THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
The person charging this material is re- 
 sponsible for its return to the library from 
 which it was withdrawn on or before the 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. 
 
 To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 L161— O-1096 
 
^ z 
 
 W C h-! 
 u c 3 
 
 5 
 
 ui Pi W 
 CO p a 
 
 > s 
 
 ^ S5 
 
 E 
 
 I 
 
 O 
 UJ 
 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 (/) 
 
 0 
 
 
 O 
 
 ; Q. 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 ; o 
 
 
 
 : ^ r\ 
 
 : UJ 
 
 
 
 : LL 
 
 0 
 
 MISS( 
 
 ; < 
 
 
 
 1-1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 l-l 
 
 
 
 \o 
 
 0 
 
 Office 
 
 
 B 
 
 1^ 
 
 iUJ 
 
 <^ 
 
 0 
 
 ■l> 
 
 
 0 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 h 
 
 
 GC 
 0. 
 
 FRONT. 
 
 BACK, 
 
Trials and 'Triumph 
 
 NEEDLE'S EYE 
 
 OF 
 
 MARSHALL, MO. 
 CAPITAL PARLOR PRINT, 
 1890. 
 
COPYRmHT, 1890. 
 By G. B. De BERNARDI. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
AN APOLOGY 
 
 Before tlie reader undertakes tlie task of \h'v- 
 iisiiig this kook, Ave desire to beg liis iiuliilgeiiee on 
 its many faults, but espeeially on tkn^ wearisouie 
 repetitions to be found in tlie same. In our at- 
 tempt to explain verbally^ tlie })iinciples lu i-ein 
 contained, we found that, while an aigunu'nt or 
 illustration in one form would reach some mnuls, 
 others would only be struck wlun };resented in an- 
 other form and still others could only cim^preherid 
 it when coming to tliem in a th.ird and otluM* 
 channel. Our object is to be understood by as 
 many as possible, and henc-^ })ref(M' to subject our- 
 selves to the criticism of redundancy rather than 
 brevity. The reader wdio becomes imbued with 
 ^ the within truths will, we feel sure, realize tlnnr 
 importance and grant us the privilege of reacliing 
 others by a variety of metliods. 
 
 We desire also to state that no refiection is her<^ 
 intended on legislators or governments. AVe an' 
 aware that laws are not made but (jkoav ; that 
 they are tlu^ manifestation of gcvneral habits, cus- 
 toms and social needs. The nKuu^tary system of 
 (1) 
 
 372544 
 
An Apology. 
 
 civilization is the natural result of ancient methods 
 of exchange. Our money originated in periods of 
 universal insecurit}^ of life and property. In such 
 periods surpluses of property, however useful and 
 desirable, if they could not be carried away, ab- 
 sconded or preserved, were utterly worthless, while 
 other articles, though useless for purposes of life, 
 but pleasing to the eye, portable and imperishable, 
 arose into high esteem. The ages of social chaos 
 and continuous wars gave value to precious stones 
 which, in time, became mediums of exchange. 
 
 The greatest revolution in industry and com- 
 merce took place when precious stones were elevat- 
 ed, by law, into mediums of payment, or sole legal 
 tender. 
 
 This line of evolution developed alike in all coun- 
 tries and under all forms of political institutions. 
 It is therefore at least presumable that such prog- 
 ress was in analogy with the condition of things, 
 and that no man, class or nation should be held 
 responsible for the fact and its consequences. What 
 we contend for in the following pages is that the 
 precious stones of our ancestors are no longer 
 necessary or useful to the present stage of civiliza- 
 tion, but are, on the contrary, a positive impedi- 
 ment to future progress. 
 
 With good will for the Toilers of the Earth, and 
 with malice towards none, we proceed. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Two powers have, in all ages of which we have 
 aii}^ record controlled and robbed the hive of laboi', 
 viz : despotism and money. Labor has ever been 
 the victim of conquest or purchase. In ancient 
 times a band of marauders would invade a country, 
 possess themselves of all there was in it, enslave its 
 inhabitants and put them to work, while the in- 
 vaders would constitute themselves into an " uppei' 
 class composed of civil rulers and military chief- 
 tains, whose duty it was to make the laws, 
 govern, suppress insurrection within, and resist 
 invasion from without. Under despotism the 
 working classes had no rights which the upper 
 classes felt bound to respect. Their persons be- 
 longed generally to the king and their labor to 
 lords. No progress could be expected from beings 
 so situated. On the part of the ruling class social 
 improvements consisted in so depressing aspirations 
 in the slaves as to become resigned to tlieir con- 
 dition, work without supervision, keep one another 
 into subjection by a police force raised from their 
 own class, and be willing to assist their mastei's 
 against foreign invasion, the which went by the 
 
 (3) 
 
4 
 
 Preface. 
 
 name of patriotisin. When tlie conquered people 
 had been reduced to such point of Hubmission, des- 
 potism would be considered established on a solid 
 and permanent foundation. The toilers toiled and 
 the rulers enjoyed in luxuries and dissipation. 
 
 Despotism in Europe reached its meridian of 
 splendor and glory in the reign of Louis the XIV, 
 King of France, last century. It received its death- 
 blow at the French Revolution, in 1789, and has 
 since been on the decline. Its sun will, we believe, 
 soon sink beyond \he political horizon, there to re- 
 main forever. 
 
 Side by side with despotism arose and grew the 
 money-power. This power had a different origin 
 and operates differently from despotism. It does 
 not invade, but invests ; it does, not conquer, 
 but acquires ; it does not govern, but manages the 
 producing classes. It has been free from insurrec- 
 tion and invasion, hence has been more general, 
 more lasting and more baneful in its effects than 
 despotism and will be harder to suppress, as its 
 means of subjugation are milder and more insidi- 
 ous, and its victims attribute their misfortune to 
 their own voluntary acts. Despotism built upon 
 the ignorance of its victims and relied for support 
 on military force ; hence it melted in the presence 
 of advancing civilization. The money power, on 
 the contrary, thrives most as civilization is advanc- 
 ing, for it builds on mental cunning and relies on 
 
Preface. 
 
 laws of its own making. Under (le8])olisni social 
 stations are fixed ; no one expe(;ting to ris(^ above 
 nor fearing to sink below his class, while in the 
 meshes of the money-power every one is aspiring 
 and strnggling to reacli a station, where he may 
 live in atHuenee on the fruit of his neighbors' Un\. 
 Despotism is no longer dreaded, while the i)ressure 
 of the money -power is just beginning to be felt, 
 but not yet understood. The toiling masses groan 
 and lament their losses, but are yet at a loss what 
 to do. As despotism in 1789, so is the money-pow- 
 er at its zenith now. Hereafter it will be impossi- 
 ble to surpass the millionaires and financial monopo- 
 lies of our day. They control governnu^nts and peo- 
 ple, and absorb all the benefits of civilization. Such 
 power can rise no higher, nor renuxin stationary ; 
 lience, following the destiny of all things temporaL 
 is doomed to decline and set, also to rise no more. 
 
 With the downfall of despotism and the money- 
 power will end the struggle for existencp: among 
 rational beings. War aiul speculation, invasions 
 and investments, conquests and acquisitions will no 
 longer build thrones and fortunes upon a golgotaof 
 human miser3^ 
 
 In the dim distance we discern already the 
 dawn of Labor's day. Yes, the evening of the 
 money-power and the morning of Labor's day, the 
 setting of the Dark Ages of industrial chaos, op- 
 pression and plunder and the rising of industrial 
 
6 
 
 Preface. 
 
 liberty and eqiiit}' are the evening and morning of 
 our social horizon. 
 
 This humble production is intended to point out 
 the above facts succinctly and direct the attention 
 of tlie oppressed to the only road which promises 
 to lead them peacefully to libei'ty and affluence. 
 
 Meantime we are preparing a larger work upon 
 
 the ''ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE MONEY POWER.'' 
 
 There cari be no department of human develop- 
 ment nu)re interesting to the moralist, the 
 philanrhropist and the student of social evolution 
 than the investigation of such an extraordinai'v 
 phenomenon as the empire of metals over men. 
 It seems incompatible with human instinct and 
 reas(m both, that two metals, gold and silver, which 
 by nature are not fit to supply the least of Jiuman 
 wants, should have ascended to be rulers over man. 
 Yet so it is, and no empire, ancient or modern, has 
 lasted so long or ruled so universally and wielded 
 such influence over the destiny of the human race 
 as gold and silver. These 'metals are to-day the 
 longed for angels of blessing by all nations. Their 
 arrival or depai'tiire bears tlu^ weal or woe of 
 millions. 
 
OBJECT OF THE WORK. 
 
 Herein we purpose to demonstrate the following 
 important truths, viz : 
 
 1st. That the power oi precious metals is not an 
 inherent quality of those metals, but in the law 
 which vested them with the royal prerogatives of 
 
 LEGAL TENDER.'' 
 
 2d. That the vast inequalities of fortunes, the 
 hardships of the multitude to obtain a bare living 
 and widespread poverty and want are mainly due 
 to this barbarous monetary system based upon the 
 law of "legal tender." 
 
 3d. That a rational monetary system should be 
 purely a method of accounts, independent of any 
 material on w^hich these accounts may be recorded, 
 and thus not affect the commercial values of the 
 commodities and services exchanged. 
 
 4th. That the workers in industry and commerce 
 have it in their power by and through a proper sys- 
 system of co-operative production and mutual ex- 
 change, t© liberate themselves from the restrictions 
 and exactions imposed upon them by the money 
 power. 
 
 To the fulfillment of the above possibility is this 
 
 (7) 
 
8 
 
 Objevi of the Work. 
 
 little book devoted, in t)ie firm belief that, with 
 such reform, the human i-ace will enter upo*n ari era 
 of continuous progress and prosperity, uninterru])- 
 ted by monetary deficiencies or financial cataclysms. 
 
THE CENTRAL QUESTION. 
 
 The question of Labor in Ameriea in purely a 
 question of money, and not of pi-ivate ownershi}) 
 of land, as Ht^^nry George and bis followers believe. 
 When the land becomes the property of a few. if 
 such be tolerated under our political institutions, 
 then the question of labor, and with it the ques- 
 tions of political and personal liberty, will become 
 questions of land and money both, and revolution 
 alone would be able to solve them. The spirit of 
 liberty, however, imbibed from centuries of educa- 
 tion and training, is too deeply rooted in the 
 American citizen to ever permit a landed aristocracy 
 either to drive him from the land or compel him to 
 cultivate it in servitude. 
 
 At present we are yet at a distance from such 
 condition of things ; hence we assert that the only 
 question which concerns us is the question of 
 money. Nay, we will add that legal tendek 
 MONEY has ever been and yet is, in all civilized 
 countries, the crucible into which the products of 
 labor are melted and hence run into the coffers of 
 speculators. It is the most exacting superstition 
 that ever obtained control of the human intellect 
 (9) 
 
10 
 
 Tlie Central Question. 
 
 and lield man in bondage for centuries; it in the 
 UPAS TREE which bears most of the social and all of 
 the financial ills to which man falls heir. The 
 deplorable condition of the working classes, the 
 immense disparity of social positions, oppressive 
 nu)nopalies and trusts, insecurity of enterprises, 
 financial embarassments, failures, distress, pover- 
 ty, misery and the modern method of reducing to 
 bondage the living and the unborn are all fruits of 
 the same tree. Yes, legal tender mone}^ " has 
 been and is, more than ever before, in all countries, 
 and under all forms of government, a power over- 
 shadowing landlordism and all social questions 
 combined, in regard to the equitable or iniquitous 
 distribution of wealth. We deem it absolutely 
 necessary to correct the monetary system, if land- 
 lordism is to be avoided and liberty itself maintain- 
 ed. Our forefathers were all owners of the soil 
 they cultivated ; but legal tender money, in control 
 of tlie markets and dictating prices, absorbed the 
 profits thereof, then by a system of loans, mortga- 
 ges and foreclosures, is fast absorbing the land also. 
 If landlords in England had not been entrenched 
 behind a law of entail, but open to the batteries of 
 tlie money power, there would not be now one 
 original owner in possession of his estates. Hence, 
 as long as this monetary system and financial laws 
 exist, give us enough legal tender money and, 
 
TJic Cnntral Oucsiion. 
 
 without disturbing vestinl riglits, or interfering 
 with social relations, noi- causing one rij)ple U])on 
 the political or religious hoi'izon, we will liV)ei'ate 
 the working classes at once, in all departnuMits of 
 industry, from their uncertain, u n comfortable,. i*est- 
 less and abject c<^>ndition. Give us money, and 
 without fear of overproduction, we will em])lov 
 every man and woman at remunerative wages; we 
 will buy or build railroads, clear our navigable 
 rivers and cover them witli steamboats and barges ; 
 and we will place a merchant marine on the ocean 
 and th.ere compete with any nation. Give us 
 money and we will flood the markets of the w^orld 
 with American goods and supply America with all 
 the comforts that the world can afford. We will 
 buy or open mines, purchase or build factories and 
 mills and install in a commodious and elegant home 
 every family in the land. Give us money and we 
 will purcliase land enough to produce food for 
 twice our population, and, by withdi-awing sei^vih* 
 or hired labor from the balance, force its cultivation 
 or sale also. Finally give us money and we will 
 put an end forever to the contest now rising between 
 capital and labor, and no more will be heard oi' 
 monopolies, of high and low tariffs, of liigh and 
 low wages, of high and low prices, nor of strikes. 
 boy(M)tts, lockups, hard times, panics, financial 
 crises, commercial failures, distress, poverty, fam- 
 
12 
 
 The Central Question. 
 
 iue, riots and revolution. Scarcity of monc}^ is the 
 fruitful source of all these. 
 
 This world is great, grand, beautiful and rich in 
 ail things necessary to man's well-being. Labor is 
 able and willing to explore it, to extract from it 
 wealth enough to supply the wants of every human 
 being. Money is the only thing lacking to set 
 Labor in motion and open up these vast and inex- 
 haustible natural stores ; hence we repeat, give us 
 money and universal prosperity will follow. 
 
 Every man of ordinary intelligence, not only 
 believes, but positively knows the above asser- 
 tions and possibilities to be correct. He knows 
 that, with money, he could liberate every family 
 now grieving and groaning under the burden of a 
 mortgage, which threatens to bear away their homes, 
 that he could employ every worker, drive the wolf 
 from every door, wipe out from every heart the 
 dread of poverty with its attendant evils, and fill 
 every home with abundance and joy. And no 
 •grander and nobler work could be done on earth. 
 
 Thus it is manifest that the problem of labor, 
 and with it the still greater problems of human 
 development and human happiness, depend upon 
 the procurement of money or the discovery of 
 something or some method which may fill the 
 functions of money in industry and exchange. Thus 
 express the condition more forcibly, the progress, 
 
pi'()S})erity aiul well-bcMiig of tlie liuinan race, 
 as laws, luibits and (nlucatioii now stand, are made 
 to depend, not upon the l)()unties of natui-e nor 
 upon the genius and ability of man, but upon tin* 
 presence of an inert useless metal, (^kn^ated into 
 legal tender nu)ney. Bueh lias been the wisdom of 
 men for ages. 
 
 Impressed with the foregoing trutlis, we deem it 
 useless for labor associations to waste valuable t ime 
 and precious means in searching elsewhere, but in 
 the essence and functions of money, for the desired 
 solution of the labor problem. Here let us make 
 our meaning plain by illustration. If a small 
 squad of soldiers, through some peculiar weapon, 
 drill or strategy of their own invention, had con- 
 quered all the nations of the earth and continued 
 to hold these nations in subjection, extorting from 
 them heavy tribute, (as the mone}^ power has done 
 and is doing), should it not be the imperative duty 
 of these nations, in self defense, to examine care- 
 fully and endeav^or to master that peculiar weapon, 
 drill or strategy, which has enabled those few to 
 carry destruction in their midst? Or, if a few 
 men, endowed with no superior physical or mental 
 ability than others, yet, by the use of some peculiar 
 machine, method, ingredient or device, had been 
 enabled to reach a position of gi^eat ease, comfort 
 and enjoyment, at the expense of their fellow^ men. 
 
14 
 
 The Central Qi(e!^fi())i. 
 
 (as mone}^ iiuiiupulators have done and are doing 
 in all countries), sliould it not be the imperative 
 duty of the victims, who long for these same 
 blessings foi* themselves, to look into the mysterious 
 machine, method, ingredient or device that gave 
 their neighbors such control over their destiny? 
 Now is it not true that a comparatively small squad 
 of so-called capitalists have been and are to~da3% 
 more than evei-, the band of soldiers, who, without 
 risk of lif(^ or limb, have conquered the world, 
 governments and govei*ned and hold both under 
 tribute ? Time was when rulers, warriors and 
 priests, governments, armies and religions were 
 entirely independent of a money power; but we 
 know that for centuries this power has been grow- 
 ing in magnitude and tightiMiing its meshes around 
 them, and now there is no potentate, statesman or 
 pope wiio dares to disregard it. There is no gov- 
 ernment foolish enough to attempt to move witliout 
 its aid ; no civmj could make headway agaiiist it. 
 and all religions niust consult it and abide its be- 
 hests. Consequently is it not true that this small 
 band of money manipulators have captured mo&t 
 of the sources of production and inter-comunica- 
 tion, so that the actual designers and builders of all 
 the comibi-ts and luxuries ol' which civilization can 
 boast, are actually in a state of siege, unable to 
 o[)erate without permission from the money power. 
 
The 
 
 (\')iii'(iJ (^((('sfioK. 
 
 and compelled to pay tribute for that permission ? 
 Plnally, is it not true tiiat legal tender monc^N ** 
 is the weapon and a barbarous monetary system, 
 inherited from tlu^ Dark Ag(is, is the maehin(M*v in 
 the hands of capitalists and speculators, where- 
 with this unhol}^, obstructive and destructive warfare 
 against industry is conducted? Yes, a small body 
 of skillful captains of mone}^, generally infe- 
 rior in talent, in literary attainments, in inventive 
 genius, in mechanical skill and in all tliose no1)le 
 qualifications upon which is based tlie onward 
 march of the human race and to which alone are 
 due the great achievements of all times, are to-day, 
 be it said to our everlasting shame, masters and 
 I'ulers of mankind ; while poor, benighted, crushed 
 Labor, from the hod-carrier to profess(jrs in univei*- 
 sities, move or halt, enjoy or suffer at money's 
 bidding ! Is it not then high time that the 
 hosts of producers, builders, merchants, educators 
 and all useful classes should awake from their 
 slumber, open their eyes on this monetary system, 
 brush off their inveterate prejudices and find by 
 what magical jugglery those few manipulators of 
 so insignificant a thing as money is, without per- 
 forming one single useful industrial act, have 
 reached and maintain so lofty a position and 
 mastery over their fellow men? At such awake- 
 ning it will be found that within the monetary 
 
16 
 
 The CeniiaJ Question. 
 
 S3^Hteiu alone hides the wolf which in 
 eivilizaiion is devonring the flocks and frnit of 
 industry ; that from this system issues the serpent 
 which holds witliin its coils the mortgaged homes 
 of millions, that causes those periodical cyclones oi- 
 panics, which scatter the accumulations of a life- 
 time to the four winds of heaven, followinl by 
 prostration of business and wide s[)read ruin and 
 desolation. 
 
 The truth, of the above assertions is attested by 
 history and living facts ; yet not one writer of 
 eminence on the subject, that we have read, points 
 to LEGAL TENDER money as the root of all (^vils. 
 We shall humbly undei'take to do what we can 
 towards elucidating these facts and leave the 
 subject to better intellects to complete. * 
 
POWER OF MONEY. 
 
 It cannot be for a moment supposed that the 
 extraordinary power of money is an inherent qual- 
 ity of gold, silver or any other material out of 
 which money is coined or stamped. Nor do such 
 matei*ials acquire that power from their use as 
 MEDIUMS of exchange or units of value. ISTo, the 
 power of gold and silver is vested in them and 
 there upheld by one of the most tyrannical and, at 
 the same time, most absurd edicts that ever eman- 
 ated from mortal man. It is based, as we stated, 
 upon the royal prerogative of sole legal tender 
 in payment of debts, taxes, fines, satisfaction of 
 judgments and the liquidation of estates. Raise a 
 man, by law, above the law, declare him "sacred 
 AND INVIOLABLE," as royalty is elevated, and that 
 one edict will sink a whole nation into the abject 
 condition of " SUB.JECTS.'' What is true of men is 
 equall}^ true of wealth, upon which men subsist. 
 Crown one article legal tender and the myriads 
 other articles will at once sink into financial sub- 
 jection to it, and a monopoly of such article will 
 control in absolute the production and distribution 
 
 (17) 
 
18 
 
 Poiver of 31oney. 
 
 of all wealth. Civilization has long since become 
 conscious of the baneful prerogative vested in 
 royalty, and millions have perished in attempts to 
 abolish it by revolution. But this same civilization 
 is not as yet conscious of the financial power 
 vested by law in gold and silver ; yet the prerogative 
 bestowed upon these metals is far mightier and 
 more pernicious in its effects than that bestowed 
 upon rulers, as relative conditions at the present 
 attest. These two powers have co-existed for cen- 
 turies, and which one has gained the ascendency 
 over the other? Is not the creature, money, 
 mightier than its creator despotism ? The answer 
 to this question was very forcibly given by 
 Baron Rothchild, of London, on the occasion of a 
 loan asked for by Austria. Time was," he said, 
 '•when every Jew had a king" (abusing him), 
 " now ever}^ king has a Jew " (to loan him money). 
 And again in this country w^e had a proof when 
 the Geneva Commission awarded fourteen millions 
 to the United States for damages done by the 
 Alabama during the rebellion. The Bank of 
 England notified the authorities of the United 
 States that, if they attempted to move that amount 
 of money bodily, the whole power of that insti- 
 tution would be arrayed against this nation." Had 
 it been the government of England making such a 
 threat, we all know what this nation would have 
 
Foirer of Money. 
 
 19 
 
 done ; but the comiiiand came from a. greater power, 
 the money power, and our government bowed in 
 submivssion to it. Liberty follows mone3\ A man with 
 money is free under all governments ; a moneyless 
 man is dependent ever^^where. So is it of a gov- 
 ernment. A bonded nation is not sovereign. 
 Personal and civil liberty nevei- will exist in its 
 fullness under a money power. Nor will progress 
 i-each its full capacity of development as long as it 
 is forced to pass through the IN^eedle's Eye " of 
 legal tender money. 
 
STRANGE, 
 
 How a few glittering grains of useless metals, 
 found accidental) y by savages am^ng tlie sands of 
 mountain rivers and used to gratify a low instinct 
 for ornaments, ascended to a legal throne, whence 
 they control human activity and, through it, the 
 progress and prosperity of mankind, is one of those 
 problems which philosophers have so far neglected, 
 but a problem too important to longer evade the 
 crucible of modern universal investigation. These 
 are times when all institutions, however sacred 
 or made venerable by age, will be put to the 
 severest test, and the question, what are gold and 
 silver," or what is money, that men should bow 
 to, or be hampered by it," will demand a more 
 logical answer than has hitherto been given by 
 political economists and financiers. The attributes 
 lavishly bestowed upon these so-called precious 
 metals," as " mediums of exchange," representa- 
 tives of wealth," '^measures of value," ^'standards 
 of value," etc., will no longer cover their deformi- 
 ties as the greatest ^' mediums of robbery, " 
 breeders of commercial panics " and instru- 
 
 (20) 
 
Sirayuje. 
 
 21 
 
 nients of modern and future slavery.'' AVlieu 
 science cleiirw away tlu^ mists wliicli liavc^ befoi^ged 
 the essence of tliose metals for centuries, tlun' will 
 stand revealed the mere creatures of legal tyi'ann}' 
 and universal folly ; tlie heaviest incubus on the 
 growth of progress and the mightiest means of 
 robbing, in civilization. 
 
 Tear away the legal mask from over them, de 
 montize them and they will shrink back to the 
 place assigned to them by natui*e and cease 
 hamper progress and torture tlie human race. 
 
 EXPLANATIOiS. 
 
 Before we proceed, how^ever, to demonstrate the 
 force of those tw^o, apparently, harmless words, 
 
 LEGAL. TENDER," vcstcd ou gold and silver, it may 
 be well to remark that the decree, which created 
 them such, comes to us as a wolf in sheeps clothes, 
 as the devil w^earing the livery of heaven. It comes 
 undei- the guise of a benefactor to the debtor class, 
 while in fact it proves an object of terror to that 
 class, bringing millions of them to ruin and deso- 
 lation, and the bearer of immense fortunes to the 
 CREDITOR class. The formula ''legal tender" 
 feigns to imply the legal right of the debtor to 
 compel his creditor to accept that one article in 
 satisfaction of the debt ; but, on the conti*ary. the 
 true force of the law is to enable the creditor to 
 
2^2 
 
 Strange. 
 
 refuse aii\^ and all other articles, and compel his 
 debtor to produce or procure the pi'ivileged one, at 
 whatever sacrifice he may be subjected to, and, in 
 case of failui'e, suffer distress. Whoever heard of 
 a debtor having to compel his creditor to accept 
 the legal tender " commodity, be it gold, silver oi- 
 paper? On the other side, who has not witnessed 
 thousands of instances when the debtor offered his 
 creditor otlier property, at reduced value, which, 
 the creditor refused to accept and pressed said 
 debtor to ruin under the sheriff's hammer? What 
 causes universal terror in times of financial crises? 
 Is it lack of wealth or lat^k of legal tender 
 money? The wealth is ever there; legal tender is 
 the missing element. During the panic of 1873 
 commercial houses and bankers of New York 
 entreated the government at Wasliington to let loose 
 those two bales of legal tender greenback paper 
 money held for, no one knew, wha\ object in the 
 treasuiy. asserting that said money would check 
 the financial cyclone. The petitioners were good 
 judges of the situation ; the}^ well knew what 
 sort of element would quench such conflagration ; 
 but the part}' interested in having the tree of 
 industr}^ shaken, in order that tliey might gather in 
 the harvest of depreciated wealth, prevailed upon 
 President Grant, and he refused to part with those 
 bundles of paper. Thousands lost all they had. 
 
Sf range. 
 
 23 
 
 but the greenback was lield safe. It was after- 
 wards destroyed to ])revent it intei'feriiig with the 
 profits reaped by bank notes. 
 
 Yes, the sliortcomings of legal tender money 
 alone is the cause of all financial calamities with- 
 out one single exception. 
 
NEEDLE'S EYE OF LEGAL TENDER. 
 
 AN ALLEGORY. 
 
 In the progress of human events, the Godess of 
 Liberty, whom despotism had forced to take refuge 
 amidst tlu^ bleak mountains and narrow crags of 
 Switzerland, took flight across the ocean to Col- 
 umbia, a new land, which God, in his goodness, 
 had reserved for her development. Here she was, 
 in due time, to proclaim to the world, in thunder 
 tones, that life, liberty and the enjoyment of 
 happiness are inalienable gifts of the Creator, 
 and that the rights of governments should be 
 derived from the governed. ^ The oppressed of all 
 nations would hear her voice and flock under the 
 iegis of her standard. Then tlie cheerful shout of 
 the delivered, the din of industry and the song of 
 the happ3' would echo and re-echo over the land. 
 God would bless these, his cliildren, with a thousand 
 blessings and fill their homes with abundance and 
 }oy. Finally the}^ would become a great nation 
 and none would dare to make them afraid. 
 
 Thus the proph(^t, the verification followed. 
 
 (24) 
 
25 
 
 Needle's Et/e of Leijul Tender. 
 
 Pressed by poverty and perseeiition, and filled 
 with briglit hopes, family followed family across 
 the ocean, afar to the setting of the sun, and theri^ 
 soon gathered a goodly colony of farmers, nuH'hanics, 
 builders, merchants, manufacturers, teachers, 
 preachers, physicians and ah auxiliary classes. 
 Appertaining as they mostly did to the lowly of 
 the Old AVorld ; lowly, we say, in the possession of 
 this world's goods, but strong in physical, mental 
 and moral qualities, able and determined to make 
 the most of this life, if only allowed to d6 so. 
 They had brought w^ith them but few necessary 
 effects, a scanty supply of clothes and household 
 furniture, a few tools and implements, some do- 
 mestic animals and *some farm and garden seed to 
 start a neav world with, and stai't it they did. 
 The distance from the mother country , the absence 
 of other friends, the similarity of conditions and 
 circumstances, the comnum wants and aspirations, 
 the necessity of mutual assistance united them and 
 in the bonds of consanguinity as one brotherhood. 
 With one ' accord they set to felling trees, 
 building houses, cleai'ing and fencing the forest, 
 breaking tlie soil, planting orchards, cultivating 
 grains and vegetables, raising fowls, flocks, 
 herds, flax, cotton and wool, spinning and 
 weaving cloth, jnaking clothes and thus providing 
 generally for man and beast. 
 
26 
 
 The Serpent. 
 
 THE SERPENT. 
 
 Among the immigrants tliere came over a 
 restless youth ^ naturally averse to all manners of 
 useful work, but fond of hunting, of pranks and a 
 good meah He lingered a few years among the 
 settlers, ever present at pic-nics, hunting, dancing 
 and dinner parties, ever absent at log-rolling, 
 brush-piling, house raising, corn cutting and husk- 
 ing parties. Often cheating a friend out of dog, 
 gun or horse ; a burden and a nuisance wherever 
 present. Finally he disappeared Westwardlvj 
 unwept and unlamented. 
 
 The colony grew apace in numbers, enlarged its 
 area and added constantly to its stock of wealth. 
 In a few years the colonists had a surplus of the 
 necessaries of life and were able to devote time to 
 the comforts, conveniencies and recreations, as w^ell 
 as to advance the cause of education. The un- 
 sightly log-cabins, school houses and churches were 
 rapidly being replaced by comfortable, commodious 
 and elegant frame, brick and stone buildings ; rude 
 house furniture made way for better polished and 
 more convenient articles ; family looms were laid 
 to rest, and wool, cotton and flax taken to large 
 factories, run by water-power, and converted into 
 rich cloth. The dense forest was being transformed 
 into an earthly paradise of green pastures, on which 
 
ProsjH'rons. 
 
 27 
 
 were fioeks of bleating sheep, lierds of lowing cat- 
 tle and neighing horses filling the air with 
 domestic music. Broad fields of yellow grain and 
 orchards loaded with luscions fruits gladdened tlj(^ 
 heart of the husbandman. Straight, graded and 
 graveled public roads from town to town ; every- 
 where attractive residences^ barns, parks, long i*ows 
 of shade trees, while their bins, graineries, mills 
 and large stores were filled to overflowing with 
 grains and merchandise, domestic and foreign. 
 Pen could not paint the prosperity and enjoyments 
 of this people. In proportion to population their 
 wealth exceeded that of any people on earth. 
 
 AS IT SHOULD BE. 
 
 Fortunately they knew nothing of what we 
 njoderns call legal tender money, nor had they 
 any use for it. Their monetary s^^stem was very 
 simple, inexpensive and most effective. Politically 
 they had established a general government to 
 attend to the affairs of the whole colou}^ and defend 
 them against invasion or insurrection. This 
 general government they supported by a contribu- 
 tion from each according to his or her means. 
 They had also established local governments to 
 look after such public affairs as did not concern 
 other localities in the colon3^ Tliese local author- 
 ities they also supported by a direct tax in the samc^ 
 
28 
 
 ^.s it Should be. 
 
 manner as the genei-al governments. Both these 
 taxes were collected in kind as follows : The 
 general government had printed annuall3% on fine 
 silk paper, a form of receipt or voucher, devided for 
 conveniency, in denominations from one average 
 day's labor (which was their unit of value called 
 D) down to half, one-quarter, one-tenth and one- 
 hundredth part of a day, and upwards two, five, 
 ten, twenty and one-hundred day's work counting 
 decimally both ways. The governor would pay 
 these vouchers to officers, contractors and for all 
 purchases. These vouchers would circulate from 
 hand to hand in exchange among the colonists 
 during the 3^ear. At the end of the fiscal year the 
 goveruor would have the year's issue of vouchers 
 summed up, the amount divided among the tax- 
 payers in proportion to the means of each (which 
 he had previously ascertained by an assessment), 
 and recall them for cancellation. The sole purpose 
 of this recall of the vouchers was to ascertain that 
 each citizen paid his or her portion of tax. This 
 ended all the financial operations of the civil gov- 
 ernment. By such a system the colonists were 
 enabled to pay their taxes with their several pro- 
 ducts and services, because they had a chance of 
 selling to the officers, contractors and manufactu- 
 rers their products before the tax was due. They 
 also paid the exact amount necessary to support 
 
As it ShoHid he. 
 
 29 
 
 tlie govenunent and no more. No other parties 
 were thus allowed to eome between the governor 
 and tax-payers and speculate on the transaction. 
 If the governor needed any article from abroad h<^ 
 could easily obtain it from or through the mer- 
 chants in the colony, as they were exchanging 
 surplus products of the colony for foreign articles 
 of every kind. Nor can anything abroad be pur- 
 chased in any other way tliau by a direct exchange 
 of products. 
 
 The local authorities collected the tax b}^ local 
 vouchers in the same manner as was done by the 
 general 'government. 
 
 There was no danger of either class of warrants 
 depreciating, because, annuall}^, every tax-payer was 
 compelled to provide himself with at least warrants 
 enough to settle his tax, and this requirement 
 absorbed the whole annual issue. 
 
 Another 'good feature of this system was that 
 tax-collectors did not need to give bond. The 
 documents they received were cancelled in the 
 presence of the tax-payers and thus rendered val- 
 ueless. 
 
 Under such rational system, the governor, nor 
 local authorities, were never under the necessity of 
 borrowing mr^ney, goods or services. Barbarous 
 nations, who have adopted an inverse monetai'V 
 order, believing that money goes in advance of 
 
•80 
 
 A,s it SJiouht he. 
 
 industry and exchanges, borrow money first, witli 
 which tlieir governors '-pretend " to pay the people 
 for what they get, then demand the same money 
 back in taxes with a surplus, wherewith to reward 
 the lenders. Plerein the trouble of barbarians in 
 mone}^ matters. 
 
 To enlarge further on the colonial monetary 
 system, it consisted of tlie three following circu- 
 lating mediums of account, viz : 
 
 1st. CoTONiAL WARRANTS, indicating the amount 
 that bearer had contril)uted to the support of the 
 g(m e ral go v e rum en t . 
 
 2d. Local warrants, indicating the amount that 
 bearer had contributed to the support of the 
 local authorities and public improvements. 
 
 8d. Merchants certific^ates, or money of the 
 merchants, indicating the amount that bearer had 
 on deposit in the stores of the colony. 
 
 The merchants in the colou}^ had come to a 
 mutual agreement to receive each other's certifi- 
 cates, and, for conveniency and identification, had 
 issued a uniform blank for these certificates. Thus 
 the merchant's certificates were good in all parts of 
 the colony. Commerce with otlier countries was 
 purely an interchange of commodities. 
 
 The merchants had also established cancellation 
 offices, in our day called clearing houses, for the 
 settlement of balances between several parties and 
 
^l.s // HJiotid he. 
 
 31 
 
 with foreign nations. The most important i)oint, 
 probably, in this whole monetary S3^stem, was tliat 
 the colonists would never bind themselves to pa}' 
 balances due in commerce, or debts^ to one anotluM', 
 at home or abroad, in an}- one special commodity, 
 no matter what the commodity may be, as thought- 
 less barbarians do, lest such commodity should not 
 be procurable at the times, or only procurable at 
 enormous sacrifices. Nothing entices a man so 
 much to speculate, as when he can get hold of an 
 article which he knows before hand tliat 
 his neighbors are bound to have at any cost. The 
 contracts of the colonists were all solvable in so 
 many units of value never specific. IN^or did 
 they ask foreign debtors to so bind themselves, and 
 for thh same reason. The only privilege between 
 creditor and debtor, was in favor of the creditor, 
 and consisted in giving him the option to select the 
 article he desired from among his debtor's posses- 
 sions, at an equitable appraisement. From this 
 privilege were only excepted a few articles of im- 
 mediate necessity to the debtor. 
 
 Again the colonial unit of value, of one average 
 day's labor, seemed to be the best known and most 
 stable frim among the units used by the various 
 people the colonists were dealing with. Everybody 
 seemed to understand readil}^ wdiat an ai'ticle, 
 which required one day V work to produce or make 
 
32 
 
 N'eedlc^^ Eye of Legal Tender, 
 
 was worth ; while no oiu^ could as readily conie 
 to tlie value of a quantity of gold, silver, copper, 
 wheat, rye, barley or any other commodity, as all 
 of these would ever vary according to suppl}^ and 
 demand. And, as a unit is a denominator, which 
 is to determine the value of each numerator, if this 
 unit is itself variable accoi'ding to supply and de- 
 mand, the whole fabric of values is based on a 
 waiving point, opening a wide field for speculation 
 on its variations. Ever}- time the material of the 
 unit 01* the units themselves are hoarded, exported 
 or in any way diminished or increased in quanti 
 ties, the value of all other things fluctuate accord- 
 ingly. This is a very serious defect in a unit, 
 which should be fixed as the Rock of Ages. As it 
 was, no one could speculate u])On the unit of the 
 colony. An average day's labor v^as always the 
 same quantity and procui-ed always the same 
 amount of a certain kind of wealth ; hence it was 
 the most appropi'iate to measure all wealth because 
 it could not cliange the amount of labor in any 
 part of it. Thus if a colonist was called upon to 
 appraise a house, for instance, he would tell with 
 exactness the amount of labor invested in it by his 
 unit. True its commercial value may^ have been 
 affected, besides, by the law of supply and demand, 
 but the presence or absence of money would not 
 and could not have afiected it. On the contrary. 
 
R if/lit 3[('asi(rc of J'a/uc. 
 
 33 
 
 if a piece of metal had been used as a unit, 
 first it would never have given them a statement of 
 tlie labor invested in the house, next, the abundance 
 or scarcity of the metal would have had the effect 
 of lowering or raising the value of the houye in an 
 opposite direction to supply and demand. It will 
 be seen that, in such case, all would have been un- 
 certaint3\ A last, but not least, merit of the colonial 
 system of money was its sufficiency and adequacy 
 to the requirements of industr}^ and commerce, 
 without au}^ redundanc3\ The colonists could not 
 have comprehended wh}^ a people should be dis- 
 tressed and stop work from the lack of money, and, 
 the limiting by law the material for warrants and 
 merchants certificates, they would have believed 
 suicidal. 
 
 This monetary system w^orked smoothly to the 
 full satisfaction of all classes for many years, with- 
 out a perceptible defect, except in one instance, 
 which was at once corrected by law^ The instance 
 was this : One year, at tax-paying time, a number 
 of colonists could not find warrants enougli to 
 settle their tax with. Both the general and local 
 warrants had become suddenly very scarce and 
 high priced in other commodities, on account of 
 the urgent demand to pay taxes. It was soon dis- 
 covered that wicked men had cornered them to 
 realize large profits. When complaint w^as made 
 
34 
 
 Speculation. 
 
 about the extravagant price demanded, these wicked 
 men had the boldness to assert that " the warrants 
 were no higher than they had ever been," but that 
 the value of all goods had gone down They 
 had borrowed the sophistry of barbarians, appli- 
 cable to gold money, and tried it on the colonial 
 system. Here it revealed its falsehood at once. 
 All could tell tlie number of days on each warrant's 
 face and all knew also the labor in each article 
 offered for them. Scarcity of warrants could not 
 have the effect here that scarcity of gold had among 
 barbarians. The colonists had not been accustomed 
 to such infernal tricks, and as soon as they discov- 
 ered this, their wrath rose higher than the value of 
 the warrants. They remonstrated with the Gov- 
 ernor and local authorities, and had the law so 
 modified as to make merchants certificates receiv- 
 able for taxes, and, at the same time, enact a law 
 that all warrants not presented in payment for 
 taxes within two years from \he date of their issue, 
 should be null and void," The warrant speculation 
 was thus stamped out at the very beginning, and 
 it never made its appearance afterw^ards. 
 
 THE SERPENT BACK. 
 
 The colony continued to prosper uninterruptedly 
 for many years, when late one afternoon a ragged, 
 fur-clad hunter from the West made his appearance 
 
The Serpenf Back. 
 
