, and sometimes lock up the bank and go to Canada. See ? Establish Government Banks on the Post Office plan, then the people’s money will be safe, as the Government cannot fail or go to Canada. The people will then borrow from the people, and even if they pay 4 or 5 per cent interest it goes back to the people and not to England. GOLD MONEY IN TIME OF WAR The man who has accumulated gold money, when the country is in danger of war, packs up his gold and gets out of the danger of being killed. If he had paper money he would stay and fight for his country so as to save his money, that would be lost if the country was whipped and a new Government established. A banker or money lender will take your paper and let you have money, provided your paper is backed by good property or labor ; the interest is what he is after. Do not let them fool you any longer—they cannot fool me. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Is our government a The Worst Financial System in the World. 107 friend of the people or a friend of England ? We need more circulating medium and England says no, and our government says no. Cleveland reviewed the actions of a past administration and said it was wrong to recognize a Republican form of government and he was going to correct the wrong. If the Senate had stood in with him he would down a Republican form of government and seat a nigger queen in the Sandwich Islands. Does the constitution give him such power ? according to his ideas and the way he goes at it he couid have gone far back and reviewed the acts of Thomas Jefferson and say that Jefferson had done wrong in writing the Declaration of Independence, and he would go and correct such wrong and turn us over to the Queen and the Gold Lords of England that he is trying to please. * * The Chicago platform on which he was elected says ‘ ^ First repeal of the Sherman Act’ further on it says ‘ ‘ For the coinage of gold and silver without discrimination.” He fulfilled one part of the contract but refused to fulfill the other part, and he has deceived democracy. Cleveland would make a good poker player, as he knows how to bluff, after he said what he did about the Brice, Gorman or Wilson bill, (party perfidy and dishonor, etc.,) he would not veto it, but made it become a law to give the Sugar Trust the chance to get their sugar in from Germany that was in the way coming here free of duties, and give the Whisky Trust a chance to get all the whisky they could get out of bond and save 3Gc. a gallon. See what he said about the Bland Silver Bill when he vetoed it. These are Mr. Cleveland’s own actions. I have no grudge against the President, but if he has made mistakes it is his own fault. Those paid newspapers and politicians that are talking ag¬ ainst an Income Tax for being a class legislation that affects the rich—why don’t they say anything about repealing the National Banking Law ? Is not that law a class legislation ? Issue paper money from five dollars up and let silver take the place of small change from five dollars down. The only available strike is to strike at election day and retire the money power and corporation’s tools forever, elect laborer and friend of labor, and then they will call the militia 108 A Gold Conspiracy, or out and enforce the laws for the benefit of all and not for the benefit of capital. DESTROY GREENBACKS IS THE LATEST NEWS FROM LOMBARD STREET, LONDON. Nationalize Railroads and Stop Running them for ‘‘ Dividends.’’ The great daily of Chicago, the Times^ is fighting valiantly for the people’s interests. Of the New York bankers, who are thirsting for a new issue of bonds, it says : They must not pretend, when they buy the next issue of bonds, which of course, Mr. Cleveland will issue, that they are actuated by motives of the purest patriotism. It is bad enough to be robbed without having the robber profess to be doing a service when he relieves you of your watch and wallet. Of the Pullman boycott it says : The effort of the American Railway union to break the power of the Pullman corporation for the everlasting good of organized labor is chivalric, bold and right. In this effort the union should have the co-operation of every organization of railway men. The railroads intend to try to make this struggle a Waterloo for organized labor. If they succeed trainmen, firemen, engineers or other railroad employees will find the collar of the corporation made a little tighter about their necks. If Messrs. Wilkinson, Sargent and Arthur attempt to interfere to the injury of the Railway union, they will be playing the cause of organized labor false. It means something when a leading daily comes over to the people so fearlessly as that. Buy of your friends, work¬ ingmen, and boycott your enemies and stick together. That is the way to win. The Assassination of President Carnot startled and shocked the civilized world, the same world that greets with thunderous applause the news of a battle where thousands upon thousands of brave men are pierced with bullet or bayonet, or torn into fragments by cannon balls ; the same The Worst Financial System in the World. 109 world that looks on with cold and heartless indifference, while millions of men, women and children are dying by inches of slow starvation in the midst of unparalled abundance. Queer thing is human nature.