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I. Hood - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican) - Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to Date - -Author: W. I. Hood - -Illustrator: C. B. Falls - -Release Date: April 14, 2017 [EBook #54549] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BETSY GASKINS (DIMICRAT) *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Emmy, MFR and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Transcriber’s Note:</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>There are two footnotes, which have been moved to directly follow -the paragraphs in which they are referenced.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The full page drawings are also moved to avoid falling in mid-paragaph. -The pages given in the list of illustrations refer to their original -page numbers, but here serve as hyperlinks directly to the images. -Their page numbers are skipped in the text itself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please -see the transcriber’s <a href='#endnote'>note</a> at the end of this text -for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered -during its preparation.</p> - -<div class='htmlonly'> - -<p class='c001'>Corrected text will appear in the text with a gray <ins class='correction' title='original'>underline</ins>. -Placing the cursor over the text will display the original -version. A brief explanation can be found by consulting the -endnotes for the relevant page.</p> - -</div> -<div class='epubonly'> - -<p class='c001'>Corrected text will appear in the text as a link to the -corresponding explanatory entry in the endnotes.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='htmlonly'> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_I'>I</span><span class='xxlarge'>Betsy Gaskins</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> - -<div id='i002' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-002.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>That every star was an eye looking down on me with pity.</span>” (<span class='fss'>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</span>)</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<p class='c001'><span class='xxlarge'><span class='underline'>BETSY GASKINS</span></span> <span class='xlarge'>(Dimicrat), -Wife of Jobe Gaskins -(Republican) <img class="inline" src="images/title3leaves1.jpg" alt="title3leaves1" /> Or, Uncle -Tom’s Cabin Up to Date <img class="inline" src="images/title3leaves2.jpg" alt="title3leaves2" /></span></p> -<div class='column-container'> - -<div class='column_left'> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -</div> -<div class='column_right'> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>By....</div> - <div class='line'><span class='large'>W. I. HOOD</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/leaf4.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>With Illustrations</div> - <div class='line'>from Original Drawings</div> - <div class='line'>by C. B. FALLS</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c003'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And an Appendix</div> - <div class='line'>Edited by K. L.</div> - <div class='line'>ARMSTRONG</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/flower.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>CHICAGO:</div> - <div><span class='large'>THE WABASH PUBLISHING HOUSE</span></div> - <div>No. 324 Dearborn Street</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='sc'>Copyright</span>, 1897,</div> - <div><span class='sc'>By</span> W. I. HOOD.</div> - <div><em>All rights reserved.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><span class='sc'>Notice.</span>—The illustrations in this work are engraved from original drawings -from life, and their reproduction, except by special permission from -the publishers, is prohibited.</p> - -<div id='i005' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-005.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p><span class='sc'>Betsy Gaskins.</span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div id='i006' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-006.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span>PREFACE.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='i007'></a></p> -<div class='c006'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-007.jpg' width='100' height='128' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_0'> -THIS book is written for a purpose. -It is founded upon actual occurrences. -Betsy and Jobe Gaskins -are characters well known to you, -if you will but reflect upon events -coming under your own observation -within the past few years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The author claims no inspiration -or gift of genius. This is only a -simple statement of facts deserving -the consideration of every intelligent human being. While -you read these pages, if you will permit your intelligence to -assert itself over your prejudices, and if finally you will -do that which the nobler instincts of man prompt you to -do toward bringing about a better condition of things under -the government of which you are a part, the author will be -fully repaid for his labor. He asks you only to keep in -mind at all times that Jobe Gaskins is your brother; that -Betsy Gaskins is your sister.</p> - -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>W. I. Hood.</span></div> - -<p class='c006'><em>New Philadelphia, Ohio, April 24, 1897.</em></p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_viii'>viii</span></div> -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c008'> -“GOD, by giving to man wants and making his -recourse to work necessary to supply them, has -made the right to work the property of every -man; and this property is the first, the most sacred, the -most imprescriptible of all.”—<cite>Turgot.</cite></p> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c008'>“THE right to work is the right to worship. The -clink of the anvil and the hum of the harvest -field, the music of the poet and the meditations -of the inventor are chords in the anthem of creation.”—<cite>Henry -D. Lloyd.</cite></p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_ix'>ix</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='79%' /> -<col width='7%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></td> - <td class='c011'> </td> - <td class='c012'><span class='small'>Page</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>I.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Sets and Studies</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_15'>15</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>II.</td> - <td class='c011'>An Argument on the Money Question</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_22'>22</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>III.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Sleeps in the Spare Bed. The Dream</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_27'>27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IV.</td> - <td class='c011'>“The Comers”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>V.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Must Raise $2,100</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VI.</td> - <td class='c011'>Betty, the Drivin’ Animal</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_49'>49</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VII.</td> - <td class='c011'>They Drive Old Tom</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_53'>53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Another Letter from Richer</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_61'>61</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IX.</td> - <td class='c011'>A Few Reasons by Betsy</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_65'>65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>X.</td> - <td class='c011'>Is there a Woman in the Barn</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_69'>69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XI.</td> - <td class='c011'>“In Town”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_73'>73</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XII.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Decision</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_78'>78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Cheers Up</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_84'>84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XIV.</td> - <td class='c011'>A New Mortgage</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_89'>89</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XV.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe, Out of Trouble, is Unruly Again</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XVI.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe is Scared</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_97'>97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XVII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Sleeps in the Barn?</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_104'>104</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XVIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Spittoons</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_111'>111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XIX.</td> - <td class='c011'>A Big-headed Man</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_118'>118</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XX.</td> - <td class='c011'>Bonds Sell Well</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXI.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Sermon</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_124'>124</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Working to Raise the Officers’ Salaries</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_128'>128</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Plan to Relieve the Rich of an Expense</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_132'>132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXIV.</td> - <td class='c011'>Them Promises</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_138'>138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXV.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Excited Over a Nomination</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_141'>141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXVI.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Bloomers</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_145'>145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_x'>x</span>XXVII.