 35 
 
 ill one of its towns. He proved to be the Adven- 
 turer wiio, years before, liad disappeared with 
 liorse and dog. The citizens gathered about liini 
 to learn liis adventures and talk over old tiniew. 
 He narrated his maii}^ encounters with wikl beasts 
 and wilder men ; the many times he had suftered 
 hungei-, thirst and cold ; the sleepless nights he 
 had passed in trees and in caves watching for ene- 
 mies. He described the boundless prairies, the 
 herds of bufrak)es, deer and antelope grazing over 
 them ; he entertained them with the deceptive 
 mirage, tlie mountains he had ascended, whose tops 
 were often hid in the clouds and some capped with 
 snow the year around. But when the inquiry 
 turned to " what he had done for himself, wliat he 
 had gathered during his long absence to support 
 and shelter him in his old age," he could only 
 produce a skin-purse full of yellow sand, wdiich, 
 he claimed to be as valuable property as the ciccu- 
 mulations of any of the colonists. These could 
 not comprehend his meaning. They looked at him 
 doubtingly ; they examin(}d the sand carefully ; 
 then looked at him again ; but he reiterated his 
 assertion, adding that in a country south of the 
 mountains, he could purchase a farm equal to the 
 best in the colony with one half the contents of 
 his treasure. The colonists w^ere amazed, but they 
 could not believe his assertion. A farmer observed 
 
Value of Gold. 
 
 that lie would not })art with one acre ol his land 
 for ten times the sand in his bag. What could 
 he do with the stuff," he querried. How could he 
 raise food for and clothe his family with it I A 
 blacksmith also examined the sand, and, ''upon 
 his life," he emphasized, '* it is too soft for any pur- 
 pose," he said. As for giving a farm or a house for 
 it, they all considered it a huge joke. The hunter 
 had always been inclined to jest, when young, and 
 the habit had followed him to old age, they said. 
 Farmers, blacksmiths, merchants, mechanics and 
 all conceded that the hunter's sand was a curiosity 
 to behold, but good for nothing else. 
 
 DISASTROUS EVENT. 
 
 While yet listening to and reasoning with the 
 hunter, the Governor of the colony made his ap- 
 pearance and seemed to enjoy the stories of the 
 Adventurer. He had been in the habit of visiting 
 all parts of the colony to familiarize himself with 
 the wants or dangers of the people. This was ap- 
 parently his object now. He questioned the 
 Adventurer as to the country he had traveled . 
 through ; tlie different tribes of savages who 
 roamed over it, their character, habits, manner of 
 living; their weapons, etc. He questioned him 
 about the roads, the river, the people across the 
 mountains, and dwelt especially upon the country 
 
The Serpent Baek. 
 
 south of tlie mountains, whero tlie Adventui'er had 
 said that his sand was so higlily prized. Ho then 
 examined the sand and pronounced it, as the cok)- 
 nisls had dont^, worthless for any purpose of life; 
 hut a curiosity to look at, and lie reprimand(^d 
 the Adventurer in these words: "As you must 
 acknowledge, friend, you have wasted the most 
 valuable part of your life in vain. The world will 
 not be better for your having lived in it. What 
 would be the condition of this colony had a major- 
 ity of the people 'done as you did? Here you are, 
 approaching the age of inability to do any manner 
 of work, and no provision have you made to meet 
 it. What have you done for others that they 
 should feed, clothe, shelter and care for you in old 
 age? The stuff you have gathered at the moun- 
 tains, which you prize so highly and hold to so 
 teneciously, has no visible utility for man or beast, 
 and, if barbarians, south of the mountain, were, 
 as you say, willing to give valuable and useful 
 property for it, you, yourself, know that it was 
 merel}^ the effect of mental delusion and supersti- 
 tion on their parts. On this strain did the Governor 
 continue for a time ; then beckoning to the Adven- 
 turer to follow him, he lead him out of the hearing 
 of the colonists, under the shade of a clump of 
 trees, where, assuming a pleasant continuance and 
 subdued tone (as the Adventurer himself narratcMl 
 
88 
 
 Tlie Serpent Bael'. 
 
 ill after years), '* friend," said the Governor, " I 
 iiave resolved to establish a new MONpyrARY system, 
 over my colony, in which system your grains of 
 gold will come into play. In fact, the project that 
 I have in contemplation, will virtually make you 
 lord and master of the whole colony, as time will 
 sliow," but,'* he added with a wink, *• we must be 
 partners in its benefits." And what is the new 
 numetary system?" querried the Adventurer, elated 
 
 Keep cool and listen," replied the Governor, then 
 he continued. Having left in the early days of 
 the coh)ny, you are not expected to be acquainted 
 with the system established tliei*ein since your de- 
 paj-ture. I the ruiei , have been in the habit of drawing 
 ciiecks on •'paper," upon the colonists for what- 
 ever was necessary to support the government. I 
 have now^ decided to draw these same checks on 
 GOLD. To this effect, I sliall liave built a suitable 
 factoi-y, where you can bring your sand and have 
 it smelted and worked up into convenient pieces 
 and stamped into checks.*' " But whose checks 
 will they be?" asked the Adventurer, somewhat 
 afraid that the proposed arrangement might mean 
 confiscation of his gold. The checks will all be 
 returned to you free of cost," replied the Governor, 
 
 and with them you will be able to draw taxes 
 from the people. ** I cannot but feel gratelul foi- 
 such bounty," s;iid the Adventurer, but how will 
 
Disastrous Kvnif. 
 
 39 
 
 you and your officials live if you give me the cliecks 
 to draw the taxes with?" As well as bc^fore," 
 answennl the Governor. I will order the colo- 
 nists to bring the checks to me, then hand them to 
 my officers, soldiers, contractors and servants to 
 purchase commodities and services from the colo- 
 nists, as under the present system of paper checks." 
 
 I see," said the Adventurer, by the new system 
 you compel the colonists to pay the tax to me first, 
 in order to obtain the checks, then to you to get 
 them back, making it, of course double." The 
 Governor acknowledged that such would be the 
 case, and that the Adventurer would have it in his 
 power to demand as high a tax as he choosed by 
 simply raising the value of his gold checks. But 
 what will the colonists say to such a " monetary 
 system?" asked again the Adventurer. It is not 
 for my colonists to object to any law I pass," re 
 plied the Governor with positivity. They are 
 my subjects and it is their duty to obey. 
 
 The sand was taken to the Governor's mint, 
 made up into coins and the coins returned to the 
 Adventurer. Then followed the within 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 T^^ our beloved subjects, greeting : 
 In virtue of the power in us vested, we hereby 
 do proclaim and command that henceforth the 
 
40 
 
 Dlm.'<tro uti ProcJa mat ion . 
 
 Adventurer'8 sand, as coined by us, sliall be tlie only 
 LEGAL TEN^DER article in payment of taxes, debts 
 lines, penalties, etc., and no other mone}^ shall cir- 
 culate in the exchange of commodities and services 
 in tli^ colony. 
 
 Let all our subjects heed and obey on penalty of 
 confiscation of their property and imprisonment. 
 
 Given under our liand and seal. 
 
 The Governor. 
 
 This proclamation, short and terse, cast the whole 
 of that prosperous and hapf)y people into conster- 
 nation and gloom. What a predicament ! Every 
 one felt that he was at the mercy of the Adventu- 
 rer, and knew that he was not a man of mercy. 
 Meetings were at once convened in all parts of the 
 colon}^ to protest, remonstrate, petition or devise 
 means of averting or overcoming the dire calamity 
 hanging over them. One of the petitions, which 
 may be taken as a sample of all otliers, ran thus : 
 
 To His Excellency, the Governor : 
 
 We, your humbh^ subjects, are struck with disma}-^ 
 at Your Excellency's last proclamation. We are at 
 a loss what to do. No gold has ever been found in 
 the colony. It is not a general product of tlie 
 ^-arth. and luMice unreliable for any purpose requir- 
 ing certainty, as is the case in a tax to support a 
 government. The Adventurer himself states that 
 it is only found in rare spots of the mountains. If 
 
41 
 
 such (I spot was ever discovered in the c()k>iiy, it 
 would only benefit the finder. Tiie rest of us 
 would bo at his mei'cy. We all feel that this, youi* 
 decree, puts us under the foot of the Adv(^nturer. 
 JA^t your ExceHency have mercy upon his ])e()ple, 
 who have ever been devoted and faithful to hini. 
 Under the present wise and equitable monetary 
 system, the sut)port of the government is scarcely 
 felt, as we are enabled to supply all its needs di- 
 I'ectly with our own several products to the officials 
 and contractors, who need them, and we are thus 
 provided, b^^fore liand, with the checks to settle the 
 tax. Tlie proposed system compels us to produce 
 the tax-checks before w^e have them, and forces us 
 to olfer our goods to the Adventurer, who needs 
 scarcely any, so that, if he should purchase these 
 goods, it would be only at reduced prices and for tlu^ 
 purpose of speculating on you and your ofiicials. 
 Thus we are first placed at the Adventurer's mercy 
 for the checks to pay the tax, then you and your 
 servants would be at his mercy to obtain the goods. 
 What a hai'vest for him ! AVhat a plight for us all I 
 How will it be possible to save our property from 
 confiscation under such grave circumstances ! And 
 as for doing away with the money of the mer- 
 chants," it is fearful to contemplate. Such money 
 is equal in amount to all the goods we havc^ in the 
 stores. How will we be able to perform our ex~ 
 
42 
 
 Disastrous Event. 
 
 changes ? Shall we part with all said goods to 
 obtain goUl, tJien double our toil to produce others 
 to exchange? And, as population will increase and 
 exchanges with it, shall we, in the future, be forced 
 to produce double the amount of wealth needed, 
 and give away one lialf of it to get money, where- 
 with to exchange the remaining half among 
 ourselves? Alas for us and our families. Ruin 
 stares us in the face. Again we earnest!}^ implore 
 Your Excellency to have pity on his subjects and 
 repeal said proclamation. 
 
 Remonstrances nor petitions had any effect. 
 
 Finding the Governor inexorable, the colonists 
 pressed in crowds to the Adventurer to purchase of 
 him the needed coins, lest, if too late, the bag may 
 be exhausted and the toil of years, the accumula- 
 tions of a life-time, the most sacred spot on earth, 
 a home, may be lost in one hour. 
 
 They found him stiif and haughty. He was well 
 aware of his new position and prepared to use the 
 advantages he held over the colonists. 
 
 He had no use for their products," he said, and 
 he refused to sell his coins, but would accommodate 
 them with loans sufficient to pay their tax, on 
 condition that they should return the loan before 
 tax-paying time the following year, with an addi- 
 itional sum of six per cent interest, and secure the 
 payment of both principal and interest hy a mort- 
 
Disasirous Event. 
 
 gage upon their liomes. But," expostulated the 
 people in tlieir consteruatiou, ansuming that we 
 obtain all the coins from the Govei-nor through his 
 officers, where is tlie additional six per cent interest 
 to come from?" This is indeed a dire calamity 
 that tlie Governor has placed upon us, and so need- 
 less." 
 
 These are my terms," replied the Adventurer. 
 You may accept or reject them as you please. We 
 live in a free countr}^, and ever}^ one is at ]il)ei'ty^ to 
 act according to his or her will. If you do not 
 like m}^ offer, go to the mountains, as I have done, 
 and search for gold there. You will then see what 
 it costs to obtain it." 
 
 With dejected looks and hearts full of sorrow, these 
 h'<\rd terms had to be complied with. The gold 
 was borrowed, the mortgage given and the taxes 
 paid. The Governor forthwith handed the coins 
 to officers, servants and contractors, who spent 
 them with the colonists for products and services. 
 Immediately on receiving the gold each colonist 
 rushed to the Adventurer to cancel his contract 
 and release his home, but the debt is not due 
 yet," said the Adventurer, " and I cannot accept 
 payment, unless you pay^ the interest as well as the 
 principal." This, of course, the colonists could 
 not do. It was an absolute impossibility. So they 
 liad to let the debt go to the end of the year, when 
 
44 
 
 Down Hill to Ruin. 
 
 they found themselves in a worse predicament. 
 Tlie}^ owed now all the gold they had to the Ad- 
 venturer, which they could pay, they owed him the 
 interest which they could not pay, and they owed 
 tiie matui'ing year's tax in gold again, and all of 
 these possibilities and impossibilities, they were 
 expected to perform by both the Governor and the 
 Adventurer, under penalty of utter ruin. God 
 alone knew what the colonists were to do. Some 
 did succeed in extricating themselves from the 
 difficulty, and paid principal and interest, but the}^ 
 ')nly did so by cheating their neighbors out of a 
 portion of their principal. These neighbors were 
 then unable to even pay the borrowed principal 
 and lost their property. Year after year occurred 
 the same rotation of financial difficulties ; 3^ear after 
 year losses of property and homes ; year after year 
 discouragement and desolation spread over the once 
 happ3^ land. 
 
 Space and time fail us to depict the sad story of 
 this doomed colony. How the Adventurer grad- 
 ually revolutionized the entire business S3^stem ; 
 how he hindered industry, how he got possession 
 one by one of farms, stores, factories, mines, etc. 
 Matters continued to go from bad to worse, poverty 
 and gloom took the place of prosperity and joy. 
 In a few years the condition of affairs in the col- 
 ony was deplorable indeed. The Adventurer was 
 
Gold Monomania. 
 
 45 
 
 installed in a marble front building, in the center of 
 the town, and had a palace foi* i-c^sidence. His 
 busine^ts was dealing out gold loans, and receiving 
 the same with an increase. Of course the gold had 
 not increased by being loaned, and only a very few 
 of tlie borrowers were fortunate enough to pay 
 that increase, as we said, by cheating some neigli- 
 bors out ol a portion of their gold. The other 
 borrowers had lost almost all they possessed and 
 had become renters and wage workers, as they 
 w^ere contemptuously called, These two classes 
 now composed two-fifths of the colony. 
 
 GOLD MONOMANIA. 
 
 In after years the monetary evil in the colony 
 had become much aggravated by a monomania into 
 which the colonists had all fallen. The shock 
 caused by the Governor's decree, which compelled 
 them to pa}" taxes and carry on exchanges with 
 gold, and the severe losses they had sustained in 
 consequence of it, had completely overturned their 
 understanding in regard to the essence of gold. 
 One could no longer reason with them on the 
 subject. Terror stricken b}^ the aspect of ruin, if 
 gold could not be found, th^}" had fallen into the 
 fetichism ot idolizing that metal, not only as a 
 saviour from ruin, but also as a sort of living, 
 sentient and almost monipotent being, the moving 
 
Gold Monomania. 
 
 spii'it of iiidustiy and coniinerce, the author of all 
 iuiinan achievements, and the fountain, whence 
 llowed all earth I}^ enjoyments. To hearken to 
 gold eulogists in the colon;/, one would almost 
 have been persuaded to believe that all the 
 bi(sssiiigs natural and artificial, which man enjoys 
 ou earth, are due to gold. The gifts of the Creator 
 himself and the toils of man were accounted sec- 
 ondary factors in those blessings. Self evident 
 truths were ignored in behalf of gold. Very intel- 
 ligent and learned colonists would dogmatically 
 assert that it was gold, not man, tliat was improv- 
 ing the country, opening mines, running farms and 
 factories, clearing forests, building homes, towns 
 and cities, and carrying on commerce by land and 
 on the ocean ; that it was gold that erected school 
 houses and colleges and educated the nation. It 
 was the current saying that " it required so much 
 gold to raise, feed, clothe, equip and maintain an 
 army or a navy and support the government." 
 And here we may remark how one single edict 
 perverted the reasoning powers of a whole colon3^ 
 Because the decree compelled the support of the 
 government to come by way" of gold, now the}^ 
 asserted that gold was doing the supporting. We 
 may truthfully say that the colonists had actually 
 come to believe tliat gold was a sort of divinity, 
 whose assigned duty it wa o to care for the earthly 
 
(U)Ul Mono man id. 
 
 47 
 
 welfare of the luunan i-aco. The living being', man, 
 appeared no longei* to lignrci in industrial <levelo])- 
 nient, except as an auxiliai-y, or a[)})'endag(^, of 
 gold. How inucli more could truth oi^ })erver*ted 
 and (xod and man be degraded below adi^ad useless 
 metal ! In all their ])lans, contemplating future 
 achievements, no notice whatever was longer taken 
 of men, their skill, abilit}^ or talent. The}^ calcu- 
 lated solely the amount of gold it would re(juii"e to 
 perform the work. If the colonists liad had mill- 
 ions of the most skilled men and all the materials 
 necessary for any enterprise, no attention was paid 
 to these, but question whether the gr«^at Mogul was 
 present? If the answer to that question was neg- 
 ative, they would consider men as a worthless herd, 
 and the materials unavailable things, and set 'the 
 enterprise dow^n as an impossibility. The infatua- 
 tion was almost incredible to one who did not live 
 among them. Some of the attributes conferred on 
 gold would cap the climax of all absurdities. We 
 heai'd learned men say that gold was the blood 
 which coursed in the veins of industry and commerce 
 and gave them life." According to their imagina- 
 tion, industry and commei'ce were sort of huge 
 abstract monsters kept alive and moving according 
 to the supply of gold in tlieir veins. If so,'' we 
 said, '* then the man who draws dribs of gold from 
 industry and commerce, in rent or interest, and 
 
48 
 
 Gold Mo no ma n ia . 
 
 stores it away, or lias a watcli case, ring or other 
 oi-iiameiital toy made out of it, or has a picture 
 frame guikl with it, is a veritable demon in luiman 
 form. He may be likened unto a man who should 
 draw from the veins of his lenu neighbors drops 
 of blood, at intervals, and either lay it away to 
 curdle, make a blood pudding, or sprinkle his vict- 
 uals to gratif}" his beastly palate." And, when we 
 looked at the gaunt, pale and dejected counte- 
 nances of those who were bled b}^ interest and 
 rents, we almost concluded that facts verified the 
 comparison. 
 
 It is doubtful wliether any ancient people, in the 
 darkest days of idolatry and supei'stition, ever had 
 as strong a faith in their most sacred idols, as the 
 c()h)nists had in gold. Really the worship of gold 
 might properly have been considered the only uni 
 versa! religion in the colony, and, as long as it 
 (iontinued, it was folly to attempt to inculcate the 
 spi'ead of any other, for the good book says : 
 Ye cannot serve two masters," 
 Ye cannot serve God and Mommon both." 
 As the result of this mental derangement of the 
 colonists, in the absence of gold to stimuhite them, 
 industry and commerce would cease, progress stop, 
 the soil seemed to have lost its fertility, 
 steam its power, electricity its velocity, light its 
 brightness and man his physical strength and men- 
 
Gold Monomania. 
 
 49 
 
 tal (3unniiig. Machinery would lay rusting- and 
 iiieu and women move about in desolation and 
 want. Does it seem possible that one single deci'iH' 
 would have brought with it such dismal train of 
 evil consequences? In this condition, of course, 
 the Adventurer had the colonists completely under 
 his control. If he desired anything done for him, 
 he w(mld arouse a few colonists by the alluring- 
 offer of a little gold, put them to building houses, 
 for instance, then rent the same to them for a few 
 years and get both houses and gold back. The 
 benighted colonists would then thank him for 
 having given them employment," and fall back in 
 their lethargy, which they called ^'hard times. 
 These were times when nature was as open and as 
 inviting as ever, but gold w^as absent. Consequently 
 employment of labor, and exchange of products, 
 could only extend as far as there w^as gold to eni- 
 [)lo3^ or buy. Whatever was done beyond the lump 
 of gold to be thus '* invested," was called over- 
 production." The portion of gold which the 
 Adventurer invested, during the year, to employ 
 labor, was, learnedly, called wages fund," and it 
 was asserted that no more men could be employed 
 than this " w^age-fund " extended. So did they 
 maintain that no more products should be ex- 
 changed than there was gold to exchange them 
 through. All beyond was called overtrading " 
 
50 
 
 Gold Monomania. 
 
 and dangerous to prosperity. And realh^, when we 
 looked at things as they stood in the cok)n3^, it was 
 actually dangerous to buy, make or exchange more 
 goods than there was gold to pay for them. If this 
 rule was violated, the seller was liable to lose and 
 the bu^^er be ruined. Dealing in cash, meaning to 
 the limit of gold, became the only safe method of 
 business. But, of course, dealing in cash was lim- 
 ited to those who had gold and the quantity the^^ 
 possessed. It had no reference to the wants and 
 desires of the colonists. Thus every movement 
 was measured b}^ gold, or the supposed ability to 
 obtain gold at stated times. T^o wonder that mill- 
 ions worth of goods were moulding and rotting 
 unused, and millions of men, women and children 
 were suffering from want of them ; that millions 
 were houseless, foodless and almost clotheless, and 
 yet these millions laid in idleness, lamenting that 
 there was no demand for work. What else could 
 be expected from crazy people ? When they had 
 supplied the Adventurer and his craft, with what 
 houses they wish to use or rent, as well as with all 
 the comforts they desired, they fell back in idleness 
 and want. We often asked them why they did 
 not go to work ?" ^* There is no demand for work,^' 
 was the ready reply. If we pointed to the very 
 many in need of almost everything, and said, that 
 there appeared to be plenty of work to be done 
 
Gold 31 '> no m a n ia . 
 
 51 
 
 yet," tliey would cast a stolid, inquisitive glance at 
 us, indicating plainly that their minds were not 
 right on these subjects and say, do you not know 
 that these poor, foodless, ragged and homeless peo- 
 ple have no gold to pay for work ?" We ventured 
 further. " Admit that these poor people have no 
 gold, is that a valid reason why they should not 
 have food, clothes and a home to shelter them ?" 
 
 We told 3'ou, that having no gold, they cannot 
 pay for these comforts," they would instantly reply, 
 holding the same stolid gaze on us, as if impressed 
 that we lacked understanding. " Why do you not, 
 we mean all of you who are poor, but able to work, 
 help one another, and in this way raise youi* own 
 food, make your own clothes and build ^^our own 
 houses ?" we added. At this question, there seemed 
 to appear a glimmer of returning reason over 
 their countenances, as some fell into a pensive mode, 
 but it would soon pass away and be followed by 
 the same persistent hallucination that nothing 
 could be done without gold," then turn from us in 
 disgust, as if our questions were baring them. We 
 once ventured to tell the Adventurer, that it was a 
 pity, that the colonists had fallen into such a delu- 
 sion regarding gold, as there w^ould never be gold 
 enough to emplo}^ them. He replied that "there 
 was plenty of gold, and anybody could get it, if he 
 had anything to give or pledge for it." 
 
52 
 
 A Change. 
 
 This was cruel irony on the poor colonists. 
 
 Despairing of ever witnessing a return of the 
 old prosperity in the colou}^ under such depressing 
 conditions, we left the colonists to tlieir fate. 
 
 A CHANGE. 
 
 On our return to the colony, after an absence of 
 several years, we were greatl}^ surprised at the 
 numerous and extensive improvements which had 
 already been accomplished, and many more in 
 process of execution. They had actually built large 
 cities and magnificent palaces and parks within 
 those cities, had built numerous town^ and count- 
 less houses all over the country, and were working 
 mines, foundries, rolling mills and large factories 
 of all descriptions. They had built railroads and 
 telegraph lines, and extended the colony, and its 
 improvements, in all ways, far beyond our most san 
 guine expectations previous to the tyrannical 
 decree, which had enslaved the colonists to the 
 Adventurer. Naturally, we were anxious to learn 
 how all these improvements had been accom- 
 plished ; how the colonists had regained their 
 reason in regard to gold, and how they had freed 
 themselves from the Adventurer, and had been ena- 
 bled to reach such achievements. 
 
 How was all this done we inquired. 
 
 ^' By the industry, skill and energ}^ of the people,'^ 
 
A Change. 
 
 we were answered. AVe could but believe it. What 
 else could have performed such industrial wond(M*s? 
 Not certainly a dead metal, i\o matter how prc^cious 
 a stone it ma}^ be sup|)Osed to be, or what the super- 
 stition of a people about it. 
 
 Just then there happened to be a large conference 
 of a class of people they called l)ankers. AVe at- 
 tended the conference both through curiosity ajid 
 information. One of these blinkers made a speech, 
 in which he said Hei-e ai-e assembled the men who 
 built our cities and towns, our i*ailroads and tele- 
 graph lines, and made all our gigantic improvements. 
 Here are the men who carr}^ forward our immense 
 commerce overland and on the ocean ; these are the 
 men who opened and run our mines, our factories, 
 etc.,'' and he went on in this strain. AVe looked 
 over the crowd of well dressed men, and it did not 
 appear to us as if the}^ were house builders, railroad 
 contractors, timber cutters, mine diggers, weavers 
 or mechanics. In fact, when we succeeded in see- 
 ing the chair, we sp ied the Adventurer himself 
 presiding over the assembl}^, and, if he was to be 
 taken as a fair sample af the balance, it wa^s evident 
 that none of them was engaged in any useful occu- 
 pation whatever. 
 
 How did these men perform such great deeds 
 as ^Jieir speaker stated we inqnired of one. AVe 
 were promptly told that these men did no manner 
 
54 
 
 A Change. 
 
 of work at all. But their speaker said that they 
 were the very men who made all the improvements 
 ill the colon}', and the crowd applauded him as if 
 he was telling the truth.'' we added. Our inform- 
 ant stated that the speaker meant that they are the 
 men who paid the workmen to make the improve- 
 ments. How did these bankers find gold enough 
 to employ, and pay, so many men?" we asked 
 further. The}' did not pay them with gold," he 
 replied, they paid them with bank notes." What 
 sort of a thing is a bank note ?" we troubled him 
 again. He was kind to explain to us a bank note. 
 It appeared that, some years before, when the col- 
 onists, under the gold hallucination, would not sell 
 anything nor work unless paid for with gold, and 
 consequently everything was dragging because of 
 insufficiency of gold to do business, the Adventurer 
 made an invention. They say that necessity is 
 the mother of inventions." It proved true in this 
 case. Finding that his gold fell far short of his 
 greed for wealth and power, even at the enormous 
 price he was charging, and that it had not grown 
 by interest, he had duped the colonists to believe 
 that he had vast amounts of gold in what he called 
 his vault, (by this he meant a sort of a cave, con- 
 taining an iron box, under his marble front store, 
 which cave he kept locked to prevent fire i -om 
 burning the gold). Under this belief, he had in- 
 
A Change. 
 
 (luc^d the (iolonists to sell hiiri goods and build liiin 
 houses aud railroads, and accept, for a whihs h(5 
 said, little strips of paper, (bank notes), in pay- 
 ment, in the place of gold, which, he said, had 
 better be kept from danger of thieves and fire. 
 These notes, he told them, would answer the pur- 
 pose, would be ligliter to carr^^, and just as good as 
 gold, because the bearer could always get the gold 
 at the bank, if wanted, dollar for dollar. To 
 strengthen faith in them, h ^ had stamped on the 
 same notes, the words ^' redeemable in gold then, 
 to fully establish and keep up the deception, he 
 did actual redeem what lew notes came to the 
 bank for redemption, with a little gold he kept on 
 hand for the purpose called reserve.'^ 
 
 The scheme gradually became fixed and worked 
 to the full satisfaction of the Adventurer. The 
 workers and traders began to pass these notes 
 among themselves and, when some one seemed to be 
 in doubt as to the redeemability of the notes, he 
 was induced to step in the bank and would be sat- 
 isfied. Finally the testimony of some strengthened 
 the faith of all, and very few notes would come 
 to the bank for redemption. 
 
 These ''redeemable notes,'' were afterwards called, 
 by eminent writers, who are always intent in giving 
 names to tilings, -^representatives" of gold, and 
 proved a greater bonanza to the Adventurer than 
 
56 
 
 A Change 
 
 his bag of sand. They saved him the time and 
 I'isk of going to tht mountains, cost him no labor, 
 there was no end to their volume, and, by calling 
 them representatives " of gold, enabled him to 
 purchase as many goods, hire as much labor, and 
 charge as much interest, as if they had been true 
 gold. Fruitful invention ! We made bold once to 
 ask the Adventurer how his conscience could 
 permit him to appropriate unto himself the goods, 
 the toil and the homes of poor colonists for such 
 trifling thing as a mere strip of paper. He replied, 
 with the utmost indifference, that those who got 
 his strips of paper, could buy as many goods, hire 
 as much labor and get other homes. Yes,'' we 
 said, but that is the business of the colonists how 
 the}^ exchange goods and services with one another. 
 What have you to do with such exchange?" we 
 asked. You have neither goods nor work to ex- 
 change with them." He declined further argument 
 on the subject and hinted that we were a " commu- 
 nist," in order to alienate the colonists from us. 
 You could see that he feared lest they might dis- 
 cover the part he played in the game. The 
 colonists made everything, even the paper that his 
 notes were printed on, then gave him millions 
 worth of goods or paid him interest for the use of 
 them. Had they studied the trick, they could have 
 nuvde the notes in partnership and use tliem free of 
 
Redvemahle Bank iXofcs. 
 
 cost, as their colonial ancestors had done. As for 
 the " redeemable " part of the notes, it was but a 
 liumlnig and a snare, as the fntnre proved. Yet, 
 we must admit that, bad as it was, the bank not(» 
 invention proved beneficial to the colonists also. 
 They would have starved, if they had continued in 
 their stubborness to work and ti*ade only as far as 
 they had gold to do it with. 
 
 With the bank notes," if the Adventurer re- 
 ceived the lion's share of the goods and improve- 
 ments, the colonists could, at least, live, weai- 
 coarse clothes and be sheltered in a rented house. 
 
 So bank notes " had become one of the institu- 
 tions of the colony. In a book, printed at that 
 time, we read a paragraph boasting of the great in- 
 crease of wealth and population in the colon3\ The 
 writer attributed the increase of wealth to the in- 
 vention of bank notes, and the increase of population 
 to the discovery of vaccination. The one, he wrote, 
 kept the colonists at work, the other prevented their 
 children from dying of small -pox. 
 
 The Adventurer issued millions and millions of 
 these redeemable " bank notes, although he did 
 not have gold enough in his vault to redeem one in 
 ten, and he became a millionaire. He had to resort 
 to all manner of tricks, however, to prevent the 
 colonists from bringing the notes to the bank for 
 redemption and thus discover the fraud. The 
 
58 
 
 Bedcemahle Bank Xotes. 
 
 main one of these tricks was this : B}' permission of 
 the Governor, he had located a bank in almost 
 every town in the colon^^, and each of these banks 
 issued redeemable " notes. Now one of the craft 
 would start from his town, at one end of the colony, 
 with a carpet-bag full of his notes, carry them to 
 the other end, and exchange them for the noteii of 
 another bank, which he carried home with him, to 
 be loaned and circulated in his neighborhood. The 
 same was done across the colony, so that when a 
 colonist held a bank note and wished the gold for 
 it, he would have to travel hundreds of miles to 
 get it. The banker in his town would not redeem 
 it because, he would say, it was enough for him to 
 redeem his own notes." Meantime, while all this 
 flock, or cloud, of bank notes was scattered and 
 moving over the country, the colonists worked, fed 
 and clothed themselves, by exchanging products and 
 work, through the notes, and the Adventurer and 
 his craft absorbed all the surplus in purchases, in- 
 terest and foreclosures. 
 
 One point about these bank notes " that we 
 must notice, is that, while pretending to be ^' repre- 
 sentatives " of gold, and. as such, claiming the 
 same price in goods, services and interest, they 
 lacke the very quality which had made gold such 
 a power, viz : they were not legal tender in pay- 
 ment of taxes and debts. The Adventurer did not 
 
llidccinnhlc Banl' Nolcx. 
 
 59 
 
 want tliein to be " legal tender.'' Had lie so de- 
 sired, the Governor was his associate, and would 
 have readily granted him a deeiee to that effect. 
 But he desired the notes only good to go "into 
 debt/"' and not to come " out of it." It had always 
 been liis policy, ever since he was made lord of 
 finances, to make the road " out of debt as narrow 
 and as difficult as possible. If gold liad become 
 very abundant and easy to obtain, he would have 
 luid the law changed, and have had diamond, 
 or some other rare substance, decreed legal tender 
 in the place of it. The Adventurer was determined 
 that the colonists should be forced to buy his gold, 
 at whatever price he might fix on it, before tliey 
 were able to come out of debt. He well knew that, 
 if debts were all paid, lie would lose his greatest 
 harvest of wealth, all his revenues. 
 
 At times some thinker among the colonists would 
 catch an idea from this hank note scheme, see- 
 ing how they answei-ed all the purposes of gold in 
 employing labor and exchanging products, and 
 would suggest that the workingmen and merchants 
 issue the notes themselves, and in this manner cut 
 loose from, and stop paying tribute to that fifth 
 wheel to the industrial w^agon. the Adventurer, 
 and thus hold the property which they were losing 
 by receiving and borrowing the notes from him. 
 But such thinkers would soon be silenced by the 
 
()0 
 
 Redeemable Bank Notes. 
 
 unanswerable " argument, generally originating 
 in the Adventurer himself, that the workingmen 
 and merchants had no gold to redeem the notes 
 with.'' Meantime he was secretly chuckling to 
 himself over the stupidity of the colonists ; publicly 
 he made his appearance richly attired, with a pleas- 
 ant, yet supercilious, countenance and a stiffness of 
 person which was interpreted well heeled." 
 
 This was his policy to better impose upon the 
 credulity of the colonists as to his ability to re- 
 deem " the notes. He was now solid ; yet the fear 
 that the workers and merchants ma.y, some day, see 
 through the note imposition, haunted his mind 
 constantly. Finally he hit upon a scheme to pre- 
 vent it. He had his associate, the Governor, to 
 issue another decree, ostensibly to protect the colo- 
 nists againt the Adventurer, but in reality to give 
 him the monopoly of issuing bank notes. This 
 second monetary decree ran thus : 
 
 Whereas, It is absolutel}^ necessary that our be- 
 loved subjects be '^protected " in the redeemability 
 of circulating notes ; and 
 
 Whereas, The Adventurer and his craft are the 
 only persons who possess gold to redeem said notes 
 with 
 
 Therefore be it decreed, that no one in the colony, 
 who is not a banker, shall issue notes to circulate as 
 money under severe fine and corporeal punishment. 
 
Panics. 
 
 ()1 
 
 Given under our liaud and seal, tliis year of the 
 second persecution, etc. 
 
 This decree vested the monopoly of the note bus- 
 iness, which had now become immense, in the 
 Adventurer and his lucky craft. 
 
PERIOD OF PANICS. 
 
 Having- secured the monopoly of ^' redeemable 
 bank notes," the Adventurer and his craft (who had 
 become somewhat numerous), set earnestly to is- 
 suing these notes, buying property, employing labor 
 and loaning them to enterprising men at interest. 
 Soon the}^ had $46 millions out, for which they held 
 good, substantial wealth, or well secured personal 
 notes of the colonists bearing interest. The Ad- 
 venturers* notes, in the hands of the colonists, were 
 not secured at all, and bore no interest. Strange to 
 say, the Governor himself borrowed these bank 
 notes and placed the colonists under bond to guar- 
 anty their return with interest. At first the 
 Governor borrowed six millions, then $20 millions, 
 and continued to bori-ow until he had borrowed $48 
 millions. In tht meantime the colonists had bor- 
 row^ed $100 millions in all. In a short time a great 
 part of this $100 millions had already been paid 
 back in interest and the place of every dollar, that 
 had been paid back, had to be filled with a gold 
 dollar, when the note became due. jSTow the Gov- 
 ernor ordered the colonists to bring in $12 millions 
 
 (02) 
 
Panics. 
 
 notes, which lie had j)ronuse(l to pay to tlie Adven 
 turer. If the cok)iiists had (M)ine togethei*, with all 
 the notes they held, they conld not liave paid lialt 
 the debt owino- to the Adventurer, yet ev(M'y pay- 
 ment of interest, or tax foi* what the Governor bor 
 I'owed, madii matters worse. This gloomy state of 
 affairs was aggravated by all the debts the colonists 
 owed to one another, which were all payable in 
 gold, if the creditor demanded it. Tliere came 
 a slight fear that there might not l)e gold enough 
 in the bank to meet the possible demand. It 
 made many holders of the bank notes rush to the 
 bank for redemption, and the Adventurers, not 
 having one dollar in gold for twenty of outstand 
 ing notes, closed the bank doors, and the colony 
 was thrown in, what i^^ called, a financial panic. 
 Then the redeemable " bank notes were selling 
 among the colonists at 20 to 50 per cent discount. 
 
 Did the Governor do a thing to protect the peo- 
 ple ? Did he make the Adventurers redeem the 
 notes ? Or, if they did not redeem the notes, did 
 he make them give back to the people, the property 
 they had obtained for the notes? No, the Gov- 
 ernor did neither, but let the people suffer all the 
 losses, and the Adventurers reap the benefits of the 
 panic. It proved a great harvest to them. 
 
 A period of depression followed. The Adventurer 
 again issued notes. They knew that tlie colonists 
 
64 
 
 Panics. 
 
 had " to take them or fare worse. Gokl was out 
 of the question. Again the colonists pushed work 
 and improvements and took bank notes in pay- 
 ment. Th^ Adventurers took the improvements for 
 the notes, which cost them nothing but the paper and 
 printing. The colonists always giving real wealth 
 for mere paper, yet paying interest to the Adven- 
 turer besides. Such infatuation is beyond the 
 bounds of reason and common sense, yet no argu- 
 ment of ours could draw the colonists attention to 
 it. 
 
 The Governor, for a time, had been in the habit 
 of receiving bank notes for taxes. Now he singled 
 out some favorite Adventurers and ordered his offi- 
 cials to receive only the notes of tliese, or gold, for 
 taxes. This order made the colonists rush to the 
 favorite Adventurers to borrow notes to pa}- taxes 
 with, and such was the pressure to obtain them, 
 says another witness, that these favored Adven- 
 turers could not sign them fast enough." 
 
 When the Governor had collected a large amount 
 of these notes, he became afraid himself that these 
 favorite banks would not be able to redeem them, 
 should he need the gold. So he appointed some of 
 his friends to go and examine the gold in the vaults, 
 but, Lord bless him, these friends " would not " go. 
 They were in partnership with the Adventurers. 
 One John Randolph told the Governor that ^' he 
 
Panics. 
 
 05 
 
 iiiioht as well Heiul men to pivaeli Christiaiiity in 
 Turkey, as to si^nd tliein to investigate the alfiiiis 
 of tlie Adventurers/' riiey were the h)i'ds of tlu* 
 c()h)ny, not the Governor. Tluui the fear of the 
 Governor increased, and witli it that of the colo- 
 nists. Another rusli was made to have tlie not(^s 
 redeemed, another suspension of the banks and 
 anotlier financial panic followed. The Adventu- 
 rers* were now as rich as Croesus. They lived in 
 magnificent palaces and reveled in luxuries. Rile's 
 Register, published at that time, says that *' the 
 prodigality and dissipation of some Adventurei's 
 were beyond belief. AVe heard,'' says Rile, oi 
 the furniture of one single parlor costing $40,000. 
 In all great cities it was dash, dash, dash. Miser- 
 able miners and speculators converted into knaves 
 of rank, through that abominable system of re- 
 deemable (?) bank notes." But how with the 
 colonists ? Read the same paper, 20,000 [)ers()ns 
 were seeking employment in one city alone, and a 
 similar condition all over the colony. Wheat was 
 20 cents a bushel. A man stopped his papei*, becaus(\ 
 before the panic, one barrel of flour would ]>ay tlie 
 subsci-iption one year, now it took more than thre(\ 
 Evervthing else low in proportion. Schools closed 
 and school l)ooks were a drug. Wages very low at 
 half time. The pa])ers Avere full of advei'tisements 
 of sheriff's sales, and contained numerous account s 
 
66 
 
 Panics. 
 
 of riots, incendiary fires, frauds and robberies. 
 Tlie distress in the colon}^ was intense." 
 
 This panic histed four years. During that time 
 the Adventurers bought some of their own notes at 
 S2.10 for $1.00 in gokl. 
 
 Examples like the above, it seems, would have 
 put an end to the redeemable bank note " fraud ; 
 but on the contrary, such had been the sufferings of 
 the people in those four yeai-s, that when the Ad- 
 venturers offered them work, if they would receive 
 
 redeemable bank notes " in pa3^ment, they accep- 
 ted the offer, and went to work again for, them. It 
 is indeed astonishing to what a degree of suffering 
 and subjection a monetary craze may carry a peo 
 pie. Religious superstition is not comparable to it. 
 
 The Adventurers had their free slaves, as we may 
 properly call them, building houses, running facto- 
 ries, improving farms, etc., for them. This time, 
 however, business did not continue very long. 
 The memory of the last panic was too fresh in 
 men's minds. The Adventurers kept issuing notes ; 
 but the colonists brought them back as fast to the 
 bank for redemption, so that they could not put out 
 many, and another panic soon followed. This one, 
 coming immediately on the heels of the other, from 
 which most of the people had not yet recovered, 
 threw the colony into outer financial darkness. No 
 one knew which way to go ; no one knew what to 
 
Panics. 
 
 67 
 
 do. Ruin was all around. In spiti' of sucli terri- 
 ble lessons, the Adventurers Ix^gan again to issue 
 notes, and the starved colonists went to work and 
 took them in payment. To increase the evil, 
 foreign Adventurers, seeing what a harvest i-e- 
 deemable bank notes had been tooui* Adventurei's. 
 came over to bank on a few grains of gold, and the 
 two together flooded the colony again Avith the 
 same. 
 
 Now," says an historian, came the era of 
 greatest development in the colon3\" The com- 
 bined Adventurers pushed the issues of '^I'edeemable 
 bank notes and the benighted colonists pushed 
 the construction of railroads, set in motion many 
 industrial enterprises, enlarged cities and towns, 
 extended improvements westward, established an 
 immense commei'ce, and the whole coh^ny was 
 made to echo and i*e-echo with the din of industry. 
 Providence se med to take a hand in the general 
 movement and blessed the colonists with abundant 
 crops. 
 