—Editorial Cincinnaitian^ June 30th, 1894. THE FIAT OF THE LAW. It Makes Gold Worth One Hundred Cents that Cost Only Twenty-two Cents. Having spent a good deal of time myself in years gone by, sailing against “fiat” money, I have a great deal of fellow feeling for my brothers who are still so much in the dark as to keep on doing what I did. That any government can legislate absolute or intrinsic value into a piece of paper or nickel, or copper, or silver, does seem absurd, don't it ? And certainly it also seems absurd to say that the government can legislate value into gold. And yet somehow it contrives to do it. Gold that costs 22 cents to mine in Colorado, in some Avay gets to be worth a dollar, by the time the Government has stamped it. It becomes valuable, as other things do, by the operation of the laws of supply and demand. There is a demand for money to make exchanges. Under the present economic system we can’t do all our business by barter and we must have some repre¬ sentative of value. Government provides such a representative in the shape of legal tender coin and paper. If there wasn’t any demand for this the govern¬ ment fiat wouldn’t give it any value. And if there wasn’t any limit to the supply it wouldn’t have any appreciable value. But, with a general demand for money to carry on business and a supply strictly limited, money has value in exchange—not intrinsic value. It is the fiat of the government in making money of either kind legal tender that gives it this value. So two silver dollars, the metal in which is worth in the market only as much as that in one gold dollar, still exchange for as much as two gold dollars. And so a paper dollar, the material in which is worth only a very small fraction of a cent, will exchange for as much as either a silver or a gold dollar. Now suppose that we hadn’t an ounce of silver or gold in the country and the government should issue two thousand millions of dollars in treasury notes receivable for taxes and a legal tender for all debts, public and private, do you imagine they would be worth anything—that they would command any of the products of labor? You know they would. And yet whatever worth or exchangeable value they had w'ould be purely fiat, as I am not supposing that they are to be made redeemable in gold, silver, diamonds, or anything else under the sun. It is the demand for currency, primarily, which gives money its value, and not the material that composes it. When all the people realizes this fact we shall be nearing the day of financial emancipation. —{Star Kansan). 110 A Gold Conspikacy, ok The people’s party is the only party that proposes to issue a purely American money, based on American wealth for circulation among Americans, and from wliich neither American nor alien Shylocks can extort interest for its use by the American people. No more interest-bearing bonds for ever, is its motto.— {Pittsburg Kansan) PREPARE FOR ACTION. The Battle of Akmagedden is at Hand—A Nation’s Liberties at Stake. The United States faces the greatest political contest of her historj'. The daj’S of sham political battles are at an end on this coast. The mock wrath displayed by old party leaders in the presence of the rank and file, while behind the scenes they hob-nobbed with their political opponents, and proportioned the spoils, will be changed this year to a fight in earnest. The advent of populism, vigorous and confident, will force the use of tactics with which old partyites are ill-acquainted. Spread-eagle oratory and appeals to passion and prejudice, and bigotry don’t go this year. Drafts drawn on long-gone records will be at a big discount in the coming campaign. ‘ ‘ What has your party been doing in the years since it made the records of which jmu boast ?” will be the question asked on every hand. The people have stopped banking on the deeds of their grand¬ fathers.” “What of the present ?*’ is the potent inquiry to-day. Stop shouting cant phrases and give us a reason for the faith Muthin you, will be the demand on every fellow who bobs up to demand the suffrages of the people. Poverty and bankruptcy, idleness and distress, crippled business and crushed industry, are as widespread as the boundaries of the nation. Concentration of wealth is the parent of it all. Special privilege was the instrumentality employed. All special privileges are legalized. The work that accomplished it covers a period of over thirty years. The record shows that both old parties were united in that work. The man who defends the record of either old party this year will be at a disadvantage. He will be simply defending a party whose votes in Congress helped to legalize every special privilege that has given to the idle schemers the power to absorb to themselves the product of the workers. Parties whose past has been a constant betrayal cannot be trusted for the future. The promises of parties that defend a record of betrayal and mismanagement are worthless. The people will be told by old party men that the evils complained of by the populists were not caused by legislation and are beyond its reach. In the next breath they’ll shout; “Vote us and everything will be all right.” Both these statements cannot be true. We have never had these evils only when legislation has robbed the masses of their natural rights and conferred special privileges on the classes. The development of hard times and the development of old party legislation have kept even pace with each other in this country. The Worst Financial System in the World. Ill Side by side along the same road have trotted the democratic and republican parties. Occasionally they have halted to engage in make-believe fight over some minor issue to hoodwink and deceive the rank and file. But all the time they have had an eye single to the one purpose of legislating in the interest of wealth and power. The motto has been : “To him that hath shall be given and from him who hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ” Populism is a protest against special privilege. It is an organized effort of the people to regain their own. It is a battle for the producer and against the sponge. Its central idea is best expressed in the phrases: “He who will not work shall not eat, ” and he who cannot work shall not starve. The game of grab is played out when populism wins. Let every one who believes in justice and equality before the law, fall into line, under the banner of the new crusade, and never cease his efforts until the cause of humanity triumphs. Victory is in the air. Let every man do his duty. — i^Santn Cruz {Cal.) New Charter). CLEVERLY CAUGHT. It is the Fiat of Law which gives to Metal its Monetary Value. One of the country’s milk and water bimetallist dailies declares that if Great Britain could be induced to adopt the double standard there would be no trouble in maintaining silver at par on the