</td> - <td class='c011'>“Them Populists.”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_149'>149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXVIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Trouble with Billot</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_155'>155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXIX.</td> - <td class='c011'>“Inforcin the Law agin Billot”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_158'>158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXX.</td> - <td class='c011'>Betsy Discusses “Fiat” Money</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_166'>166</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXI.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Blows a Fish-horn</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_180'>180</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXII.</td> - <td class='c011'>At Court Again</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_185'>185</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Judgment Rendered</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_189'>189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXIV.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Little White Rose-bush</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_195'>195</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXV.</td> - <td class='c011'>Jobe Talks of Things that Are Gone</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_200'>200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXVI.</td> - <td class='c011'>Bill Bowers on the Fence</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_202'>202</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXVII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Betsy Faints. A Vision</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_207'>207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXVIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Parting</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_211'>211</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XXXIX.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Preacher and the Saloonkeeper</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_216'>216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XL.</td> - <td class='c011'>Them Rooms. The Director of Charities</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_228'>228</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XLI.</td> - <td class='c011'>A Sore Hand</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_235'>235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XLII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Hattie Moore</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_244'>244</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XLIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>A Family Reunion</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_249'>249</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>XLIV.</td> - <td class='c011'>After the Woe, then Comes the Law</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_256'>256</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='79%' /> -<col width='7%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr><td class='c013' colspan='3'>PART II.</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>I.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Impending Revolution</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_277'>277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>II.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Philosophy of Money</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_283'>283</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>III.</td> - <td class='c011'>A Bird’s-eye View of American Financial History</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_307'>307</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IV.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Eight Money Conspiracies</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_345'>345</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>V.</td> - <td class='c011'>Financial Authorities</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_352'>352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VI.</td> - <td class='c011'>Interest and Usury</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_380'>380</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VII.</td> - <td class='c011'>Debt and Slavery</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_387'>387</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c011'>The Laws of Property</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_393'>393</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IX.</td> - <td class='c011'>Direct Legislation</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_401'>401</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xi'>xi</span> - <h2 class='c009'>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf5.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='63%' /> -<col width='23%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>1.</td> - <td class='c014'>“That every star was an eye looking down on me with pity.”</td> - <td class='c012'>(<a href='#i002'>Frontispiece.</a>)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>2.</td> - <td class='c014'>Character title.</td> - <td class='c012'> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'> </td> - <td class='c014'> </td> - <td class='c012'><span class='fss'>PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>3.</td> - <td class='c014'>Betsy Gaskins</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i005'>7</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>4.</td> - <td class='c014'>Initial T</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i007'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>5.</td> - <td class='c014'>Jobe Gaskins</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i006'>13</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>6.</td> - <td class='c014'>Initial M</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i015'>15</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>7.</td> - <td class='c014'>“We both hankered”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i017'>17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>8.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I did git him started to readin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i019'>19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>9.</td> - <td class='c014'>“That canderdate feller”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i020'>20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>10.</td> - <td class='c014'>Tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i021'>21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>11.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Me a knittin, him a settin and studyin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i023'>23</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>12.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Talkin like them blame Populists’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i026'>26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>13.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I waked not until broad daylite”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i028'>28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>14.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Feedin-feedin, of course,’ says he”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i029'>29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>15.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Do you promis?’ says I, girlish like”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i030'>30</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>16.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I sot down, lookin him square in the face”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i031'>31</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>17.</td> - <td class='c014'>Bill Bowers</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i032'>32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>18.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i037'>37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>19.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Ide vote the Dimicrat ticket at the very next township election’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i039'>39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>20.</td> - <td class='c014'>“They waked me up at the dead hour of midnite”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i041'>41</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>21.</td> - <td class='c014'>“That very sheet of paper”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i045'>45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>22.</td> - <td class='c014'>Congressman Richer</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i046'>46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>23.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe works and sweats”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i047'>47</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>24.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i048'>48</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>25.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe and me both sot down and cried”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i050'>50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>26.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Started for town bright and airly”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i054'>54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>27.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe and me counted up how much we had”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i057'>57</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>28.</td> - <td class='c014'>“That nite I put another patch on his pants”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i062'>62</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>29.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He explained to Mr. Jones”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i063'>63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xii'>xii</span>30.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i064'>64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>31.