 But alas ! tlie colonists, as usual, had taken the 
 paper in payment, the Adventurers had taken the 
 railroads, the houses, the factories and other im- 
 provements. At last, also as usual, the banks 
 proved to have no gold to redeem even the few 
 notes which had not been bi'ought back in interest, 
 and another territic panic was the I'esult. 
 
68 
 
 Panics. 
 
 Eead a sketch of tliis panic by an Adventurer 
 himself: In March tlie colonists lield meetings 
 to devise plans for relieving the distress. They 
 decided to send a committee of fifty to the Gov- 
 ernor. In their address to the Governor they said : 
 
 The value of real estate has depreciated $40 
 millions in six months. We have already had 200 
 failures in one city alone. The immense amount 
 of merchandise in oui* stores has fallen in price at 
 least 30 per cent. Within a few v^eeks no less than 
 20,000 able workingmen, depending on their dail}^ 
 work for their dail}' bread, have been discharged 
 because there was no money to employ them. We 
 therefore ask whether it is not time to interpose 
 the paternal authority of the Governor and bring 
 back gold in the channels of trade (alas the delu- 
 sion ! How could the Governor bring back gold ?) 
 
 The Governor could not be induced to do any- 
 thing whatever against his associates, the Adven- 
 turers. So the colonists made a rush to the banks 
 for the little gold they had there on deposit. The 
 Adventurers had loaned this out and closed the 
 doors against depositors also. Thus note holders 
 and depositors were left out of doors penniless to- 
 gether. 
 
 Again, did the Governor protect the colonists in 
 the redeemability of the notes, as he had pretended 
 to do in his last decree, giving the Adventurer the 
 
Panics. 
 
 iiionopol}^ of tlie notes? ^sTever in one instance^ did 
 he as much as think of doing so ; but in all instances 
 he protected the banks. Now w riters in tlu^ colony 
 asserted that money panics were due to the ex- 
 ti'avagance " of the people. They said that it was 
 wrong and unsafe for a people to stir upand undei-- 
 take to build railroads, houses, factories, imj)r()V(^ 
 farms, I'aise large crops, etc., when there was no 
 gold in the country. What would 3'ou wash them 
 to do?" we asked of one of these authorities. 
 
 should a people remain idle and starve, because 
 there is no gold?" Their answer was evasive, but 
 implied that a goldless people had better go slowly, 
 plod along on the safe side, which was the suffering 
 side, and await the arrival of the pi-ecious metal." 
 
 " Did not the people create w^ealth when tlu^v 
 were at work ?" we ask(^d them further. 
 
 ^' Yes," replied the authoi'ities, but it was only 
 lictitious wealth." 
 
 Indeed," we added, ai*e not the railroads, the 
 houses, and factories they built, the food they raised, 
 the machinery, implements and clothes they nuide, 
 
 real wealth ?" But we talked to no effect. Those 
 great men believed that nothing could be real 
 wealth which is not paid for w^ith gold. 
 
 Meeting one day a great nuin, Webster, who was 
 considered high authority, we asked his o})inion of 
 '^redeemable bank notes," He said that of all 
 
70 
 
 Gold Discoveries 
 
 contrivances for cheating the laboring classes, 
 paper mone}^ was the worst." ''It is the best in- 
 vention," he said, to fertilize the rich man's field 
 by the sweat of the poor man's brow." In fact"' 
 he added, it is worse than ordinary tyranny, op- 
 pression and overtaxation combined." Bnt how 
 w^ould it be if the laboring clasvses shonld issne 
 notes themselves, and thus hold the property they 
 create, inst ead of handing that property over to 
 some idle Adventurer and take his w^orthless notes 
 for it?" we asked of him. Here he fell into the 
 common error. 
 
 " It cannot be done," he answered. The Gov- 
 ernor's last decree foroids it. Besides the holders 
 of the notes must be protected in their redeema- 
 ability (?)" and the working classes have no gold to 
 redeem them with. 
 
 Always the same sad hallucination. It had per- 
 vaded the brain of all in the colony, learned and 
 ignoi-ant, great and small. 
 
 GOLD DISCOVERIES. 
 
 The situation in the colony was now such that 
 the old prosperity could only be restored b}^ one or 
 the other of two events. Either a miracle, which 
 should restore the minds of the colonists and in- 
 duce them to retui-n to the former colonial monetary 
 system, or the discovery and acquisition of a 
 
(fold Discorrrics. 
 
 71 
 
 sufficiency of gold to nicest all contingciKri es 
 It appeared that the lattcir event was at liand. 
 
 In Fi'bruarv, 1<SJ:8, little .^liss Marsliall, found a 
 yellow pebble at Sutton's mill, on the colonial 
 branch of the Sacramento river, in California. The 
 pebble proved to be gold. The news spread lik(^ 
 wild fire both through tlu^ colony and tlu^ Old 
 Country. It created the greatest excitement we 
 ever witnessed. Had the people been at the vergc^ 
 of starvation, and some propliet announced that 
 Heaven was about to pour down manna, it w^ould 
 not have brought greater joy. Young men, by the 
 thousands, hurried to make read}^ to abandon par- 
 ents, friends and liome and fly to the gold region ; 
 husbands and fathers felt bound to leave wife and 
 children, in the hope of realizing gold enough to 
 lift them from the pangs of poverty and want. 
 Everybody was in commotion. To the mines!'' 
 Are you going to the mines?" " When are you 
 going to start?" were the uriiversal cries, the con- 
 stant questions, the general topics of conversation. 
 Such delirium of gladness, such glow on counte- 
 nances, such farew^ells, such embraces, such flow of 
 joyous tears never were seen before in the colony. 
 Imagine a multitude, who had given up almost all 
 hope of enjoying the commonest of earthly com- 
 forts, to see, on a sudden, a fortune flash before 
 their eyes. So, to the mines they went until the 
 
72 
 
 Gold Discoveries 
 
 colon 3^ seemed to luvve lost half its male popula- 
 tion. B^^ August, of the same year, thousands and 
 thousands of persons were already at work mining- 
 after gold. Meantime discovery followed discov- 
 ery among the mountains, so that the Adventurers 
 at home trembled lest their gold should become 
 valueless, and were already discussing among 
 themselves what other rare thing could be made 
 legal tender in the place of gold. 
 
 A short period after the discovery of Miss 
 Marshall, gold was also found in abundance on the 
 other side of the earth, Australia, and there also 
 poured men fi-om all parts of the w^orld. 
 
 Thank (lod, we exclaimed, on hearing the cheer- 
 ing news, salvation from financial troubles is 
 indeed at hand. We are entering an era of gold. 
 Since it seems impossible to arouse the colonists 
 from their gold delusion, they will at least soon 
 have an abundance of the stuff to keep all of them 
 at work, and make themselves prosperous. 
 
 We remained in the colony in the hope that, at 
 the return of the miners, we would witness a true 
 revival of business, in which the colonists would 
 enjoy all the benefits, independently of the Adven- 
 turers and their "redeemable bank notes." Of 
 course we well knew that, if prosperity ever re- 
 turned, it would be due entirely to their own work 
 at home, and not to the holes they dug in California 
 
(I old Discorci icH. 
 
 78 
 
 or Australia, nor to the gold tlicy extracted from 
 those holes. But there seemed to be no othei* way 
 to arouse them from chronic iethar<i,T. (\\ce])t by 
 pandering to their gold monomania. K(MU*ema])]e 
 bank notes " issued by the Adventurers, had proven 
 so great a field of robber}^, tliat they had lost faith 
 in them, and only received them when a(*tual ne- 
 cessity compelled them ti) do so. In fact, as we 
 quoted, their most trusty friends, (who, alas, Avere 
 equally affected by the gold delusion), advised 
 them to let such notes severely alone. They had. 
 however, passed so many years of oppression, rob- 
 beries, depression of spirit and suffering, all due 
 to that one horrible decree making gold legal ten- 
 der, and the consequent loss of mental balance, 
 that we would have participated in the general joy. 
 
 Alas I we were doomed to disappointment again. 
 Now and then one of the miners would return, 
 bringing with him gold enough to keep him." as 
 he would say, the remainder of his days,'* and 
 would at once join the craft of Adventurers. 
 The largest number had either perished, or remain- 
 ed at the mines, ashamed to come home poor. 
 These replied to letters from friends, wlio invited 
 them to come home. What is there for us to do 
 at home? Business is dead. There is no money 
 in circulation, and, if we work at all, we have to 
 take w^oi-thless paper strips ibr it, and finally loose 
 
74 
 
 Gold Discoveries 
 
 the whole.-' So they remained at the mines, catch- 
 ing jobs for a living. A few more managed to make 
 their way home sad, dejected and poorer than they 
 had left. Before leaving for the mines, they sold 
 what little effects they could spare, now all was 
 gone and nothing remained but the open arms and 
 welcome of friends. 
 
 ^' What became of the gold which was mined?" 
 we inquired of these returning miners. It all 
 went to pay expenses," they replied. " Everything 
 was so high that but few had any gold left." What 
 did merchants and provision men do with the gold 
 you paid them ?" w^e asked further. Some are 
 rich and loaning money," they answered, but the 
 largest portion are poor, and many have been sold 
 out, root and branch, by the sheriff." How can 
 this be ! who got the gold? who sold them out?" 
 we querried. One of the most intelligent among 
 the returned miners explained to us that as soon 
 as the miners began to arrive at the mines, mer- 
 chants, mostly from England, arrived also with 
 vessels loaded with provisions, clothes, tools, imple- 
 ments, machinery, powder, fuse, etc., all of which 
 we were bound ^to purchase at their own prices. 
 These merchants had borrowed mone}^ of English* 
 Adventurers to purchase these thhigs and pay 
 freight on them, and, when we complained of high 
 prices, they told us that interest " and freight 
 
Panics, 
 
 75 
 
 al)S()rl)ed all the profits. " Heaven help the i)eo])le 
 we exclaimed in astoiiishineiit. So Adveiilurers in 
 England absorbed all the gold at last. AMuit will 
 ever become of the colonists? Where is any hope 
 left for them ? 
 
 Thns, at the very time when we expected the 
 colony to be flooded with gold from the mines of 
 California and Australia, jnst wdien we expected to 
 see the colonists pa}^ off the mortgages 3^et hanging 
 on their liomes, jnst wlien we believed them abont 
 free from the Adventnrers, oidy nine years from 
 the discovery of little Miss Marshall in California, 
 and only three years after the discovery of gold in 
 Anstralia, snch was the scarcity of gold in tlie <'ol- 
 ony that the Adventnrers. with all tlie help fi on^ 
 the few fortunate miners who had joined them, 
 could not redeem the few notes presented to their 
 banks, and the colony found itself involved in the 
 most terrible panic that had ever happened before. 
 Thousands and t^ns of thousands lost all they had 
 in the world and were beggared for life. 
 
 Read a description of this other panic by one of 
 the Adventurers. He says : 
 
 Up to August our commercial altairs were gen- 
 (^rally prospei'ous. Farmers, stockgrowers and 
 planttM's had been made rich by high pi-ices. (It 
 was work had made them rich, not high ])i'ices). 
 With the inunense productions of the year at our 
 
76 
 
 Panics. 
 
 (loors^ the most sagacious of Adventurers saw no 
 indications of a storm in the financial sky. On 
 the 8th of August the Adventurers had loaned out 
 122 millions of redeemable bank notes." Such 
 amount made them afraid that the colonists may 
 bring them for redemption, so they stopped loaning; 
 meantime they called in the debts. Debtors were 
 at once compelled to press produce on the market 
 for sale. Produce fell in price. A produce house 
 failed. One failure brought another, and on the 
 24th of August a great Adventurer suspended. It 
 struck the public mind like a cannon shot. An 
 intense excitement was manifested among all the 
 Adventurers. Tlien failure followed failure and 
 tlie colony was characterized by intense excite- 
 ment. Bank notes in circulation stopped passing. 
 At the end of August, another great Adventurer 
 closed his bank, and went to loaning in the street 
 at 5 per cent per month. House after house of 
 high commercial repute went down, and many 
 banks were added to the list of failures. Mean- 
 time work and commerce came to a dead lock ; 
 the purchase and transportation of produce ceased 
 almost entirely. 
 
 From this period nothing was wanting to aggra- 
 vate the common distress fo • money. The avalanche 
 of failures swept down merchants, bankers, (yes, 
 but these only suspended, they are not sold out by 
 
PfUtiCS. 
 
 the slieriir,) (^oi'poration inaiuifiiclurinL:, coiiipa- 
 iiies without distinction. Old liouscs with accumu- 
 lated capital, wliicli had witlistood tlie violence of 
 fo!'ni(4' panics, were prostrated in a day. In tlie 
 middle of October ail the banks closed. It was 
 the climax of this financial luirricane. 
 
 Such is the outline of the most extraordinary , 
 violent and destructive financial panic evei' experi- 
 enced in the colony. 
 
 Another witness of that panic calculated the 
 losses suffered b}' the colonists at from half billion 
 to one billion of dollars, besides the incidental 
 losses by the stoppage of business, when millions 
 of idle laboi'ers lost millions of dollars daily. He 
 adds that such losses are fearful to contemplate in 
 figures. How much more the reality of it if it could be 
 brought, at one glance, under the eye ! The grave 
 of many fortunes, the gulf which has swallowed up 
 the competenc}^ of thousands ; the liomes, the com- 
 forts, the food, the raiment of millions, who toil 
 with their own hands for their dail}^ bread. The 
 whole colon}, suddenly and most unexpectedly, 
 plunged into indigence and grief 
 
 Behold the good the gold mines brought us ! 
 
 The last writer quoted says that the panic 
 lasted one hundred days." It is lasting yet. Man}^ 
 have never recovered from their losses. He means 
 that it took one hundred days for the Adventurers 
 
78 
 
 Panics. 
 
 to close the mortgages and gather in the booty ; 
 for, be it remembered, that monetary panics do not 
 carry away or destro}^ one single atom' of existing 
 wealth. After the panic all the wealth, which ex- 
 isted before, is there yet, but it has changed hands, 
 it has passed from the hands of the man}^ produ- 
 cers, into the hands of the few Adventurers. Then 
 the victims are cluvrged of having brought about 
 the panic by their ^'extravagance." Alas ! It is 
 that abominable legal tender decree which belches 
 out more destruction than the outpouring of a 
 volcano. 
 
 Under the old colonial monetary system panics 
 were absolutely impossible 
 
 After the last panic, the most melancholy period 
 ever witnessed by the inhabitants, fell upon the 
 colony. There was neither enterprise nor spirit 
 enough left to bring it. The colonists were utterly 
 discouraged. A dark pall seemed to have fallen 
 over the land. Gold was out of the question. 'No 
 help could longer be expected from the mines. The 
 hard working fai'mer, reduced to the necessity of 
 borrowing from the unfeeling Adventurers, at enor- 
 mous rates of interest, was soon forced to give up 
 his new home and move with his family still further 
 in the wilderness. AVage workers were tramping 
 the country in poverty and gloom. The distress 
 was universal. And all of this, as we said, at the 
 
(xoJd Jfiiics. 
 
 70 
 
 jxM'iod of tlie greatest prodiu^tion of gold tliat liad 
 ever liap|)ened in the woi'ld hefoi'e or after! 
 
 AT THE MINES. 
 
 iNIay it not be interesting to tlie reader to learn 
 how affairs had gone at the gold mines, and how it 
 happened that the more gold was dug, the scarcer 
 it seemed to become in the colony, and the harder 
 the money trouble? We give a description of 
 one mine b}^ friend Patterson. He writes : 
 
 ''The spot was a deep ravine formed by the 
 Buckland River, enclosed by steep mountain sides, 
 which excluded ever}^ breath of wind. The air in 
 the ravine was stagnant, and the scorching sun 
 made it intensel}^ hot during the day, while at 
 night the temperature fell to a piercing cold, so 
 that the miners in the ravine were, alternateh , in 
 an oven and in an ice-house. Moreover, as the 
 gold beds lay in the channel of the river, the 
 miners worked up to their waists in water. To 
 this gold field of surpassing richness, liundreds of 
 Adventurers had flocked in feverish haste ; but the 
 disease kept horrid sentry over the buried treasure. 
 A peculiar fever, of the typhoid character, was the 
 denizen of the spot ; besides which the gold seek- 
 ers suffered severely from the eye-blight, owing to 
 the concentrated blaze of the sunshine reflecting 
 from the steep sides of the ravine, and they were 
 
80 
 
 Gold 3fme8. 
 
 at all tiineri grievously tormented by clouds of flies. 
 Bad diet and want of vegetables aggravated the 
 disease natural to the place and to the kind of 
 work. In the interesting accounts which reached 
 us, we read of onions selling at $1.50 per pound ; 
 cabbages so precious that they were cut up and 
 sold at from 60 cents to $1.00 per pound. Hollo- 
 way's pills selling at 25 cents each or $5.00 per box. 
 It was a valley of death. Constitutions, that had 
 borne the hardships of other fields, broke down 
 here, and hundreds perished, unattended and un- 
 known. The little levels between the stream and 
 the base of the mountain wall, for ten miles along 
 tlie vallc}^, are so thickly studded with graves that 
 the river appears to run through a church 3^ard. 
 One new comer, a little wiser than the rest, counted 
 eleven corpses carried past his tent during the 
 dinner-hour of his first working day, and thinking 
 that even gold may be ptirchased too dearly, left 
 the place instantly. Man}^ abandoned it after 
 somewhat longer trials. But the greater number 
 fascinated by the universal richness of gold beds, 
 remained in defiance of disease and took their 
 chance." With what result, the numerous graves 
 of the valley witness to this day. It was a scene 
 '•to point a moral or adorn a tale," Yet it was 
 only one among the thousand instances, whether 
 we follow laboi' to the mines searching for the dross 
 
81 
 
 in its natural state, or witness the hard struogles 
 of labor, a hireling or independent, to obtain it in 
 dribs as wages or profits in a coined state, ('ould 
 we for a moment divest ourselves of prejudices and 
 behold men, in myriads, rushing across oceans and 
 continents to the gold fields of California and 
 Australia, waste places in the uttermost part of tlu^ 
 earth, watch them toiling in tlie gulches of the 
 mountains, amidst all manner of haidshiiis and 
 disease, beset by extreii.es of ^v(atller. exliausting 
 work, exorbitant prices for all tlie necessaries of 
 life and lawless societ3\ and all this to obtain a 
 yellow substance, whicli is not fit for food, clothes, 
 medicine nor shelter, we could but infer that either 
 men have lost mental balance and gone mad, or that 
 there is some hidden power in gold," (Mr. Patter- 
 son had forgotten the legal tender decree.) 
 
 In the coloii}^ affairs were now, after the last 
 destructive panic, as we stated, in a more deplor 
 able condition than they had ever been before. 
 The tribe of Adventurers, though few in number, 
 owned most of the houses in cities and towns, 
 owned most of the farms, all the railroads and tel- 
 egraphs, all the leading mines, and held mortgages 
 on most all other real estate. Farmers plodded 
 along making a scanty living, as those, who needed 
 their products,luid but little gold nor bank notes to 
 pay for them, and mechanics either worked for 
 
82 
 
 Gold Madness. 
 
 what scanty, meager wages they could obtain or, 
 tramping the land in quest of work, were looked 
 upon as vagabonds and criminals by the public. 
 
 We had almost made up our mind that the whole 
 colony would finally go irreparably to ruin, unless 
 in a short time some extraordinary^ event would 
 awaken the colonists from their gold lunacy, or 
 some evil day, in outer despair, they would rise in 
 their mad fury, make for the Adventurers, and, 
 may be, the Governor himself, and wipe them both 
 from existence in a twinkle. We earnestly hoped 
 that they might return to their reason, but began 
 seriously to fear the latter solution. Feared it, we 
 say, because loud and ominous mutterings from the 
 ranks of the working classes were beginning to fill 
 the air. 
 
GOLD IN ENGLAND. 
 
 One night, unable to sleep, while pondering on 
 the future of the working classes, there came 
 across our mind a desire to learn what became of 
 the gokl that was carried to England, and how the 
 toiling masses fared there. Surely, we thought, 
 they cannot be suffering from want of emplo^^ment, 
 as there is plenty of gold to keep every man, woman 
 and child constantl}^ at work. Next morning, we 
 wrote to our friend Patterson, who was then in 
 London, and he kindly favored us with an essay 
 that he had just published on the subject. It is 
 astounding !" we exclaimed after reading that essay. 
 
 What will ever become of poor humanity, if this 
 gold infatuation continues If tlie poor cannot 
 rise above their id'^^latr}^ or the Adventurers do not 
 melt to pity them, the world will soon be but a vast 
 herd of hungry cattle driven by a few unfeeling 
 masters. Here is friend Patterson's essay and letter 
 accompan3ang it : Dear friend : It gives me 
 pleasure to gratify your desire in reference to the 
 gold which is being poured upon us from all parts 
 of the world, viz : what value we put upon the 
 
 (83) 
 
84 
 
 Uold 31 (((hi ess. 
 
 stuff, and what use we make of it in our exchanges. 
 I do this by mailing you a short essay w^hich I liave 
 just published. I hope it will be satisfactory. 
 
 VALUE OE GOLD. 
 
 One cubic foot of gold weighs 1203f pounds. The 
 same will coin into $369,124, in your money. 
 
 At $2.00 per day, this twelve inch block of 
 gold would keep one man employed 600 years, 18 
 generations ; ten men 60 and 100 men six years. 
 Think of one hundred men toiling six years for a 
 rock one cubic foot in size and board, clothe and 
 house them all the time !" 
 
 If this block of gold was put at interest, as the 
 superstition goes, in 600 years it would possess the 
 world. This may seem a paradoxical assertion, 
 yet it is of such a character that the truth con- 
 tained ill it affects the weal or woe of mankind. 
 This rock is really placed at interest, and is fast 
 absorbing all the products of labor and handing 
 the workers over in bondage to the money power." 
 
 When we had slavery in the British colonies, 
 that twelve inch block of gold would purchase 800 
 human beings. In many parts of the earth, to-day, 
 it will purchase a larger number of slaves, and in 
 semicivilized countries of the East it will buy 
 harems of women.'' 
 
 But let us leave this horrible comparison of 
 
Commercial vse of (iohl. 
 
 So 
 
 human being, and the toil of liuman beings, with a 
 lifeless rock, the whieh is too sad to hear of all 
 ai'ound us, and come to the object at hand, viz : 
 the function that gold performs in the world of (^x 
 changes, and what effect it has over the activity 
 and well being of man. 
 
 COMMERCIAL USE OF GOLD. 
 
 Gold, in highly civilized nations, like England, 
 has long since ceased to circulate as money among 
 the people. Some mysterious powder (it is interest) 
 draws it to the banks, there to be btiried in fire- 
 proof vaults. Here let us pause and ponder a 
 moment tipon the immense sacrifices made to ex- 
 tract gold from its native hiding places in Cali- 
 fornia, Australia and elsewhere, how much labor 
 has been spent, how much suffering undergone, 
 how many graves prematurely filled in that valley 
 of death," on the Buckland Kiver and other places, 
 all for the apparent purpose of burying it again in 
 artificial caves in banks ! 
 
 Inconsistenc}^ of man ! 
 
 The largest of these banks, those which enjo^^ 
 government privilege and patronage, hold an av- 
 erage of 250 millions of dollars of gold. This 
 amount is equal to 670 cubic feet, and would fill a 
 room nine feet cube. Great nations possess 
 each an average of S600 millions, or a ^ twelve 
 
86 
 
 WateJiinf/ Gold. 
 
 feet cube.'' Behold the bh)ck which is universally 
 believed to uphold the fabric of industry and com- 
 merce, and hence the prosperity of great nations, 
 and, without which, all other natural and artificial 
 resources are made unavailable! Verilyj^ if Jupi- 
 ter ever ruled the Heavens, gold rules the earth. 
 
 WATCHING THE GOLD BLOCK. 
 
 Let us now go to " Plutus temple," the bank, in 
 the sanctum sanctorum of which gold is sacredly 
 kept, and examine what functions it claims to per- 
 form in exchanges. For this purpose we will select 
 tlie greatest of all banks in the world, viz.: the 
 Bank of England, located in London, the capital of 
 the Empire. 
 
 London contains a city within a city, and within 
 the inner city is 3^et another, the very heart of this 
 meti-opolis. It is a small place. In a couple of 
 minutes you may walk across it from side to side and 
 from end to end. Yet it is the center and citadel 
 of England's greatness, the heart whose pulsa- 
 tions are felt to the furthest extremities of the 
 earth. The occupants of this precinct have deal- 
 ings with all the world. From this spot proceeds 
 the power which helps on (?) the civilization of the 
 globe (accordingly teachers of morality, professors 
 at our universities, inventors, etc., are not the in- 
 struments of civilization, no, " civilization proceeds 
 
Wdiclii n(j (ioJd. 
 
 S7 
 
 from that twelve feet block of gold in the Bank of 
 Enghmd !") As you look npon the low, quadi-an 
 gular structure of the bank, you are ovei'conu^ })y 
 its imposing appearance. The dead wall around 
 it, scantily relieved by pillars, let into the front, 
 almost windowless and doorless, bespeak a sombi'e 
 jeak)usly guarded sanctuai}'." It is the treasure 
 house of Plutus, the sovereign and deity of the 
 precinct and of England. You feel an awe and 
 somberness in the front very accordant with all 
 ournotions of the Old Lady of Threadneedle street, 
 the image of wealth and power. 
 
 Across Threadneedle street stands the Eoyal 
 Exchange, with its high pillard porticoes, its wide 
 archway of entrance and large inner court, open to 
 the sky. These two buildings, which far surpass 
 in size any of the surrounding palaces, fitly repre- 
 sent the two powers, whose joint action constitutes 
 the life of this busy world. The Bank represents 
 money, the Exchange represents commerce. Gen- 
 erally the two act in harmony, sometimes, however, 
 in rivalry ; but at all times they deeply affect one 
 another. A panic on 'change, makes a crisis at the 
 bank. A crisis at the bank makes a panic on 
 'change. They are like brother and sister; but 
 money is the strongest. Commerce depends upon 
 money, and sometimes it is subjected to a cruel 
 bondage. Linger here a while and it will not be 
 
88 
 
 Watching Gold 
 
 long before you find what vast issues are dependen 
 upon the presenee of gold in that solid building of 
 the short pillars. Yet, strange to say, in this temple 
 of gold, gold cannot be seen.'' We know from 
 officials returns that so many millions of gold lie 
 in the vaults of the bank, but the precious metal 
 makes no appearance in the business transactions 
 of this mone}^ center. Bits of paper with some 
 writing on them are the sole visible agents of the 
 scene. Paper, paper, paper everywhere, but no 
 gold, not one sovereign to be seen. It is only the 
 ghost of the gold that occupies the stage of action. 
 The truth is the whole operations of this monetary 
 metropolis would come to a stand still, if they ha 
 to be carried on with gold. Happil}^ the A^ellow 
 dross is no longer wanted. (We believe it. It never 
 was wanted.) Yet while gold is here invisible ; 
 while thousands who operate here never see it, 
 visible or invisible, its presence regulates and affects 
 all the commercial operations of England, nay, of 
 the whole world. Those two brief lines in the city 
 papers which tell whether that gold block is swell- 
 ing or shrinking, coiitracting or expanding, are in 
 reality the vital pivot of the industrial movement 
 of England. If gold is coming to the bank, every- 
 body is elated, and business and enterprise go freely 
 ahead; if gold is leaving the bank, ever^^body be- 
 comes uneasy and enterprise comes to a stand still. 
 
(}()!(} ^FadiHsx. 
 
 But why. it may l)e asked, slioiild a little more 
 or less gold in the bank prodviee such immense e(- 
 feet upon the prosperity of a nation V (P^elio 
 answers back why?) This tem])le of INIammon is 
 based upon gold, and this basis has often been found 
 to be preenjinently iinstal)le and dangerous. The 
 golden block perpetually oscillates to and fro ; and 
 each of its greater oscillations is felt like the sliock 
 of an earthquake. It rises and falls ; expands and 
 contracts, and sometimes fears are entertained that 
 it will slip away from its cave altogether. Then 
 goodly commercial houses go down by the hun- 
 di'eds, not because the}' are ill-built, not from any 
 fault of the architect, or the occupants, but sim])ly 
 because the foundation of (a nine foot cube,) cham- 
 ber full of yellow dross, upon which they stood, 
 has given Avay. Of late years these oscillations 
 hav(^ been more frequent and moi-e disastrous. 
 Every ten years or so. a convulsion takes })lace, not 
 of nature, but of human folly. Avhich spreads terror 
 and desolation far and wide, [)aralyzing the busi- 
 ness of the whole country as effectually as if an 
 earthquake had upheaved the land and strewed 
 with ruins the pillars of our national industiw. 
 The merchants and the manufacturers, the shop 
 kee])ei's and the wage workei's alike, find their trade 
 suddenly st()p])ed and their mtnms of living suddenly 
 swept away. Suffering and want spread over the 
 
90 
 
 Gold 3Iadness. 
 
 country as if a great famine was on hand. There 
 is paralysis of industry, deartli of employment, and 
 hard times are felt universally. Is there not some- 
 thing wrong here ? (Echo answers back again 
 " something wrong.") Ought the presence or 
 absence of a few cubic feet of gold in a bank make 
 so vast a difference between national prosperity, on 
 the one hand, and national disaster and wide spread 
 ruin on the other? How will posterity judge 
 us when it reads that we made the huge fabric of 
 industry, upon the activity of which human wel- 
 fare depends, stand like an inverted pyramid rest- 
 ing on such a narrow and unstable apex of a 
 chamberful of useless metal ? Will they not charge 
 us with folly and barbarism ?" (Undoubtedly they 
 will.) 
 
 From our friend's description of affairs in Eng- 
 land, in regard to the influence of those 26 men, who 
 watch the gold block in the Bank of England, (like 
 priestesses of old used to watch the Vestal Fires,) it 
 is patent that that country is also cursed with a 
 legal tender decree, and that Adventurers there 
 have complete control of the people, who have also 
 fallen unto the same gold hallucination that the 
 colonists have. Otherwise why would they tremble 
 and stop commerce and industry at the mere shrink- 
 ing of a gold block ? 
 
 Be as it may, the result of the gold discoveries 
 
Gold 3radu('ss. 
 
 9] 
 
 and tlie condition of the Old (yountry, where most 
 of it had gone to, cut off all hope of relief ever 
 coming from either. Therefore, possible or impos- 
 sible, the only gleam of hope which remained in us 
 now was to cure, or in some way modify, the men- 
 tal disease in the colonists, and to confine the dis- 
 asters of the decree to taxation alone. To this we 
 turned our attention. 
 
 GOLD LUNACY IN THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 One of the most pernicious tacts which happened 
 in tliis gold benighted colony, was that the present 
 Governor had become affected with the same gold 
 lunacy. He had utterly forgotten, or perhaps had 
 never read, of the condition of the colony previous 
 to his fatlier's fatal legal tender decree, and when 
 old men and women )iarrated to children " how, 
 once upon a time, the colonists had been swimming 
 in abundance and happiness and that, at that time, 
 debts, mortgages and scarcity of money were un- 
 known," the Governor classed sucli narrative with 
 the traditional legends among all nations of tlie 
 earth viz : that their ancestors had lived in a par- 
 adise, whence they were expelled on account of 
 some great sin." He now was a confirmed believ- 
 er that the colony would surely go to ruin, and he 
 w^ould be powerless to prevent it, if gold w^as to 
 take wings and disappear. 
 
92 
 
 Tlie Gocenior'x Lunacy. 
 
 The consequence of this mental disease in tlie 
 Governor, was very serious. It intensified tluit of 
 the colonists and also caused a series of grievous 
 wrongs, on his part, which atfected both the wel- 
 fare and liberty of the people. But liberty," we 
 say, how could a people be called free when they 
 were utterly at the mercy of Adventurers for the 
 means of support ? What difference was there be- 
 tween such a people and a besieged army with its 
 supplies cut off*! Both were equally compelled to 
 give up liberty " and surrender. But the mis- 
 ery of the colonists was aggravated by many 
 legislative acts of the Governor, under the pretense 
 that he was ^^establishing justice and maintaining 
 liberty among his people." We could adduce enough 
 such acts to fill a large volume, but will limit our- 
 selves to very few. 
 
 We have already stated the one forbidding ever}^ 
 body issuing notes, except the Adventurers, upon 
 the foolish plea that such notes must be able to buy 
 gold, and that, accordingly, gold must be in reserve 
 to redeem the notes. Any one can readily see the 
 enormity of such partiality. It made the rich 
 richer and the poor poorer. The very ones who 
 needed the notes to keep an account of products 
 and exchanges, were forbidden to issue them, and 
 the ones who did not produce anything, and hence 
 had nothing to exchange, were granted the abso- 
 
GoJ(J 3f(((hi('ss. 
 
 lute monopoly thereof. Such notes should never be 
 intended to purchase gold, 'i'he object should be 
 to put people to work and enable them to exchange 
 the products of their work. Look at the fact as 
 we may, such notes, issued by the owners of gold, 
 were intended as means of plunder alone. Yet 
 the mentally befogged colonists could not see into 
 the fraud, aud had hailed bank notes as a blessing. 
 But the Governor, poor deluded man, was under 
 the impressiou that the uotes could not possiblv be 
 good, unless exchaugeable with gold. Xor did all 
 the financial panics which we have described teach 
 the Governor that his views were wrong. 
 
 Another legal wrong was this : When co-op- 
 eration was necessary to execute important enter- 
 prises, such as w^orking a mine, building a railroad, 
 lighting a city or supplying it with water, etc., he 
 made it the law that the co-operators should apply 
 for and obtain a charter or permission to so co-op- 
 erate. But the Governor would not grant such 
 charter to any but those who had gold, made into 
 money. It resulted, of course, that Adventurers 
 alone could organize for the purpose. This placed 
 all the great enterprises of the colou}^ in the hands 
 of a (*lass of men who never intended doing a 
 stroke of w^ork, and prevented the organization of 
 those who had all the work to do. 
 
 We had a talk with the Governoi' in rt^ference to 
 
94 
 
 Gold Madnens. 
 
 this iniquity. He replied '^that it was necessary 
 to protect the workingmen in their pa} , and that 
 Adventurers alone, who had gold, could pay them.'' 
 
 But when men get paid for an object, does it not 
 mean that they have sold that object to another?" 
 we inquired, and added, suppose workingmen de- 
 sire to unite and build, or make something to hold 
 and use themselves, and not sell to another ; wh}^ 
 refuse to them a charter to enable them to do so, 
 whether they have au}^ gold or not?" 
 
 The Governor had been in the habit of seeing 
 workmen so poor that he could not comprehend 
 how the}^ could build or produce anything to keep. 
 Bo he held to his id^a that he would grant no char- 
 ter, unless the parties applying had some gold to 
 lay down as security for the payment " of 
 those who did the work. 
 
 This wrong was followed by another equally un- 
 just, though not so far reaching in its evil conse- 
 quences. In business enterprises, dollars had a 
 right to vote in place of men," as if governments 
 had been instituted especially for the benefit of 
 gold. Let us illustrate this fact. Suppose thirteen 
 men formed an association, for the purpose of car- 
 rying on business and obtained a charter. Suppose 
 again that " three " of them invested each four 
 thousand dollars, or in the aggregate, twelve thou- 
 sand, while the other ten " invested only one 
 
(Utld Mddncss. 
 
 95 
 
 thousand dollars eaeli, or togetliei*, ten tliousand. 
 Ill this case the tliree wealthy ineiiibers could con- 
 trol the concei'n in absolute. Tliey could elect 
 officers, fix salarie;.^, etc. The ten might as well 
 abandon all they had in the association to tlie 
 mercy of the three. Here the law, instead of being 
 a protection to the weak against the strong, pro- 
 tected the strong against the weak (in money). 
 
 Many Adventurers amassed immense fortunes by 
 making use of this iniquitous system. The}^ would 
 start big enterprises, sucli as railroads, etc., get the 
 colonists to subscribe bonds, give them shares in 
 the association, taking care to hold a majority of 
 these shares themselves, finally pretend to borrow 
 more money from their colleagues, mortgage the 
 enterprise, have the whole sold for debts and thus 
 
 freeze " out the minority which often implied 
 whole portions of the colony. 
 
 The wrong of all wrongs, however, which grew 
 out of the Governor's gold madness, was the as- 
 sumption that he had a right to barter away and 
 put the colonists, into bondage for the k)an of 
 gold, and often times for redeemable (?) bank notes. 
 This detestable policy had its origin in the foolish 
 idea that it was necessary to go round by way of 
 gold in order to obtain whatever he r,tood in need 
 of fi 'om his people. Accoi'dingly when he needed 
 men or materials and had no gold, if he believed it 
 
1)G 
 
 Gold 3Ia(hi('SH. 
 
 too great a hardship to force the colonists to sacri- 
 fice their property to tlie Adventurers aud bring it 
 to him, that he might give it back to them in pay- 
 ment, (the same vicious circle), he would stamp and 
 sign a batch of certificates of bondage,'' which he 
 called bonds, and peddle them about from bank to 
 bank, first among the colonial Adventurers, and 
 then abroad among foreign ones, (think of it, sell- 
 ing his own people into bondage to foreigners !) for 
 a ton or so of gold, bring this stuft' home and go to 
 stamping checks upon the pieces, and, be it said, 
 stamp upon the same, tlie usual blasphemy that 
 
 IN GOD HE TRUSTED," wliich bore the lie on its 
 face. Had he trusted in God, or in his people, he 
 would not have gone abroad to buy gold, for 
 both God and people were in the colony. JSTo, it 
 was in gold he trusted, as his action proved. 
 
 When a friend luimed this fact to the Governor, 
 showing him also the embarrassment that he and 
 the tax-payers would be under, in case the Adven- 
 turers should refuse to furnish the gold, or did not 
 have it to furnish, he frankly acknowledged that he 
 could not comprehend in wliat other w^ay he could 
 ever pay his people for the things he obtained from 
 them. It was his rule, he said, to take nothing 
 from them without compensation, and gold was the 
 only legal tender article to pay with. ''But," we 
 said, " you do not need to pay your people for what 
 
(Uihl ifaihtcas. 
 
 97 
 
 Uiey funiish you." Tliey do not exiR.ct to be paid. 
 
 Tliey are well aware that tliey are in duty bound 
 ;to maintain the govenunent. A just and equitable 
 japportionment of the contributions is all tliey ex- 
 ;pect. Gold cheeks make the tax harder to pay and 
 
 double in volume. Therefore it is unwise antl un- 
 .just. And we entreated him to return to thepaper 
 x;heck system. 
 
 I The Governor replied that one of his predeees- 
 isors, before his dynasty had been established, and 
 ^wheii the colony was at war with the mothei- 
 ;pounti-y, had tried paper notes, and they had so de- 
 preciated, that they ceased circulating, causing 
 ,|reat losses to the people. He meant the so-called 
 Continental scripts during the Revolutionary war. 
 [n reply, we first endeavored to convince him that 
 he act of issuing oi- stamping a quantity of paper, 
 vhich is originally of no value, then after a time 
 lestroying it or casting it away as worthless, could 
 lot possibly do any harm to a peoj>le, except the 
 ery small loss of time and material in making the 
 •aper and stamping it. On the contrary, we reason- 
 (1, if the issue of such paper served to emplov labor 
 ml was thus the means of building a railroad, for 
 tistance, it was a boon to that extent. When they 
 3as.Hl to use it in circulation, |because tliev may 
 ave concluded that being mere paper is worthless, 
 ley surely would not consider the railroad worth- 
 
98 
 
 lesB, and cast it away, also. Consequently, instead 
 of losing by such issue of notes, tliey really gain a 
 railroad. We then continued that ''the questi^Mi, 
 with* a people was not to declare war against pieces, 
 of paper, harmless when made and harndess when 
 destroyed. The question was ti learn how to us(v 
 those pieces of paper. AYe have been using them 
 wrong," we said. Let us use them aright and| 
 not forbid their utility. If, by the use of notes,| 
 we can employ men, who, without the same, would 
 have remained idle, we have already accomplished 
 a good work. Our next object should be to protect 
 the workers in the ownership of the wealth they pro- 
 duce. Paper notes have, of course, no manner ol 
 value within themselves. They should be used 
 to tally contributions of work and materials fi - 
 nished by each man or woman in the wealth 
 produced. We should tell a worker that thi^ 
 paper note is evidence of your investments in tht 
 enterprise, not the investments themselves. If 
 instead, we deceive the holder by making him be 
 lieve that the note is the actual wealth, because he 
 can dupe others in the same way, and he takes tlu 
 paper note for his portion, giving for it the result oJ 
 his work, he will, of course, soon discover that hih 
 paper is worthless and that ho has been defrauded 
 of his property. Bank notes, issued by Adventu- 
 rers. read about as follows : '' Friend, let me hav( j 
 
Gold 3f(((hiess. 
 
 90 
 
 your property, and take for it this note, which will 
 enable you to get an equivalent from your neig]>.- 
 bors, and they from their neighbors, thus round and 
 round in perpetuity." Such a note is worse than a 
 deception. 
 
 ^' Your Elxcellency, we concluded, should not con- 
 found a most beneficent document with a similar 
 pernicious one now^ in use." 
 