present ratio of 16 to 1. How so ? We thought that silver was a naturally depreciated metal; that the silver dollar was worth only about 55 cents and that there was no power on earth that under present conditions could make it more valuable. It is a fact after all that the stamps of governments, the fiat of government, can make a dollar a dollar, regardless of its intrinsic value ? It is true that if all governments should adopt the double standard it would cause an increased demand for silver, and its value would be correspondingly enhanced. If the government were willing to pay, or admitting silver to free coinage practically pay 100 cents for the amount of silver now in a silver dollar, it could not be bought for less. But the opponents of silver—including the daily referred to, we presume—deny the truth of that statement. They say that silver is depreciated and cannot be made equal to gold in intrinsic value. But here comes this daily and asserts its belief that the stamps of the United States and of Great Britain upon it would keep it at par. It admits all that the “fiat” money people have ever claimed, and if government stamps can make a “55 cent” silver dollar pass for 100 cents, they can make anything pass for a dollar. There is no getting away from the conclusion. If the premises are right the deduction vs,.—{Farmers' Voice) Ohio. 112 A Gold Conspiracy, or THE EUROPEAN LEVEL. American Labor may' have to Come to it, but there will BE Trouble First. We have now a record of another case of anarchy in Col¬ umbus. H. R. Johnson is the Vice President and Manager of the Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron Co., a syndicate owning or controlling about 6,000 acres of coal land in the Hocking Val¬ ley. At the conference which took place in Lyndon hall, Columbus, on Saturday, June 2, between the miners and oper¬ ators, Mr. Johnson was present as one of the delegates and spokesmen for the operators. Mr. William H. Crawford, of New Straitsville, Perry county, O., was present as a delegate on behalf of the miners. In that conference Mr. Johnson made use of the following language and treat to Mr. Crawford: “ It is not so much a question of price that shall be paid here and there, but a question of bringing the American v/orkman down to the European level.” ]\[r. Crawford replied : “The Ohio miners stand firmly for 70 cents.” “ Crawford,” said Johnson, “your men are making a mistake in taking this stand ; the business of this country and the wages of this country must come down to a lower plane of prices. There must be a leveling-up process between this country and Europe. If you take that stand we will simply close our mines, and hunger, starvation and suffering will educate the American workmen to it.” Did anything more brutal and anarchistic ever escape the lips of man? — {Ohio Populist). Editorial Chicago Times^ June 23rd, 1894. Wxjat is this strange revelation made by examination of the books of the Santa Fe Railroad? Seven million dollars paid to shippers in rebates in the last Jour years in direct violation of the plain provisions of the inter-state commerce law ? Will any of the officials of the railroad be indicted for this colossal law¬ breaking conspiracy ? Is the matter to be brought to the attention of the federal grand jury ? Will that eminent counsel to corporations, the attorney-general of the United States, take action against the insolvent violators of the law ? The attorney for the Santa Fe took a prominent part in the proceedings against Debs and others for violation of the inter state commerce law. Did he go into court with clean hands or had he guilty knowledge of the way in which corpora¬ tion was violating the same act ? These are very pertinent questions just now. The Worst Financial System in the World. 113 LORD MACAULAY’S PROPHECY. In a letter written to Henry S. Randall of New York more than thirty-seven years ago Lord Macaulay prophesied many gloomy things of the American republic when it should become more populous. He foresaw in the constitution itself the seal of national disease and death, and looked upon the attempt to establish upon permanent foundations a govern¬ ment of and by the people as utterly futile. In that letter Lord Macaulay said : I have not the smallest doubt that, if we had a purely democratic govern¬ ment here, either the poor would plunder the rich and civilization would perish, or order and property would be saved by a strong military govern¬ ment, and liberty would perish. You may think that your country enjoys an exemption from these evils. I will frankly own to you that I am of a very different opinion. Your fate I believe to be certain, though it is deferred by a physical cause. As long as you have a boundless e.vtent of fertile and un¬ occupied land your laboring population will be far more at ease than the laboring population of the old world ; and, while that is the case, the Jeffersonian policy may continue to exist without causing any fatal calamity. But the time will come when New England will be as thickly peopled as old England. Wages will be as low, and will fluctuate as much with you as with us. You will have your Manchesters and Birminghams ; and, in those Manchesters and Birming- hams, hundreds of thousands of artizans will assuredly be sometimes out of work. * * * The day will come when, in the state of New York, a multi¬ tude of people, none of whom has had more than half a breakfast, or expects to have more than half a dinner, will choose a legislature. Is it possible to doubt what sort of legislature ill be chosen? There will be, I fear spoliation. The spoliation will increase the distress. The distress will produce fresh spoliation. There is nothing to stop you. Your constitution is all sail an rfrr 4 • -k V *4 .4 ♦ -V* «■ */ -•» Tw-'f. 1' i «r' * /'•I I? , « ? •r .i ''^. ■;> . = ' / u/,. h *i 'm:, ■■■^' ,j' - ‘ ....* \^ m ■■(< t r?,. i'. 'v ' r - •/* - #■ \, r ■. .^";’ V- ) f 4 $K> i:^ J^' . *-■» ^'XK' 'JW 4}. ^f ‘V . ’=^,.. ' (Sv ' ^ , 1 •/V/ ‘S^7 1 s4 • r' > f I •\; r ■ / * if If ■ ' t t « f 9 ‘iiiV & \;% ^ . i '.!■ . G f fev-s'^' ■(^