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i068'>68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>32.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Peekin through a crack”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i070'>70</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>33.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jist a layin it off with his hands”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i071'>71</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>34.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Mistur Court, Gaskins is here’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i074'>74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>35.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘I ’bject’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i076'>76</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>36.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘I want to prove to you, Mistur Judge’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i079'>79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>37.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘This is the law, whether it is justice or not’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i081'>81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>38.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe and me sot there dazed like”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i082'>82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>39.</td> - <td class='c014'>Aunt Jane</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i084'>84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>40.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He would call him ‘Billy,’ in honor of the next president”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i085'>85</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>41.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Before Jobe could git up, William hit him agin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i086'>86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>42.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i088'>88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>43.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He would rather pay seven per cent. than six, in order to support a sound money basis”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i090'>90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>44.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Law or no law,’ says I”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i091'>91</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>45.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Payin it in gold to keep your party in power is up-hill bizness’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i092'>92</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>46.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘John Sherman is the greatest financier on airth’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i095'>95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>47.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i096'>96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>48.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Now, Betsy, you see what kind of a party you belong to’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i098'>98</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>49.</td> - <td class='c014'>“So I went to work and cut out the headin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i100'>100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>50.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘It is all over, Betsy,’ says he”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i101'>101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>51.</td> - <td class='c014'>“That nite he slept in the barn”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i103'>103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>52.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Jobe Gaskins, you make another move!’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i105'>105</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>53.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Are you mad, Betsy?’ says he”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i108'>108</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>54.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe was on his knees in the middle of the bed”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i113'>113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>55.</td> - <td class='c014'>“A strait, influential, leadin Republican officeholder”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i115'>115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>56.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Lots of fellers jist like him”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i116'>116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>57.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe he flew up”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i119'>119</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>58.</td> - <td class='c014'>“It wasent anything onusual for a county officer to make all he could”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i120'>120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>59.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Hadent we all ort to be satisfied so long as bonds sell well?’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i121'>121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>60.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Times are never hard under a gold basis,’ Jobe says”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i122'>122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>61.</td> - <td class='c014'>“They whispered and snickered at my straw hat and Jobe’s linen coat”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i125'>125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>62.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He said the rich all belong to church”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i126'>126</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>63.</td> - <td class='c014'>Harvesting</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i129'>129</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>64.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I was puttin salve on Jobe’s hands”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i130'>130</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>65.</td> - <td class='c014'>The hand that voted “the strait ticket”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i131'>131</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xiii'>xiii</span>66.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Some good men in case of labor trouble”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i133'>133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>67.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Some of the little children are pretty”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i136'>136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>68.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe took what hay he could spare”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i138'>138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>69.</td> - <td class='c014'>“They are kept so busy legislatin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i139'>139</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>70.</td> - <td class='c014'>“A huntin them overhalls”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i142'>142</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>71.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I had sot down and went to churnin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i143'>143</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>72.</td> - <td class='c014'>“The Dimicratic bloomers”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i146'>146</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>73.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Hello, mistur’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i147'>147</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>74.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘We ketch em a comin and we ketch em a goin’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i148'>148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>75.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I seen him a comin up the lane”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i151'>151</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>76.</td> - <td class='c014'>“The fust time for nigh onto twenty years”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i153'>153</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>77.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Billot jist laughed at him”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i155'>155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>78.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe he got mad and called Billot a Populist”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i156'>156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>79.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece—sunset</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i157'>157</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>80.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Lawyers a talkin and a laffin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i159'>159</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>81.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Mistur Moore, how long has it been since you quit advocatin the use of good, old-fashioned greenbacks?’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i161'>161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>82.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Lawyer—Dimicratic lawyer and polertician’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i164'>164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>83.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He carried a banner”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i167'>167</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>84.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I got a straw and tickled his nose”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i171'>171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>85.