 The Governor could not see the ditference in the 
 use of paper notes. All circulating notes, he said, 
 should be redeemable in gold.'' 
 
 The histoiy of the Continental Scripts, he was 
 alluding to, was as follows : 
 
 A few years before that Eevolution in the colony 
 (1739), the farmers of the country, who lived 
 yet undei* the idea that production and exchanges 
 should be cari-ied on by means of some to}^ or trink 
 et, and who had been using for this purpose beads, 
 cowry, shells, wampum, etc., had concluded to try 
 paper notes. These notes were not to be ^' redeem 
 ed " in beads nor wampum, but were to be received 
 in payment for all sorts of commodities and serv- 
 ices. If a farmer gave notes to a mechanic for a 
 plow, for instance, he obligated himself, and pledg- 
 ed his farm for the fulfillment of his obligation, 
 that he would receive them back, at face value, 
 for any of his products or work. Mechanics united 
 with the farmers in the scheme and promised to re- 
 
100 
 
 Continental Scrijjts 
 
 ceive the notes. The reason which the farmers gave 
 for the issue of such notes was tlie alleged scarcity 
 of beads and wampum to do business with. The 
 scheme proved a great boon to ever^^bod}^ in the 
 country. It revived business wonderfully, and the 
 notes did not carry the fruits of labor in the hands 
 of Adventurers. As soon as the Governor of the 
 Old Country learned of the Farmers and Mechan- 
 ics notes in his colony, for some unaccountable 
 reason, he ordered every one of them destroyed 
 and forbade the further issue of them. What harm 
 those notes could do to the Governor across the 
 ocean, the Lord only knew. It pricked his pride, 
 we suppose, that farmers and mechanics should 
 undertake to do a thing without his permission. 
 Or he wanted them to depend on the Adventurers 
 in his country for money. But the note issue had 
 to stop, and production and commerce curtailed 
 again to the quantity of wampum and cowries in 
 circulation. 
 
 Two prominent colonists of that time, Sani 
 Adams and John Coats, got quite wrothy at sucli 
 interference by the Governor in the affairs of the 
 colony. They aroused the colonists and formed a 
 political party, which proved the beginning of th(^ 
 subsequent Revolution. 
 
 When finally that revolution broke out the col- 
 onists had no wampum to pay soldiers nor buy 
 
(\>atiiic)it((l S('rij)fs. 
 
 10] 
 
 what they needed, besides, be it also Iviiowii, tluMi- 
 minds were eonsideiably addled about moiietai y 
 trinkets, such as the gold and silver of the Old 
 C()untr3\ where old men had been raised. 
 
 Under tlie pressure of the Revolution, the then 
 temporary Governor issued ''scripts," but instead 
 of making said scripts receivable " for all debts 
 and dues to the government and between individu- 
 als, he made them " redeemable in Spanish milled 
 dollars." Where on earth were these Spanish 
 milled dollars to come from ? Who was to buy 
 them ? What and how mucli was to be given for 
 them ? As soon as the Spaniards heard of such 
 foolish decree, no doubt, the}' raised the value of 
 milled dollars, believing that the colonists would be 
 forced to buy them. What nonsensical cruelt}^ ! 
 Was a colonist, for instance, to sell to the Governor 
 a beef to feed the soldiers and take the scripts, then 
 be compelled to sell another beef to the Spaniards 
 for milled dollars to redeem the scripts in his hands ? 
 In the name of common sense what sort of distort- 
 ed monetary system would this be? Where was 
 the good of it? The beef furnished to the Gov- 
 ernor paid the tax, and the script proved the fact. 
 What had the Spaniards and their milled dollars to 
 do with that fact? Why compel the colonists to 
 loose two beeves when one was sufficient? Where 
 would such S3' stem land them ? 
 
102 
 
 Continental Scripts. 
 
 AVell, the Governor issued the continental scriptr^, 
 bought beef, bread, horses, ck)thes ; paid sokliers, 
 etc. Wlien the war was over the Governor had no 
 
 Spanish milled dollars " to redeem the scripts 
 with, was wise enough not to force the, already ex- 
 haustv-'d, colonists to sacrifice property to obtain 
 
 Spanish milled dollars wherewith to redeem the 
 script in their own hands, so the whole fabric of 
 absurdities and impossibilities fell to the ground 
 And wliat of it? Did those colonists lose one cent 
 more than they had already lost in tlie war? The 
 
 redeemable " business comes always from the 
 quarters of speculators in money. When said con- 
 tinental scripts had fallen in value, that one Spanish 
 milled dollar would buy twenty dollars worth. 
 Adventurers of those times, (and, on reading liis 
 tory, it appears that every generation has been 
 cursed b}^ such), purchased the scripts, then endeav- 
 ored to have the Governor lay a tax of Spanish 
 milled dollars on the people and redeem them at 
 par, or bond the people to redeem them in the 
 future, and pay interest, in Spanish milled dollars, 
 in the interval. As a plea for their nefarious de- 
 mand, they appealed to the credit and honor of 
 the Governor," as if it was creditable and honora- 
 ble to rob the many and give to the few. Fortu- 
 nately the Governor, either of his own will, or 
 because of tlie destitute condition of the tax 
 
103 
 
 payers, refus(Hl to comply witli tlu^ Adveiilurerh' 
 request, and the sei'ipts* disapj)eare(l. Tliey had 
 })erf()niied their funetions and passcnl away. 
 
 Under the gohl delusion, wars liave, geneially, 
 been seasons of immense profits to Adventurei's, 
 just as battles are harvest tields to buzzards. Dui'ing 
 that Revolution they failed to gather booty. But 
 the}' made it up hugely on a subsequent Rebellion 
 among the colonists themselves, at which time the}^ 
 were better prepared and sort of allied with the 
 Governor, as we have seen in the foregoing ])ages. 
 
 Let us narrate this latter event. 
 
 The colonists fell out among themselves about 
 some trivial matters wdiich they called States 
 Rights,'' and threatened to disolve the colon v- The 
 Governor felt sore distressed to prevent a dissolu- 
 tion. Not that he lacked men or materials on his 
 side, but he lacked the money to pay " the men 
 and " buy " the materials. On the part of the Ad- 
 venturers, if there is a think that they fear is the 
 sound of the cannon. Tlie saying that capital is 
 timid " h<isbecome a proverb; and if there is a thing 
 the}^ love it is money. So, as usual, when this re- 
 bellion broke out, gold disappeared, and bank notes 
 became very scarce. Under the gold monomajiia, 
 what could the Governor do ? A wise friend advised 
 him to have plates engraven and print notes of 
 his own. ^' Did not Adventurers hire uhmi and 
 
104 
 
 Treasury Notes, 
 
 purchase goods with their notes?" argued this 
 friend. " Let us do likewise," he said. But," re- 
 plied the Governor, " most of the colonists are 
 indebted to Adventurers who would not take our 
 notes in payment." Order 3^our notes to be 'Me 
 gal tender," as your predecessor ordered the gold of 
 a hunter to be," rejoined this patriot, •' and compel 
 these Adventurers to receive them. " To this he ad- 
 ded that the salvation of the countr}^ was more im- 
 portant than the surfeit of a few lazy Adventurers. 
 
 ''Eureka!" shouted the friends of the Governor 
 in chorus, " salvation is found." 
 
 The news of the money remedy, as })roposed, 
 came to tlie ears of the Adventurers in their pal- 
 aces, and they felt it like the shock of an earth- 
 quake. " Demetrius," the master workman, at 
 once called a convocation of the craft, (Acts XIX, 
 24), and said : Ye know that b}" this craft, (mean- 
 ing the legal tender gold and " redeema'ole " bank 
 notes business), we have our fortunes. Moreover 
 ye heard how a friend of the Governor has persua- 
 ded him to take this business into his own hands 
 and issue "legal tender" notes, so that, not only 
 our vast note industry is in danger, but the ver}^ 
 foundation of the whole structure, gold itself, may 
 be set at naught." When the craft heard these 
 sayings, they were filled with wrath, and cried out 
 saying: " Great is gold, the money of the world 
 
ScrjH'nfs (if Work. 
 
 lOf) 
 
 and only redeemer/' and the whole tribe of them 
 was in commotion. And, wlien they had consulted 
 together, they proceeded to the city of tribulation 
 to la}^ their grievances before the Governor. 
 
 There this bullion tribe presented to the Governor 
 the following monetary scheme : 
 
 1st. The Governor to be allowed to issue a few 
 notes, to be used only tw^o years, then collected in 
 taxes and cancelled. 
 
 2d. The Governor sliould issue large amounts of 
 
 interest-drawing-bonds,'- and sell them to Ad- 
 venturers for their redeemable " (?) notes. 
 
 A witness to the said proposal said, that the 
 plan displayed great sagacit}^ on the ^'<\Yi of the 
 Adventurers/' and adds that "the Governor thought 
 well of the proposition to make the colonists return 
 his notes in taxes, as he had no gold to redeem 
 them with," but that he could not comprehend the 
 balance of the scheme. "It seemed to him, said 
 the Governor, that out of it would come " turke}^ " 
 to the Adventurers and " buzzard " to the colonists, 
 all the time," as the traditional story goes. Then 
 the Govei'nor went near losing his temper and break- 
 ing friendship with the tribe of Adventurers. We 
 would have shed no tears over it. Another friend 
 of the Governor, on hearing such audacious propo- 
 sition, went so far as to " object to any and every 
 scheme for robbing the colonists." These were the 
 
106 
 
 Serpents at Work. 
 
 very words, and he turned his back on the Adven- 
 turers, adding that they did not propose to be 
 imposed upon in any manner nor shape by spec- 
 ulators.'' 
 
 When we read the report of that conference, we 
 were much elated, hoping to see a new era in the 
 monetary affairs of the colony, probably the very 
 downfall of gold, and the end of the redeemable " 
 bank notes fraud. But such era had not come yet, 
 and we merely passed through another disappoint- 
 ment. Those were trying times, however, and the 
 Adventurers were careful not to arouse too strong 
 an opposition. So they tarried in the city of trib- 
 ulation several days, and had many conferences 
 with the clerk, who had charge of the money busi- 
 ness, and finally persuaded him to stop issuing 
 ''legal tender" notes. After this they set to 
 convincing other friends of the Governor that the 
 issue of irredeemable " legal tender notes was 
 contrary to the laws of the colony. (They had 
 reference to the terrible decree which had conferred 
 that privilege on gold). 
 
 To make this distressing story short, the Adven- 
 turers worked their underground wires so skillfully 
 that finally they had the Governor and all his as- 
 sistants entirely under their control, and made 
 them sign a written contract, that the issue of legal 
 tender notes should be stopped, and billions of in- 
 
Serpen fa Successf ul. 
 
 107 
 
 terest drawing bonds, and luindreds of millions of 
 bank notes, issued in their stead. Thus the mone- 
 tary machiner}^ of the colony was again turned 
 over to the Adventurers, with the following im 
 provemetit in their favor, viz : that, as they col- 
 lected outstanding notes of the Governor in interest, 
 they would exchange them for a bond on which gold 
 interest should be paid, and ninety per cent of its 
 face value in bank notes. They would get $100 in 
 bond and $90 in notes, which the}^ loaned again to 
 colonists, and, alas, to the Governor also. What a 
 field of booty ! Was such stupendous plan for rob- 
 bing a people, on a large scale, ever devised by 
 mortal man since the world has been in existence ? 
 
 Under it, the soldiers did all the fighting, the 
 Governor made all the money, the colonists fur- 
 nished everything needed, and the Adventurers 
 came out of their safe retreat, at the end of the 
 war, millionaires. The final result is to be seen all 
 over the colon}^ unto this day, viz: Governor and 
 people deeply indebted, soldiers killed or crippled 
 and poor, and the tribe of Adventurers as rich as 
 Croesus and " masters of the situation. 
 
 Thus like a man on quick sand, every monetary 
 move the colonists have made since that fatal le- 
 gal tender decree, has sunk them deeper. 
 
 Yet how often our thoughts would revert to that 
 time when the Governor had, bravely, issued those 
 
108 
 
 What Could be Done. 
 
 few millions of legal tender notes of his own ; how 
 the colonists were aroused to activity, how they 
 furnished the Governor with men and materials to 
 quench the Rebellion, and at the same time pushed 
 improvements of all descriptions, opening new farms 
 and mines, building new towns, and enlarging the 
 cities, extending railroads and telegraph lines more 
 than had ever been done before in the same period 
 of time. It really seemed as if the war was prov- 
 ing a boon, instead of a calamity. However this 
 wonderful development was due to those notes, 
 ' greenbacks,' they called them, which served to keep 
 the colonists employed. The war was a hindrance 
 to progress, as it held a large number of colonists 
 from production, and was, moreover, a destructive 
 agency, as all know. Had those legal tender notes 
 been issued in time of peace, to put the whole col 
 ony at work, and none destroying, no living man 
 could imagine what could have been done in the 
 way of improvements and progress. Poverty and 
 want would have been driven from the country. 
 We actually believe that, if the Adventurers could 
 be made to see what obstacles they, and their legal 
 tender gold, are to the prosperity of a country, 
 and could be shown, as in a panorama, what the 
 social condition would be, if they would only stand 
 aside and let the grand industrial army pass on- 
 ward, surely, of their own free will and accord, they 
 
Ailofhrr P((7ii('. 
 
 10!) 
 
 would set the people free. It would be to the iu- 
 terest of th(^ people to peusiou ev(M'y Adventui'ei* 
 to induce them to do so. 
 
 This, however is but a wild dream of ours. 
 
 After the Rebellion, with an enormous debt in 
 bonds and private mortgages, the money began to 
 gather fast in the hands of the Adventurers to be 
 converted into bonds, and simultaneously the colo 
 nists began to go down and down until 1878, when 
 telegrams flashed again over the colony to farmers, 
 manufacturers and merchants to make ready and 
 save their property, if possible, lor tliey were in 
 the midst of another terrible panic. A great Ad- 
 venturer had closed the door of his bank against 
 his depositors, and the closing of that one door 
 shook the colon}^ from end to end. Men were dis- 
 charged by the hundreds of thousands, factories 
 closed, prices fell, business languished, improve- 
 ments stopped, failures followed one another and 
 desolation was over the land once more. 
 
 The embers of this last panic are smouldering 
 yet, and the colony is strewed with the wreck of 
 hundreds of thousands. 
 
 Xo department of history repeats itself as sureh^ 
 as these hard times and financial catastrophes 
 under gold legal tender and gold i-edeemable 
 system. 
 
INTEREST ON MONEY. 
 
 Undoubtedly the most pernicious error which the 
 colonists fell into in regard to gold, is the idea that 
 it actually can grow of itself. The imposition of 
 the Adventurers in demanding more gold than they 
 loaned them, which was so palpably an impossibil- 
 ity before tlieir unprejudiced minds, had graduallj^ 
 ripened into an article of monetary faith, and even 
 great writers confirmed this faith with their works. 
 One of these writers, named Kellogg, who claimed to 
 be a friend of the colonists and opposed to the exac- 
 tions of Adventurers, in his New Monetary Sys- 
 tem," says that ''accumulative power*' is essential 
 to the very existence of money, and that " when 
 the Governor decreed gold to be legal tender, he 
 imparted to those grains of the Adventurers, as it 
 were, life and energy." Is not this an awful blas- 
 phemy against God ? Mr. Kellogg continues to 
 say that " that one piece of gold has received 
 through the legal tender decree, the capability to 
 " earn " for its master, in a given time, another 
 piece of gold as large as itself." Would an unbi- 
 assed mind believe, write and inculcate such absurd 
 
 (110) 
 
Iufcred on Moiieij. 
 
 Ill 
 
 doctrines? And do the}^ not prove tluit Mr. Kel- 
 logg's mind was impaired on money matters, (Hjually 
 as much as tliat of the ccWonists? But so univer- 
 sal and so lii'm was this creed, viz : that money 
 grows by interest, that tlie deluded colonists con- 
 tinued to make contracts, based upon this growth, 
 and exert themselves to desperation to perform 
 such absolute impossibility. 
 
 We often endeavored to undeceive them by rea- 
 soning, that, if the Governor had the power of God, 
 and could, by a simple decree, breathe life into dead 
 pieces of metal, and infuse into them the power 
 to grow and multip]3\ there would no longer be any 
 use for mines. Indeed, paradoxical as it may seem, 
 one block of gold, which the Governor should en- 
 dow with such energy, would, in time, outgrow the 
 world. But, with such creative power, wdiy does 
 not the Governor raise his ow^n gold and cease 
 selling the colonists into bondage to borrow it?" we 
 asked. Again. if the Governor can set a piece of 
 gold to work and make it eai-n " another piece as 
 large as itself, why does he not set " all the gold 
 in his hands and make it hatch the taxes he needs, 
 especially in war times, instead of torturing his 
 people and subjecting them to distress and destitu- 
 tion, by forcing tliem to buy or borrow said taxes 
 from Adventurers And again, " if the Governor 
 can perform such miracles, what use has he for all 
 
112 
 
 Parable on Interest, 
 
 that paraphernalia of custom houses and custom 
 officials, revenue cutters and revenue collectors, 
 whose assigned duty is to catch gold." Finally we 
 asked, if the Governor is able to impart to a 
 piece of metal more power than nature gave to it, 
 why not extend that supernatural power to por- 
 tions of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and 
 thus give rest to the toiling colonists ?" 
 
 We then tried to reach their understanding by 
 illustrating the pernicious effects of lending at an 
 increase, and demonstrate its iniquity as viewed by 
 the authors of the Bible, in a parable as follows : 
 
 Eleven immigrants located inproximit3\ Among 
 the articles necessary to their sustanance was ten 
 bushels of grain each annually. Hence, the very 
 first year, each put a piece of ground in grain, so 
 as to be independent of the rest. Providence fa- 
 vored one and not the rest. The one had a crop of 
 110 bushels. The others had their crops destroyed 
 by chinch bugs. The ten unfortunate ones repaired 
 to their neighbor to borrow ten bushels of grain 
 each, promising to return it the following season. 
 The neighbor happened to be a business man " 
 from Eastern Europe. He understood loaning, and 
 thus addressed his unsuspecting neighbors : [N'ext 
 year you may be as unfortunate as this, and con- 
 sequently may not be able to return to me my grain. 
 I kuow^ b}^ experience that lending is a risky busi- 
 
Itacatjcs o f Interest. 
 
 ness, therefore a man slioiild be well secured and 
 'paid' for the aceomiiiodatioii. "A bird in liand 
 is worth two the in bush." A bushel of grain now 
 should be worth more tlian one bushel next yeai*. 
 Therefore I will lend each of you ten bushels of 
 grain, on condition that 3 ou make me safe b}^ a 
 mortgage on your homes, and each pay me an 
 extra bushel annually as interest. The ten neigh- 
 bors had been under the impression that the accom- 
 modation would be from their side, that the 
 fortunate neighbor was ' overstocked ' with grain ; 
 would be compelled to build bins to store it awa^ , 
 and even then the grain would be subject t^^ loss by 
 weavel, lats, rot or fire. They thought that, by 
 borrowing his surplus grain, they would be assum- 
 iug the care of the grain and relieving him of all 
 trouble, expense and loss. Thus the}^ argued with 
 him, but he was inexorable. He knew their desti- 
 tute condition, and was i-eady to take advantage of 
 the same. Pressed by necessity, the neighbors had 
 to accept his terms, and down they fell, to that 
 extent, into perpetual serfdom. Henceforth and 
 forever, the fortunate lender, in so far as grain was 
 concerned, (ten bushels annually being all he 
 needed), was relieved fvom all manual labor, and 
 his neighbors burdened one-tenth more toil in 
 perpetuity. The one, and his descendents, would 
 form the plethoric nobility of the future, the others 
 
114 
 
 Ravages of Interest. 
 
 and their children, would be classed as plebian 
 serfs. Assuming the length of active lite to be 
 thirt}^ years, and teii bushels of grain per year the 
 requirement for the consumption of each, accord- 
 ing to the Bible's injunction, that " in the sweat of 
 thy brow thou shalt eat th}'^ bread," at the end of 
 life, each should have produced 300 bushels of 
 grain. But by means of usury, the lender is ena- 
 bled to make 110 bushels sufficient for him and 
 his progeny to the end of time, while the other ten 
 will have to produce each 819 bushels the first gen- 
 eration, and 330 bushels every succeeding one. 
 
 What a productive grain field this lending at 
 interest proves to be to the lender ! AVhat a pit to 
 enslave the borrow^ers ! 
 
 But our parable did not yet illustrate the full 
 force of lending^' money at interest, because the 
 payment of interest, in grain, is possible, from the 
 fact that grain grows. Mone}^, on the contrary, can 
 never rise in quantity above the principal loaned. 
 Consequently we see the general fate of borrowers. 
 
 Again all arguments and illustration proved in 
 vain. We could in no wise force a ray of light 
 through the universal darkness, which reigned in 
 the brain of the colonists, in regard to the efi*ect of 
 interest. All alike seemed to live in hope, that by 
 some fortuitous, unforseen event, they would reach 
 the side of the lenders and live on revenues. It 
 
Til fc rest Del union . 
 
 115 
 
 was pitiful, and at the s;une time ludicrous, to see 
 and hear miserable wretches^ who had lost all they 
 had by interest, strutting grandly in their dangling 
 I'ags, wdiile narrating with pride the history of so 
 and so," who had come to the [)lace poor, had, by 
 hook or crook, gotten hold of a little money, had 
 turned to lending it, and now was very rich ; or 
 contemptuously that of another, who had come to 
 the same locality with considerable means, had 
 invested these in a farm, had toiled hard many 
 3X^ars to improve it, had ruined his health at it, had 
 gone in debt, and finally ended in povert3\ Public 
 opinion was evidently on the side of the lenders 
 and agaiust the oppressed. Then again such sto- 
 ries as were told about tlie increase of raone}^ by 
 interest. If mone}^ had been a sort of prolific 
 fowl, and banks had been incubators, no more won- 
 derful feats of increase could have been per- 
 formed. 
 
 Here are a few of such stories : 
 
 Alexander Smith, ringleader of the mutiny on 
 the ship Bount}'^, saved the life of a midshipman 
 from drowning. This midshipman put one hun- 
 dred pieces of gold in an incubator for Smith. The 
 latter, not knowing anything about the fact, left the 
 deposit in said incubator, where it laid one 
 hundred years. The gold continued to bring forth 
 two broods of interest annually, and when Smith's 
 
116 
 
 Interest Delimon. 
 
 lieir^ found it out, tlieir portion of chicks amounted 
 to ninety six thousand. Each original piece had 
 multiplied nine thousand six hundred times at a 
 very low rate of increase," says the historian. 
 
 This story was told, published and believed at a 
 time when the colonists boasted of high civilization 
 and when, probably, not a dust remained of the 
 original deposit. Yet the colonists continued to 
 pay tribute on them to Smith's descendents, as the 
 man who continues to pay taxes on land which has 
 been long since washed away by the river. 
 
 Here is another story in this very morning's 
 papers : 
 
 Ten men formed an association and agreed to 
 pool ten dollars a week and loan it out, It is now 
 a regularly chartered incubator " with $36,000 in 
 the boxes. 
 
 This wonderful growth, the papers present, as 
 
 an instance of what can be done with energy and 
 perseverance in the way of accumulating wealth !" 
 
 Meantime a great man is round making speeches 
 and telling mortgaged farmers that they are like 
 the frog in the well, climbing out two feet in the 
 day and falling back (in debt) three feet at night. 
 
 Behold the ditference between those who receive 
 and those who pay interest. 
 
 The most effective, however, of all these interest 
 stories, and the one which was made the foundation 
 
Age of I}i('i(h((t(>rs. 
 
 m 
 
 of all arguments to convince the colonists of the 
 benefits to be dei-ived from incubators, and induce 
 them to invest in tliem, was the following : 
 
 During a protracted wai* in Germany- a noble- 
 man intrusted a large amount of gold in the care 
 of a Jew, (Rothchild). The Jew forthwith placed 
 it in incubators. It multiplied to such an extent 
 that, at the end of the war, the Jew was able to 
 give back to the nobleman his gold with an increase, 
 and yet retain enough of the brood to make him- 
 self immensely rich." 
 
 Such stories were told with an air of innocence, 
 as if the outcome were blessings from Heaven, in- 
 stead of extortions from the victims, and no one 
 seemed conscious of the wrong involved in the 
 fals hood. 
 
 THE AGE OF INCUBATORS. 
 
 We come now to a culminating point in the 
 financial history of the colony, since the passage of 
 that terrible legal tender decree. This period may 
 properly be named the Age of Incubators." The 
 position of ease, affluence and power acquired by 
 the Adventurers through loans ; the wonderful 
 stories which passed current about the growth of 
 money, when passed through incubators, and the 
 fact that no other enterpi*ise guaranteed as large 
 profits as money loaning, made the whole colony 
 
118 
 
 Age of Incuhators. 
 
 teem with incubators. Every town, however small, 
 had at least one, and hirge cities had hundreds. 
 
 Money to k)an,'^ was placarded at every corner 
 and advertised in all the newspapers. Even char- 
 itable Christian institutions made usur}^ the foun- 
 dation for their support. They, like Adventurers, 
 invested wliat donations and legacies thc}^ received 
 on mortgages, and thus extracted from the alread}^ 
 overtasked toilers the means for their charities. 
 
 Among the schemes and devices for multiplying 
 loans and extracting interest, one deserves especial 
 consideration, as being a late invention in the col- 
 ony, aial bearing the special protection of the 
 Grovernor for its (supposed) benevolent object. This 
 is the 
 
 BUILDING AND LOAN INCUBATOR. 
 
 One day, as we were pondering over the wonder- 
 ful changes, financially, socially and mentall}^, 
 which took place in our days in the colon}' , a stranger 
 accosted us, and do you wish to get rich ?" he 
 asked. Of course," we replied, everybody de- 
 sires to get rich." We have just started a new 
 mone}^ incubator," he said. It beats all others 
 for i-apidity of reproduction. It has caused a per- 
 fect revolution. Ever}^ person who can spare a little 
 money, puts it right into it. It is called the 
 ' Building and Loan Incubator.' It has gained the 
 
Ihiildiiuj IiK'iflxtfors. 
 
 119 
 
 favor of all tlie authorities in tbecoloii}^ on account 
 of its great benefits, and already it is su[)ei'e(M]ing 
 all otliers,"' be went on. " How does it work 
 inquired. ''You put a piece of gold, or paper repiu^- 
 sentative, in the boxes ever}^ month, and, without 
 any other trouble on your part, it will double itself 
 in on^> hundred months. The lik(^. of \i never was 
 heard of before. We are all going to get rich from 
 Adventurers to poor mechanics, who have but ten 
 dollars a week wages," he replied. 
 
 We became somewhat anxious to leai-n more 
 about this new scheme, especially as the man who 
 was soliciting us did not look like an Adventurer. 
 He explained to us the working of this new ma- 
 chine. " Say, one thousand of you form an associ 
 ation and deposit with me (the man) each one 
 dollar ever}^ month. I take the thousand dollars 
 and lend them to one of you, who is fortunate to 
 own a lot worth one thousand dollars to secure the 
 loan, and is anxious to build a house on it. The 
 next thousand to another, and so on to the end of 
 the 100 months. We are now divided into two 
 classes, viz : investors, who continue to pay one 
 dollar per month on each share, but do not 
 borrow, and " borrowers." Those who borrow will 
 have to keep up their shares of one dollar on each 
 $200 borrowed, and, at the same time return one 
 per cent of the borrowed principal monthly. Thus, 
 
120 
 
 Build ing Incubators. 
 
 if a partner borrows $1000, he will have to carr}^ 
 five shares and pay five dollars on the same, also 
 ten dollars on the loan, making fifteen dollars, 
 monthly. At the end ot one hnndred months, on 
 five shares they will have paid 
 
 Investor on shares S 500 00 
 
 Borrower on shares, and loan 1500 00 
 
 Total received by me $ 2000 00 
 
 I then divide these S2000 into two equal parts, 
 giving ea(;h partner SIOOO. But the borrower, as 
 you know, has received his thousand at the begin- 
 ning of the period. So his debt is paid. The 
 investor gets his thousand now.'' Right here we 
 a sked the man who paid him for his time and trouble. 
 He said the fines and penalties would be sufficient 
 to compensate him and cover all expenses of man- 
 agement." What ' fines ' and ' penalties ?' " we 
 asked. He said that it was one of his rules, if a 
 partner did not come up punctually with his dues 
 at the appointed time, he would fine him ten cents 
 on every dollar," and added that his experience 
 in the business had proven that such fines amounted 
 to a considerable sum." Besides," he continued, 
 salary is but a secondary object to me. I got up 
 this scheme purely for the benefit of workingmen 
 and persons of small means, to induce them to save 
 their money. I desii-e to see such persons installed 
 
Build in(i [HeHh((fors. 
 
 121 
 
 in a home of tlieir own and cease paying- i*(^iit to 
 Adventurers. Our sclienie is a mutual affair. It 
 lifts workingnu^n into tlie position of money-lend- 
 ers and enables them to borrow from tlu^nselves at 
 a very low rate of interest. In it the bori'ower 
 ])ays 6 per cent per annum, while the lender gets 
 24 per cent, or four times as much as the borrower 
 pays." 
 
 Here the man got warmed up, almost excited. 
 He pulled a pamphlet out of his })ocket, and opening 
 it, he showed jus by actual figures that a mem- 
 der of his association could be l)oth lender and bor- 
 row^ei-, at the same time, pay only G per cent as 
 borrow^ei-, receive 24 per cent as lender, on his own 
 nu)ne3^, and at the end of 100 months come out, not 
 only clear of debt, but with a large sum of moue3\ 
 besides a home of his own. How can this be 
 possible?" we asked. '* It comes from the wonder- 
 ful mechanism of our new^ incubator." he answered. 
 
 Count for youi-self," he continued, ^' and you will 
 be satisfied that it does perform such feats." Here 
 he drew^ out pencil and paper and pi'oceeded to 
 figuring, wdiile w(^ looked on. The borrower gets 
 $1000 foi' 100 months, which is 8 years and 4 
 months. He pays us $15 })er month, or 100 times 
 15, equal to $1500 during the whole time, that is, he 
 returns to us the $1000 borrowed and $500 more as 
 interest. Then calculate," said the man, $500 
 
122 
 
 B u ild imj In cn h ators. 
 
 as interest on $1000 dui-ing 100 months, or 8J years, 
 is exactly 6 per cent per annum, and no more. 
 Any tyro in arithmetic can calculate that," he said, 
 with a triumphant air. IS'ow come to the inves- 
 tor side," he went on, and calculate. He paid us 
 $5 per month during 100 months, making a total of 
 $500 and no more. He paid us the first $5 at the 
 beginning, and the last $5 at the end of the 100 
 months, so that he was out of his $500 only an av- 
 erage of fifty months, or 4 years and two months. 
 Xow we pay him $1000, $500 of which is interest 
 on his $500 for fifty months, equal to 24 per cent 
 annually." ^' Is this not correct," he said. We had 
 to admit that it was, as per figures. ^' Then is not 
 this new incubator the most perfect machine that 
 ever was invented for the hatching of interest?" he 
 asked again, and concluded by asserting that 
 everybody who would invest in it was bound to get 
 rich, whether he was borrower, lender or both, be- 
 cause all participated alike in the wonderful in- 
 crease. 
 
 We were perfectly astounded, and told the man 
 that, if he would leave us a copy of his prospectus, 
 we would examine the mechanism of his incubator. 
 This he did, and we examined it and soon discov- 
 ered the trick. The associates, as the man had 
 said, are divided into two classes, lenders and bor- 
 rowers, and it is true that, if all things go right, 
 
the lender would ^et 24 j)er cent per aiiiuini on liis 
 investment. But, leaving aside the a])surdity tliat 
 his incubator, b}^ any adjustnient of parts, could 
 have any power of bringing forth broods of money, 
 it is not true that the borrower pays only 6 percent 
 interest per annum. Aside from fines, penalties 
 and other incidental expenses of abstract on his 
 lot and law^^er's fee, he pays 18 per cent per annum 
 on his loan. The man calculated that the borrower 
 held the $1000 one hundred montlis. It is not so. 
 $15 of it he returns the ver}^ next month, and $15 
 ever}^ following month. At the end of 66f months, 
 he has paid back the whole thousand. Now, avei'- 
 aging the time he held the loan, (as the man does 
 that of the investor), at half tinu% viz: from the 
 time he paid the first $15 and the last $15, 66f 
 months, it results that he held the loan oul}' 334 
 months, not 100 months. Only ^ the time. 8o lie 
 virtually pays 6 per cent for only one third the time, 
 e(pial to 18 per cent annually. A tyvo in arith- 
 metic can count that,'' as the man had said. 
 
 Xow a:* to the charitable philanthropist, who got 
 up the : cheme for the benefit of wM)rkingmen, as 
 stated, he really gets 18 per cent interest on $1000, 
 but, in the settlement with the investor, he pays 
 24 per cent on only S500. If he received 18 per cent 
 interest on $500, and p^iid 24 per cent on the same 
 sum, he would be losing G percent on the transac- 
 
124 
 
 B u ilding Incubators. 
 
 tloii, but getting 18 per cent on a $1000, (which is 
 equal to 36 per cent on $500), and paying 24 per 
 cent on the $500, lie realizes 12 per cent pi'ofit. 
 Besides this profit, fines and penalties, he reaps an 
 immense harvest of interest by re-loaning the in- 
 stallments as they come in monthly, at compound 
 18 per cent interest, by which process the original 
 $1000, which came all back in 66f months and was 
 re-loaned, amounts, at the end of that period, to 
 $1710, and at the end of the hundred months to 
 $34e32. If the borrower of the original $1000 had 
 re-borrowed each $15 he paid in monthly, at the 
 same rate of interest, at the expiration of the hun- 
 dred months, he would have paid $3432, or $2432 
 for the use of one thousand eight years and four 
 months, and receive no interest whatever on his lot. 
 Besides the income of $3432 that the man realizes 
 on the thousand, on $15 per month, he also realizes 
 the third of it on the five dollars monthl}' of the 
 investor, making his receipts in all : 
 
 Out of which he lent $1000 at the beginning and 
 pa^^s one thousand at the end, leaving him $2576. 
 
 No wonder Adventurers were adopting the new 
 incubator, both as the best means for collecting what 
 
 On borrower.. 
 On investor ^ 
 
 $ 3432 00 
 1144 00 
 
 Total 
 
 $ 4576 00 
 
liiiilduu/ luctihdforx. 
 
 125 
 
 dribs of golU had strayed from ihc bank in wagrs. 
 and at the same time obtain the liioliest possible 
 i*ate oi' intei-est on their fnnds. 
 
 Upon investigation, we fonnd that t(Mi in one 
 luindred, who went into the assoeiation, evei* con- 
 tinned to the end of the one Imndred nn)nths. 
 Most of them withdrew from it the hrst or seeond 
 year. Also that most of the borrowers lost tlie 
 house they built, and the lot on whieli they built it, 
 and these losses oceurred mainly after they had re- 
 turned all the borrowed mone}^ Fiiuilly we found 
 that the ver^^ few wlio continued to pay monthly to 
 the end were Adventurers or money lenders. 
 
 So we deplored the poor benighted colonists, who 
 fell victims to the new trap, but were powerless to 
 prevent them going in it. The intense desir(^ of 
 fathers, and still more of mothei-s. to reach a home 
 they could call their own, undisturbed b3 landlords, 
 coupled with the [)rospect of getting rich without 
 labor, and the dense cloud which obscui'cd the 
 truth in reference to money matters, were more 
 powerful than all the logic that one could bi'ing 
 against the Building and Loan Incubators. 
 
 From these pestilential incubators issued a mias- 
 matic flight of birds of ill omen, interest drawing 
 notes, bonds, securities, annuities, p(M'petuiti(\s and 
 mortgages, until the social atmosphere was dense 
 and dark with them. They acted upon the indus- 
 
Bn ildi >/ // In c n ha tors . 
 
 tries of the coloii}^ like an enormous flock of vam- 
 pires, absoi-bing tlie life blood of all. Farms which 
 could have been made Gardens of Eden," if their 
 })roducts could have been invested in improvements 
 upon the same, were foi-ced to retrogress towards 
 the original wilderness, by the absorptions of inter- 
 est. Manufacturers, which could have flooded the 
 colony with tlie comforts, conveniencies and luxu- 
 ries of civilization, were languishing and perishing 
 under the same scouige. Commerce, which could 
 have floated the produ(^ts of farm and factory to 
 every hamlet in the land, was stagnant, pai*alized 
 by the drriinage of discounts. 
 
 The merchant marine of the colony was driven 
 entirely from the ocean, and many of the industries 
 had already passed, with the marine, intothehands 
 of foreign nations, of cheaper money and lower 
 interest. Eveiywhere and every move was feeling 
 the pressure of interest. What little money came 
 out could no longer circulate in the channels of 
 industi-y and commerce. The centripital force of 
 interest was drawing it constantly to the centers. 
 From such centers it could only be dislodged by 
 the execution of new interest drawing uotes and 
 mortgages. It was officially computed that ever}' 
 dollar of money extant had in existence a progeny 
 of fifty interest drawing obligations, the annual 
 tribute on which was twice as large as the whole 
 
Jiuildliu/ IiH'iihfdors. 
 
 127 
 
 aiiioinit of in()iu\v in the colon}'. Tluis the colo- 
 nists wei'c involved in a tc^'rible nion(4ai'y whirl- 
 pool. Tiie increase of notes raised the stream of 
 interest, an.d the swelling' of this sti'(n\ni wiis I'ais- 
 ing still higher the stream of notes. Ea(*h of these 
 streams was both cause and effect ii})on the (^ther. 
 and their ever increasing voluiue and force w^as 
 scattering dismay am^Mig the industries, threaten- 
 ing to ingulf them all. 
 
 Yet the universal cr}' of the sufferers was for 
 '' more money," which as the machinery was work- 
 ing, w^ould raise still higher the destructive streams 
 of loans, notes, interest, mortgages and foreclosures, 
 cause greater pressure and quicker ruin. Wolves, 
 from the legal tender den, were ravaging the colon3\ 
 and the colonists were clamoring for more wolves. 
 The Governor's decree had turned the monetary 
 system into predatory l)easts. What was needed 
 was not to increase the number of these beasts, but 
 to change their nature or destroy them altogether, 
 and fill their place with useful domestic animals. 
 What was needed was to turn the system into what 
 it pretended to be, a ^' means of exchange,'' in- 
 stead of, as it was, a medium of loans and instru- 
 ment of bondage. 
 
 All reasoning with the Adventurers and incubator 
 men, in reference to lending at interest, showing- 
 how it was contrary to religious principles, how it 
 
128 
 
 JJn ildiuf} Tncuhaiors. 
 
 was destro^^ing the energy and liberties of the pro- 
 ducing classes, and at the same time demoralizing 
 the recipients, proved unavailable. Their very 
 temper, however, indicated a consciousness of being- 
 wrong The kindest expressions were instantly 
 met by the brusque questions, shall not a man 
 have the right to do what he pleases with his 
 pro|)erty ? Shall he not have the privilege of in- 
 vesting his means to the best advantage ? Shall he 
 not have the right to bequeath such rights to whom 
 he chooses?'' Then add : ''The people are not 
 obliged to borrow." To all these questions we did 
 not hesitate to answer yes,'* provided by so doing 
 a man does not encroach upon the rights of his 
 fellow beings. AVe did not believe that a man 
 liad any more right to rob, oppress and enslave 
 another by deception than ph^'sical force." Gov- 
 ,ernments profess to be established for the protection 
 of the weak against the strong. Such protection 
 should apply more especially to ^' mental force," 
 because such force is far more potent for evil, as 
 well as for good, than -'physical." " Again," we 
 continued, '' those who bear the burden of interest 
 are more numerous than those who receive it. They 
 should be objects of solicitude and entitled to the 
 same degree of elevation and enjoyment that 
 money lender^ obtain. Besides, there is danger 
 ahead, we said, if we continue this oppression. 
 
Money Ijnding. 
 
 ]\Iark tliat the oppressed nuiltitude have within 
 their own i-anks the })liysieal and mental power to 
 turn ()p})i'ession against the oppressors. They are 
 becoming conscious of tliis, and restless. Tliey did 
 so once in France against political op})ressi(>n. 
 The}^ may be sk)wer in the case of financial o]) 
 pression, under tlie impression that, to go in debt 
 and lose property, is a voluntary act of their own; 
 but, when they come to comprehend that it is not 
 so; that the condition for borrowing money is made 
 com])uls()ry by a barbarous law, tliey may change 
 opinion. In tliat case, it they do not uprise and 
 overtlirow' such law, they may, at least, cease lend- 
 ing their physical support in enforcing it. 
 