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i179'>179</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>86.</td> - <td class='c014'>“It was nearly mornin when I heerd the patriotic sounds of the fish-horn”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i181'>181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>87.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He looked kind a pale”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i182'>182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>88.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Give us a tune, Jobe’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i183'>183</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>89.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘This is not accordin to contract’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i184'>184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>90.</td> - <td class='c014'>“We hitched in front of Urfer’s big dry goods store”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i186'>186</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>91.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Ready’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i187'>187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>92.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘I am a banker, sir, a banker‘”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i190'>190</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>93.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He made sich a fine argament for gold and agin other money”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i193'>193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>94.</td> - <td class='c014'>Little Jane</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i196'>196</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>95.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I could nearly see her little dimpled fingers pattin the airth around the roots of that little bush”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i197'>197</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>96.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Mamma, ... how pritty!’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i198'>198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>97.</td> - <td class='c014'>Ornamental tailpiece</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i199'>199</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>98.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Jobe jist lays and moans”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i200'>200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>99.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I have to chop all the wood”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i201'>201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>100.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Out with it, Bill; we are prepared for the wust’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i203'>203</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>101.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Ile tell you, Betsy. Ive made up my mind to try them Populists hereafter’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i205'>205</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xiv'>xiv</span>102.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘O, Lord, is there no other way to do?’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i209'>209</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>103.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He drawed me over in his arms and kissed me”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i212'>212</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>104.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He was wipin his eyes and blowin his nose as he went towards town”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i213'>213</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>105.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Then sot down and cried and kept a cryin every little bit all mornin”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i214'>214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>106.</td> - <td class='c014'>“They pulled me away from the winder”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i218'>218</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>107.</td> - <td class='c014'>“At all the gates around the big fence they had signs stuck up”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i221'>221</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>108.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I asked him for something to eat”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i222'>222</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>109.</td> - <td class='c014'>“‘Well, old man, sich things hadent ort to be’”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i225'>225</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>110.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I slipped over and put my face agin the glass”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i229'>229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>111.</td> - <td class='c014'>“The feller turned around and looked black at me”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i233'>233</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>112.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I have to work hard in this place”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i236'>236</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>113.</td> - <td class='c014'>“One nice little place that I thought I would rent as soon as I got my first week’s pay”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i239'>239</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>114.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I worked there three weeks”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i241'>241</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>115.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Everything was cold and dark”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i242'>242</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>116.</td> - <td class='c014'>Initial M—Hattie Moore</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i244'>244</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>117.</td> - <td class='c014'>“He teched me on the shoulder”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i247'>247</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>118.</td> - <td class='c014'>“I got onto a freight train”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i248'>248</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>119.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Pushing back the hair of the sick woman, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i250'>250</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>120.</td> - <td class='c014'>“There lay Mrs. Gaskins”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i252'>252</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>121.</td> - <td class='c014'>“There again was the face of that little girl and the face of an old man”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i253'>253</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>122.</td> - <td class='c014'>“In the morning there was found a white-haired man”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i254'>254</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>123.</td> - <td class='c014'>Tailpiece—the rose-bush on the grave</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i255'>255</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>124.</td> - <td class='c014'>Initial B—the editor</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i256'>256</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>125.</td> - <td class='c014'>“Behold! See that money!”</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i265'>265</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>127.</td> - <td class='c014'>The world’s oppressor</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#i274'>274</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span> - <h1 class='c015'>Betsy Gaskins (<span class='sc'>Dimicrat</span>).</h1> -</div> - -<hr class='c016' /> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER I. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE SETS AND STUDIES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><a id='i015'></a></p> -<div class='c006'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-015.jpg' width='150' height='107' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_0'> -MISTUR EDITURE:—My name -is Betsy Gaskins. I was born -a Dimicrat. My father was a -Dimicrat and my mother dident -dare to be anything else—out -loud.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Our family, thus, was of -one mind, perlitically, until -Jobe Gaskins begin to come to see me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was a young woman of nineteen summers, as the poit -would say.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he was a Republican and “didn’t keer who -knowed it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>My folks opposed Jobe on perlitical grounds.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he opposed my folks on the same grounds, but -hankered arter me, though he knode I was a “Dimicrat -dide in the wool.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And I must say I hankered arter Jobe, though I knode -he was a rank Republican. On that one pint we agreed: -we both hankered.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, the time come when Jobe and me decided to lay -aside our perlitical feelins and git married.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This our folks opposed, but we “slid out” one day, and -the preacher united the two old parties, as far as Jobe and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>me was concerned, though I was still a Dimicrat, and -Jobe he was still a Republican.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Like the two great perlitical parties at Washington, when -they want to make a law to suit Wall Street, Jobe and me -decided to pull together on the question of gittin married.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have lived together for nigh onto thirty-five years, -and durin all that time Jobe has let me be a Dimicrat, and -Ive let him be a Republican. It has never caused any -family disturbance nor never will, so long as I be a Dimicrat -and let Jobe be a Republican.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have no children livin. Our little Jane was taken -from us just arter her seventh birthday. Since then we -have been left alone together, jist as we was before little -Jane was born. It is awful lonesome, and as we grow -older, lonesomer it gits. Sometimes, when I git my work -all done and have nothin to okepy my mind, I git that -lonesome, I hardly know what to do. Of late years I read -a great deal to pass away the time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he hardly ever reads any, not because he cant,—Jobe -is a good reader,—but it seems the poor man works -so hard, and has so much to trouble him, that he would jist -rather set and study than to read.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he gits his day’s work done and his feedin, and -waterin, and choppin of wood, he jist seems to enjoy settin -and studyin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hardly ever disturb him when he is at it. I jist set and -read or set and knit, as the case may be, and let Jobe set -and study.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I <em>did</em> git him started to readin a couple of years back. I -had signed for a paper that said a good deal about the -Alliance and the Grange and sich, and Jobe he read it -every week, and got so interested that he would talk on the -things he read about to me and to the neighbors. He got -nearly over his settin and studyin and seemed in better -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>spirits so long as he kept a readin of that paper. But one -day a feller, who was a Republican canderdate for a county -office, came to our house for dinner (they allers make it -here about dinner-time, them canderdate fellers do).</p> - -<div id='i017' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-017.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>We both hankered.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter dinner, Jobe and that feller went into the -front room, and the feller gin Jobe a segar (a regular five-center, -Jobe said), and then they set and smoked, smoked -and talked, talked about the prospect of their party carryin -the county, the feller doin all the talkin, until at last Jobe -told him that he “had been readin some of the principles -of the People’s party and liked em purty well.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The feller reared back, opened his eyes, looked at Jobe -from head to foot, and then indignant like says, says he to -Jobe:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am astonished!—astonished to think that Jobe -Gaskins, one of the most intelligent, most prominent and -influential Republicans in this township, should read sich -trash, much less indorse it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And from that day to this Jobe Gaskins, my dear -husband, has quit his readin and gone back to his settin -and studyin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>His party principles was teched. The argament of that -canderdate feller was unanswerable; it sunk deep into -Jobe’s boozim, and from the time that that feller thanked -Jobe for his dinner and hoss feed, and invited Jobe and me -both to come into his office and see him, if he was elected, -to this writin, I have not had the pleasure of talkin with -my husband as before.</p> - -<div id='i019' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-019.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I did git him started to readin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>That feller robbed me of all the bliss I enjoyed of havin -my pardner in life to talk with of evenins. And all I got -for bein thus robbed, and for the dinner and hoss feed he et, -was a invitation to see him okepy the high position of -county officer—as though that would pay for vittles or -satisfy an achin void, caused by him a turnin Jobe from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>his readin to his settin and studyin. What good would it -do me to see him okepyin a county office and drawin of a -big salary? Yes, drawin of a big salary that poor Jobe has -to work his lites out of him to help pay. All that there canderdate -feller cares for Jobe remainin to be a Republican -is so that he, and sich fellers like him, will continer to -vote for him and his likes, and pay the high taxes out of -which they git their big salaries. What do they care for -poor old Jobe Gaskins, whether he be a Republican or a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>Dimicrat or a Populist or one of -them wild Anacrists, if it were not -that he had a vote and they want -to keep him in line? What keer -they what papers he reads, or how -quick he changes his polerticks, if -they dident want to git office and -draw a big salary?</p> - -<div id='i020' class='figleft id005'> -<img src='images/i-020.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“That canderdate feller.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Say anything to Jobe about this -and he will flare up and tell you he -“doesent intend to lose the respect -of all the leadin men in the county -by changing his perlitical views.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He dont stop to ask hisself, -“Who is the leadin men?” He -dont stop to ask hisself how much -taxes and interest and sich he contributes -to make them the leadin -men. Contributes it to support -them and their families in style -sich as becomes leadin people.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Yes, to support their families, I said, so that their wives -and their girls can wear fine silks and satins, while I must -git along with a brown caliker or gray cambric dress at -best.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe and his likes earns the money by the sweat of their -brows, and them canderdate fellers and their likes spends -it in high livin and makin theirselves leadin citizens. And -then they are astonished to hear of one of their regular -voters a readin anything that says that sich men as Jobe -Gaskins and his wife Betsy, if you please, are jist as -respectable, jist as leadin citizens, as any county officer or -polertician and their wives. Yes, it astonishes them to -hear of his readin a paper that says that the farmers have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>jist as intelligent, honest and patriotic people among them -as the leadin citizens have. Now I read sich “trash,” as -the canderdate feller calls it, and I dont keer who knows -it, though Ime a Dimicrat. But as it is gittin late and -milkin time is here, I will close, promisin you more anon, -as it were.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>BETSY GASKINS (Dimicrat),</div> - <div class='line in10'>Wife of</div> - <div class='line in6'><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span> (Republican).</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div id='i021' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER II <br /> <span class='fss'>AN ARGUMENT ON THE MONEY QUESTION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE anon is here. Last Tuesday evenin, arter I had -milked and swept and washed up the supper dishes -and done many other things I have to do day in and -day out, year in and year out, arter Jobe had done his -waterin and feedin and choppin of wood, we both found -ourselves settin before the fire, me a knittin, him a settin -and studyin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I to him, all of a suddent, loud and quick like:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, what yer studyin bout?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>You ort a seen him jump. He was skeert. I spoke so -suddent and quick.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He hemmed and hawed a minit or so, got up and turned -around, sat down, spit in the fire, crossed his legs, and -says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy, Ile tell you what I was a studyin about. -I was jist a studyin about the mortgage and the interest -and the fust of Aprile. Aprile, Betsy, is nearly here, and -where is the money a comin from to pay the interest and -sich?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I saw he was troubled; but all I could say was: “Well, -indeed, Jobe, I dont know.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And I dont.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It seemed, now, as I had Jobe started, waked up as it -were, he wanted to talk, and I was willin that he should, -even though it wasent a very pleasant thing to talk about.</p> - -<div id='i023' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-023.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Me a knittin, him a settin and studyin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Betsy, I sometimes think we will never git -our farm paid for. It seems to be a gittin harder and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>harder every year to make payments. It has took all we -raised to meet the interest for the last four years; we haint -been able to pay anything on the mortgage; and this spring -I dont know where we will git the money to pay even the -interest. It takes twice as much wheat, or anything else, -nearly, to git the money to pay the interest with as it use -to, and crops haint any better. Besides, Betsy, if I was to -sell the farm to-day, it wouldent bring much above the -$2,100 we owe on it. When I bought it for $3,800, fourteen -years ago, I thought it cheap enough, and it was if times -hadent got so hard and things we raise so cheap. Jist to -think, we have paid $1,700 on the first cost, and $2,100 in -interest besides, and if we had to sell it to pay the mortgage -we would not have a dollar left. Congressman Richer -could foreclose at any time; he could have done so for the -last three years—ever since I failed to make the payments -on the mortgage.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe,” says I, “it is bad enough, to say the -least.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>“Yes, Betsy,” says he, “if we cant meet the interest, -Banker Jones tells me, we will be sold out.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was silent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe continered: “I tell you, Betsy, these times, six -per cent. interest is hard to pay. It seems that, no matter -how cheap a farmer has to sell what he raises, interest -dont get any cheaper.