 But. waving all such dangers, which we earnestly 
 desire to avert, we do not concern ourselves, we 
 added, about the I'ight of individuals to loan money 
 at interest, or do what they please with their pro})- 
 erty. We claim such rights ourselves and there- 
 fore must grant them to others. Our concern is for 
 the poor beings wdio are pressed to borrow^ and pay 
 that interest. They are the ones we wash to liber- 
 ate from thrakhmi, and do it, if possible, without 
 detracting one single comfort from the recipients of 
 interest." Here came to our mind the first in- 
 stance, in our ti'avels over the earth, wdien we were 
 forcibly sti'uck by the injustice of slavery, wdiich 
 we relat(Hl. A stout negro man was heli)ing us 
 
130 
 
 Money Lending. 
 
 plant a vineyard, and every Satnrday evening a 
 fat, lazy woman came to draw liis wages, not leav- 
 ing the poor man as much as one dime to treat liis 
 children to candy. He and his children belonged," 
 (horrible expression), to that lazy woman, and slie 
 was morally unconscious of wrong in collecting 
 and appropriating the poor man's wages.'' Then 
 getting somewhat excited, we proceeded. Finan- 
 cial bondage is far worse than personal 
 slavery. The money lender has no personal at- 
 tachment to, nor sympathy for, his debtor. He 
 can coolly turn him, and helpless family, out of 
 liome penniless, and feel perfectly callous about their 
 sufferings. Slaves feared no such treatment. After 
 all, they had a friend in their master. They were 
 part and parcel of liis }iousehold. Yet the days of 
 slavery are numbered. It is doomed to be wiped 
 out from the face of the world. But here exists a 
 relation between man and man, which is worse in 
 its effects than slavery. It should be the object of 
 legislators and good governments, religion, the 
 moralist, the ultimate result of scientific discove- 
 ries and mechanical inventions, the aspiration of 
 every intelligent being, the acme of civilization to 
 establish on earth perfect liberty, political and 
 financial. Earthly happiness can never reach its 
 possibility without it, and such liberty will never 
 reign supreme, as long as there remains a vestige of 
 
Bad Social h*('/ati<nis. 
 
 such social relations as king and subjects, patricians 
 and plebeians, lords and serfs, masters and slaves, 
 landlords and tenants, employers and employes, 
 creditors and debtors. These relations are synomy- 
 mous and difier in degrees only. Every one of 
 them is antagonistic to liberty and happiness ; 
 therefore should be abolished as rapidly as practi- 
 cable, without cansing too great a shock. We be- 
 lieve that all parties will gain by tlie change. 
 
THE FRUIT POINTS THE TREE. 
 
 Institutions of men can only be judged by tlie 
 fruit they bear. Let us apply this rule to the 
 monetary system of the colony. We give here the 
 condition of things in the best^ largest and richest 
 city in the colony^ as reported by an association 
 whose object was the promotion of morality/' and 
 not to cast blame upon the monetary system. We 
 quote from a very reliable paper. 
 
 THE LABORERS HOUSES IN THE CITY." 
 
 " Some startling and painful facts were brought 
 to light at a conference of the societies for the 
 promotion of morality held in the city this month. 
 In a paper read on the "housing of the poor in the 
 city/' it was stated that the half of the dwellings 
 consist of one room to which, in some instances, is 
 added a cup-board. In one of these rooms are 
 often found sleeping from ten to fifteen persons, 
 old and young. One hundred thousand persons 
 and more sleep in cellars and attics. The prices 
 for room are high, and one consequence of this is, 
 
 (132) 
 
I that very inaii}^ thousaiuls of abandoned wonuMi 
 I in the eity are i*eceived into families as h)do;ers, witli 
 a view to lessening the rental. They are the ladies 
 of the honse, and l)()th {)arents and ehildi-cMi, at 
 lirst, shun tliem. But the latter, seeing the idle 
 life these city lodgers live, and the beautiful clothes 
 they wear, soon learn to entei^ in the same awful 
 course." 
 
 Such is the result of tliis monetary systeuK 
 A thousand 3^ ears under this system, with 
 thousands of mechanics seeking employ nuMit eveiw 
 year, with rock, clay, sand, lumber and iron in 
 abundance all around us, will not allow us to build 
 decent houses for our inhabitants; while a few 
 years under a rational system would place ever}^ 
 family in a palace. 
 
 Alas, that an element which is not necessary to 
 and does not enter as a component part of man's 
 dwelling, should be considered the only essential 
 element in the construction of the same, and that 
 its absence should force thousands of human beings 
 to huddle in tenement houses as brutes ! The city 
 described in the report of the above association is 
 no exception to all other cities in the colony ; and 
 wherever the same monetary system has been in 
 operation in the world. The poor, in all, are in the 
 same deplorable condition. These cities may all 
 be properly defined as ''guilded rin\s of opulence. 
 
134 
 
 Ti((ra(/('s of In' crest. 
 
 surrounding an abyss of misery, into which the 
 children of the wealthy are constantly dropping." 
 
 While we were reading the above report to a 
 clustei* of fi'iends, and deploring the facts, one of 
 these friends, a Frenchman, remarked that mill- 
 ions of workmen in his country had been, genera- 
 tion after generation, living in narrow, uncomforta- 
 able, windowless adobe shanties, and not a thing 
 have the successive Governors of that country done, 
 or as much as proposed doing, to improve the 
 dwellings of the poor," Instead," he added, 
 our Rulers have wasted time and means in mili- 
 tary flummeries, vain display, and dissipation. 
 Meantime our Adventurers (and France has not 
 been spared by that class), have ever been busy 
 devising schemes, by which they could cast the gold 
 hook and draw in the products of labor; wdiile our 
 benighted people stood ready, mouth ajar, looking 
 for the gold hook to catch the enticing bait. "And 
 now that France is basking in an atmosphere of 
 political liberty," he continued, "our leaders care 
 nothing about ^ houseing the poor,' but calculate, 
 with Adventurers, the amount of gold or notes 
 (not of men and materials), necessar}^ to bridge the 
 Straight between France and England, and what 
 ' revenue ' the bridge would bring to them. 
 
 Alwa3^s scheming to draw ' revenues ' from, never 
 to advance the welfare of the people at large. 
 
Racitycs of Liici'csl. 
 
 OPINION OF AN ai)Vp:ntijhj:k as to the vvokking 
 
 CLASSES. 
 
 We had ii conversation witli a jxM'sonal friend, 
 wlio belonged to tlie capitalistic side, (at this time 
 the colonists were alread}^ divided into two classes, 
 viz : Capital and Labor, and the line was drawing- 
 tighter every day). We had a conversation, we 
 said, about the condition of the working classes, 
 asking whether he did not believe tliat something 
 should be done to better that condition and thus 
 avert possible future trouble. It would be a grand 
 and benevolent act, but it is an impossibility," lu^ 
 answered. You see," he added, " machiner}^ is 
 the speediest and cheapest worker we have. It 
 needs no rest, feeds on coal and wood, drinks only 
 water, and requires but a few hands to tend to it. 
 and these mostly women and children, who woi-k 
 for lower wages than experts. The balance of the 
 laboring classes we have no use for. We do not 
 want to fill our houses to overflowing with furni- 
 ture, clothes, food, or any other commodity of 
 which we cannot make use. Consequently when 
 the demand for goods cease, we are bound to stop 
 production, and, of course, tui'n the workers out of 
 employment. This is what makes so many tramps 
 in the colony. We regi*et it, but cannot prevent it. 
 It comes in the nature of things as society ])r()- 
 
136 
 
 Jx((ra(/('>! of Interest. 
 
 gresses and mechanical inventions are made.'' ^'Of 
 course," he continued, these tramps get hungr}^, 
 and hungry men become unruly and even danger- 
 ous to the better portion of society. Some of them 
 ha ve alread}^ become so bold as to parade the streets 
 of our large cities, bearing flags with ominous and 
 threatening inscriptions, and clamoring for ' work 
 or bread,' calling oui* good Governor himself hard 
 names, as if he w^ere the cause of poverty. What 
 has our Governor to do-w^ith inventions, overpro- 
 <luction, work or wages? He cannot compel people 
 to buy beyond their wants, nor can he compel Ad- 
 venturers to employ labor at a loss. This is the 
 land of liberty, where everybody does as he or she 
 chooses. We pity these tramps, but their case is 
 beyond redemption. We wish them no harm, 3^et 
 we must caution them that it will be better for 
 them if they do not interfere with the law^s of the 
 colony, else they will be made food for powder and 
 lead." I tell you friend," he went on, the only 
 remedy we can see is a war to kill out the surplus 
 population. In a war, these tramps w^ould be des- 
 patched quicker, and therefore more mercifully, 
 than by the slow process of starvation." 
 
 We could but be deeply affected b}^ such views. 
 Oh, horror of horrors, we ejaculated within our- 
 selves. Was this to be the final ending of inven- 
 ti(ms. It cannot be. A merciful Creator would 
 
Penrrsc Doctrine. 
 
 not liave endowed man with genins to invent liis 
 own destrnetion." N^JVy, on the contrary, he has 
 endowed evei'y animal with more or less, ])ut man 
 above all, witii means of defense and pi-otection. 
 Invention cannot be bnt one of these means to 
 increase production and meet the iiicrease of po})- 
 ulation. This within ourselves. Then, regaining 
 composure but, sir/' we said : ^' It appears to us 
 that 3^ou have not the right conception of social 
 affaii's. We i-emember reading a book, written hy 
 Malthus, in which he predicts the time would come 
 on earth, when ' population would tramp npon the 
 heels of food.' Malthus means, of course, a tinu^ 
 when the earth wn)nld not produce sufficiently to 
 maintain its dense population, and advises that, 
 either prudence sliould restrict the increase, or 
 when that fatal day should come, a part of the 
 population would liave to starve. It seems to us, 
 sir, that yon have the doctrine of Malthus end fore- 
 most, viz : the cause for the effect. You argue that 
 men should be killed, not because of a scarcity of 
 food, but, on the contrai-y, because we have too 
 much of everything with wliich to feed, clothe and 
 house them. To illusti-ate : would it not be horrible 
 to hear of a father, who cherished his children as 
 long as he had to struggle hard to support them, 
 but who, the numient he should invent a machine, 
 or discover some method with which, or by which 
 
138 
 
 Perverse Doctrine. 
 
 lie eould produce more food than needed, sluuild 
 turn to killing these children, lest he be overstocked 
 with goods himself? And would it not be as hor- 
 rible for the whole colony to do the same thing ? A 
 bountiful Creator has certainly loaded the table 
 abundantly for ' all ' his children ; a stupid Gov- 
 ernor decrees, that none shall partake of God's 
 bounties, except those who are provided with legal 
 tender gold spoons and forces the famished multi- 
 tude to starve in sight of plenty, ^^ow, you say, 
 that it would be more merciful to shoot the starv- 
 ing ones'at once ! Allow us to suggest, that it would 
 be far more merciful and more reasonable to repeal 
 a barbarous legal tender gold spoon law, and let 
 all to the table and partake to the extent of their 
 contributions." Thus we reasoned the matter with 
 our friend. With what result he did not express, 
 but he left in a very thoughtful mood. Thus we 
 had come to a pass, when, to talk with the suffer- 
 ing workers, we were grieved by their chronic gold 
 craze ; to talk to the Governor, we could not make 
 ourselves understood, and to talk with Adventur- 
 ers, we were struck with horror by their principles 
 and views ; while all around us we would hear the 
 benefits of gold eulogized, and its " intrinsic 
 power to develop industry, and lift the human race 
 from poverty to opulence, exalted to the skies. 
 A barbarous decree had forced production and 
 
Perverse I)(te1rine. 
 
 139 
 
 comnierce to pass throiigli tlie needle's eye " of a 
 seai'ce, iiisiginficant metal, thus fixing the limits of 
 progress to tlie limits of that metal, then ])oint to 
 gold as the promoter of industry and commerce. 
 As well nui}^ we, by law% restrict a people to raise 
 corn with no other implement than the ' pick/ then, 
 when lumger should press that people to exert 
 themselves to desperation to raise corn enough to 
 subsist, eulogize the ' pick ' as the instrument, 
 " by excellence for raising corn. Paradoxical as 
 this comparison may appear, the pick would hold 
 the supremacy over gold, for it is, at least, an instru- 
 ment on the line of the desired object, while gold 
 is of no utility to production or distribution, has 
 no relation whatever to man's activity, and the 
 infatuation implanted in the brain of man by the 
 enforcing act of legal tender, makes it the heaviest 
 impediment to that activity. 
 
LABOR MOVEMENT. 
 
 The downfall of the working classes in the colony, 
 the robberies to which they had been subjected 
 by Adventurers, nay, even by the Governor him- 
 self, especially in selling them into bondage for 
 many years, coupled with the despair of ever seeing 
 their reason, in regard to gold, restored, had so fa- 
 tigued and depressed our mental faculties, that we 
 decided to retire to the wilderness for a few years' 
 rest. Do what we may, however, it was be^^ond 
 our power to separate our thoughts altogether 
 from the condition of affairs in the colony. 
 
 One night, as we lay in our hammock, in tiie 
 hunter's cabin, we fell to dreaming, and in our 
 gloomy imagination we saw the river, which 
 meanders through the colony, unusually full. Con- 
 tinued rains, it appears, had raised its waters over 
 the banks. It was turbid, yet level and calm. A 
 white man stood on a high point on the banks 
 watching drifts and logs floating down the stream. 
 A short distance below him a group of negroes 
 were apparently iiitent on the same sight. Of a 
 sudden, the man moved down to the negroes, and 
 
 (140) 
 
Labor Morciiicni . 
 
 141 
 
 •'boys," we seemed to hear him distinctly say, if 
 you catcli those logs, I'll give 3 011 th(3 half of them/' 
 Then, with one accord, the negroes seemed to strij) 
 off theii' clothes and swim for tlie logs. Such was 
 a common stor}^ we had often heard in our young 
 da3^s, and which came upj)ermost in our incoherent 
 (]ream. After this followed a new panorama on 
 the river. The negroes, it seenuMl, had been su})- 
 plinuMited by a multitude of white men in the 
 chase after logs, and the white num, who fornu^rly 
 had given the negroes employment," hati been 
 made rich b}^ his portion of the logs, possessed 
 pleasure boats, swift yatchs aiul nmgnilicent steam- 
 ers, on which he and his wer(^. now lioating leisurely 
 up and down the stream, enjoying th.e balmy aii* 
 and the sight of his thousands ot employes, wdiile 
 the latter, head above water, were struggling to 
 catch logs, no longer at half, but whatever the boss 
 choosed to allow them. Here and there an em- 
 pkwe would give way, under exhaustion, and sink. 
 l)ut it created no alarm. It seemed to have become 
 a usual occurrence. Again we dreamt the scene 
 had changed once more. The waters on the river 
 were clearer and smoother than we had ever seen 
 tliem before, and boats, yatchs and steamers beauti- 
 fied the landscape. On a sudden a strange pheiu)me- 
 non took place among the floating heads and 
 waiving arms. It seemed as if a whirlpool had 
 
142 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 engulfed a grou}) of men. We saddened, yet could 
 not prevent tliinking that, perhaps, tlieir condition 
 in a future life, would be better than in this, seeing 
 how hard tlieir lot had been. 
 
 Shortl^^, at no great distance from the spot where 
 the first group went under, w^e caught sight of sim- 
 ilar accidents, and soon whirlpool followed whirlpoo 
 uiitil, we feared, the whole host of floating miserj^ 
 w^as about being swallowed up b^^ the waters, and 
 thus end forever the nionetaiy system and all its 
 victims in the colony. 
 
 AVe awoke hc^avy headed and heavy hearted, but 
 i-elieved that it was only a dream. We narrated 
 our dream at the breakfast board, and the hunter's 
 wife, who claimed to be a fortune teller, interpreted 
 it as portending trouble in the colony. We pro- 
 CiH^ded hither and found it upheaved with Labor 
 Organizations.'* Almost every trade, profession 
 and calling had formed a Union," or Associa- 
 tion," and many of these unions had already enter- 
 ed into a federation. 
 
 What does all this mean ?" we inquired. We 
 were told that tlie workers had organized to pro- 
 t(^ct their interests against the impositions and 
 exactions of the capitalists, (meaning the Adven- 
 turers). 
 
 What!" we exclaimed in fear, are we alread}^ 
 involved in a revolution?" ''Are you going to 
 
Labor Morctucnt . 
 
 drown tlie labor qiu^ntion in blood?" we asked. 
 
 God forbid. There is no ne(Ml of it. and bi'sidi^s, 
 killing the Adventar«'rs would not cure the gold 
 lunacy, and consecjuently would not better the con- 
 dition of the working clasHers. On the othei* side, 
 if we could cure their lunacy and clear the people's 
 mind, so that the}^ could see how mere gold dust, 
 no matter how manufactured or coined, has not the 
 least power to help liuman beings, the gohl ti'ouble 
 would all be over, and the Adventurers could no 
 longer do any harm. Oh, let us set our efforts in 
 the right direction and avert a useless and destruc 
 tive revolution," we finished by entreating them. 
 
 N'aturall}^ we became very anxious to learn more 
 about this ''Labor Movement," as it was now called, 
 and repaired to an intelligent friend of ours, who 
 belonged to both the union of his own trade and 
 the federation. He was a shoemaker. " What is 
 the matter with the working classes ?" we asked. 
 
 Making ready to fight ?" '' No," he replied. We 
 have not the remotest intention of fighting. We 
 have organized to 'protect' our interests." '' Against 
 the Governor's legal tender decree?" we eagerly 
 asked again. " What about the legal tender decree ?" 
 he. questioned " We have nothing to complain 
 about legal tender money, if that is what you 
 mean. We only want enough of it. We do not 
 get money enough in our wages," he continued, 
 
144 
 
 Labo)' 3I()V(>ment. 
 
 that is what liiirts the working classes. It is 
 ' competition ' that we are going to put down. We 
 have been competing witli one anotlier, each ott- 
 ering to work cheaper than the other, until our 
 wages are so low tliat we can hardl}^ keep body 
 and soul together. We cannot furnish our families 
 with a sufficienc}' of the coarsest food, we cannot 
 clotlie our women decently to appear in society, 
 we cannot educate our childrei^, noi* afford the 
 commonest comforts and pleasures of life, although 
 we know that our combined labor produces the 
 whole of these comforts," and he went on. We 
 resumed. But, we hear that the Adventurers have 
 also organized into monopolies and trusts to stop 
 competition. If so, then, to all appearances, com- 
 petition is going to be ground between the two 
 millstones of capital and labor. Nay, we also 
 heard a farmer say that the monster evil, which 
 is oppressing the colonists, is that the Adventurers 
 are destroying competition, and that they, the 
 farmers, have organized to have competition re- 
 stored. Again, it is said, that tarmeivs, in some 
 parts of the colony, have almost compelled the 
 local authorities to pass laws, forbidding Advent u 
 rers to combine and destroy competition. There 
 must be some misunderstanding between farmers 
 and mechanics in this labor movement. Unless 
 the two great classes of producers harmonize, sue- 
 
Labor Movement. 
 
 145 
 
 cess will be impossil)le," w(.^ said. That is so,'^ 
 conceded our friend, "but Ave do agree with farm- 
 ers that Adventurers hav(^ no l iglit to form irnions 
 and put down competition," said he. " Com})eti- 
 tion then, \v(^ reasoned, according to your opinion > 
 should not be stopped, but only driven from the 
 ranks of labor into the ranks of capitalists," and 
 continuing : It seems to us ver}^ inconsistent and 
 unjust. But let us hear how you ai'e going to 
 drive competition from among shoemakers," we 
 asked him. ''We have entered into a mutual 
 agreement in the Union," he answered, that none 
 of us shall work at less than a certain amount of 
 money per day." "Suppose," we querried, "'that 
 the Adventurers refuse to pa.y you the rate of 
 wages hxed by yourselves, what would you do 
 about it?" ''Stop working, 'strike,^" he replied. 
 
 We must confess that wx^ cannot see how you will 
 ))e able to obtain more money either by merely de- 
 manding it, or by stopping work," we said. ''Con- 
 sider that adveiiturei's ai-e but a handful, after all ; 
 that they need but little of your labor for them- 
 selves, that they own all the money in the colony, 
 except a few scattered pieces, amounting to noth- 
 ing, and that many, very many, colonists, go now 
 almost barefoot, because they are unal)le to buy shoes 
 at the present prices." '' Thus, assuming that the 
 Adventui'eis grant your request, they alone would 
 
146 
 
 Labor Jlocement. 
 
 be able to pay the enhanced price of slioes, and, as 
 we said, they need but very few of the linest. On 
 the other side, apart from the man}^, who cannot 
 buy now, many more, who do bu}^, would not be 
 able to go higher, and hence the shoe trade 
 would be very much reduced. So we think that 
 you will come out the losei's in the end, instead of 
 gainers, b}^ such process. When the amount of 
 money is about fixed, as it is under legal tender 
 gold, the higher^ is the price of commodities, the 
 lower will be the consumption, and consequently 
 less also will be the employment of labor. Besides, 
 suppose that other trades organize also, (wdiich 
 they will be compelled to do when one trade has 
 organized), to have their wages raised in money, 
 would not that fact raise the price of the articles 
 they make also ; consequently would you not have 
 to ' pay more money ' for every article you use or 
 consume, except shoes ? In that case where would 
 your gain be ? Can 3^ou not see, friend, that this 
 ' higher wages ' affair is not a contest against " com- 
 petition,' as 3^ou seem to think, nor against Adven- 
 turers, but a contest in the labor ranks, among the 
 different trades themselves? If this is the objec- 
 tive point of all this labor agitation in the colony, 
 instead of ameliorating the condition of the 
 workers, they will drive one another speedily into 
 utter ruin. Again, suppose that all the trades ob- 
 
Ijihor Movcmciii. 
 
 147 
 
 tain more iiioiicy foi* tlieir work, tliey would not 
 better their eonditioii one whit hy it. Let us illus- 
 trate tliis point. For the sake of understanding, 
 imagine all trades were working for one partieular 
 Adventurer at ' one dollar a day,' each. At the 
 end of a week each worker would have ' six 
 dollars in money.' and the Adventurer all the 
 product of their work. N^ow the Adventurer is 
 wise enough to know that the workers cannot live 
 on the mone}^ they got, but will be compelled to 
 cimie to him and purchase back the pi'oducts they 
 have parted with. Workmen do not seem to see 
 this most important fact, viz: tliat they first sell 
 all the products of their work for money, then are 
 b^^ nature forced to bu}^ those same products, with 
 that same money, in order to live. When the Ad ven- 
 tui'er secui'e the pi'oducts of labor, which is abso- 
 luteh' necessary to human existence, and give the 
 producers a trifling stulf called money, which is 
 not fit to support life one instant, he well knows 
 that he has these produ(^ers completeh^ under sub- 
 jection. He never will surrunder 'all' the pro- 
 ducts lie has in hand for the mone}^ he parted with, 
 and thus the w^orkers never will get back 'all ' their 
 products for the money they obtained in wages. Here 
 in this vicious cii*cle of money and products, and pi-o- 
 ducts and money is the labyrinth, the glen or the den 
 wher{^ labor is robbed and Adventurers get rich. 
 
148 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 besides, the great bulk of wealth the}' derive b\' 
 interest, rents and foreclosures. If all the trades 
 were working in one room and uuder one leader, 
 appointed by the Federation of Trades, the}^ would 
 soon discover this very important fact, and at once 
 set about to abolish the wage-system altogether. 
 Tlie}^ would devise plans for exchanging pro- 
 ducts mutually, without passing them through the 
 toll-gate of money. But, separated as they are, the 
 complication of exchanges obscures this fact. 
 Shoemakers, of course, do not go to market and 
 purchase back the shoes they made, but buy 
 every other article that their comrades, in other 
 trades, made, and these comrades come to buy all 
 the shoes yim made. Now, to continue the illus 
 tration, suppose all of you get dissatisfied with the 
 one dollar a day wages, demand two dollars and 
 strike to obtain it. How will it be then? Leaving 
 aside any personal animosities, and assuming that 
 the boss Adventurer is willing to do what is right, 
 the question would be confined to one or the 
 other alternative, viz : either he has the two doll- 
 ars to give, or not. If not, then the contest is at 
 an end. You may continue your strike forever, the 
 double money wages will never come. Striking 
 does not make the money. If, on the contrar^^ he 
 has the two dollars to give, and pa3^s it to you, will 
 he not be obliged to double the price of your pro- 
 
Labor Jlorcnieni. 
 
 141) 
 
 ducts at t]u3 same time? and therefore will lie not 
 realize the same profits out of you ? Wlio is it 
 that would have to pay that higher pi'iee ljut 
 yourselves when 3^ou purc^hase back youi* goods? 
 Accordingly, if the Adventurer had it, he could })ay 
 each of you ten, twenty a,nd any number of dol- 
 lars per day, and 3^ou would remain as poor as at 
 one dollar. The fatal mistake you make is in be- 
 lieving that money constitutes your wages. AVhat 
 you make is your wages, and it is to what you 
 make that you should learn to hold and to exchange^ 
 among yourselves l)y co-operation. Money is but a 
 deceitful mirage to allure you to ruin. 
 
 There is another point of the utmost importance 
 in this wages question. It is that ^ the more mon- 
 ey you demand for your work, the fewer men can 
 be employed, and consequent!}^ tlie less products 
 there will be in the colou}^ to consume.' Thus the 
 higher the money wages, the poorer will be the 
 whole colony. Let us illustrate this other truth. 
 Suppose the colony was but one large family, and 
 that all the money we had in it was but $1,000. 
 At one dollar per day wages, we could employ 1000 
 men oneda3\ In the evening we would have the 
 products of 1000 men among us. If the next day 
 the boys strike and demand two dollars per day, 
 we will only be able to employ 500 men, ai\d in the 
 evening would only have half the product to devide. 
 
150 
 
 Laho)- Jforcincnt. 
 
 Millions of persons are out of employment now from 
 lack of money to em pi 03^ them. More would cer- 
 tainl}' have to be dlschai'ged, if it sliould take more 
 money to employ those occupied. It is plain to 
 see, if w^e will only turn our attention to it, that 
 money is neither the wages of labor, nor the meas- 
 ure of labor and its products, noi', finally, the wel- 
 fare of the people. If we count on money, wait 
 for mone^N measure things by mone}', depend on 
 money, we will always be led tn the very opposite 
 of where we desire to go. Take the word price, 
 for instance, which is entirely measured by money. 
 Low prices mean ' abundance,' high prices mean 
 ' scarcity ' of anything, l^ow should we not prefer 
 abundance to scarcity ? Yet strange, we all desire 
 high prices, believing that they would make us 
 richer ! Even our Governor works to obtain high 
 [)i'ices, putting a tariff on foreign goods, in order to 
 maintain such prices for goods we make at home. 
 And high wages, in money, is the primar}^ cause of 
 high prices." 
 
 In conclusion, we said to our shoemaker friend : 
 The only way by which you shoemakers can be 
 benefitted by high wages would be b^Mvceping down 
 the wages of every other trade. Thus, when you 
 demand, in your declaration of principles, higher 
 wa^es fi)r vourselves, be sure and demand, at the 
 same time, that the wages of all other trades be 
 
L((h()r yfo roue ill . 
 
 kept low ; for, if the wagers of all other trades, es- 
 peciall}' of fai'iiu^rs, be raised sinudtaiieous] y. no 
 one will l)e benefitted by the operation. The cost 
 of living would go up. as wages w^ould i-ise. We 
 thei-efort\ rtqjeat, that if the battle of labor is to be 
 fought upon the line of higher money wages, 
 and higli priees for produets, our doom is ahnnid}^ 
 sealed. Workingmeu must learn to res[)eet 
 themselves, and value their own })r()duets 
 above au}^ amount of money. They must 
 value a saek of flour for the food that it eontains, 
 and not for the dollars that they may get for it. 
 Let them ever remember that the Adventurer, who 
 gives dollars for the flour, expeets always to get, 
 mostly from workingmen, more dollai's baek. So 
 hold to your products, and learn to exchange them 
 without money." 
 
 Our arguments with the shoemaker were not al- 
 together lost, as he was the means, through whom 
 we had several invitations to lecture before Trades 
 Unions, and it appeared to us that interest in our 
 views was gaining ground very I'apidly. 
 
CELEBRATED MEN. 
 
 Social movenieiits will alwaA^s bring to the surface 
 men of talent, wlio otherwise woukl have gone to 
 their grave in ol)securitv. As soon as tlie Labor 
 Movement assumed impoi-tance. eloquent speakers 
 and writers of eminence took up the cause. We 
 listened attentively to their speeches, and read 
 eao^erh^ their publications, expecting that some one 
 woukl discover the rock against which the industry 
 and commerce of the coh)ny were wrecked, viz; 
 the legal tender decree. 
 
 Among these eminent wi-iters towered Henry 
 George and Edward Bel him i. But Henry George 
 stranded upon the hobby that private ownership 
 of huid " was the cause of all the ills the colou}^ 
 was suffering under, not considering that landlord- 
 ism was itself but one of the effects of the immense 
 })ower conferr-ed upon gold by the legal terider de- 
 cree ; that the former owners of land had lost it, 
 eitlun- to obtain gold, or because of a failure to 
 obtain it. Mr. George must have heard many 
 times, as we did. colonists c(miplain that they 
 were land poor," for the taxes and mortgages on 
 
Jjibor Moveuicnt. 
 
 tlie same, were dragging" them down into })Overty. 
 He surel}' never heard a man (^omphviii tliat h(^ 
 was money pooi-/' for that was tlie (^lenient whicli 
 controlled everything. Mr. (ieorg(^ must hav(^ seen 
 the colony pass through many mom^v panics, that 
 is. the whole colony in trouble and distress because 
 of inability to find money. He surely never wit- 
 nessed a land panic. He must have seen, in times 
 of tlu^se mou(\v panics, men imploring creditors to 
 acce[)t land, at the valuc^ it was estimated at the 
 tim(^ the mortgage was given, and, upon refusal of 
 the creditor to accept the offer, lose three times that 
 value. Mr. George must have noticed the price of 
 land go u}), when money was plentiful, and go down, 
 when scarce, independently of all intrinsic value ot 
 the land itself. In conclusion Mr. George should 
 have seen that the land owner was always in sub 
 jection to the mom^v holdei*, and in millions of 
 cases, was ca|)tured and reductnl to poverty by said 
 money holder, but never did a land holder l)ring 
 into his subjection a money holder. 
 
 Xot withstanding these universal facts before him, 
 Henry George advocated a remedy, which, if adop- 
 ted, would have crushed the last spark of pros])er- 
 ity out of the woi'king classes. He advocated 
 taxing the value ot the land, to comjx'l its suri'en- 
 xler to th(^ Governor, tlu'n rcMit it to those who had 
 the most money. H' we had been an Adv(Miturei\ 
 
154 
 
 Lahor Movenioii. 
 
 we would have accepted Henry George's doctrine 
 at once. Workingmen would not then have had 
 the ghost of a chance for a home. All their sav- 
 ings put in a lot, and the modest home built on it, 
 would be swept away, without compensation, by a 
 rise of value, and consequent high taxes, caused by 
 the palaces built on adjoining lots. AH men of 
 small means would have been dogs in the manger,'* 
 and driven away b}^ more fortunate Adventurers. 
 Mr. George, we believe, never stopped to ponder 
 over the meaning of those two words value " and 
 " tax.'' 
 
 On board a sailing vessel, wliere passengers have 
 paid for their boai'd, bread has no money value. 
 During a protracted calm, passengers may be lim- 
 ited to half and quarter rations ; yet bread would 
 continue valueless. But if the commander should 
 post up, bread for sale," the value of it would, at 
 once, rise beyond the reach of the p^or. Yet many 
 of these may have mone}^ enough to obtain a few 
 loaves. I^ow if Henry George should persuade 
 the commander to lev}^ a tax on the ' value ' of 
 bread, in order to compel its surrender, would it 
 not compel the poor, who have no more money to 
 pay the high tax, to give up the last loaf the}' have 
 in reserve? Only those who have mone}^ enough 
 to buy the bread, and pay the tax also, could ex- 
 pect to live on that vessel. A tax is no equalizer 
 
Labor Movcmeni. 
 
 155 
 
 of fortunes. It is a burden on the poor. Away 
 witli mone}^ value " and extra tax(\s/' They 
 are one a deception, the otlier an o})[)ressi()n. 
 Neither can raise tlie condition of tlie human race 
 in health, wealth, prosperity noi- happiness. In 
 his ' Social Problems ' Mr. (jreorge says that the 
 ideal social state is that, in which each gets in pi'O 
 portion to his contributions to the general stock.'' 
 Hail this truth. Hold to it Mi*. George, and do 
 not be mislead b}^ abstractions, such as value," or 
 absorptions like a tax. 
 
 Edward Bel lam i wove an attractive story, in 
 pleasing language and pictures a socialistic j[)aradise, 
 to which the working classes would attain after a 
 few generations had passed away. The ways and 
 means to that paradise he fails to point, except that 
 he painti> the road to it as passing through a social 
 forest of midnight gloom, a total subjugation of 
 all < he industries by a despotic universal trust, made 
 up of a small hierarchy of unfeeling idlers, in pos- 
 ession of all the sources of production, avenues 
 of distribution and social intercourse. He is em- 
 phatic in impressing the living generation w^ith 
 the hopelessness of attempting to resist the onwai-d 
 march of the advancing car of Juggernaut, Avhich 
 he pi'esents as a fatal cataclysm in the very nature 
 of industrial progress. 
 
 Yet in the face of this darkest of all periods in 
 
156 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 liuman histor}^, Bellami endeavors to cheer us. 
 under tlie crushing wheels, b}- the hope of a brightei* 
 da}" in store for our great grand children. Religion 
 preaches submission to wrongs, but, as compensa- 
 tion, offers a paradise immediately after death. 
 Bellami inculcates the same submission, without 
 hope of reward to us, nor to our children. Moses 
 saw, at least, the promised land at a distance. Bel- 
 lami shows us ours on the canvass of an imagina- 
 ination, blurred by despair. If Bellami had built 
 his Social Eden " in the moon, and enjoined on 
 the living to never attempt the building of ladder 
 or balloon, wherewith to reach it ; but, on the con- 
 trary, to suffer oppression with resignation, to 
 the end of our da3"s, and teach our children to im- 
 itate our examples, without hope, to the end of 
 their <iays, until in the course of human pro- 
 gress, said Eden " should fall upon their children 
 of its own gravity, he would have done the strug- 
 gling masses about as much good, ^^ay, if Bel- 
 lami's station in life is, as he presents it in his book, 
 on top of the social coach with the oppressors 
 of labor, and his intention is to put a quietus to 
 the already threatening, and ever growing agita- 
 tion among the masses, who pull at the rope, he could 
 not have selected a better method of destroying 
 their hope. 
 
 It may be ''in the nature of progress " that the 
 
Lffhor Morciiicnf. 
 
 producMM's of all couiforts shall lu'vcn* enjoy any, 
 and that an idU^ class may sul)ju<>atr all indusli-ial 
 classes, as priests and warriors have (h)n(^ in tlie 
 past, but it is not * in the nature of man / esjxH'ial- 
 ly civilized man, to suffer wrongs without resent- 
 ment. Hence it is also in the nature of things" 
 that as op{)ressi()n becomes heavier, resistance w^ill 
 increase, until the irrepressible conliict comes and 
 the strongest will survive. Mr. Bel lam i has done 
 liowever much good. He has awakened a deej) senti- 
 ment to possibilities in the human race. He luis 
 given direction to the incoherent aspirations of the 
 poor. But so unsatisfactory is his solution of tln^. 
 labor problem thi'ough inertia, that believers in his 
 paradise are already organizing for active opei-ation 
 to attain it. 
 
PUBLIC MEETING. 
 
 At a public meeting of workingmen, to which we 
 had a special invitation to speak, we held the fol- 
 lowing talk : • . 
 Workingmen and women of all callings : 
 
 Let us reason the condition of labor together in 
 a calm, dispassionate manner. And first let us ask 
 you: is it not true that you can do as much work in 
 a day and pi-oduce as much of anything, whether 
 you are paid ten dollars, one dollar or no mone}' at 
 all ? Is it not true that your ability, your skill 
 and your physical and mental strength is within 
 yourselves, and not (Uitside in lumps of gold, or 
 slips of paper, with which men claim to pay you ? 
 Frienrls, all the wealth we see to-day in the world 
 has been [)i*oduced by working men and women, 
 devoting time and energy at it, and not b}^ so much 
 money. Who knows, or cares to know now, how 
 much money, or what pay, those men and women 
 got for bringing the wealth of the world into ex- 
 istence? AVhen we find that those who created 
 tliis wealth are paying rent in tenement house^, on 
 tlie outskirts of cities, and in desolate houses 
 
 (158) 
 
Labor Morcmcnf. 
 
 159 
 
 throughout th<^. country, while, those who in (rely 
 ordered that wealth pi-odueed and claim to luive 
 paid for it, are living in pahices and enjoying the 
 comforts and luxuries of civilization, in possession 
 of both the wealth and the i)ay, we cannot hut 
 infer that the workers must liave received little 
 pay and a very treacherous pay, for, by it, they 
 have lost all the fruits of theii* toil. 
 
 From such grave facts, we deduce, that the lirst 
 move chat labor s;i )iild m ikj, tjvvar.ls its liberatio:), 
 should not be to have that pay or wages increased, 
 because, as we stated, it cannot increase neither 
 your ability to work nor the })roducts thereof, but 
 abolish that pay, or wage system, altogether. If 
 this pay was abolished, it would cut otf the specu- 
 lator altogether, and leave the workei's in full 
 possession of ail the wealtli they produce. Can 
 this be done? Of course it can. If, as we said, 
 Laboi- can perform as niuch in a stated time, 
 whether paid in moneys or not, it proves that money 
 has nothing to do with the work. Hence if labor 
 cuts off the money pay, in so far as the wages sys- 
 tem is concerned, and, with it, all the claims of 
 Adventurers to the fruits of your work, will be cut 
 off also, and the threatening Laboi- and Capital 
 question would be settled without a contest. If 
 workers had suppressed that pay, say ten yeais 
 ago, they would now be in possession of all that 
 
160 
 
 Labor JforciHoit. 
 
 remains of the productions of the last ten years. 
 Cast a ghince over the colony and see the vol- 
 ume of wealth which has been produced the last 
 decade, the food the clothes, the improvements, 
 owns, and palaces in cities, see the railroads, fac- 
 tories, etc., behold what mighty things you did the 
 last ten years, then tell us, whether you would be 
 paying rent in uncomfortable dwellings, the work 
 of your own hands, in inferior parts of cities and 
 towns, if you had been wise to hold that wealth 
 in your possession? S(mie of you nuiy think that 
 labor had to live, and was so poor, tliat it had to 
 aec.^.pt wa^es, and with the wages, it lost all the re- 
 mains of his products over and above a mere sub- 
 sistence. Well, let us consider this point. Did 
 not labor raise and prepare all the food, make all 
 the clothes, and everything else, which was consum 
 ed to support life the last ten years? Consequent- 
 ly, did not labor support itself (and Adventurers 
 too), while making permanent improvements. 
 When we say ' labor' we mean the workers in all 
 departments of industry and commerce. Of course 
 each trade by itself, separated from all others, can- 
 not declare its independence; but half a dozen 
 trades, forming a Union or Federation, can bid adieu 
 forever to Adveriturers and their pay. These Ad- 
 venturers, with their money, owing to the worship 
 of that nu)ney by the colonists, stand between the 
 
L(tJ}<)r Movement. 
 
 1()1 
 
 various industries, keep tliein from exeliaiiging 
 goods and. services among themselves and get pos- 
 session of the permanent " product. Advent- 
 urers knoW' , that the day when labor will thus co- 
 operate, their occupation will go with the lost ai'ts. 
 
 This is what labor sliould organize for, viz., to 
 remove tlie power of money from between the dif- 
 ferent industries and allow them to come to a har- 
 monious and t^quitable interchange. Labor should 
 tiank this baneful power of money, drive the Ad- 
 ventures from their first entrenchment, the wage 
 system, and force them to move their artillery and 
 munitions to their second range, the markets. On 
 these markets the Adventurers capture the products 
 of that other class of workers, who sell what they 
 produce, after they have finished it for use, such as 
 farmers and manufacturers. When these products 
 are brought to market, they are entirely at the 
 mercy of the money power. This power fixes what 
 is called the price, " and producers are forced to 
 take it. 
 
 Again, like the wages i)ay. this ^' price " pay has 
 nothing to do with the quantity, quality and use- 
 fulness of the goods. Nor has it anything to do 
 with the relative value of such goods among them- 
 selves. Suppose, for instance, a miller brings to 
 market a sack of fiour, and the money power fixes 
 the price of it at S2.00, and a hatter brings a liat, 
 
162 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 which the same power marks also at $2.00. Does 
 that fixing and marking of price show the value of 
 the flour or the hat? ISTot a bit of it. It only 
 show^s what the money power will give for those 
 articles. True values and human wants are not 
 considered at all. The flour may have cost twice as 
 much labor to produce as the hat. The farmer and 
 miller may be losing b}^ selling at that price," 
 while the hatter ma}^ be making a fortune at his. 
 
 The value of merchandize should be made up of 
 the " labor bestowed upon it, and not out of the 
 whims, caprices, or even wants of a man or a few 
 men, who happen to have money. Yet, alas, this is 
 universally the case. Miller and hatter bring their 
 produce to market. A thousand men on the same 
 market may be hungry and hatless. They and 
 their wants have no bearing upon the price " of 
 flour and hats. A man of money has all the floui' 
 he wants, but needs a hat. So, at the bidding of 
 this one man, flour will be a drug," and hats in 
 demand. They tell us that supply and demand 
 regulate prices." It is a delusion. The quantity 
 of money regulates prices. 
 