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thinks I, “Now is my time to speak.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe,” says I, slow and deliberate, lookin him square -in the eyes, “Jobe Gaskins, haint you a American citizen? -Haint you jist as good a citizen as a banker? Haint you -jist as honest? Haint you jist as hard-workin? Haint -you got as much rights in these here United States?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe was silent, but lookin straight at me, starin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Continerin, says I: “I was a readin in my paper, the -other day, that the banker borrowed money from this here -government for one per cent. The very money he loans -you and your likes at six and seven and eight per cent. he -gits from this here government for one per cent. You, -Jobe Gaskins, ort to have jist as good right to borrow -money from this here government of yourn and his as he -has, if you give good security and will pay it back, and God -knows you would, as honest as you are. Jist to think, Jobe, -if you could have borrowed the money from the government -to have paid Congressman Richer for his farm fourteen -years ago, when we bought it, at only one per cent. -interest, and only paid back to the government, at the -post-office, or some other place appointed, the same as you -have paid Congressman Richer in payments and interest, -we to-day would have our farm nearly paid for and be out -of debt, and you wouldent be a settin and studyin about -the mortgage and interest and the fust of Aprile. Or even -if you could borrow the money to-day from the government -at two per cent., you could git the $2,100, pay it off, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>next year only have to raise $42 interest instead of $126. -Dont you see it would be easier for you to pay? And you -could pay a little on the mortgage every year, as hard as -times are?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>While I was a sayin all this Jobe was a lookin at me, -a starin, turnin on his seat, spittin in the fire, crossin fust -one leg, then another, waitin for me to stop. I seen he -was teched; so, when I had done, I sot back in my cheer, -and begin to knit, and waited for what was a comin. He -begun slowly, but warmed up as he proceeded. Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, I have lived with you for nigh onto thirty-five -years; we have allers lived in peace, though you was a -Dimicrat and I was a Republican; we have had our -sorrows and our hardships, and now, arter all these years -of peace, am I to pass the last days of my life with a -pardner who is allers talkin like them blamed Populists? -You know, Betsy Gaskins, that I am a Republican and -expect to die one. I believe that all the laws made by the -Republicans are just laws. If they made laws to lend the -banker money at one per cent. it must stand, and I will try -to bear my burden, though I have to pay six per cent. -interest or more, if need be, for the same money. Betsy, -you must stop readin them papers. I never look into one; -they jist start a feller to thinkin, and the fust thing he -knows he dont believe a thing he has been a believin all -his life. It ruins a feller’s perlitical principles. If a feller -is a Republican, he should be one and never read anything -to cause him to think. Them Populists, Betsy, is jist -made up of a lot of storekeepers and farmers, and men -who work in shops and mills and coal-banks and sich -places. They dont know anything about makin laws, or -money or bizness. Our law-makers, Betsy, should be -lawyers and bankers and rich business men and sich.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, I jist saw it was no use argyin with him, but I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>thought I would have the last word, as I allers do, and -says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe Gaskins, if you ignorant farmers haint fit -to make the laws to fix the taxes you pay; if you farmers -haint fit to make the laws to govern yourselves; if you -farmers haint fit to transact the bizness in which you -should be most interested, I think you ort to begin to -prepare yourselves until you are fit, by readin what hasent -been done for you that ort to have been done, and what -has been done agin you that hadent ort to been done.”</p> - -<div id='i026' class='figcenter id007'> -<img src='images/i-026.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Talkin like them blame Populists’.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>At that, bein ready, I skipped into the bed-room and in -a twinkle was in bed with the kivers drawed up over my -head. If Jobe said any more I heard it not. In a few -minits I was asleep, where I must soon be agin.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER III. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE SLEEPS IN THE SPARE BED. THE DREAM.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THAT nite arter I had got into bed and kivered up -my head, I went to sleep and waked not until broad -daylite. Imagine my surprise, when I waked, to -find that durin all that long nite I had been the sole okepant -of that bed. The piller on which Jobe, my dear -husband, had slept for over thirty-four years had not been -teched that nite, and, for the fust time in thirty-five years -next corn-huskin, Betsy Gaskins had slept alone. I felt -skeert. I felt as though some awful calamity had or would -occur to me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>With a heavy heart I ariz and put on my skirts, all the -time feelin as if I was about to choke. Everything was -silent and still about the house. Could it be possible that -my dear Jobe had dide or been kidnapped, or what? I -hurried into the room—no Jobe there. I went into the -kitchen—no Jobe there. I hastened to the spare bed-room. -The door was closed. I stopped. I rubbed my -hands together, studyin what to do, all a trimblin. Certainly -the dead and lifeless corpse of my dear husband -was in there cold in death, drivin to it of course by the -cruel words of his lovin wife. There I stood stock still, -not knowin what to do. I must have stood there some -three or four minits until I came to myself. All at onct -I says, says I, out loud: “Betsy Gaskins, what are you -about? Haint you allers been looked upon as a woman of -good jedgement and feerless in the face of disaster?” At -that I marched up to the door and flung it open.</p> - -<div id='i028' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span> -<img src='images/i-028.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I waked not until broad daylite.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Now what do you suppose I found? Jobe was not -there, but that spare bed had been okepied that very nite. -Then it was that I realized that the two old parties, as it -were, had been divided—divided for one nite on the money -question. Yes, Jobe Gaskins and his wife Betsy, a Dimicrat -and Republican, had slept beneath the same roof and -in seperate beds.</p> - -<p class='c006'>While I stood there, contemplatin what next to do and -where Jobe might be, I heered him come onto the back -porch. I met him with a smile as he come into the -kitchen.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Why, Jobe, where have you been?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Feedin—feedin, of course,” says he; “where do you -suppose Ive been?” lookin at the floor and walkin -apast me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arter reflection thinks I, “’Tis best to say nothin to him -about the split in the two old parties until a future date.” -So I jist went about it and prepared the mornin meal, -thinkin all the time of a dream I had that nite, some time -between bed-time and daylite, while I lay there all alone, -while the pardner of my life okepied the spare bed.</p> - -<div id='i029' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-029.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>Feedin,—feedin, of course,” says he.</span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, while Jobe was partakin of his mornin repast, I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>saw all the time that he wanted -to say something. I never said a -word durin the whole meal, -neither did Jobe. We jist set -and eat—eat in silence.</p> - -<div id='i030' class='figleft id005'> -<img src='images/i-030.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Do you promis?’ says I, girlish like.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When Jobe was done he pushed -back and tipped his cheer agin -the wall. I knode he was a goin -to speak. He cleared his throat -like, and says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, I dont want you to -say any more to me about what -you read in the newspapers. I -am willin to listen to anything else -under the sun, but dont let me -hear any more about them Populist -ideas. I want to talk sense -to you, and you to talk sense to -me. Now what I want to know, -Betsy, is, how are we to raise the -money to pay the interest by the -fust of Aprile?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Land a goodness, Jobe, how do I know? -Goodness knows I am willin to do all I kin to help you -raise it. I had a dream last nite; if that dream was true -I might tell you how to raise it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stopped.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well,” says he, arter studyin a minit, “what was your -dream?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lookin at him kind a girlish like, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, I wont tell you what it was unless you make me -two promises.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe actually smiled. Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Go ahead; what are your promises?”</p> - -<div id='i031' class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span> -<img src='images/i-031.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I sot down, ... lookin him square in the face.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Well,” says I, smilin, “the fust promis is that you -sleep in the same bed I do to-nite.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that I laffed out loud. Jobe he did, too. Then -says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The second promis is that you will listen without -commentin until I tell it all.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he studied.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do you promis?” says I, girlish like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, I promis,” says he; “go ahead.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You promis to sleep in the same bed you have for -these nigh onto thirty-five years?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, yes,” says he, lookin half guilty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And you will listen?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, yes, Ile listen,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, arter clearin away the dishes and scrapin off the -crumbs for the chickens, and puttin some dish water to -bile, I sot down on the other side of the table from Jobe, -lookin him square in the face. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe, we was talkin of the mortgage and the -interest last nite when I went to bed, and I suppose that -had something to do with me havin the dream, and for -that reason I dont suppose there is anything in the dream.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Spose not,” says he, lookin oneasy like.</p> -<div id='i032' class='figleft id008'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span> -<img src='images/i-032.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>Bill Bowers.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe,” says I, “I dreamed -that Congressman Richer had demanded -his money, and you had to -raise the whole amount of the mortgage -or lose our home. I thought you -and me went down to town and went -to every bank to try to borrow the -money with which to pay the mortgage. -I thought every place we went -we was told that they was not makin -any loans now, that there was a -money panic and they had decided -not to make any more loans for some -time. I thought we could see great -piles of money inside the wire fence -that seperated us from the bankers, -you know.” At this he nodded. -“And I thought you said, jist as -plain as I ever heard you say anything:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Why, haint you got plenty of money?’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Yes, yes, we have plenty of money, but we are not -loaning any at this time,’<a id='rA' /><a href='#fA' class='c019'><sup>[A]</sup></a> says each banker, jist as though -they had all agreed to say the same thing.</p> - -<hr class='c020' /> -<div class='footnote' id='fA'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#rA'>A</a>. In July and August, 1893, during one of the severest money panics ever -experienced in the United States, many of the banks not only refused to -lend money on choice security or to discount commercial paper, but in -many instances would not permit persons to draw out the money they had -deposited with them. Business was paralyzed. Thousands of persons -were ruined, losing the accumulations of a lifetime by being unable to raise -money as usual to meet obligations falling due. Factories were closed for -lack of funds to pay employes, and thousands of American citizens were -thrown out of employment. The consequent suffering among the poorer -classes throughout the nation was indescribable. And during all this time -the banks of the country held the money of the people and refused to pay -it out even to those to whom it belonged. Hence the question: Can not -a better system of financiering be devised than our present banking system? -Would it not be better to permit the people to deposit their money with our -county treasurers?</p> -</div> -<hr class='c020' /> - -<p class='c006'>“So I thought we traveled and traveled and coaxed and -coaxed, and we couldent git a cent, as it were.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Finally I thought we was agoin along the street, both -feelin sad and discouraged, when jist in front of Spring -Bros. & Holsworth’s big dry goods store who should we -meet but Bill Bowers of Sandyville.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>“‘Hello, Gaskins,’ says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That was the fust we had seen of him. Our minds was -so troubled.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We stopped, and arter inquirin about the folks, and -the stock, and the meetin that is goin on at Center Valley -school-house, he asked:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘What are you doin in town?’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And I thought you up and told him about havin to pay -the mortgage; and of our havin been to every bank; and -of our havin been told the same tale by each banker, and -then you said, ‘I guess, Bill, we will have to lose our -farm.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“When he up and says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Why, Gaskins, haint you heerd it?’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Heerd what?’ says you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Why, haint you heerd of the new law?’ says he. -‘Why, Congress passed the law yisterday. I was jist over -to the court-house and they showed me the telegram.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Why, what law do you mean, Bill?’ says you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Then you and Bill sot down on a box and I leaned -agin the house, and says Bill:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Why, yisterday, Jobe, they passed a law in Congress -authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to, at once, have -engraved and printed full legal-tender paper money to the -amount of ten dollars per capita of the population of the -United States, and that money is to be set apart only to be -loaned to counties on county bonds, and the counties are -to git it at one per cent. interest. Then the county treasurers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>are to lend the money only on first mortgage real -estate security to the farmers and business men and -mechanics, at only two per cent. interest, and when the -man that borrows it pays it back, or any part of it, the -amount of his payments shall be credited on his mortgage, -and as fast as it accumulates in the county treasurer’s -office he shall forward it to Washington and git it credited -on the county bond they hold. The one per cent. the -government gits is to pay for makin the money and keepin -the books at Washington. The other one per cent. that -the borrowers pay is to go toward payin the county treasurer’s -salary and clerk hire. This money, Jobe, is as good -as gold, because the government agrees to take it for -postage stamps and internal revenue and duties on -imports and sich. All you have to do, Jobe, is to go over -there to that grand old court-house, give your mortgage to -the people of the county, and git your money; and after -this you will only have to pay two per cent. interest instead -of six or seven, and you kin save your farm.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe, I thought you and me and Bill Bowers all -went over there, and sure enough, what Bill told us was -true. The county treasurer told us that he would put our -application on file, and as soon as they could git the money -out and here, possibly in thirty days, we could come in and -git ninety per cent. of the value of our farm if we needed -that much.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And while we was standin there a talkin to Treasurer -Hochstetter, I heard George Welty explainin to Ed. Walters -‘how nice it was for a person to be able to give a mortgage -to the people of the county for money to pay for a home, -and then the county goin that person’s security and gittin -the money from all the people of the United States,’ and -explainin that there would always be jist enough money to -do bizness on and no more, since the county would only -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>borrow from the government when some citizen of the -county had use for the money and was willin to give good -security and pay two per cent. for it. And, Jobe, I thought -you looked happier than you have for ten years.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Bet——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold on, Jobe,” says I. “Well, I thought you and -me and Bill Bowers started up street, and when we were -passin Jones’s bank he called us in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Says he: ‘Mr. Gaskins, I guess we can accommodate -you with that little matter you was speakin about this -morn——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘I dont want it now,’ says you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘No,’ says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Ide think not,’ says Bill Bowers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Well, but hold—hold on,’ says Jones. ‘I—I—we—we -will let you have that amount at four per cent.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Oh, no,’ says you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Well, how will three strike you?’ says Jones.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘I dont want it at all,’ says you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘Come on,’ says I, and we went on up street. When -we passed the First National Bank, out comes one of -the clerks a hollerin, ‘Mr. Gaskins! Mr. Gaskins!’ We -stopped. He came a runnin up and says: ‘Come in now -and our people will accommodate you,’ takin hold of your -arm and startin back with you. I thought I jist took a -hold of your other arm and says, says I: ‘Jobe Gaskins, -where yer goin? We dont want any bank money in sich a -panic as this. So come on and lets git out of this panic.’</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, every last bank we had been to that mornin was -a peckin, and a hollerin, and a beckenin to us that evenin, -until we like to a never got out of town and away from -them. They jist seemed bound to lend you that money -whether you wanted it or not. Something had created a -panic among them—a panic to git to lend you money. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>Maybe they had heard of the new law. I dont know.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Durin most of the tellin of my dream Jobe he was leanin -his face in his hands, his elbows on the table, eyes wide -open, listenin as he never did before.