 Supply and demand have long since ceased to 
 rule markets. 
 
 The co-operation of producers, and the adoption 
 of some equitable plan of exchange, to avoid forc- 
 ing their productions through money, would drive 
 
L<<J)()i' J\[<)V( mcnt. 
 
 this power from its second eiitreiicliinent, the mark- 
 et, and contiiie its devastations to interest and rent. 
 Again as we will endea vor to demonstrate, it is in tlu^ 
 power of labor to cnt off these two exhausters also, 
 b}^ ceasing- to borrow money, and building its own 
 homes. Thus will end the woi'st tyrant that the hu- 
 man race ever suffered under." 
 
 When we thought we had done, a gentleman in 
 the crowd arose and I tell you. sir, what ruins 
 the working classes," he said. And what is it, 
 friend?" we asked. ''It is 'extravagance," he 
 promptly replied, and continued : The}^ are try- 
 ing to ape after the rich, when they cannot afford 
 it. I know mechanics, whose wages do not exceed 
 ten dollars per week, having lace curtains to theii' 
 parlor windows, and Brussels carpets on the floor. 
 Then their wives and daughters come out on 
 Sunda}' in silk dresses, and, if you visit them, they 
 have cakes, pies and lots of delicacies on their 
 table. Some of them have organs, and some even 
 pianos, on which the girls bang all evening long, 
 and talk ' college talk ' to young men. How can 
 mechanics pay rent on a respectable house and keep 
 up such extravagant families out of ten dollars a 
 week wages? He can't do it " he concluded. We 
 replied to the gentleman by asking him another 
 (pK^stion. ''What is your occupation, sir, if it is 
 not improper?" '' I am employed in the furniture 
 
164 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 factoiy," he answered. " And you blauie work- 
 ingmen for buying furniture do 3^ou?'' We again 
 asked liim. If the}^ do stop buying, friend, 
 you will not be employed long. What fur- 
 niture the rich would need could soon be supplied, 
 then the market for it would end and the factor}^ 
 close. Do you not know that it is the efforts of the 
 working classes to live, dress and furnish their 
 houses as civilized persons should do, that keeps 
 three-fourths of the workers employed?" Do you 
 not know that if, of a sudden, they were to lose all 
 self-respect and affection for their families, stop 
 dressing them respectfully, furnishing their homes 
 attractively, cheering them with music and sending 
 their children to college, or, in a word, stop what 
 you call extravagance, do you not know, we say, 
 that the whole fabric of our boasted civilization 
 would crumble into ruins? True, if only one, or 
 very few, of the working men were to turn misers, 
 ''they" would get rich, but their wealth would come 
 from the ruin of others. If a furniture maker, like 
 you, would stop buying fine clothes, lace curtains. 
 Brussels carpets, and pianos, he will of course, save 
 all these expenses, but will he not stop the making 
 of all these articles to that extent? And how will 
 then the workingmen in those industries be able to 
 purchase furniture from him ? Let us tell you, 
 friend, that, if you try to better the condition of 
 
Labor Jlorciucni. 
 
 the working classes l)y the way of '^economy,'' tliat 
 is, by ck)sing out tlie market, for what the}^ produce, 
 you will drive tlieui speedily into amass of misery. 
 Let Adventurers advocate such doctrine. They 
 are the ones to profit by it, I)ecause, wlien labor is 
 driveu out of employment by such policy, they will 
 be able to hire them cheaper. But let no su(^h 
 doctrine enter the braiu of the workers. 
 
 The gentleman confessed that he had not looked 
 at the question in that light, and seemed repentant. 
 
 Again a rather poorly clad workman arose, and 
 
 wdiat can we do, when we have nothing but our 
 labor to sell, and no one to buy it but Adventu- 
 rers?" he asked. We replied by enumerating tlie 
 resources in the control of labor. 
 
 1st. You wield the grandest power on earth, 
 compared to which mountains of gold and money 
 avail nothing. We mean the power to produce 
 wealth. Without it the human race would perish. 
 
 2d. You have it in your power, jointh^, to make 
 or unmake the prosperity of a city, town, railroad, 
 mine, factory or commercial house. ]N"one of these 
 can live if you withdraw from them. 
 
 3d. You possess 3^et vast material resources and 
 means for production, especially iuthehandsof the 
 agricultural class, who are the foundation of all 
 production. 
 
 4th. You hold a complete ascendency over 
 
166 
 
 Labor 3Tovem('nt. 
 
 money and capital. The power of mone}^ will 
 only last as long as you choose to surrender labor 
 and services to it. Capitalists would never buy a 
 piece of land or lot, build a house or factory noi- 
 open a mine, if assured, before hand, that you 
 would not cultivate the land, rent the house, run 
 the factory nor work the mine. It is upon you 
 that capitalists speculate and not upon land, mines, 
 factories or any material object. 
 
 5th. In addition to the above enumerated powers, 
 you have within yourselves the all-important one, 
 though 3^ou are not yet conscious of it, viz : the 
 power to nuike your own mone^^" Let us illus- 
 trate. 
 
 Imagine a small tow^n, of three or four thousand 
 inhabitants, favorably located as to fuel, water, 
 soil and transportation facilities, should, of a sud- 
 den, receive a loan of, say, one hundred millions of 
 dollars, for the term of ten years, on condition that 
 the whole of that sum should be expended in im- 
 proving the town and its surroundings, each citizen 
 receiving a proportionate share of the loan. What 
 would be the result? The value of real estate 
 therein would, at once, rise ; labor would all be 
 set to work at remunerative wages, (we speak here 
 from the standpoint of the people, as wrapt in their 
 money prejudices), improvements spring up in all 
 (Hrections, magnifictMit buildings, vast manufac- 
 
Ldbor Morciiicni. 
 
 ](>7 
 
 turing plants, coininodious residences, broad streets 
 lined witli shade tre(\s, public parks and fountains 
 would rise as by enchantment. The *' boom 
 would fill the pages of the press. Railroads would 
 direct tlieir lines to the live town ; farmers, fai* and 
 near, would send their products therein. The 
 small town would, in a short period, assume the 
 proportions of a metropolis, with theaters, opera 
 houses, street cars, cable lines, schools, colleges, 
 cathedrals, merchants exchange, clearing houses, 
 etc. 
 
 Now let us consider the financial aspect of that 
 phenomenon, under various conditions. 
 
 1st. If said money had been loaned at ten per 
 cent interest per annum, at the expiration of thv- 
 ten years, the original sum w^ould all have gonc^ 
 back to the lender in interest, Money in the city 
 would be extremely scarce, business stagnant, im- 
 provements stopped, labor unemployed, and the 
 value of real estate extremely h)w, yet no sales ; 
 merchants and manufacturers would fail, and, 
 when doom's day had come, that is, when the day 
 of paying the principal had arrived, the city would 
 have to be surrendered to the capitalist, who loaned 
 the money. All loans of money at interest will 
 return to the lender and carry all the improve- 
 ments, accomplished through the loan, to him, 
 leaving labor destitute. The time required to ac- 
 
IBS 
 
 Labor 3[ovemmt. 
 
 coniplish this feat is determined by the rate of 
 interest. Accordingly, at the end of ten years, the 
 city, whicli a short period before was full of life 
 and activity, and its inhabitants prosperous and 
 liapp3% would be a desolation, and its people charg- 
 ed with the crimes of overproduction and extrav- 
 agance. 
 
 2d. If said money had been lent free of inter- 
 est,'' at the expiration of the ten years, the 
 builders of the city would i-emain the possessors 
 thereof, but the withdrawal of so large a sum of 
 mone}', would paralize all industries and commerce, 
 cause hard times, sink all values, and, to a great 
 extent, depopulate the city. 
 
 3d case. If said money had been loaned " free of 
 interest," but, at the expiration of ten years, was 
 discovered to be spurious or counterfeit arid conse- 
 quenth^ (believed to be) worthless, it would not in 
 the least change tlie past progress and prosperit}^ of 
 the city, but its disappearance h^om circulation 
 would stagnate all business, lower values of mer- 
 chandise and real estate as much as if genuine gold 
 and silver, but withdrawn by loaners. 
 
 4:th case. If said money was found, at any time, 
 to be counterfeit or spurious, yet kept in circula- 
 tion without interest, and the people, within and 
 without the city, would continue to receive it at 
 par, (as the benighted comparison witli gold is 
 
Labor Morenicnt. 
 
 expressed), for products and services, it would 
 prove a nu»st beneficent money, and l]ence a great 
 boon to workingmen, because, the profits of Adven- 
 turers being thus eliminated, all the fruits and 
 benefits of labor would remain in the hands of the 
 producers, which is the highest possible rate of 
 wages attainable. 
 
 By this illustration we do not wish to be misun- 
 derstood as advocating counterfeit money. We 
 aim to prove the important truth, that whatever 
 thing, metalic or paper, genuine or spurious, which 
 Labor will receive, is good money, and whatever 
 thing, gold or diamond, which Labor will refuse, is 
 worthless money." 
 
 It is thus evident that Laboi* is master of the 
 situation, viz : has ample resources to build upon, 
 can make its own money, become its own capital- 
 ist and self employer and thus rise out of all the 
 evils of which it is complaining. To realize this 
 desideratum, requires a co-operative association, 
 embracing a sufficient number of workers of vari- 
 ous necessary trades and occupations, so as to afford 
 one another employment and support. 
 
 CONSOLIDATION. 
 
 While the agricultural wing of the Labor move- 
 ment was contending against the monstei* monopo- 
 lies of tiie day, endeavoring to check theii- 
 
170 
 
 Labor Movemeyit. 
 
 aggressions by legislation, the mining, manufactur- 
 ing and building wing entered into a series of 
 ruinous strikes against their emplo^^ers for higher 
 wages, which resulted in a great loss, not ouly 
 to themselves, but to merchants and farmers also, 
 by the stoppage of business, and had consequently 
 a tendency to alienate thetwo great departments of 
 production, whose union is absolutely necessar}^ to 
 success. 
 
 Finally the strikes began to slacken from ex- 
 haustion of funds, and with them, relaxed the 
 animus of Labor associations. Meantime the 
 farmers had made no perceptible progress towards 
 checking the growth and exactions of monopolies. 
 Both wings, becoming conscious of their respective 
 weakness separately, began to unite their forces 
 and these united forces moved, at first, in the di- 
 rection of legislation, clamoring for the repeal of 
 several acts, to which they attributed the pernicious 
 division of society into extremely rich and ex- 
 tremely poor. Their declarations " of principles 
 and ''demands," however, were vague, full of glit- 
 tering generalities and harmless moralities ; hence 
 easily misinterpreted and evaded by the parties in 
 power. Years passed in this polemical contest, 
 and, during these years, monopolies continued to 
 rise in power and producers sink deeper into trouble. 
 At last the largest of labor organizations consoli- 
 
Labor Moremenl. 
 
 171 
 
 dated tlieir aims. The final result of this was 
 the appointment of a committee of experts to make 
 a broad and impartial investigation into the " Labor 
 and Capital prol^lem, and accompany their report 
 with suggestions for combined action. 
 
 We give the ct^mmittee's report and suggestions 
 in full. 
 
REPORT OF GENERAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 SURVEY OF THE FIELD. 
 
 The XIX century will be characterized in history 
 as the period of Labor Organizations. We may firid 
 in antiquity instances of workingmen participating 
 in social affairs, as such, but no trace can be found 
 of a movement, on a notable scale, which had any 
 resemblance to modern labor associations, or con- 
 tained any of the elements and aspirations of the 
 same. 
 
 Social movements are the result of surrounding- 
 circumstances ; and the circumstances, which, in 
 our time, compel labor to associate, did not exist in 
 former ages. Here are the circumstances : 
 
 1st. The minute division of emplo^^ments, which 
 intensifies the necessity for rapid exchanges, and 
 renders each worker entirely dependent upon a 
 large number of other industries, both for materi- 
 als to work upon, and personal support. 
 
 2d. The wonderful progress of mechanical in- 
 ventions, for rapid production and transportation 
 which turns a multitude of workers out of em- 
 
 (172) 
 
Ldhor Morcmetd. 
 
 ployiiieiit and kindle a hot competition for })lae(\ 
 causing depression of wages. 
 
 3d. The accumulation of wealth in th(^ hands of 
 a few powerful corporations, organized for tiie 
 sole purpose of realizing profits in money, an 
 object wliich, to better attain, re([uii*es, as one of 
 the means, the pressure of wages down to a mini- 
 mum, and the raising of the price of their products 
 and services up to a maximum. Crushed between 
 these two millstones Labor is forced to seek refuge 
 in Association. 
 
 4th. A limited and monopolized legal tender 
 money, which, by insufficiency, leaves a large 
 volume of industries and exchangeable commodi- 
 ties in a state of paralysis, forces millions of men 
 and women out of emplo^^ment, in destitution and 
 want, and still furthei- intensifies the competition 
 for work, and consequent downfall of wages. 
 
 In addition to the above main causes of labor 
 associations, there is another circumstance which 
 facilitates the movement. This is great modern en 
 terprises concentrating under one management 
 large masses of workers, who, like soldiei-s in the 
 same army, feel a similarity of interests and aspi- 
 rations, fuse their grievances, and thus open the 
 way for association and concerted action. 
 
 When we take into consideration the above sur- 
 roundings and conditions, it becomes easy to com- 
 
174 
 
 Labor DIovement. 
 
 prehend the drift of modern labor organizations, 
 and to infer tlie object to which, of necessit}^, all of 
 them are tending. 
 
 Some writers on The Labor Movement," con- 
 fonnd modern labor organizations with conimnnistic 
 associations. These two phenomena have nothing 
 in common. Commnnism is the outcome of reli- 
 gious, especially Christian, sentimentalism, while 
 modern labor associations are the outcome of 
 economical pressure, caused by lack of emploj^ment 
 and low wages. Communism originated in the 
 sentiment of brotherhood, inspired by religious 
 doctrines ; it draws its devotees from rich and poor 
 alike; while labor associations draw from poor 
 alone, and, at tirst, form unions composed of but 
 one single trade or avocation. Communism ex- 
 tends the hand of brother-hood to all nationalities, 
 being essentialh' catholic in principle; while labor 
 associations are preeminently exclusive, and oppose 
 foreign pauper labor. The foundation of commun- 
 ism is laid in ethics, and its aspirations are, not 
 the acquisition of wealth, but peace and good will 
 towards one another on earth ; while the basis of 
 labor associations is laid in economy, and their as- 
 pirations are permanent employment, high mone}^ 
 wages and reduced hours of dail}^ toil. Commun- 
 ism never laid a claim on outsiders, capitalists, 
 employers or rulers, and, during centuries of ex- 
 
Labor 3T(>V('men1. 
 
 175 
 
 iritence, never had a strike ; wliile all the claims 
 and demands " of hibor associations are on out- 
 siders, capitalists, employers and governments, and, 
 during the short period of their existence, had 
 thousands of sti'ikes and parties in th(^ ])()litical 
 arena. Tlie mere fact that some nK^m])ers of' 
 labor associations are imbued with communistic 
 principles, and that communists sympathize with 
 the labor movement, does not prove that these two 
 social phenomena are identical or even paniUel. 
 Again, as the four main circumstances winch caused 
 labor to associate, exist and arealike in all civilized 
 countries, and under* all forms of political and 
 civil institutions, and religious creeds, it should be 
 proof sufficient that, if political institutions, or 
 religions, have any bearing upon the phenomenon, 
 it must be due to such institutions and creeds, 
 which are alike under all governments and religions. 
 This is the monetar}^ system alone. All civilized 
 nations have the same monetary system, and the 
 subjects and citizens of these nations believe alike 
 in the supernatural efficac}^ of money. This origi- 
 nated in the orient, followed the industries west 
 ward, as wolves follow the migration of buffaloes. 
 Like wolves, it lives by depredation, and is equally 
 protected and fostered by all governments, from 
 despotism to republics. Regarding laboi- associa- 
 tions, governments are generally [)assive, and tol- 
 
176 
 
 Labor 3Torement. 
 
 erate or forbid their existence, (iccording as the}^ 
 manifest a teiulency to intei'fere with the powers 
 that be. AVe see in our colony politicians favor or 
 oppose the movement, actuated solely by the hope 
 of gaining, or the fear of losing thereby. In tlie 
 Old Countr}^, some rulers are just now turning a 
 friendly eye to them, })ecause they see the time 
 approaching when they will need the physical aid 
 of laboi'. 
 
 Yet governnuMits are generally charged as being 
 the immediate cause of Labor's condition, and those 
 who so believe, socialists and economists of the 
 school of Henry George, advocate political reform, 
 as the renuMly. 
 
 Your committee will not go to religion or poli 
 tics, will not apph^ to communism or governments, 
 for light on the question at hand ; nor will the}^ go 
 to either for the remedy, excepting for a modifica- 
 tion of monetary legislation. We shall confine our 
 researches and efforts witliin the battlefield of in- 
 dustr\% where alone the contest is raging. We do 
 not, however, den}^ the fact, that religious senti- 
 ments and political institutions could help to allay 
 existing animosities, and assist in elevating the 
 social, and even financial, status of the working 
 classes. But religion and politics, the minister and 
 legislator, could on.ly do so by coming down from 
 their spiritual and civil pinnacles, into the fields of 
 
Labor Movement. 
 
 Ill 
 
 industiT and coinineree. and liere lielp to modify 
 the relations of men, and to change tlie metliods of 
 development. 
 
 Eeturning to onr subject, and assuming that the 
 reader has well impressed upon liis mind the main 
 causes, winch concur to depi-ess labor \\\ all coun- 
 tries, as before stated, and, from these causes, he 
 has inferred the object to which labor associations 
 are tending, viz : to secure constant employment, 
 high mone}^ wages and less toil, he is now in a po- 
 sition to view the iield carefully, ponder upon the 
 situation of the })arties concerned and consider how 
 the problem at hand, which, is avo\vedly the S[)hinx 
 of this age, may be solved, with the least possible 
 harm. 
 
 Let us not fly in a fit of passion, murder some 
 hanker, bond-holder or employer, blow^ up a city or 
 upset the government. Such violent proceedings 
 would only bring destruction upon the perpetrators 
 and retard the progress, and final solution, of the 
 labor cause. No, let us maintain good will toward 
 all classes of men, and apply reason and common 
 sense to the solution of the problem. First, let us 
 exami?ie the social surroundings of labor, and see 
 whether any of tlie causes of depression, as above 
 stated, could be stopped, changed or modified. 
 
 The first of these causes is tlie division of em- 
 ployments " reducing eacli worker into dependence 
 
178 
 
 Labor Movemeyd. 
 
 oil a large number of others. Certainly we can 
 not, and should not, if we could, attempt to hinder 
 or disturb said division of employments. It is nat- 
 ural and necessary to the rapid progress of civili- 
 zation. It is in analogy with the diversity of skill, 
 taste and talent in man, and the diversity of pro- 
 ductions on the earth. It is of universal benefit. 
 Eighteen persons emplo^^ed to make one pin, ena- 
 bles them to make more pins, in a given time, than 
 eighteen thousand persons could, each making a 
 whole pin. The same applies to all other indus- 
 tries. It is only when employments are so divided, 
 when a person is repeating one and the same stroke, 
 that machinery can take his place. In regard to 
 the earth's varied products, it is only when man 
 devotes his time and energy to cultivate those crops 
 for which the soil is best adapted, or to using ma- 
 terials which give him advantages, that the best 
 results can be obtained, and labor most amply re- 
 warded. The minute division of employments 
 increases production a thousand fold. By its 
 wonderful mechanism and concatenation, it enables 
 a person, who pays but one dollar a year subscrip 
 tion on a newspaper, to set in motion a legion of 
 his fellow beings, by day and by night, on land and 
 oceans to search the globe for news, and bring them 
 to him to read at his breakfast board. Besides these 
 wonderful material achievements, this division of 
 
Labor Movemeni. 
 
 170 
 
 employments tendwS to iiiiite and harmonize, into on(^ 
 universal brotlierliood, the whole human i'ac(\ 
 lienee, we advise to not attempt to disturb this 
 order of nature and the progress of social and 
 mechanical evolution in this direction. 
 
 The second cause is ^' the progress of mechanical 
 inventions." Shall we endeavor to arrest this 
 progress ? Could Ave do it, if we desired ? It is 
 absurd to even mention the idea of checking inven- 
 tions. We might as well attempt to check the 
 liow of rivers to the ocean, or stop the earth on its 
 course. Besides, if the working classes ever expect 
 rest fi'om their toils in this world, and yet enjoy 
 the manyfold comforts they are entitled to; if they 
 ever expect their hours of labor to be reduced to 8 
 01' 6 or 4 per day, it is to machiner}^ that they 
 must look fi:>r the boon, and not to employers or the 
 government, by peremptory demands and strikes. 
 
 The third cause is "the concentration of wealth 
 in the hands of a few." What shall we do about 
 this ? Shall we gain possession of the government 
 at the polls, then force a division of the wealth of 
 nations among the people thereof? Would such 
 division bring the desired objects, viz: work, high 
 wages and less hours toil per day? Why no. 
 Undei' the monetary system, the very reverse would 
 follow. No man would be able to employ another. 
 1^0 one could run an enterprise of the least extent. 
 
180 
 
 Labor 3Iovcment. 
 
 Ass well may the stockholders of a railroad divide 
 up the same, each taking his rod or mile of it. 
 The concentration of wealth is absolutely necessary 
 ti) modern industry. It is of immense benefit. 
 Therefore it should be encouraged. Without it, 
 our magnificent enterprises could not have been 
 accomplished, nor undertaken. The productive 
 force of man is not in the individual ; it is in the 
 "voluntary," or forced " co-operation of a number 
 of individuals. Modern industrial corporations 
 'compelled' the workers to co-operate and thus made 
 possible the construction of a transcontinental rail- 
 road, the laying of a transatlantic cable, the tun- 
 nelling of the Alps, and the many other stupendous 
 achievements of our time. As an instance. Time 
 was wh^n plows were made by the village smith, 
 and crude and rude instruments they were. When 
 invention had so far advanced as to enable plows 
 to be made by machinery, but requiring the combi- 
 nation of many men and much capital, if someone 
 had]endeavored to induce the village smiths, to com- 
 bine, form a union, put their individual means and 
 work together, erect a factory and make better 
 plows, faster and easier, and thus work only 8 
 hours per day, and at better wages, probably not 
 one of them could not have been persuaded to 
 favor the enterprise. Thus invention would have 
 perished unused, and progress, in plow-making 
 
Labor Morciuoit. 1 
 
 woliiil hjue Ijeeii |)revent(M]. (^jpitalists cainc lo 
 tlie res(3iie of both invf^ntion and [)r()gr(^ss. 
 B}^ iiieaiis of men's worsliip of money, t]u\y forced 
 a number of workers to co-opoperate and nnvke 
 plows by niaeliinery. Ihil, in doir.|i, tlie^v 
 destroyed tlie business of the village sjnitlis. 
 compelled tiiem to seek employment at the 
 plow flictory, and finally form a Union, this time 
 not to build a factory of their own, but to demand 
 of their employers, higher wages, less hours work, 
 and strike to obtain their request. 
 
 Again time was, not far l)ack,when ever}^ farnu^r 
 had a scalding box and smoke house, killed arid 
 cured his own pork at home, and sold the surplus 
 to the town grocer}^ ; while ever\^ town liad its own 
 butcher shop to kill and cut all the cattle, and hogs 
 consumed as fresh meat in the town. When in- 
 vention, aided by railroads and machinery, had 
 devised methods for killing, dressing and curing 
 hogs, cattle and sheep, on a large scale, far more 
 economically and profitably, if any one had en- 
 deavored to induce farmers to combine, erect pack- 
 ing houses, and butcher their own stock, co-opera- 
 tively, not one couhl have been persuaded to invest 
 in the undertaking. Capitalists took tlie mattei'in 
 hand, built packing houses, destroyed scalding 
 boxes and smoke houses, acquired the monopoly of 
 both cattle and meat, and al)sorbed the profits of 
 
182 
 
 Labor Movemenf. 
 
 cattle raising. ^^ow, cattlemen are aroused, 
 organize Alliances, Granges and Unions, and hold 
 conventions, not however to build packing houses, 
 nor to return to the old system of butchering, but 
 to urge government to interpose in their behalf 
 and compel capitalists to relinquish the cattle mo- 
 nopoly and pay them remunerative prices. Packers 
 i-eply to their denuind by capturing local butchers 
 also, to prevent farmers from being able to control 
 tlie fresh meat market ; that is by drawing the 
 chains tighter. 
 
 What has liappened to the village smiths and 
 cattlemen, has happened to shoemakers, tailors and 
 all other trades, and is now in process among 
 nuH'chants. AVhile tliese still persist in struggling 
 against one another and rel3^ing on competition as 
 the 'life of trade,' capitalists form trusts, erect mag- 
 nificent structures in their midst, undersell them 
 in every article of merchandise, drive them to ruin 
 thi'ough this pet competition, and finalh^ will force 
 them to seek employment at the big establish- 
 ments" as clerks. Shortly these clerks will form a 
 Union and '' strike " for higher wages and night 
 rost. AV^ould these doomed merchants listen to the 
 call of co-operation, if sounded to their ears to-da}^ ? 
 We believe not, and shall not make the attempt. 
 Their time has not conie yet. They first will wait 
 for ruin, then oi*ganize for protection. 
 
Labor Morcmcni. 
 
 18:] 
 
 Behold tlie natural and iinivei\sal c()urs(^ of (lie 
 iiidustrial stream. But what will the final 
 result ? 
 
 Your couHuittee will give an answer to this im- 
 portant question by an expression of their unaiii 
 mous opinion, drawn from indications already 
 visiole upon the industrial horizon. 
 
 All these ruined multitude will finally convei'ge 
 into a general co-operative movement of theii'ow^n, 
 which, in turn, will overthrow these great mono- 
 polies and trusts, and establish liberty, interdepen- 
 dence and equity. 
 
 Thus, according to our investigation of indus- 
 trial and economical evolution, we find corporations 
 and trusts to be necessai'y evils " to forward 
 progress in the period intervening between the 
 competitive system and general voluntary co oper- 
 ation. This may properly be named thc^ 
 vulcanic " period of producti(m and distribution. 
 Monopolies will be noted in history as the most 
 powerful instruments, in the hands of Providence 
 to destroy competition, wliich is economical war- 
 fare among rational beings. Nothing is warring 
 against it with the force that they do. 
 
 Human events and social institutions present a 
 different aspect to the observer, according as he 
 plants his telescope of observation in periods pre- 
 ceding or following their advent. Institutions 
 
184 
 
 Labor ^lonnitcyd. 
 
 which look bad to us of this generation, such as 
 despotism, shivery, conquest, speculation, monopo- 
 lies and trusts, would appear quite different it we 
 coukl beliold them from ages preceeding them, and 
 will yet change aspect when looked at from ages to 
 come. Despotism was an improvement ever gen- 
 eral insecurity of life and property ; conquest was 
 often an extension of civilization, and would be a 
 boon to the populations of Africa to-day ; slavery 
 was a vei-y great advance over the slaughter of 
 prisoners; speculation has saved many people from 
 starvation, has served to make tlie populations 
 of the globe bettei* known to each othei*, and has 
 distributed wider the V)enelits of local 2>roducts, in 
 times when nothing else could have done it; and 
 now monopolies are pi'oving great instrumentalities 
 of progress and civilization, and harbingers of a 
 universal co-operative estate just daw^ning. 
 
 The fourth cause is the insufficiency of money 
 and monopoly of existing amount." Here, in this 
 money, your committee has discovei'cd the root of 
 all disorders, the cause of all social distinctions, 
 the robber of Labor, and at the same time the sole 
 power which could force co-operation, and hence 
 make possible the vast enterprises of the age, IN'o 
 other power or instrumentality could luive per- 
 formed tlie work. 
 
 Xow your committee are fully convinced that 
 
Labor Movement. 
 
 185 
 
 this same instrument, money, brouglit to a rational 
 system and applied to the service of labor, will be 
 as efFectual to establish voluntar}^ co-operation as 
 it has been, in the hands of capitalists, to force 
 such co-operation in their own behalf, and volun- 
 tary co-operation will open a new world for the 
 human race. 
 
 The incentive to association, owing to the ag- 
 gregate of a large number of workers under one 
 management, will prove a mighty auxilliary to 
 voluntary co-operation, as it will furnish all the 
 elements, moral, intellectual and physical, for its 
 immediate success. 
 
 Leaving now the outward circumstances which 
 have brought about and continue the association of 
 labor, your committee passed into the interior of 
 these labor Unions to investigate and find what 
 could be done there in their behalf. 
 
 As repeatedly stated, here the associations are 
 clamoring for three main objects, viz: permanent 
 employment, high money wages and shorter day's 
 work. Their method of obtaining these has mainly 
 been to fence each Union, or trade, against addi- 
 tions from the outside world, by ap]>rentice regula- 
 tions, and by demands, addressed indefinitely to 
 employers and governments, that rats and scabs, 
 (by whom they mean non-unionists), children 
 criminals, foreign paupers and contract labor 
 
186 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 be excluded from competing with them of the 
 Union. The only weapons used in the contest 
 liave been the strike and, lately, the bo3^cott. Shall 
 your committee assist these Unionists to build a 
 Chinese wall against rats, scabs, children, criminals 
 and foreign paupers, who togethe'r constitute the 
 mass of humanity? Alas, how can we? Leaving 
 out of the question the duty of men to one another, 
 charity, morality, justice, the golden rule, the much 
 vaunted inalienable right of every man in pursuit 
 of happiness," we would find our puny forces in front 
 of a might}^ army, led by a greater general than 
 can be found in the Union, viz: General Distress. 
 This is the dauntless leader, who, without the aid 
 of drums, fifes, patriotic harangues or any of the 
 flummery used to drown the humane sensibilities 
 and intoxicate the brain in war, arouses men to 
 fight like wild beasts, and, in the face of whom, life 
 itself is not worth preserving. It is hunger, it is 
 wife and children without bread, clothes or 
 shelter which drives men over the earth to seek 
 employment, and compels them to accept any 
 wages, high or low. Hence, we deem it not onh^ 
 vain, but positively dangerous for a Union, compos- 
 ed of but a few thousands, to raise the war cry 
 against a hungry army of millions outside of it. 
 ^^or will it avail to hold meetings, make speeches 
 and pass resolutions ordering that hungry army to 
 
Labor 3T()vemmi. 
 
 187 
 
 halt ill their quest for food and pei'isli in idleness, 
 in order that we, of the Union, may liave more 
 work and better wages. Besides, let us look a lit- 
 tle deeper into the nature of the contest, (^xiiminf^ 
 the parties involved in it and the relative position 
 of tiie outside world. In so far as to obtain em- 
 ployment is concerned, the battle is confined within 
 the ranks of each trade ; l)etween Unionists on one 
 side and non Unionists, of the same trade, on the 
 other side. Shoemakers, for instance, are not afraid 
 that brick-la^^ers will compete with them for em- 
 ployment. They fear and fight shoemakers only. 
 Nor do brick-layers fear shoemakers, but fear and 
 fight brick-layers only. The same of every other 
 trade and occupation. N'ow what have we, out- 
 siders, to do with such family qua ridels among 
 shoemakers, brick-layers and others? We have all 
 we can do to keep down, or to keep up, similar con- 
 tention in our own trade. We too have our Union, 
 our rats, scabs, children, criminals and foreign 
 paupers in battle array competing with us. So 
 much about empU)yment. But when it comes to 
 the other part of the contest, to the higher wages 
 part, the world outside the Unions becomes really 
 interested on the side of rats, scabs, children, crim- 
 inals and pauper foreign labor, who of^er them 
 cheaper service, and cheaper goods, and against the 
 Unionists, who attempt to make them pay higher 
 
188 
 
 Labor Movement. 
 
 for both services and goods. Say what we please, 
 argue as we may, the world at large will ever favor 
 tlie cheapest of everything. 'Cheap,' means easy to 
 obtain, ' dear,' means hard to get. Men prefer ease 
 to hardship. This is ingrained in human nature. 
 To this instinct are due all mechanical inventions. 
 Accordingly, in the matter of higher wages, each 
 Union of workingmen, has not onl}^ the non-un- 
 ionists of their own trade to contend against, but 
 the whole world besides. Whoever argues other- 
 wise, will belie his own arguments the moment 
 he goes to a store to purchase goods, or hires labor. 
 
 There is yet another aggravating circumstance 
 against Unionists in this mighty contest. It is 
 tha t as a general thing, they are men of small means, 
 therefore least able to stand the contest. They live 
 by daily work and cannot afford to declare war 
 against the whole world. Each Union does but 
 one thing, makes but one article that the world 
 needs, while the world makes every other thing that 
 these Unionists need. And even for that one arti- 
 cle, which the Unionists make, the world has the 
 rats, scabs and all non-unionists of the same trade, 
 to resort to, who, in number exceed largely the Un- 
 ionists. Are not these grave facts before our eyes ? 
 Is it not true that large establishments and corpo- 
 rations resort to rats and foreign labor ? Have 
 Unionists ever conquered permanently in any im- 
 
Labor Mornncnt. 
 
 189 
 
 portant conflict? Or has the public whose intere^^t, 
 as we liave demonstrated, is virtually against the 
 Unionists, ever taken an active part in their favor? 
 What unequal and hopeless struggle! Imagine a 
 few Union liatters, for instance, to threaten tlui 
 world with a strike, when, if farmers formed a 
 Union, and struck also, these hatters would inevi- 
 tably perish, while farmers could wear their old 
 hats, or feed rat hatters to make them new ones. 
 
 A few words upon the reduction of the hours of 
 labor, which is now prominently agitated, may not 
 be here amiss. This, we believe, will certainly be 
 granted by both government and emplo^^ers. The 
 government is mainly composed of an army of 
 salaried men, who desire high salaries and short 
 hours' work Hence the eight hour move will find 
 a favorable response there. Employers, on the other 
 side, can only be hurt, by the grant, on contracts at 
 hand. Regarding new contracts and new produc- 
 tion, all they want is to make the charige general, 
 so as not to subject themselves and their goods to 
 unfavorable competition. But the important ques 
 tion to labor is ' will such move be beneficial to 
 them?' We think not. The change will only 
 make production cost one-fourth more, and, as the 
 working classes are the greatest consumers, it will 
 compel them to pay one-fourth more for all they 
 use and consume, without realizing any more fi)r 
 
190 
 
 Labor Blovement. 
 
 their work.- If they were working for tliemselves, 
 the}^ would readily see this truth, Tlie}^ would se^ 
 that the less hours, the less product. Let us give 
 an illustration of the effect of the eight hour rule. 
 
 At ten hours work per day, twelve men could 
 build a house, at a cost of $1200, which would rent 
 for, say, $10 per month. On the eight hours day, 
 the same house will cost the builder $1500, and ac- 
 cordingly, must rent it at $12.50 per month. The 
 twelve mechanics have made no more mone}^ than 
 they did before, and now they, or their comrades, 
 being the renters, have to pay $2.50 more rent per 
 month, as long as the house lasts. True they rest 
 more, but rest is simihir to idleness, and leads to 
 poverty. But this is not yet all the damage re- 
 sulting from the change. Work and production 
 will progress one-fourth slower. To build said 
 house, in the same time, will require the addition 
 of three men, making fifteen. Now fifteen men 
 will do no more work than the twelve did before, 
 but consume one-fourth more of the products of 
 others, which product will also be reduced in quan- 
 tity one-fourth the former suppl3^ In regard to 
 the house, th'M*e will be fifteen men competing to 
 rent it, and every tyro in political economy knows, 
 that when demand rises, value rises too. Conse- 
 quently the twelve men will not be able to rent said 
 house even at $12.50 per nu^nth, but may have to 
 
Labor Morcincni. 
 
 191 
 
 pay owing to the competition of tlie othei- 
 
 three men. 
 
 Tlie result of the eight hour eliange will not af- 
 fect nmt alone, but every article of consum])ti()n, 
 and use produced under it. If farmers, who woi k 
 now at least twelve hours per day, couhl enjoy the 
 benefit of the reduced hours, which they cannot, 
 (the character of their work not allowing it), their 
 products would rise 50 per cent. Exportable com- 
 modities, coming in competition with foreign goods 
 could no longer be sold, and therefore theii' produc- 
 tion would cease and men discharged. 
 
 It would also arouse the animosity of farmers 
 against mechanics and other classes, who should 
 enjoy the benefit of it. Look at it as we may, we 
 see but disaster to the laboring classes in the 
 change. It w^ould be as if, of a sudden, the}^ had 
 been crippled and disabled to the extent of one- 
 fourth their former ability. 
 
 In these criticisms, your committee intends no 
 reflection on organized labor. We merely aim to 
 show the futility and hopelessness of the present 
 method of warfare and prove the necessity of 
 changing base and resorting to more promising 
 methods, if success is to be attained. 
 
 Thus your conimiti^ee comes out of this ''survey" 
 convinced that the existing industrial disorder 
 not chargeable particularly to individual men or 
 
192 
 
 Labor 3fovement. 
 
 classes. Thei-e has been no intention in any of 
 them to harm others, but all float along, as easy as 
 possible, down the social stream of life in quest of 
 health, wealth and happiness. Existing conflicts of 
 interest are due to ignorance and are intensifled b}^ 
 the period of social ev^olution through which 
 we are passing. It is the period, as we said, inter- 
 vening between the downfall of competition and 
 the advent of voluntary " co-operation. We see 
 clearly how monopolies were made necessary to put 
 in operation the wonderful inventions of this age. 
 We see what powerful agencies of progress and 
 civilization they have proven to be; and further 
 we see in them the harbingers of future harmony. 
 
 True these monopolies have been prompted by 
 the narrow and selfish object of mere lucre. True 
 they have brought destruction to thousands of in- 
 dustries of former times, and have reduced millions 
 to poverty and servitude, the latter of which is 
 much to be deplored. But, with the narrow and 
 false conception of the nature and functions of 
 money, which the}^ and the colonists held in com- 
 mon, we cannot imagine how such calamities could 
 have been averted. Inventions, as we said, made 
 the combination of large masses of workers neces- 
 sar3^ before they had been educated for concerte^l 
 action. Hence no alternative remained, except 
 either to discard inventions and continue to plod 
 
Lahor Movement. 
 
 198 
 
 along with the okl method of produetion and trans- 
 portation, which were daily becoming inadequate 
 to increasing population and wants, or "compel " 
 workmen to co-operate. Capitalists, taking advan 
 tage of the situation, "forced'' cooperation and 
 absorb3d all the banefits of it. Now the time has 
 come for reversing this order of things. Truth 
 must take the place of error and superstition, in 
 money matters, as well as in other things. Confi- 
 dence among producers themselves must take the 
 place of faith in inert metals and bankers. A 
 change of this character will render speculative co- 
 operation and monopolies superfluous, and they, 
 and the monetar}^ system, upon which they are 
 based, will pass away. Monopolies are plants of 
 rapid growth and, as such, will be short lived, 
 Labor associations, on the contrary will prove the 
 drilled army, ready to enter the new industrial era, 
 fully equipped and ready for action. Your com- 
 mittee only regrets that these associations should 
 have wasted so much valuable time and 
 means in the wrong direction. But let the past 
 bury its dead, and let us onward to the morrow of 
 a brighter day. 
 
THE REFORMATION. 
 
 In seeking for a reform of the method of pro- 
 duction and distribution of wealth now prevailing 
 your committee has not been satisfied to stop at 
 the surface of things. We first fixed upon the 
 object to be attained, then passed to the considera- 
 tion of the ways and means" to attain it. The 
 great desideratum of the working classes, and, in 
 fact, of mankind at large, materially speaking, is 
 real wealth, viz : abundance of food, clothes, a 
 home and as many of the comforts and social 
 amenities of life as possible. Through wealth 
 alone can the mental and moral standing of man 
 be elevated. Hence real wealth became our fixed 
 object. Seeing the esteem that men place upon the 
 ' value ' and ' price ' of real wealth, we devoted a 
 short time to the consideration of these two terms, 
 but soon abandoned them, as mere abstractions, 
 which neither add nor take away from the utility 
 of real wealth. They are a delusion and a snare, 
 in the hands of speculators, to acquire wealth with- 
 out equivalents. The principal object of produc- 
 tion should be for ' use,^ and not for ' sale.' Unfor- 
 
 (194) 
 
Til e Reform a i io n . 
 
 195 
 
 tuiuitely Labor has been too prone to part witli its 
 products for money ; consequently shilocks are to- 
 day in possession of the wealtli which labor shoukl, 
 of right, own. 
 
 Setting ''real wealth " as our ol)jective point, we 
 reasoned that, as such wealth originates in labor, 
 its volume must be in direct proportion to the 
 amount of labor, (not money nor laws), bestowed 
 upon its production. At an}^ place on the earth 
 and any period of human history, the larger the 
 number of persons employed in production, the 
 larger must have been the volume of wealth, and 
 ^ vice versa.* This is an axiom. From it we in- 
 ferred that the first requisite to the material eleva- 
 tion of the working classes is ' emplo^nnent.' N^ot 
 gold, silver, precious stones, wampum, mediums of 
 exchange, (especially of the sort we have), nor 
 petitions, resolutions, demands, verbose platforms, 
 high wages, high prices, strikes, boycotts, lockups, 
 single tax nor voting. All of these are empty 
 sounds, and unavailable means to the acquisition of 
 wealth. — 
 
 With wealth as our target and ' emplo^^nent ' 
 the instrumentalit}' to obtain it ; with also the 
 cheering fact that millions of idle persons and un 
 told natural resources are strewn all around us, we 
 next turned our attention to the ' ways and means ' 
 for apphing this idle labor to the dormant re- 
 
196 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 sources, which lead us into the heart of the ' mon- 
 e}^ question.' Your committee approached this 
 question with all the care due to it. We were well 
 aware of its importance to do otherwise. Accord- 
 ingly, we anal^^zed the mysterious riddle, and 
 found the word ' money ' to be composed of four 
 distinct elements, each of which performs a dis- 
 tinct function in exchange, and the confusion of 
 which elements has been, we believe, the stumbling 
 block to political economists in the solution of 
 the problem. 
 
 These four elements are : 
 
 1st. '^Medium of Exchange," which is a commo- 
 dity intervening between the exchange of other 
 commodities, when direct barter is impracticable. 
 Many articles have been used for this purpose. 
 The leading ones have been gold and silver. The 
 article most appropriate for the purpose is the one 
 which embodies in the highest degree the following 
 qiialiti3;, viz: durability, divisibility, portability, 
 most widely known and appreciated and ' sufficient' 
 in quantity to reach all exchanges. If it falls short 
 of all requirements, it becomes unfit as a medium 
 to the extent of its shortcomings, for, to that ex- 
 tent, exchanges will be paralyzed, and other articles 
 or methods will, of necessity, have to be resorted 
 to. But these supplementary articles or subsidiary 
 methods, should be independent of the original 
 
77/ r Ji< foruKffton. 1 ^ 
 
 medium, bi^cause, if iiisufliicient at one period and 
 localit}'. it will be more so in futur(^ ])eriods of in- 
 creased industry and extended commerce. The 
 theory of money redemption lias ever proved but a 
 snare, and shouhl be discarded. 
 
 2d. "Medium of Payment," viz: an article or 
 articles most suitable for the payment of debts. 
 The function of paying debts, is quite different from 
 that of a medium of exchange, and requires differ- 
 ent qualities. It should embod}^ utiliiy above all 
 things. An article of no utility to man, is not fit 
 to restore property borrowed or due. It should be 
 of equal value to the article, or articles, obtained 
 at the time the debt was contracted, viz : it should 
 be " value " paid, for " value " received ; and not, 
 as under the present law, commodity paid for com- 
 modity received. " Commodities " change value 
 with circumstances, while values do not change. 
 But, above all, it should be an article possessed, or 
 within reach, of the debtor, without causing him 
 extra sacrifices of property. 
 
 3d. "Unit of Value.'' Units of all characters 
 and for any purpose, should be mere abstract 
 names. It is the height of folly to attempt to ma- 
 terialize a unit of computation. It is a mathemat- 
 scal impossibility ; it is absurd. Legislators deceive 
 themselves in the belief that they have accomplish- 
 ed such feat in the I^nit of value. How wrong I 
 
198 
 
 Til (' Kefonnatio n . 
 
 They have indeed " fixed " b}^ law, the liumber of 
 graiiKs " of gold required to make a dollar of that 
 uietah So have they ''fixed" the number of 
 ••pounds" required to make a bushel of wheat; 
 but both these units (dollar and bushel), so filled, 
 are based on another unit of weight," and not on 
 •• value." In the case of the bushel, reason has 
 never been assumed, or legalized, that the word 
 •• bushel should imply wheat and wheat alone. In 
 the case of '• dollar " it is confined, and enforced 
 with all the rigor of which the law is capable, to 
 gold alone. This mental aberration is inexplicable. 
 ('i)nnected with it, is a still more erroneous idea, 
 viz : that legislators can fix, and have fixed the 
 ''value" of the dollar, by merely declaring how 
 many grains of gold constitute it ! Declaring that 
 '• sixty pounds " of wheat constitute a bushel " 
 of that grain, does not fix the value " of the 
 same. If it did, there would no longer be a fluc- 
 tuating wheat market. Similarly declaring that so 
 many grains of gold shall constitute a dollar, does 
 not fix the " value " of that metal. Value and 
 weight are very dissimilar things. 
 
 Your committee will adopt the word dollar 
 (significant of one average day's labor spent in the 
 production of any useful article, and not so many 
 grains of gold) as a unit for the computation of 
 values, and leave the word to mean a dollar of 
 
The U( for mat ion. 
 
 VM) 
 
 aiiytliing' wliieh may hi' under consideration. 
 
 4th. " Mon<n' of Account." Tlie Ix^st (jualilica- 
 tions for a money of account, in industi-y and com- 
 merce, are sim{)licity, accui'acy ])()rtability, (ii visi- 
 bility, durability, transferability, personal (that it 
 may be recovered b}^ owner if lost) easy recog- 
 nized, hard to countei'feit. and, above all, based 
 upon real wealtli, and not upon one single and mo 
 nopolized commodity. 
 
 Of these four elements we adopted the word 
 dollar" as "unit," as we said, and the element, or 
 'Vmethod of account " as mone^^ ; discarding the 
 other two altogether. Civilization has outgrown 
 the age of mediums " of exchange. Ninety seven 
 per cent of commerce is now effected without the 
 use of cowries, wampum, l)eads, gold, silver nor any 
 other ancient or modern trinket. Kor did we con- 
 sider it essential to adopt a medium of payment." 
 In the plan of co-operation, herein formulated, we 
 have excluded debts, as presentl}' understood, to be 
 paid in ancient " mediums. "Humanity has had too 
 severe and painful an experience under such debts. 
 The only important requisite in exchanges is a 
 "title " to the general stock of wealth. This title 
 can only be rationally issued by the recipients of 
 that wealth, which in the case of socialism, would 
 be the government. But whether issued by tlu^ 
 government or agents appointed by depositors of 
 
200 
 
 The Ecforniafion. 
 
 wealth in the general store, these titles should uo 
 longer be written on wampum, silver, gold or an}^ 
 
 medium." Such materials are too scarce and too 
 costly for the functions to be performed. Paper is 
 abundant and cheap. Hence we will have no fear 
 of falling into panics from lack of money. ^sTor 
 shall we ever part with sources of supph^, or needed 
 commodities, for ^' trinkets " wherewith to exchange 
 what remains among ourselves. W e feel convinced 
 that the days of such folly are numbered. 
 
 Your committee feel confident that, upon a care- 
 ful and thorough examination of the co-operativ(^ 
 plan herein proposed, the philosopher will find that 
 it contains the redemption of the human race from 
 the "slough of despond,'' into which the monetar}^ 
 system has plunged it. 
 
 Before we proceed to frame the co-operative sys- 
 tem which your committee has agreed to recom- 
 mend, we deem it appropriate to narrate, with some 
 amplifications, an event in the history of money, 
 which opens the way to a fuller understanding of 
 the within plan. 
 
 THE GUERNSEY MARKET HOUSE. 
 
 In the parish of St. Peter, Island of Guernsey, 
 marketing was carried on in ill-protected stalls 
 around the church square. The losses to venders 
 by rains, and the inconveniencies to buyers, made 
 
Tliv licj'onnai ion. 
 
 201 
 
 the need of a covered market lioiise keenly felt, 
 and some public s[)irited citizens took the matt(M' in 
 hand to have one built. An estimate of tlui liouse 
 required, brouglit its approximate cost ^' in money 
 to $22,000, and to raise this amount of money be- 
 came the question with the promoters of the scheme. 
 It was a question liowever of easy solution, as tliey 
 had tliousands of precedents. Tliey drew^ up a. 
 petition, setting forth the need of a market house, 
 and desiring the governor to issue " interest bear- 
 ing bonds, to be negotiated in Paris or London, 
 for the money, wdierewith to erect the building. To 
 said petition were appended tlie signatures of some 
 three hundred liouseliolders in the parish., and a 
 committee was appointed to present the same to 
 Governor De L' Isle Brock. 
 
 It happened that, while the people were money 
 worshipers; that is, believers in the omnipotence of 
 money, Gov. Brock, on the contrary . was a mone^ -in- 
 fidel ; that is, did not believe that money was able to 
 d()|the least thing. Consequently, when the commit- 
 tee presented tlie petition, superstition and science 
 came in conflict. The Governor set to work, with 
 arguments, to ]:)revent the citizens from going into 
 debt, and becoming tributar^^ to bankers in Paris or 
 London. At't(^r explaining to the committee that 
 all the money in the world could not make nor lay 
 <i brick, could not plane nor nail a plank in the 
 
202 
 
 The Reformat ion. 
 
 market house, with little effect, he finally struck 
 the right channel and reached their understanding 
 as follows : 
 
 Will you permit me," he asked the committee, 
 to plac^. before you some ver}^ simple questions?'* 
 Then continuing, have we the necessary number 
 of mechanics among us to build said house V he 
 asked. The committee replied that they had, ad- 
 ding that, owing to dull times, many workmen were 
 out of employment and would be glad of the job. 
 This reply the Governor put down on paper sum- 
 marily : "We have the men." He then asked 
 about the materials, rocks, bricks, lumber, lime and 
 sand; about tools, teams, as well as all the requi- 
 sites to maintain men and teams, while the work 
 was being executed. To all of these questions the 
 committee had to reply affirmatively, because the 
 whole was to be found in the parish. Holding then 
 the list in his hands, the Governor, with the full 
 assurance of being in the right, addressed the com- 
 mittee as follows : " Here you tell me that we have 
 within ourselves everything needed to build the 
 market house, yet you desire me to bond " you to 
 bankers in Paris or London for a material which is 
 of no manner of use in the construction of the 
 house. Strange anomaly ! " It is true," remarked 
 one of the committe, " that we have men and ma- 
 terials all, but we lack the money to pay the men, 
 
The Reformafion. 
 
 203 
 
 and buy the materials." '^Friends,'' replied the 
 Governor, "when a man gets paid for work or ma- 
 terials, it means that he has sold " and pai'ted 
 with the objects that he has been paid for. Is it 
 your intention to build a market house for bankers ? 
 If so, then you are correct in 3^our endeavor to get 
 " paid " b}^ those bankers. But, in sucli case, you 
 should not place yourselves under bondage to those 
 bankers besides. If those bankers " pay you for 
 the house and hold you in bondage also, demand- 
 ing an annual tribute, the}^ will soon have both the 
 house and the money they paid you. It will be no 
 relief to say that we make the " renters " of the 
 market stalls pay that tribute to the bankers. The 
 renters will be part of us, and will demand of their 
 customei's that tribute in higher j)rices for goods. 
 So we, jointly, will have to pay tribute in per- 
 petuity for an article, which, as I said, is not of any 
 use to us. Allow me, gentlemen, to propose a bet- 
 ter plan for building our market house, than by 
 wa}^ of money and bondage. Having, as 3 on avow, 
 men and materials among us, all that is necessary 
 to do, in the case, is to keep accounts of each man's 
 contributions in work or materials, that, in the 
 future, we ma}^ balance equitably the expenses of* 
 the building. This can best be done by means of a 
 money which lays no claims to interest nor dis- 
 counts. Instead of bonds, I will issue .^22,000, 
 
204: 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 markethouse Scripts " of differi3iit deuoiiiiiiations 
 (as money), and with these pay the men and pnr- 
 chase materials, then make these scripts receivable, 
 at par with the legal tender money of tiie reahn. 
 for the rent of the market honse stalls." The 
 committee, after some hesitation, assented to the 
 Governor's plan. Most of the citizens also agreed 
 to it. The Scripts " were issued, thi^ materials 
 procured, the men put to work (uiany ha/d been 
 long time idle), the building erected and the stalls 
 rented. The scripts circulated in the Island at par. 
 Every month's, rent reduced their quantity, and, in 
 less than ten years, they were all back in the treas- 
 ur}^ and stamped cancelled." The house had 
 been built, the contributors of work and materials 
 were now all paid with the goods they had pur- 
 chased at the market house, or, indirectly, else- 
 where, and not one cent lost to the people in inter- 
 est nor discount. 
 
 Governor De L' Isle Brock did not let this mon- 
 etary event pass into obsecurity. On the contrary, 
 he desired to impress it vividly upon the mind of 
 liis people, and stamp it in the pages of history for 
 the benefit of future generations. According^ he 
 appointed a special day to celebrate the anniversa- 
 ry of the building of the market house, and give 
 burial to the Scripts, which had performed the ex- 
 changes with equity and m)W had ceased circulating. 
 
The Ji('Jorni(ifio)i. 
 
 205 
 
 At the app >int('(l day tlie (^rowd Ix^gan early to 
 gather on thi^ })ul)]ic s(|uare in front of the market 
 house, which was f(\stooned with <;ar]ands and 
 sti'eainers and on its (ai[)ohi waved a large flag, 
 bearing, in broad gilt ](4ters. tlie motto: ''As good 
 as if built witli boi'i'owed gold.'' 
 
 At ten a. m., tiie procession formed, and, pi'ece- 
 ded b}' bands, begiui to file off tlirough the streets 
 of tlie little burg. Along the line were carried 
 standards, on wdiich were inscribed mottos like the 
 I ■■ following: ''Hail the new financial system,'' 
 '•Down with bonds and borrowing," "Adieu bank- 
 ers," '' Labor and Capital have united," Down 
 with interest," '' Money an old fraud," etc. The 
 processiori made the round of the burg, returning 
 at two p. m. Here marshals, on horseback, arran- 
 ged the crowd in a circle on the square, in the 
 center of which was erected a speakers stand and. 
 hy the stand, a Vestal fire kindled. When all was 
 ready, the band struck a national song of liberty, 
 while the Governor, accompanied by tw^o attend- 
 ants, who carried each a bundle of cancelled ;;cripts. 
 advanced, majestically, to the fire and halted. 
 Suddenly the band stopped. The (jrovernor took 
 the bundle of scripts from his attendants and, 
 holding them up to the gaze of the multitude, pro- 
 nounced the following impressive tribute : 
 
 " Well done, good and faithful servants. Wliile. 
 
206 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 living 3^011 have performed your work with equity, 
 and now departing you leave no interest-extorting 
 bC>nds nor mortgaged home behind; but, instead, you 
 open the portals to a brighter financial era. May the 
 toilers learn wisdom from this example." 
 
 He then sprinkled the bundles with perfume, 
 and, while the band was playing a dirge, laid them 
 on the fire, where they were quickly consumed, in 
 the presence of a silent, solemn, thinking mass of 
 people. 
 
 After the cremation of the scripts, the Governor, 
 though no public speaker, ascended the stand and 
 delivered the most important financial speech ever 
 delivered on eai'th before or after. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 " Fellow citizens : P^or the first time in the his- 
 tory of this island you have learned to make 3- our 
 own money. You have built your own market 
 house, without borrowing one cent, without losing 
 one cent in discount and without paying one cent 
 of interest. N'ow, when everyone, who contributed 
 w^ork or materials, has been fully paid, as attested 
 by the return of the scripts through the rent, the 
 house is yet your property. Henceforth the rent 
 of the same will be appropriated to the expenses of 
 the government, and hence lessen your taxes." 
 Turning then to the market house, and pointing to 
 the flag floating on its cupola, " Behold, he exclaim- 
 
The ReforvKtfion. 
 
 2(17 
 
 ed in loud tones, a niDnument of your iinancial 
 wisdom and as good as if built with borr(>we(l 
 gold," may future generations profit by your 
 (example." With this lie descended from the plat 
 form amidst the wildest acclamations of the multi- 
 tude and the deafning isound of the band. 
 
 Your committee aims to extend the monetary 
 s^^stem of Governor Brock to production and dis- 
 tribution in general, with marked improvements. 
 
 Permanent wealth can be built upon the follow- 
 ing economical principle^ or plans : 
 
 1st. As ' public ' enterprises to which all citizens 
 are forced to contribute, by taxation, in proportion 
 to their means, and all participate in the benefits 
 thereof forever. 
 
 2d. As 'capitalistic' enterprises, either directly 
 on the wage system, or, indirectly by loans of 
 money ; when rent, iu the former case, and inter- 
 est, in the latter, will carry both money and pro- 
 duct to the capitalists. 
 
 3d. As ' co-operative' enterprises, when individ- 
 ual contributors use money or in lieu of money, a 
 stationary or portable method of accounts, such as 
 w^as done in the building of the market house, 
 which will leave said contributors in perpetual 
 possession of their joint product. Governor Brock 
 built his house as a co-operative enterprise, by vol- 
 untary contributions, then at the time when capital- 
 
208 
 
 The Rcf irrigation. 
 
 ists, on their system, would have absorbed both 
 house and nione}^ : that is when ' the house had 
 paid for itseUV as the saying is, (meaniug when the 
 buihlers eau legall}^ be turued out of doors peuni- 
 k\ss), tlie Governor did so, too but, iustead of hand- 
 ing the house to capitalists, as would havebeeu the 
 case, had he issued bonds and borrowed the mone}^ 
 lie declared rhe house, ' public ' property. 
 What right had he to coufiscate private property 
 for public use, without equivalent compensatiou ? 
 The wealthiest men in the Parish luid, uot ouly re- 
 fused to contribute towards the buikiing of the 
 house, but had persistcMl iu refusing to receive the 
 scripts, because the niethotl precluded them from 
 specuhating ou the same and interfered with the 
 profits they realized by the use of money alone. 
 Now, by making the house public property, and 
 appropriating the revenues of it to the reduction of 
 taxes, these same rich men became the largest ben- 
 eficiaries. It was not just. 
 
 Your committee recommend a more equitable sys- 
 tem, as will readily be learned by examining the 
 Constitution and regulations of tiie plan. In it, 
 those alone, who contribute work or materials to 
 improvements, shall be the beneficiaries thereof in 
 perpetuity. 
 
 We will only add, by way of advice that, as no 
 people ever can advance in wealtli by devoting all 
 
The Iivfonnation. 
 
 209 
 
 energy in producing perishable or consumable ar- 
 ticles alone, nor yet b}^ a commerce in excess of 
 production, we recommend that this association 
 apply all the labor, which can possibly be s[)ared 
 from the production of the necessaries of life and 
 from commerce, to permanent or fixed impi-ove- 
 ments. These tend to lessen toil and increase en- 
 joyments. 
 
 The report of the general committe was favoi-a- 
 bly received and approved, though the plan of 
 co-operation, which they recommended (as in the 
 following constitution), was not at once put in 
 operation. 
 
 A few years afterwards, an oi'ganization was 
 formed at Kansas City, in the State of Missouri ; 
 but failed to obtain a charter. Subsequently an- 
 other experimental organization formed at Sedalia, 
 in the same State, which renewed their petition for, 
 and obtained, a charter, as a Beneficent Associa- 
 tion . 
 
 We give herein a copy of the petition and 
 charter, which, with the Supplimentary Eegula- 
 tions following, embodies the fundumental princi- 
 ples and plan of operation advised b}^ said com 
 mittee. 
 
 It will be observed that the committee has been 
 dealing solely with conditions surrounding us : with 
 institutions under which we lived; with the habits 
 
210 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 and moral sentiments of our people ; with facts as 
 they existed. They wasted no time in exhuming 
 past conditions, past institutions nor past methods 
 of exchanges which could not do any good. Nor 
 did they cast reflections upon governments, polit- 
 ical parties or religious doctrines for the evils then 
 prevailing. As an expert general in front of the 
 enemy, they dispassionatel}^ surveyed the situation 
 and moved accordingly. Most of the Labor leaders 
 in the past had been spending time and talent in 
 invectives against real or supposed enemies. What 
 good had come out of such polemics and negative 
 policy we all know. Labor had been losing ground 
 ever since the contest began. The committee saw 
 this fact, and, hence adopted a change of tactics. 
 That their plan was the proper one under the cir- 
 cumstances, time has already demonstrated. No 
 one acquainted with the success of the Labor 
 Exchange Association, doubts now that the work- 
 ers are on the road to liberty and affluence. 
 
THE LABOR EXCHANGE. 
 
 PETITION. 
 
 To the Circuit Court of and for tlie county of Pettis 
 and State of Missouri : 
 
 We the undersigned, citizens of the United 
 States, having associated ourselves by articles of 
 agreement for benevolent and educational purpo- 
 ses, do nov^ on this day , A. D., 1889, 
 
 appear in open court by our officers 
 
 G. B. De Bernardi, President. 
 
 J. H. Monsees, Vice President. 
 
 E. T. Beherens, Secretary. 
 
 W. F. Sargent, Accountant. 
 
 John L. Lomasney, Statistician. 
 
 W. T. Cahill, Pres. Advisary Board, 
 and submit the attached Articles of Agreement, 
 which fully and clearly set forth the purposes and 
 scope of said association, and pray that this Honor- 
 able Court cause a decree to be entered of record 
 declaring your petitioners a body corporate and 
 polite, in accordance with Article X,of Chapter 21, 
 of the Revise Statutes of Missouri. 
 
 (211) 
 
212 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 ARTICLES OF AGREP:MENT. 
 
 The corporate name of this Association shall be 
 the LABOR EXCHA^^GE/' 
 
 The office shall be located at Sedalia, Pettis Co., 
 Missonri. 
 
 OBJECT OF THE ASSOCIATION. 
 
 First. To provide employment for idle labor, hy 
 facilitating the interchange of commodities and 
 services among the associates and the public. 
 
 Second. To alleviate the suffering incident to, 
 and avert the social dangers which may arise from, 
 a constantly increasing class of unemployed, by 
 furnishing to this class useful occupation, and sav- 
 ing the wealth, thus produced, for the use and ben- 
 efit of the actual producers and their dependents. 
 
 Third. To lighten the burden of charitable in- 
 stitutions by establishing one self-sustaining. 
 
 By and through such employment of idle labor 
 as aforesaid, this Association aims to furnish food, 
 clothing and the comforts of a home to tliose thus 
 employed, establish depots for mutual exchange, 
 operate boarding houses for the purpose, and also 
 provide for education, the elevation of character 
 and the amenities of life by maintaining schools 
 and other places of instruction. 
 
77/ (' Rv foniKii io n . 
 
 218 
 
 MP:ANS HOAV PROVIDED. 
 
 FiKST. Fees and dues from members, as may be 
 fixed by the By-laws of the Association. 
 
 8p:cond. Soliciting for and receiving contrii)utions 
 of any and all kinds of means necessai-y to carry 
 out the objects of the Association. 
 
 MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 Any person, male or female, of good character, 
 not adicted to intemperate or immoral habits, who 
 is willing to engage in a useful (occupation or calling, 
 or to aid b}^ work or means to advance the objects 
 herein stated, may become a member of this 
 Association, and be entitled to the benefits of 
 it, under such rules and regulations as may be es- 
 tablished by the same. 
 
 The Association shall have full power to enact 
 such rules as to expel a disorderly or injurious 
 member; but such expulsion shall not impair any 
 claims which such expelled member ma}^, at the 
 time, possess, or thereafter acquire, against the 
 Association. 
 
 PROPERTY HOW HELD. 
 
 The property of this Association, real and per- 
 sonal, shall not under any circumstances be mort- 
 gaged or pledged. 
 
 The Association shall not borrow any money. 
 
 9 
 
214 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 shall not issue any interest bearing note or obliga- 
 tion against itself. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES. 
 
 All moneys received for the sale of goods, hire 
 of labor and other property, the execution of con- 
 tracts, board of hands, entry fee to places of amuse- 
 niant, etc., shall be distributed as follows : 
 
 1st. To replenish the stock of goods sold. 
 
 2d. To keep the property in repair and to re- 
 store an}^ which may have been destroyed by ac- 
 cidents. 
 
 3d. To defray the expenses of administration 
 economical ly conducted . 
 
 4th. To support the sick, the disabled and assist 
 the families of deceased members. 
 
 e5th. To maintain schools, especially evening 
 schools, libraries and places of instruction and 
 amusement. 
 
 6th. To extend the field of its operations; by the 
 acquisition of additional means for the employment 
 of idle labor. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 The officers of this Association shall consist of 
 President, Vice President, Secretary, Accountant, 
 Statistician and as many more officers as the busi- 
 ness of the Association may require. 
 
The Reformalion. 
 
 215 
 
 The duties of said pi-iiicipal officer shall be those 
 as implied by their several names. 
 
 The distinction of sex shall not be a bar to eligi- 
 })ilit;y to any office ; but no person under the age of 
 21|shall be eligible to the above principle offices, nor 
 to the Board of Trustees as hereinafter provided. 
 
 All elections shall be by baUot and at regular 
 meetings of the Association. 
 
 The time and place of meetings shall be deter- 
 mined by the Association. 
 
 SALARIES, WAGES, VALUES, ETC. 
 
 The salaries of officers of this Association, the 
 wages of labor employed, the exchangeable value 
 of commodities and services among the associates ; 
 the distribution of tools, implements, machinery 
 and materials for the employment of labor, as well 
 as all claims for preference to such employment, 
 and all other matters not herein specified and de- 
 termined, shall be fixed and regulated by the B3 - 
 laws of the Association. 
 
 We, whose names are hereunto attached hereby 
 agree to become members of the 
 
 LABOR EXCHANGE 
 
 in accordance with the terms and conditions herein 
 set forth and for the objects and purposes herein 
 stated. 
 
216 
 
 Tlie Reformation. 
 
 G. B. De Beriiardi, President, Dresden, Mo.; J. 
 H. Monsees, Vice President, Beaman, Mo.; E. T. 
 Beherens, Secretary; W. F. Sargent, Acccountant; 
 John L. Lomasney Statistician, Sedalia, Mo. 
 
 EXP^CUTIVE BOARD. 
 
 John Goodfellow, J, G. Harris and J. B. Hedges, 
 Sedalia, Mo. 
 
 ADVISORY BOARD. 
 
 W. F. Cahill, President, Sedalia, Mo. 
 
 MANAGER OF STORE. 
 
 W. F. Sargent, Sedalia, Mo. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS. 
 
 1st. For all contributions of money, goods, work 
 or services^ the Association shall issue to contribu- 
 tors Certificates of deposit or checks of equal value, 
 which certificates and checks shall not bear interest, 
 nor be redeemable in legal tender money, but re- 
 ceivable by the Association, at face value, in pay- 
 ment for goods purchased from; work or services 
 obtained through, and for all debts and dues to the 
 same. 
 
 2d. Applicants for membership shall enter into a 
 contract with the Association that they agree to 
 receive the above Certificates of deposit or checks 
 in full satisfaction for their work and contributions, 
 and relinquish all other claims and liens against 
 the same. 
 
 3d. The Association will hold merchandise for 
 consumption or use subject to the redemption of 
 its checks, reserving, however, the right to sell it 
 or exchange it for money and equivalent commo- 
 dities. 
 
 4th. Real estate, machinery implements and 
 tools in operation or use, and all materials set apart 
 
 (217) 
 
218 
 
 TJie Reformation. 
 
 for the employment of labor shall be held inalien- 
 ably for that object. 
 
 5th. Should any real estate, machinery, imple- 
 ments, etc., become superfluous for said object, the 
 same may be sold or exchanged. But in such case, 
 it will require a two third vote of the members in- 
 terested therein. 
 
 6tli. The Association may receive " Special De- 
 posits of real estate, subject to withdrawal, in 
 kind, by depositors or their assignees. The value 
 of said real estate shall be ascertained and deter- 
 mined by appraisers, selected one half by the As- 
 sociation, and one half by the depositoi'S thereof, to 
 whom shall be added an odd number of experts, 
 selected by the said appraisers. 
 
 To such depositors the Association shall issue 
 special Certificates, which may, by them be located, 
 and the identical propert}^ or equivalent real es- 
 tate, withdrawn at any place in the keeping of the 
 Association . 
 
 The Association shall pay no rent on such special 
 deposits. 
 
 7th. The interest of members in the benefits of 
 the Association, over and above the redemption of 
 its certificates of deposits and checks, shall be in 
 the proportion of actual deposits (of which an ac- 
 count shall be kept with each individual member), 
 multiplied by the time said deposits liave remained 
 
The Reformation. 
 
 219 
 
 in the Association. Thus $1000 ten years, shall 
 equal $10000 one year. 
 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 8tli. This Association shall consist of a Central, or 
 General Office, and local Branches, operating under 
 a Dispensation or Charter, granted by the Central 
 office, and organized in such a manner and under 
 such By-laws as may be determined by the mem- 
 bership thereof, in accordance to the constitution 
 an i objects of the Association. 
 
 9th. It shall be tlie function of the Central office 
 to provide for the original issue of blank Certifi- 
 cates and checks; to harmonize co-operation, adjust 
 difficulties and manage all enterprises in which all 
 the Branches are interested. 
 
 10th. Branch Associations ma}' obtain supplies 
 of blank Certificates and checks, at cost, by depos- 
 iting material equivalents for the same, or by giving 
 approved security for their return. 
 
 11th. All certificates of deposit and checks, re- 
 ceived by the central office or branches, in payment 
 for goods, services or dues, shall be cancelled, and 
 sent to the Centi-al Accountant. 
 
 12th. The central and Branch offices shall, ex- 
 officio " constitute the Board of Managers. 
 
 ADVISORY BOARD. 
 
 18th. There shall be elected, by a majority vote 
 
220 
 
 The Eeforniation. 
 
 of all the members, a Central Advisory Board, com- 
 posed of five or more persons, whose term of office 
 shall originally be one, two, three, four and five 
 years, so that the term of one fifth of said Board 
 may expire every year, and the place, or places, be 
 successively filled, at the annual general election 
 for the term of five years. 
 
 The functions of this Board shall be the location 
 and extent of permanent or fixed improvements 
 and productive industries, such as buildings, facto- 
 ries, mines, shops, etc., in order that the same may 
 not conflict with one another, by competition on the 
 markets, or become useless by reason of excess or 
 improp^.r location. 
 
 No permanent improvements or productive 
 plants shall be undertaken, in the name of the 
 i^ssociation, without permit from the Advisory 
 Board. 
 
 14th. All projects for the advancement of the 
 welfare and prosperity of the Association, may 
 originate in any member thereof. 
 
 Said project shall be presented to the Local 
 Branch, of which the originator is a member. If 
 approved b}^ a majority vote of said Branch, the 
 project shall be put before all Branches interested 
 therein, and, if again approved b}^ a majority vote 
 of the same, the project shall form part of the 
 
The Eeformaiion. 
 
 221 
 
 rules, regulations, methods or enterprises of all 
 the Eranclies having voted thereon. 
 
 DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 15th. The industrial and economical operations 
 of the Association shall be devided into three gen- 
 eral and two auxiliary departments. 
 
 GENERAL DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 1st. Department of Production. 
 2d. Department of Distribution. 
 3d. Department of Consumption. 
 
 AUXILIARY DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 1st. Department of Statistics. 
 
 2d. Department of Accounts. 
 
 Each of these departments may be subdivided 
 into as many groups as may be required. 
 
 Each special trade, profession or calling, shall 
 liave the control of its own branch of industry, 
 subject onl}^ to the General Board in their respec- 
 tive relation to other departments and industries. 
 
 Each trade and profession shall elect their own 
 special officers. 
 
 16th. The Department of Production " shall 
 iiave charge of tools, utensils, implements, ma- 
 chiner}^, shops, mills, factories, foundries, farms 
 
222 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 mines, brick ^^ards, quarries, etc.. and all materials 
 necessary to the production of wealth. 
 
 This department shall have authority to contract 
 for private, corporate and public w^orks, and, by 
 these means, and the enterprises of the Association, 
 endeavor to keep constantly employed a well 
 equipped industrial body of men and women, in 
 the production of wealth, especially of a permanent 
 character, and thus promote the general welfare. 
 
 Each Local Branch interested in any contract or 
 enterprise of this Department, shall be entitled to 
 a proportionate quota of volunteer workers, contri- 
 bution of materials, and to a participation 'in the 
 benefits or losses of the enterprise, in proportion to 
 labor and materials furnished therein. 
 
 All the benefits or losses accruing from the en- 
 terprises, of the Central Association shall be borne 
 by all the members. 
 
 17th. " The Department of Distribution," em- 
 bracing commerce and transportation, shall have 
 charge of stores, warehouses, elevators, and all 
 means for the storage and preservation of merchan- 
 dise ; all means for transporting, handling, weigh- 
 ing, measuring and distributing the same. 
 
 18th. -'The Department of Consumption shall 
 have control of co-operative hotels, boarding houses, 
 hospitals, schools, libraries and places of amuse- 
 ment comfort and education. 
 
TJie IlefoniKition. 223 
 
 19th. The Department of Statistics " shall have 
 charge of the collection and distribution of Statis- 
 tics, pi-esenting as full an exhibit, as can he ob- 
 tained, of the condition and wants of tlie Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 20th. " The Department of Accounts,^' shall 
 manage the issue, clearance and cancellation of 
 Certificates and Checks. These issues shall c(ni- 
 sist of 
 
 1st. A Uniform Coupon Labor Check, in book 
 form, of convenient denominations, from one dollar 
 to one hundred. Each of these books shall contain 
 no less than the amount of one hundi-ed dollars in 
 said assorted coupons. 
 
 2d. A Uniform Coupon Loan Check, in book form, 
 of various denominations. Each book shall con- 
 tain no less than ten dollars \\\ c()upons of from 
 one quarter of a dollar to ten dollars. 
 
 3d. A Uniform Certificate of Deposit, of various 
 denominations, to be handed to depositors of mer- 
 chandise or labor. 
 
 Each of these three issues sliall be dated and 
 numbered co-ordinately, beginning and ending with 
 each year. Thus each year's issue shall begin 
 with IN'o. One. 
 
 No issue shall be redeemable in legal tender 
 money, but receivable as heretofore provided. 
 
 All details regarding the issue, clearing, and 
 
224 
 
 The Beformation. 
 
 cancelling the above issues, and other matters ap- 
 pertaining to the management of the same, and 
 the security and safety of the hoklers thereof, 
 shall be provided as circumstance may indicate. 
 
THE EXCHANGE. 
 
 IN THP] YEAR 1900. 
 
 The Organization at Sedalia proved " the cloud 
 no bigger than a man's hand " which brought about 
 tlie industrial Eeformation in the colony. 
 
 The Labor Exchange began operations without 
 money and without stock. It opened its hands to 
 receive deposits of merchandise and labor, at mar- 
 ket price, and issued Certificates of Deposit for the 
 same. It also acted as intermediate agent between 
 employers and employes, free of charge. At first, 
 it made but slow progress; but soon it drew the 
 attention of those proscribed pilgrims from the la- 
 bor ranks, latel}^ called ' tramps.' These w^ere fol- 
 lowed by more fortunate mechanics and laborers 
 as fast as scarcit}^ of moiiey cast them out of em- 
 ployment. Farmers, who could not dispose of 
 products, except at ruinous sacrifices, began to de- 
 })Osit the same in the care of the Exchange, and 
 accepted its Certificates. As the stock of goods in- 
 creased, so did ^credit ' in its checks. Shoemakers, 
 tailors, barbers, watchmakers and all such trades, 
 
 (225) 
 
226 
 
 The Reformat toil. 
 
 as require little or no outlay for tools and materi- 
 als, soon accepted the Labor Exchange checks in 
 payment for their work. As soon as a small fund 
 could be collected in money to purchase materials, 
 the female members were set to work, at their 
 homes, making overalls and underware. These 
 they placed in the stores of the Association for 
 sale, or exchange for other products. Small indus- 
 tries, unable to compete with large factories, undei* 
 the money system, fell into the Association. Small 
 merchants, no longer able to stand the heavy rents 
 of business centers, and look at their former cus- 
 tomers turning to the large establishment, just 
 opened by a company of capitalists, consigned 
 their goods to the Labor Exchange, thus averting 
 rent, expenses and bankruptcy. Brickyards, quar- 
 ries, tile factories and other productive plants, about 
 to discharge their employes, from lack of a market 
 for their products, were kept in operation by the 
 workmen, who had joined the Labor Exchange, 
 accepting the product of their own work in pa}^- 
 ment for their wages. These products were then 
 deposited in the keeping of the Exchange for its 
 checks. The same materials were used to employ 
 idle mechanics to put up buildings, or under drain 
 fields. Thus, by the ministration of the Labor 
 Exchange, industry and commerce were kept in 
 motion, when deficiency of money would have par- 
 
The Reformation. 
 
 227 
 
 al3^zed both. Thus the Labor Exchange lias be- 
 come an immense repositoiy of almost everythino- 
 that the world produces, and an immense instrumen- 
 tality for the employment of Labor. 
 
 We could not convey to the reader a better knowl- 
 (Hlge of the " modus operandi " of this organization 
 than by giving the 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF MEMBERS. 
 
 A MECHANIC said : ''I had belonged to almost 
 ever}' Labor Association, besides my own Union, 
 and we had discussed the problem, I thought, from 
 every point of view, and 'resolved' everything 
 imaginable. I had taken active part in four strikes, 
 one of which proved successful, and the other three 
 disastrous. But successful or disastrous, I saw 
 that we, workers, were always losers, and were 
 alienating from us, public opinion, especially of 
 farmers and merchants, in consequence of losses, 
 these classes were subjected to, by the stoppage of 
 business. Hearing of the Labor Exchange and 
 feeling an especial interest in the feature that it 
 professed to furnish employment, our Union appro- 
 priated ten dollars to defray the expenses of a lec- 
 turer and organizer. The lecturer came. He 
 wasted no time in depicting the deplorable condi- 
 tion of labor, the cruelty of employers, nor the 
 wrongs of government ; but straightway explained 
 
228 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 to US the objects of the Labor Exchange, and the 
 ways of attaining those objects. We felt convinced 
 that the Exchange was the thing, that we had been 
 looking for, and hence, by a large majority, voted 
 to establish a Branch in our city. At ever}^ meet- 
 ing, we made a collection, and each voluntary con- 
 tributor received a Certificate of Deposit. The 
 money was deposited in a savings bank, and served 
 as a basis for the validity of the checks. 
 
 These checks soon amounted to a considerable 
 sum, and the members used them in payment for 
 services and trade among themselves. 
 
 In less than eighteen months, we had on deposit 
 ten thousand dollars, and, of course, the same 
 amount of checks in the hands of the members, 
 which performed a much larger amount of busi- 
 ness, not only among ourselves, but with outsiders 
 also. We now decided to withdraw our deposit 
 from the bank, purchase a lot in the central part of 
 the city, and put a building thereon. We paid for 
 the lot and part of the materials, in money, and paid 
 the workmen in Labor Checks. This proved a 
 tripple benefit to us. It employed our mechanics, 
 gave us a home to meet and stores to rent, and put 
 over twenty thousand Labor Checks in our hands, 
 to do business with. Our meetings were always 
 open, our affairs well known, and our number kept 
 increasing. 
 
77/ (' RcfonDdfton. 
 
 Wl)at came out of that small beginning you all 
 see. The Association owns, in the city aloius over 
 half a million dollars worth of property. It is run- 
 ning a number of industries, and none of its mem- 
 bers need fear to incur the displeasure of an em- 
 l)loyer and lose their bread. 
 
 A BRrCKBUKNKF. 
 
 Ten of us," said he, working at a brick yard, 
 expected soon to be discharged, and had no idea 
 where to find another job. Times were hard and 
 bricks not in demand. One morning three farmers 
 rode up to the yard, and wished us to join the La- 
 bor Exchange. We laughed at the idea. ^' What 
 good would the Labor Exchange do us? We had 
 nothing to exchange, and, besides, we did not ex- 
 pect to be there long," we said. Where are you 
 going?" asked one of the farmers. " To tramp," 
 we replied. Is there not plent}^ of work here?" 
 he asked again. ]S"o," we answered, not after 
 this week." What is the matter? is the town 
 finished ?" he querried. Finished or not finished, 
 no one wants bricks," we replied. Look liere, 
 gentlemen," said the farmer, there is no necessity 
 of stopping brick-burning here. The town is liard- 
 commenced and, there will be a heavy demand 
 for bricks shortly, if not now. Join the Exchange, 
 and we will see whether we cannot arrange so that 
 you ma\^ continue at work. If members of our Asso- 
 
230 
 
 Tlie Reformation. 
 
 ciatioii, 3^ou could take l)ricks in payment for wages. 
 The Exchange would take the bricks from you 
 and give you its checks." We had to laugh heartily, 
 thinking the granger was somewhat cracked. ^' What 
 good would your checks do us ?" we asked* They 
 will prove that you hold that much property in the 
 Association," answered the farmer. " Is that not 
 better than going into idleness ?" he continued. It 
 sounded reasonable. He then explained to us the 
 workings of tlie Labor Exchange. We became 
 convinced, went with tlie farmers to see the pro- 
 prietor of the yard, to whom they also explained 
 the method of business of the Association. He 
 agreed to continue us at work, if we would take 
 bricks for our wages. At the same time the farm- 
 ers agreed to furnish wood to burn the bricks and 
 receive payment in bricks also. 
 
 The same bricks are now doing duty in the finest 
 four story business building in the center of the 
 town, and were put there by brick-layers who, 
 without the Labor Exchange, would have spent 
 that time tramping. We and the brick-layers have 
 been amply paid for our work, and still hold, in 
 that building, the interest that capitalists would 
 hold, if it had been built by their money instead 
 of the Labor Exchange check. 
 
 A FARMER. 
 
 One day." he said, I was fixing the fence 
 
The Refortnntio7i. 
 
 2?A 
 
 around a barn lot, when two gentlemen roile up, and, 
 after the usual salutionn about the weather, fine 
 country, etc., one of them asked wliv I did not 
 build a barn to shelter my stock and forage?'' 
 ''Lack of means," I replied. *' You mean lack of 
 money," he retorted, for I see that you luivc^ 
 plenty of means on your farm." Yes, I mean 
 lack of money," I answered. Would it not pay 
 you to borrow tl>e moncN' ? Is not your loss in for- 
 age, the condition of your stock, time in feeding, 
 etc., heavier than the interest on the loan ?" he 
 asked. I do not intend to })lace a mortgage on 
 my farm unless compelled jto by sickness," I re- 
 plied. I have seen too many fai'mers driven 
 away from their home b}' small mortgages." What 
 would you have to pay for money hire?" continued 
 the man. Eight per cent," I answered. '* That 
 is very heavy," he said. The general wealth of 
 the nation, according to the decennial inventories, 
 grows only at the rate of 3^ per cent per annum, 
 and, whoever pays more than that, is doomed to 
 ruin. Look here, friend," he then explained, 
 We are mechanics, and belong to the Labor Ex- 
 change Association. We heard that you needed 
 work in our line, and came to see, whether we 
 could not persuade you to join said Association, 
 and have your barn built through the same. The 
 Association will lend you it!» checks at one percent. 
 
232 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 or just eiiougli to cover expense of issue and raan- 
 ageraent. It will give you five or more years time 
 to return the checks, and the choice to pay in mon- 
 ey or in products, at market prices." " How is 
 this?" I inquired. They explained to me in full 
 the workings of the Labor Exchange. I felt con- 
 vinced that I could well afford to pay one per cent 
 rather than luiffer the loss consequent on keeping 
 my forage and feeding my stock out of doors. So 
 I joined the Association, boi'rowed $1500 in checks, 
 and had my barn built, and a good one it was for 
 the money, because the Labor Exchange guaran- 
 tees its work. Subsequently, whenever I had pro- 
 duce to spare from my ordinary expenses, J took it 
 to the Labor Exchange stores. In a short time my 
 debt was paid. I feel convinced, friends, that if 
 such organization had come into existence 3^ears 
 ago, thousands of forms, carried away b}^ mortga- 
 ges, would now be the happy homes of the farmers 
 wlio improved them, and that thousands of me- 
 chanics, who were forced to leave their families in 
 destitution, and tramp the colon}' in search of work, 
 would have been building barnes on these farms 
 and supporting their families in abundance out of 
 the products, which were wasted in interest to 
 money-lenders. Thank God, a way has been found 
 out of the grasp of the money power. Mv 
 prayer is that the Labor Exchange may, not only 
 
The llvfonnation. 
 
 233 
 
 spread over our colony, but over the whole world. 
 A carpenter's story. 
 
 Hard times, no work and poverty forced me to 
 leave wife and three children, almost destitute, and 
 ti-amp westward in quest of employment. The 
 Lord knows what hardships, wants and humilia- 
 tions I endured, but finally I reached a thriving 
 city on tlie Missouri river, where my hopes for 
 employment were brightened b}^ the sight of a 
 number of improvements in process of execution. 
 Still, wherever I applied for work, I found every 
 place filled and many, besides myself, yet ont in 
 the cold. 
 
 One day, when my cup of sorrow was overflowing, 
 by the reading of a letter from home, asking for 
 money to pay the rent and purchase provisions, as 
 the landlord was threatening to turn them out of 
 door, and the grocery man had refused to credit 
 them any longer, a comrade advised me to apply 
 to the Labor Exchange. " What is the Labor Ex- 
 change?'' I asked him. He said that it was an 
 Association of workmen intended for the employ- 
 ment of idle labor. By direction, I went to the 
 office of the Labor Exchange, and a small concern 
 it appeared to me. Is it true," I asked, " that 
 you will help a fellow to find work?" That is 
 our principal object," answered the Secretary, and 
 
234 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 asked wiiat ray trade was. Carpenter," I an- 
 swered. The Secretary opened a book, laying on 
 the table, and found that he had no application for 
 carpenters at the time. But, if you fail to find 
 employment," he kindly added, call again, for 
 we may have an application at any time. What 
 is your charge?" I asked. ''We do not charge 
 applicants," he answered. '' Were we to charge 
 anything, man}^ very poor workmen and women 
 would not be able to apply, and thus we would not 
 be enabled to assist the very ones, who need assist- 
 ance most. This Association its intended to add, 
 if possible, to the means of working people and not 
 take away part of what little they may have." I 
 thanked him for his kindness and left in search of 
 work. Several times thereafter I came to the office 
 of the Labor Exchange j to inquire what prospect. 
 At last the Secretary informed me that he had 
 found me a good job. A man had taken a contract 
 to put up a large building, needed a number of 
 carpenters, applied to the office of the Labor Ex- 
 change, he said, and we gave him your name." 
 
 But," he added, 'Hhe contractor will not begin 
 work for a couple of weeks, hence we desire to know^ 
 whether you will accept the job or not." 
 
 After a moment consideration, I replied in the 
 affirmative. It had proven so hard to find a job, 
 that I could not afford to lose this, even if I had to 
 
The Eeformalion. 
 
 235 
 
 wait two weeks for it. Tlie moment I accepted the 
 Job, the secretary asked me wliat I intended to do 
 in the interval, while waiting. I don't see what 
 else I can do but walk the streets of the city for 
 work, as I have been doing for the last three weeks," 
 I answered. " if so," rejoined the Secretar}^ our 
 Association will employ you these two weeks." " I 
 am glad to hear it," I said, and what wages does 
 your Association pay?" We do not pay at all," 
 answered the Secretary. We are not a money 
 institution, and do not deal in money." This sur- 
 prised me and inspired me with fear that the kind- 
 ness of the Secretary to find me employment gra- 
 tuitously was, perhaps, but a scheme to get double 
 pay in gratuitous labor ; hence I boldly expressed 
 my opinion by the pointed question : You do 
 not expect a poor fellow like me to work for you 
 two weeks for nothing, do you ?" " Far from it," 
 answered the SecretaiT, we expect you to get 
 higher wages than yow ever got before." How 
 so?" I asked, you said that you do not pay at all, 
 and now assert that I will get higher wages than 
 I ever got. Will you please explain to me tlie 
 puzzle." I will do so willingly," replied the Sec- 
 retary. We are an Association of workingmen 
 and women, not capitalists. We have plenty of 
 work, but no money and, therefore, cannot pay 
 money. For this reason, knowing that men need 
 
236 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 money to pay board, rent, etc., we do all in onr 
 power to first find applicants, whether members of 
 our Association or not, employment, where they 
 can obtain money-wages, but, when a man is out of 
 employment, and will work for the Association, we 
 can only give him, and do give him, the whole of 
 his own work in payment. You know, friend, that 
 no contractor can aiford to pay as much, for he 
 must realize some profits out of his employes. 
 This we accomplish by meanfe of a Labor check, or 
 Certificate of Deposit, which represents the intei*- 
 est or property that each worker or contributor 
 holds in the " fixed wealth in the hands of the 
 Association. Just now the Association has pur- 
 chased a lot and paid for the same in checks, indi- 
 cating that the former owner of the lot holds the 
 value of the lot in the Association. We paid for 
 digging the cellar in checks. We had the founda- 
 tion laid in the same manner, by men, who like 
 you, were out of employment, also, we succeeded 
 in buying the lumber with checks, and now we are 
 ready to employ idle carpenters to put up the build- 
 ing, if they choose to do so and accept checks in 
 payment, at the rate of wages paid on the market, 
 in money.'' " What use will your checks be to 
 me?" I asked. Could I pay my board bill with 
 them ?" May be not," answered the Secretary, 
 and as before said, we tried to get you a job where 
 
Tlw Rcfornutlion. 
 
 237 
 
 you can get money waoes.*' " But, fri(Mi(l. if you 
 had no money to pay your board bill, any landlord 
 would sooner board you, if you had an interest in a 
 house here, than if you did nothaveit. The build- 
 ing, 3^ou help to put up, will be sureh^ worth tln^ 
 materials and labor bestowed upon it, and if tlioscs 
 who bestowed the materials and labor on it, own 
 the building, in tlie proportion of their several con- 
 tributions, they are certainly the owners of the 
 whole the}^ contributed. Diose who contributed 
 materials will be bettered by the better position of 
 said materials, and those who contributed labor, if 
 idle, will be the gainers of the whole interest in it.'' 
 I decided to go to work. I would be idle anyhow, 
 I reasoned within myself, and at the end of the 
 two weeks the Association paid me $30 in Labor 
 Checks. When the Secretary paid me the Checks, 
 he invited me to join the Labor Exchange. The 
 cost was insignificant, he said, and assured me that 
 T would find it profitable. I did so, paid my small 
 fee in Labor Checks and left the place, to go to my 
 job. Finally I left the city also. 
 
 Years passed, during which the Labor Exchange 
 spread in many towns and cities of the West, and, 
 as I found afterward, had become a wealth}^ insti- 
 tution. Several times, in my travels, I came in 
 contact with the Association, obtained their assist- 
 ance to procure employment, and w^orked for the 
 
238 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 same, on several occasions, to the amonnt, in all, 
 of $120, as per Checks in hand, on which however, 
 I must confess, I did not set full value. 
 
 Finally I resolved to move West with m}^ famil}^ 
 On arrival at the city of our destination, we search- 
 ed the city for a house to rent, and found one, in 
 size and location, suitable to my wife. AVe inquir- 
 ed as to the owner of the house and were told that 
 it belonged to the Labor Exchange Association. I 
 told my wife that I knew that Association, in fact, 
 that I belonged to it, that I had worked for it on 
 several occasions, and different places, when acci- 
 dentally out of employment. We went to the of- 
 fice of the Exchange, which was now quite a diff- 
 erent tiling from the office that I had at first entered 
 into a few 3^ear/, before. We asked what the rent 
 on the house was ; were told ten dollars a month. 
 We rented it and moved into it. 
 
 At the expiration of the first month, I went to 
 pay the rent. Before doing so, I stated to the Sec- 
 retary that I had 'money' to pa}^ the rent, but that 
 I was a member of his Association ; stated where I 
 had joined it, tiiat I had worked for it several 
 times and different places, and held $120 of its 
 Checks. Now I desired to know whether I could 
 not pay my rent with said Checks. If so, I could 
 save my money for purposes, where these Checks 
 were not available. " Certainly," replied the Sec- 
 
Tlic Rcfornuiiioii. 
 
 retar}^ at once. The Checks are receivabl(i by 
 the Association, at tlieir face value, for iiu^rcthniHlise, 
 work and all debts and dues to the sanie, wherever it 
 has a Brancli. You could have seen this by read- 
 ing the inscription on the Check itself. Then ad- 
 ded that the Checks of the Association were virtu- 
 ally worth 'more' than ' ordinary money.' This 
 latter assertion, viz : that the Labor Checks wen^ 
 better than money, I could not comprehend, nor did 
 I, at the time, believe. I paid our rent and left 
 the office. 
 
 These payments in Checks I continued monthly, 
 until, at the end of one year, 1 had exhausted the 
 amount in hand. I felt glad that finally I had 
 found use for the Checks, on which, to tell the 
 truth, I had never, as I said, placed much value, 
 never having been located at a place where the As- 
 sociation had stores or houses to rent! Now," 
 said I to the Secretar}^ when I had paid my last 
 Check, I am pleased w^ith your system of doing 
 business, as your Checks came in good play, I 
 made these Checks when my time would have been 
 lost in idleness, and now they saved me their full 
 value in money. So I added, when idle, I shall be 
 ready to work for you again." AVe are grateful 
 that you are pleased with the Association and its 
 business method, friend," said the Secretary, ''but 
 you are mistaken when you say that the Labor 
 
240 
 
 TJie Reformation. 
 
 Checks are onh^ worth as much as ordinary money. 
 They are worth to yon, and to every other member, 
 many times more tlian money.'' How can that 
 be?'' I asked. ''You took tlie Checks in payment 
 for the rent only dollar for dollar. I had $120, and 
 they paid $120 of rent. Where is the better or the 
 more to come from?" Here is where the better of 
 the Check over money is," explained the Secretary. 
 
 If you had worked for a capitalist, and received 
 $120 wages in money, then rented a house from the 
 same capitalist and paid him S120 in rent, would 
 you have any more interest in the property of that 
 capitalist?" '-Of course not," I replied. ''You 
 worked for this Association ; we paid you the $120 
 in wages ; we paid the rate of wages in money at 
 the time and place you worked, then we rented you 
 a house and charged no niore than the capitalist 
 would have charged you for a like house, and can- 
 celled all your $120 Checks. Now what interest 
 have you left in this Association?" " [NTo more I 
 su}>pose, than I would have in the case of the cap- 
 italist," I answered. " You have an interest of 
 $120 in the permanent wealth of the Association." 
 stated the Secretar3\ " The joint work of men 
 produces " consumable " and " unconsumable " or 
 fixed w^ealth. They can only consume part of their 
 productions, such as food, clothes, medicine, tools, 
 utensils, etc., etc.. but buildings, fVictories. mines, 
 
The Reform a tio n . 
 
 241 
 
 etc., remain from generation to generation. Now 
 you have onl}^ consumed the ' use ' of the house 
 3^ou lived in, but not the house itself. In the La- 
 bor Exchange you may consume the wages you get 
 in food, clothes, rent or pleasures, but you will 
 ever be partner in the permanent portion which 
 you helped to produce. By the monetary S3^stem, 
 workmen produce all the wealth, consumable and 
 permanent, but are only allowed to use the con- 
 sumable portion, and lose all the fixed portion. 
 By the Labor Exchange or Check system, the pro- 
 ducers get both the consumable and permanent, 
 that is, the whole of their products. You have an 
 example in your own case. Suppose all the work 
 you did for the Association, had been bestowed on 
 one house, and nine other persons had furnished 
 the materials and helped in the work to the extent 
 of $120 each. It would result that ten of you had 
 furnished everything and built the house. Now 
 suppose each of you lives in the house one year, at 
 $10 per month, and pays an agent, appointed by 
 themselves to rent the house, the $120 At the 
 end of ten years, each of the ten would have lived 
 one 3^ear in the house and paid all his checks. 
 Now whose house would it be? Woukl it not be- 
 long to the same persons ? They would only have 
 consumed the wages part, in the use of the house, 
 but they would ji^t own the pernuuient part, which 
 
242 
 
 Tlie Reformation. 
 
 is the house itself. Under the mone}^ system a cap- 
 italist pays out a sum of money to build a house; in 
 six or eight years he gets all the money back in rent, 
 and then owns both house and money. The work- 
 ers did all, and he gets all. No wonder the capi- 
 talists continue to add house to hous^., and labor 
 continues to lose all it makes. All the improve- 
 ments in the world have either been done by slave 
 labor or by the money system, and, as a matter of 
 course, belong to the capitalists. Had they been 
 done on the Labor Check plan, they would belong 
 to the workers. Let the working classes choose 
 between the two systems. The wage system, in 
 money, will keep them for ever poor ; the Labor 
 Check system will lead them to wealth." 
 
 '' We have yet another feature, in the Labor Ex- 
 change system, which should be highly prized by 
 the working classes. It is the ' protection ^ thrown 
 around them against prowling speculators. Being 
 organized as a "charitable'' Association, our 
 charter does not allow us to speculate, realize prof- 
 its and declare dividends. Some would object to 
 this feature, but we regard it as the very foundation 
 of the institution, and the very best for the mem- 
 bers. They are getting all the time richer and no 
 speculator can rob them of their permanent share 
 of wealth in the keeping of the Association. Sup- 
 pose, in your case, that you had sold your $120 
 
The Reformation. 
 
 248 
 
 Checks to a speculator for $60 in the consumable 
 portion of your wealth. He could have bought $120 
 worth of merchandise in the stores of the Associ- 
 ation, while you, with his $60^ could only have 
 purchased $60 worth. Or he could have rented the 
 house you did, and live in it one 3^ear, while you 
 could only have staid in it six months. In either 
 case, when his Checks had returned to the Associ- 
 ation and been cancelled, we would not recognize 
 him any longer as having any further interest in the 
 same. You had been the original depositor of the 
 wealth in the Association to the amount of $120, 
 and hence, when the Checks are spent in consum- 
 ables, you are the only one we recognize as 
 owner of the remaining permanent part. Ko tricks 
 of speculators, nor mistakes of yours, can deprive 
 you and 3^our family of that part. Consider, friend, 
 what immense difference it would make in the con- 
 dition of the working classes to-day, if our towns 
 and cities, railroads and steamboats, and all per- 
 manent improvements, had been built under the 
 Labor Exchange system, instead of the money 
 system. What would the result be ? 
 
 2st. There never would have been occasion for 
 a day lost in idleness from lack of mone3^ 
 
 2d. We never would have parted with any por- 
 tion of our products to foreign nations for stuff to 
 enable us to exchange the balance left at home. No 
 
244 
 
 The Reformation. 
 
 stupid ' favorable balance of trade' doctrine would 
 have been encouraged. 
 
 3d. The true producers and their descendants, in 
 the-^proportion of their contributions, would be now 
 the actual owners of all existing improvements 
 and not, as now, pay rent on the houses they built. 
 
 You may now understand the reason why, when 
 you worked for the Association the first time, you 
 were invited to join it. Being a worter, a depos- 
 itor of real wealth, and not a speculator, we were 
 anxious to put that fact on record, so that no one 
 else in the future could rob you of the permanent 
 part of your deposits. While the Association can- 
 not and will never attempt to interfere with the 
 liberty of members to sell the Checks or wages " 
 portion of their work, it will ever protect them in 
 the capital " part, which cannot be consumed, 
 against all contingencies of errors, accidents, mis- 
 fortunes or dissipation. 
 
 From the foregoing, you can comprehend, friend 
 and fellow worker, what an immense reform is in 
 store for the working classes in the Labor Exchange 
 Association, and you will surely be convinced that 
 it contains the only possible solution of the Labor 
 question, which is agitating the colony to-day, and 
 which, if left unsolved, would have lead into 
 revolution." 
 
 " This was explanation enough for me," added 
 
Tlie Rcfoiinaiion. 
 
 245 
 
 t iie carpi^nter, " I came away wisin* and dc^terniined 
 to devote eveiT spare moment of my timc^, not only 
 to work for, hut also to advocate and forward the 
 cause of tlie Lahor Exchange. 
 
 At present the Labor Exchange is too well known 
 to need commendation. It counts its members b}^ 
 millions, and its deposits reach hundreds of mil- 
 lions in value, and embrace every conceivable va- 
 riety of merchandise, domestic and foreign. It 
 owns and cultivates extensive farms and planta- 
 tions with the most approved appliances, and in 
 accordance with the latest scientific discoveries. 
 It runs dairies, fruit canning establishments, etc. 
 It owns and operates mines, smelting furnaces, 
 rolling mills and foundries, quarries, brick yards, 
 potteries and tile factories. It owns warehouses, 
 elevators, flouring mills, stock yards and packing- 
 houses. It owns and runs hotels, boarding houses, 
 schools, colleges, libraries, reading rooms and pleas- 
 ure gardens. It owns thousand of dwelling houses, 
 some of the mostsuperb business buildings in cities, 
 erected mainly by labor which, under the old money 
 system, would have been lost in involuntary 
 idleness. 
 
 The members of the Association are no longer 
 forced to tramp the colony in quest of work ; nor 
 distressed at what may become of their families, in 
 
246 
 
 The Eejormation. 
 
 case of accident or death. The holders of its Cer- 
 tificates are no longer troubled about their ability 
 to purchase all they desire, money included, (for 
 the Association is operating banks of Exchange in 
 connection with its Clearing Bureau). The Labor 
 Exchange has practically wiped out of the human 
 intellect the pernicious doctrine that money is nec 
 essary to human activity, prosperity and happiness, 
 and that government alone can issue it. 
 
 One of the improvements, original with the La- 
 bor Exchange, and which is just now attracting 
 public attention, is the following, viz. 
 
 Cities and towns in the colony, under the legal 
 tender, capitalistic system, have certainly not been 
 built for the comfort of farmer's wives and daught- 
 ers, nor for female visitors in general. Women 
 were welcome to the town for the money they 
 brought," but, beyond this, they were no object 
 for consideration b}^ boards of trade nor boards of 
 health. Who had not seen farmers' wives drudg- 
 ing wearily along a side walk in a town, leading a 
 child by the hand and visibly longing for home and 
 rest. There was no place provided in a town or 
 city where tliat worn out mother, daughter and 
 child could rest, take a cool bath, adjust their toilet, 
 eat the lunch the}^ may have brought with them 
 and attend to the wants of the child. Surely pri- 
 vate stores were not the place, nor was standing by 
 
The Rcfonnaiion. 
 
 247 
 
 the lumber wagon, vvliich brouglit them in, in a 
 back alley or 3'ar(l, a suitable place for such neces- 
 sary comforts. Hotels were either too expensive 
 for their limited means, or discreditable for ladies. 
 Ko one but such women and their husbands and 
 fathers (*oukl have a correct idea of the discomforts, 
 the sufferings, and, sometimes, the permanent loss 
 of health and premature death caused b}^ sucli 
 culpable neglect on the part of cit}^ councils and cit- 
 izens, all of wh ) a see.ned merely intent in money 
 making and money squandering on personal pleas- 
 ures. 
 
 The Labor Exchange, composed largely of farm- 
 ers, who felt mostly the above described inconven- 
 iencies, with an immense army of workers at its 
 disposal, with volumes of building materials in 
 hand, took the above matter into consideration, 
 purchased whole blocks, centrally located in sever- 
 al towns, and erected thereon magnificent, four 
 stories, fire proof buildings, eighty four feet deep 
 around the block, enclosing a glass covered court, 
 which is used for large assemblies. The ground 
 floor of such buildings is a vast bazar, or exhibi- 
 tion, of double-decked stores, separated by two 
 rows of pillars, between which is the grand prom- 
 enade. The basement, which is connected by an 
 underground cable railroad to the station, is used 
 for unpacking goods, heating a])paratus, and the 
 
248 
 
 Tlie Beformat'wn. 
 
 engines, whicli run the raachinei\y of the building. 
 In the stores is found merchandise of all descrip- 
 tion. The merchants, who rent them, by mutual 
 agreement, have assigned each compartment for a 
 special class of goods. On the same floor are also 
 restaurants, hotels, barber shops and all such con- 
 veniencies, as are generally found in leading streets 
 of towns and cities ; but, in addition to these, at 
 the four entr}^ gates, are free sitting, social and 
 reading rooms, free toilet and bath rooms for ladies 
 and gentlemen. The three stories above are occu- 
 pied by almost ever}^ conceivable trade and profes- 
 sion, so that the whole may properly be called ^' The 
 Palace of Industry " containing business, educa- 
 tion, pleasure and comfort combined. 
 
 Wherever such palaces luive been built, they 
 have become the centers of business, the landing of 
 women from the country, the rendezvous for 
 friends of both sexes, the attraction of youth, the 
 home of members of the Exchange from all parts 
 of the colony. 
 
 Behold the giant which has loomed up among the 
 industrial and financial institutions of the colony. 
 No other private or corporate enterprise can longer 
 cope with its power. 
 
THE TRIUMPH. 
 
 And now, when least expected, came a whisper 
 in the air, that thxC Governor was turning religious ; 
 that he was constantly reading the Bible and seeking 
 therein such passages as in Isaiah. Th}^ princes 
 are companions of thieves — woe unto them that 
 decree unrighteous decrees, to take away the 
 rights of the poor. Woe unto them that join 
 house to house, that lay field to field, until there is 
 no place. The spoil of the poor is in ^^our houses. 
 Thy silver has become dross. I will make a man 
 more precious than fine gold. For the extortioner is 
 at an end ; the spoilers shall cease, the oppressors 
 are consumed out of the land. My people shall build 
 houses and inhabit them ; they shall plant vine- 
 yards and eat of the fruit thereof. They shall not 
 build arnd another inhabit; they shall not plant 
 and other eat," etc. He is also searching the Few 
 Testament for anathemas against usur3^ 
 
 It is rumored that his conscience is very much 
 disturbed by the way he has treated the colonists, 
 driving millions of them, with their wives and help- 
 less children, into the bleak desert of poverty and 
 
 (249) 
 
250 
 
 The Triumph. 
 
 want, for no other crime, than because the}^ could 
 not find gold. It is also rumored tliat he has 
 repented, and hints at repealing the gold le- 
 gal tender decree,'' and make the road out of the 
 prison of debts, as wide as it has been to fall into 
 it, viz : that he aims to decree every one of the 
 myriads of articles, which are ''legal tender" to 
 lead into debt, to be also '' legal tender " to come 
 out of the same. Again, it is said that Adventu- 
 rers are swarming about the Governor's premises 
 and, for some reason, they seem considerabl}^ agi- 
 tated. It betokened truth in the reports. 
 
 Hail the inspiration ! It comes from the common 
 father in Heaven. He has heard the wailings of 
 the multitude mortgaged in that horrible prison, 
 and has brought the Governor to repentance. We 
 listen to the reports with anxiet}^ and awaited the 
 result with eagerness ; when lo ! out came the fol- 
 lowing 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 To our subjects greeting : 
 
 Whereas; The ''legal tender" restriction has 
 been the cause of all public bonds and private 
 mortgages in the colony. 
 
 Whereas; Public bonds are a violation of our 
 constitution, which guarantees to the colonists "in- 
 alienable " liberty ; for " bondage " and " liberty " 
 are antagonistic principles, and 
 
Tlie Tr'n(tii}>h. 
 
 251 
 
 Whereas; mortgages on real estate discourage 
 its improvements, and consequently retard progress 
 and prosperity ; and 
 
 Whereas ; Many of such mortgages are lield by 
 foreign Adventurers, either directly or by attorneys, 
 and are a menac^^i to our sovereignity and the lib- 
 erty of our people. 
 
 Therefore ; In virtue of the right of Eminent Do- 
 main, in us vested, we decree, that all persons and 
 corporations, domestic and foreign, holding bonds 
 against this colony, or any portion thereof, oi' 
 mortgages on real estate, shall, within six months 
 from the date of this proclamation, present the 
 same to our colonial Treasurer and receive pay- 
 ment, of both principal and interest, in legal ten- 
 der, non-interest bearing Sovereign Drafts. And 
 
 All bonds and notes, not presented for payment 
 within the said specified time, shall be null and 
 I . void, and debarred from collection. 
 
 It is further decreed tha.t, at the expiration of the 
 six months, as above determined, all mortgagees 
 shall pay interest to the colonial government, on 
 tlieir respective debts, at the rate of $1.87^ per 
 annum, equal to half one cent per day on each one 
 hundred dollars, until the principal be paid. And 
 
 Whereas ; When a man lends to another, he lends 
 only a surplus, which he cannot consume m^r use. 
 
 Therefore ; Be it fui'ther decreed that every arti- 
 
252 
 
 The Triumph. 
 
 cle of utility to man, and everything which here- 
 tofore has been considered 'legal' for the contraction 
 of debts, shall, hereafter, be held '' legal tender " 
 also, at appraised value, for the payment of the 
 same. 
 
 It is further decreed that all the expenses of the 
 government, shall hereafter be paid in our sover- 
 eign Drafts upon the colonists, and that all such 
 Drafts be receivable b}^ our officers in payment for 
 all debts, dues and taxes, at their face value, and 
 that they shall also be a legal tender in payment 
 of debts among the people, and that all contracts 
 for the delivery of special articles, not in the poss- 
 ession of the contracting parties, shall be held to be 
 'option deals' and, ipso facto, not enforcable by lav^^ 
 
 The Governor. 
 jThis proclamation, short and terse, struck the 
 Adventurers like a clap of thunder. They became 
 terribly excited ; hurried to and fro, from bank to 
 bank and from one attorney to another. What a 
 predicament ! Every one felt that his " revenues " 
 were at an end. Conclaves were at once convened, 
 in bank parlors, to protest, remonstrate and devise 
 means of averting the dire calamity hanging over 
 them. At one of these conclaves a vociferous one 
 was overheard addressing the assembly as follows : 
 
 " I always felt, gentlemen, that we were not safe 
 under a free school system. I was convinced that 
 
258 
 
 educated men would no longer perform menial 
 services. I feared that such men would be concoct - 
 ing schemes, whereby to avoid labor, avoid paying 
 their debts and live in idleness. Then again, gen- 
 tlemen, I always feared this universal suffrage 
 abomination. It is all bosh. What does a clod- 
 hopper and mechanic know about government? 
 Hamilton was right in opposing it, v^^ben our civil 
 government was framed. The Ancients never com- 
 mitted the faults of educating their serfs or giving 
 them a voice in governmental affairs. I have been 
 watching, gentlemen, the result of these two fatal 
 errors. You have seen, as I have, educated blath- 
 skites, from the laboring classes, leave their work 
 and tramp (^ver the colon}^ among mechanics and 
 farmers, preaching the most abominable doctrines ; 
 inciting them to disrespect for their superiors, 
 and organizing them into anarchical Unions. I 
 said then that we should put our foot upon sucli 
 Unions at once, and stamp them out of existence. 
 We should have blacklisted every member of these 
 unions, and starve them out of employment. They 
 are but schools of communism, anarchism and dy- 
 namite, fit only for powder and lead." With the 
 last expression, the speaker smacked the table in 
 front of him, a hard knock, adding with a 
 higher pitch of voice, and the Governor is no 
 better, gentlemen." 
 
254 
 
 The Triumph. 
 
 At such pitch the assembl}^ jumped to their feet, 
 stamped the floor, swearing like mule drivers, hit- 
 ting the air with their fists, and mating dreadful 
 threats against the 'rascals,' and that 'bigoted fool,' 
 the Governor. Finally the}^ got their attorneys to 
 draw up a remonstrance against the proclamation. 
 
 It run thus : 
 
 Hon. Sir : — " The best portion of your citizens 
 are amazed at your last proclamation. They at- 
 tribute it to a stroke of superstition, and, there- 
 fore believe that, when you return to your reason, 
 you will not attempt to enforce such act of vandalism 
 against vested rights, and institutions made sacred 
 by the sanction of all governments for centuries. 
 
 But, sir, the very fact of its publication has 
 already done an immense harm. The benighted 
 colonists, who happened to he in debt, are drunk 
 with foolish joy, believing that such act of robbery 
 will be enforced. It may take the army to quell 
 them down and put them to work again, for this 
 class (debtors), is more numerous than you may 
 imagine. 
 
 We expect, Hon. Sir, that you will, at once, re- 
 peal said thoughtless decree, and make provisions 
 to restore '' law and order " in the colon3\ 
 
 Your best friends. The Adventurers. 
 
 The reply that the Governor gave to this remon- 
 strance, was characteristic. He wrote : 
 
The Triumph. 
 
 Gentlemen : Your remonstrance lias been 
 carefully considered. The arguments tlierein. 
 against m}^ last decree, do not change, in the least, 
 my determination to open wide the prison of debts, 
 and bring forth m}^ beloved people to liberty. I 
 have been heretofore woiiving '* for the good of a 
 few." I shall hereafter work for the greatest 
 good to the greatest number," Because, piracy " 
 was carried on for a long period, it did not become 
 a virtuous occupation. Because slavery was spread 
 all over the earth, and lasted for centuries, it was 
 not made sacred by time, religion nor civil laws. 
 Now because ah iniquitous monetary system has 
 enjo3^ed the sanction of government and is made 
 hoary by age, it does not prove that it is anything 
 but an iniquity, worse than slavery. It lias per- 
 verted the worship of the true God into the adora- 
 tion of a golden calf. It has separated our beloved 
 people into lords and servants, enabling the few to 
 luxuriate in idleness and crime, and dooming the 
 many to a life of servitude, toil and misery. It is 
 useless, as pi'oven b}^^ the Labor Exchange Checks; 
 produces nothing and extorts all. I have deter- 
 mined, God being my helper, to wipe it out of the 
 Temple. 
 
 The Governor. 
 This answer aroused the Adventurers to fui-y. 
 They organized their puny forces (they are so few 
 
256 
 
 Tlie JYiumph. 
 
 of them), into a Law and Order League," to at- 
 tack the Labor leaders wherever found. 
 
 We were talking, rather lively, to a group of 
 friends, when some Adventurers recognized us a 
 
 Labor Agitator," and one of them advancing, 
 ^' you rascal," (this is the title with which highway 
 robbers usually salute their victims, when grasping 
 them by the collar or pointing a pistol to their head,) 
 ''you blatherskite, you communist," he raged at us, 
 and shook his fist. 
 
 This volle}^ came so suddenly that it threw 
 us off our usual calmness. We regretted it af- 
 terward. But at the moment our "temper got the 
 better of us, and '' you sinners," we replied, " you 
 worshipers of Mammon; you have been living in 
 idleness and luxur}^ out of others' toil, so long, that 
 ye think ye have acquired the right to do so forever. 
 You are not aware that a canker of greed is eating 
 your lieart, and are surrounded by an atmosphere 
 of envy and hatred. You have been heaping coals 
 of fire on your souls, here and hereafter, by your 
 extortions from the poor. Your pampei'ed children 
 have imbibed contempt for the toilers of earth, 
 and vent their passions in vanity, dibsipation and 
 crimes. Many are the victims you have strewn on 
 your path through life. The cries of these victims 
 have reached the throne of God. Hence this glo- 
 rious reformation. Nor do you confine your op- 
 
The Triumph. 
 
 257 
 
 pressions to this life alone, but coiitiiuie them from 
 beyond the grave. Only yesterday one of your con- 
 geners died, leaving one hundred thousand Florins 
 to be invested/* and the extorted ''revenues" 
 thereof to be devoted to keeping an electric light in 
 his tomb, and another in his grave, constantly 
 burning. We have seen the day, alas! when such 
 ''commands," from the dead, were implicitly obey- 
 ed, and men drawn from production to do the work. 
 Thank God, and our good Governor, such a day 
 has passed, never to return. There is not a man 
 in the colony, certainly not a member of the Labor 
 Exchange, but would have told that wicked mori- 
 bond of yours, to take his Florin^ along with him, 
 as future generations would no longer need them ; 
 and that the living had resolved to be free to min- 
 ister to their own comforts and enjo^mients, with- 
 out wasting time and means to the service of arro- 
 gant shylocks rotting in their graves. Repent ye 
 generation of vipers, for the day of judgment has 
 come." Thus we si)oke, and the gathered crowd 
 applauded. We regretted it, we said, because it is 
 not generous to vilify a fallen foe. 
 
 Finally the infuriated "Law and Order Leaguers" 
 accompanied by their attorneys, started in a body 
 to the Governor's palace. On ap] reaching, they 
 heard bands playing, (Adventurers have no bands 
 of their own). They saw banners floating. They 
 
258 
 
 The Triumph. 
 
 found the square, iu front of the palace, densely 
 ci'owded with enthusiastic colonists, shouting, hur- 
 rahing and cheering. They found the Court and 
 Palace thronged with the bone and sinew of the 
 land," gathered from farm, factory and mine, to 
 pay homage to their deliverer. They saw every- 
 where the soldiers fraternizing with the people. 
 They saw sights which brought dismay to their 
 souls. They saw poorly clad women, with tears of 
 joy i-olling down their emaciated cheeks, leading 
 ragged little ones, by the hand, to let them catch a 
 glimps of the New Moses, who had delivered them 
 from financial bondage. Nay, they saw the Gov- 
 ernor himself, moved by compassion, his eyes moist 
 with tears, clasping these children in his arms and, 
 in sobs, imploring them to pray God for him, that 
 He may forgive him the wrongs, that he had done, 
 an-l pariuitted to be done, to their parents. Yes, 
 the}^ saw enough to turn them back, many of them 
 repentant. 
 
 The night of the Jubilee was spent in general 
 festivities- All the cities and towns in the colony 
 were illuminated. The leading streets, squares, 
 parks and public gardens were thronged with joy- 
 ous people. Fireworks, bands, singing, balls, the- 
 aters and shows everywhere. The Industrial Pal- 
 aces of the Labor Exchange were festooned with 
 garlands, inside and out, and from ground floor to 
 
The Triumph. 
 
 259 
 
 the roof. (The Adventurers had gone to bed 
 early). We visited a panorama improvised by a 
 member of the Labor Exchange. It contained 
 three scenes, representing the past monetary sys- 
 tem and its final ending. The first scene showed 
 a revolving mass of industry and commerce pai'al- 
 ized, as drift, in front of a narrow gate, upon whicli 
 were inscribed the words Needle's Eye," the only 
 legal path to liberty and affluence." An expansive 
 and rich country was visible in the distance, but 
 no way provided to cross the legal " obstructi(m. 
 The second view represented a vast, rich and rug- 
 ged region, called the Kingdom of Legal Tender 
 Credit." All, who had goods, were enticed to enter 
 this region, b}^ leaving their goods in pawn at the 
 gate. A great multitude had entered here, prefer- 
 ing to risk this countr}^, rather than remain and 
 perish at the gate of the Needle's Eye; " and the 
 pawned goods, at the entry gate, were already 
 mountain high. Within that Kingdom, there seem- 
 ed to be a life or death struggle after fire flies." 
 Thousands had abandoned the rich fields of pro- 
 duction, in the chase after these flies. On asking 
 the showman what virtue was in ' fire flies,' here- 
 plied that there was none whatever, but that tliey 
 had been declared ' legal tender.' At intervals, 
 but very few flies could be seen flashing in the air. 
 At such moments, the people appeared siezed with 
 
260 
 
 TJie Triumph. 
 
 panic, as if some dreadful calamit}^ was at hand. 
 The struggle for the flies wouhi then become really 
 fierce, and multitudes of men, women and children 
 would, immediately^ be cast outside of the King- 
 dom destitute, for having failed to catch the requir- 
 ed number of flies. The men stood grieving, the 
 women weeping, and the children wondering at 
 the m\7sterious ways of men. 
 
 A stranger could not have comprehended the 
 significance of such tragic scenes ; but the reality 
 of them was yet so vivid in our memory, that we 
 trembled, lest they should return. 
 
 The third scene represented the grandest and 
 most beautiful landscape ever seen by mortal man. 
 It was a veritable Garden of Eden. Immediately 
 under the observer, could be seen the place where 
 the Needles Eye of legal tender had stood, now 
 blown to splinters by the dynamite proclamation 
 of the Governor, and grey headed men were search- 
 ing, among the rubbish, for the fragments to store 
 away in museums. Far beyond this spot, marched 
 the grand army of Labor, evolving volumes of 
 wealth as they advanced. Still further on, beyond 
 them, we could dimly discern the Governor, on 
 horseback, chasing the Pawn Brokers out of the 
 country. We told the keeper that the last sight 
 was wicked. Altogether it was a magnificent sight, 
 never to be forgotten. 
 
The Triumph. 
 
 261 
 
 On returning home, we passed a squad of boys 
 intoxicated with merriment. What is all this re- 
 joicing about, boys we asked, for curiosity. " Do 
 you not know, sir?" querried one supprised. " The 
 Governor has joined the Labor Exchange," he ad- 
 ded. We felt amused, and went on resuming our 
 trtiin of thoughts about the wonderful Reformation 
 which had been accomplished in so short a period. 
 The long night of chaos, oppression and plunder 
 transformed into a bright day of libert}^, equity 
 and happiness. 
 
 We were awaken next morning by peals of can- 
 nons, booming in the dawn of the New Era. 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 We, who have passed the whole of a long life 
 with the oppressed, amidst heart rending scenes 
 of misery and woe ; we, who, during all those years, 
 lived, as it were, on the borders of a better land, in 
 full view of a brighter day, from which but a thin 
 fetich veil separated a gold benighted multitude ; 
 we, who, by reason of this mental condition, en- 
 dured greater agony in that vale of despondency 
 and gloom ; as we now totter along the corridors of 
 these Palaces of Industry," erected by the Labor 
 Exchange, our soul exalted by the symphony of 
 
262 
 
 Tlw Triutnph. 
 
 musical instruments and the glee of many voices, 
 made happy by the Reformation, rejoice, in our old 
 age, and from the bottom of our heart i*ise feelings 
 of gratitude and adoration to a benign Proyidence 
 for having spared our life and permitted us to see 
 the Legal Tender obstruction removed from the path 
 of human progress, the metallic walls around the 
 purgatory of debts, leveled to the ground, and 
 the mighty host imprisoned therein, come forth into 
 the Elisian Fields of this New Era. Lo ! we liave 
 waded thi'ough the trials," and now it is given us 
 to behold. 
 
 THE " TRIUMPH " OF LABOR. 
 
 To God be the praise and glory forever. 
 
\ 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 062841124