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I finished, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, that will save us. What a grand country this -is!” And he got up and walked across the floor. Comin -back and lookin, anxious like, at me, says he: “Betsy, -which party did Bill say passed that law—the Dimicrats or -the Republicans? It is grand! grand! It will save us.” -As he spoke he looked full of joy and happiness. -Answerin, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I think I heard John Denison say it was the Popul——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I never got to finish that word. His fist came down on -the table like a thousand of bricks. He jumped back into -the middle of the floor, cracked his fists together, stamped -his foot, and says in a loud voice: “I wont! I wont! I -wont do it. It can go fust. Bill Bowers is a dum fool. -I wont! I wont!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Why, Jobe, what on airth is the matter? -What ails you? What yer talkin about anyhow? You -wont do what?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Answerin, says he, bringin his fists together agin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I wont borrow any money from any scheme them tarnal -Populists has made into a law. Ile—Ile pay ten per cent. -interest fust. Ile not lend my approval to any law they -have made.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, sakes alive, Jobe,” says I, “they haint made -any law. That was jist a dream I had. What ails you, -anyhow?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that he stepped back a step or two, lookin at me -vicious like. Movin his head up and down in short jerks, -says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, you must stop it. Stop it at once. Its got you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>crazy—so crazy you are dreamin about it. You must stop -that readin or Ile have you sent to a lunatic asylum.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He went out at the door then, but just as he got out, in -time for him to hear it, I hollered:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Its you and your likes that ort to be sent to a lunatic -asylum for not seein a thing that you have to turn your -back on to keep from seein.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>This ended the second “discussion of the financial situation,” -as they say down at Washington. The two old -parties—Jobe and me—are still divided; but I have one -promis he has yet to fulfill.</p> - -<div id='i037' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-037.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER IV. <br /> <span class='fss'>“THE COMERS.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>BILL BOWERS has got me into trouble. The Thursday -arter I had my dream about the money bizness, -who should ride up to our gate and hitch but Bill -Bowers? I had not seen him for nigh onto two years, -except in that dream, until he rid up to that gate post.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No sooner did I lay eyes on him than I thought of our -meetin him that day in town, right there by Spring -Brothers’ big store, and of his tellin us of the money plan, -and of his goin with us to the county treasurer, and of us -a learnin from the county treasurer that in a few days he -would become the people’s banker and would lend money -to the people on good security. While he was gittin off -and hitchin, I remembered of his walkin with us up apast -all the banks; I remembered of them refusin to lend us -any money in the mornin; of them a peckin and a beckenin, -a hollerin and a runnin arter us, wantin to lend us their -money, in the evenin, arter we, and they too, had heerd of -the new law Congress had made the day before—a law that -turned a panic where we had to beg for money, and not git -it, to a panic where they begged to lend us money and we -wouldent borrow it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Yes, sir, that there dream all come back to me as plain -as day, Bill Bowers and all, jist as soon as I laid eyes -on him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So it was no more than nateral for me to tell him about it. -Jobe not bein at home, I had to do the entertainin. As -soon as he got in and got settled, I says:</p> - -<div id='i039' class='figleft id009'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span> -<img src='images/i-039.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Ide vote the Dimicrat ticket at the<br />very next township election.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Bill Bowers, I am glad -to see you. I must tell -you my dream. Bring -your cheer up to the fire.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I jist up and told -him that whole dream, and -he swollered every word -of it without chawin, as it -were.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I had finished he -says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy Gaskins, if that -ere dream was only enacted -into a law, what a -blessin it would be to the -creatures of this world! -Betsy, though I am one of -the stanchest Republicans in Sandyville, if this here Dimicratic -Congress would make sich a law, Ide vote the -Dimicrat ticket at the very next township election. -Betsy, how in the world did you come to dream sich a -dream?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, how do I know how I come to dream any particular -dream? I went to bed and went to sleep, jist as I had -done for nigh onto thirty-five years, exceptin, of course, -Jobe slept in the spare bed and me alone. But would I -tell Bill Bowers of that split in the two old parties, as it -were, and have him tell all over creation that Jobe Gaskins -and his wife Betsy had quit sleepin together? No. Ide -die fust. So I jist says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Bill, indeed I dont know how I come to dream it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And I dont.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, my tellin of Bill Bowers that ere dream is causin -me no ends of trouble. Ime jist worried and hounded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>about by this and that one, to have me tell em about that -dream, until I hardly git time to breathe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Bill Bowers he jist went, and from the time he left our -house until now he has been a tellin of my dream to every -one he meets. And it seems he is a keepin a tellin it, the -way people has been flockin here and keep a flockin. Jake -Cribbs, and Joe Born, and Curt Hill, and Bill Loyd, and -Jim Rankin and Mag his wife, and the Minnings, and the -Bateses, and the Hances, and goodness only knows who -all has been here to know more about my dream! And -how I come to have it; and what Ime a goin to do about it; -and why I dont git it published; and why I dont send it -to Congress; and why I dont do this and do that!</p> - -<p class='c006'>And some of em say they have it goin that the law is -made—that Bill Bowers told Tom Osborne, and Tom -Osborne told Doc Hendershot, and Doc Hendershot told -Lucy Joss, and Lucy Joss told somebody else, that Betsy -Gaskins said there was sich a law passed, and they come -from fur and near to know what paper I read it in? or -how I heerd it? or if Ime certain I had it? &c. &c., and a -thousand and one other things, until Ime sick and tired of it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Last night they even waked me up at the dead hour of -midnite—Ellic Shank and Lew Zimmerman and Dan -Hochstetter did—to hear me tell em more about it. And -Jobe he’s nearly destracted. The poor man is jist run as -hard as I be, though he had nothin to do with dreamin of -that dream, onless his not a sleepin with me that nite -caused it.</p> - -<div id='i041' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-041.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>They waked me up at the dead hour of midnite.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>What to do to git rid of all this questionin and answerin, -this comin and a goin, I dont know. If they would go to -readin, and thinkin, and a reasonin with themselves, they -might have some dreams of their own—yes, have dreams -with their eyes open. If these very people, men and -women, who are worryin the life out of me, would go to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>readin of papers whose mouths haint shut by the public -printin they git or hope to git; if they would go to readin -papers that haint got some polertician’s hand around their -throat—I say if these very people would read papers whose -editures haint afraid to speak the truth when they see it; -haint afraid to condem the wrong wherever they find it—I -say, if they would read sich papers and sich books, they -would dream dreams they never dreamed of dreamin -before. I think they would begin to see that the Dimicrat -pays the same rate of tax as the Republican pays, and -vicey versy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They would see that, no matter what is the polerticks of -the office-holder, the voter has to pay the taxes out of -which the feller draws a salary.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They would see that by reducin or increasin salaries -their taxes are made high or low, as the case may be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When they begin to see these things, I think they will -begin to see that so far as they are concerned it dont make -any difference to them which ticket they vote; that the -feller most interested in their vote is the canderdate feller -who is wantin to draw the salary.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Does a feller have to go to sleep to dream that holdin -office is the best payin bizness in the country?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Does a feller have to go to sleep to dream that the -salaries of all officeholders are too high, and that the -foreigner dont pay the taxes out of which these salaries -are paid?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Does a feller have to go to sleep to dream that all public -expense ort to be cut down and kept cut down?</p> - -<p class='c006'>These are some of the dreams that the dreamless people -would dream if they would go to readin of papers and -books that Jobe and his likes would have me sent to the -lunatic asylum for readin. (Here is another comer. I must -quit.)</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER V. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE MUST RAISE $2,100.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>MY heart is heavy. Poor Jobe is nearly destracted. -Our home is in jeopardy. Congressman Richer -must have his money. He must have it by Aprile -fust. Poor feller, he too is in bad straits; his gittin -defeated last fall upset his calkerlations.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And jist to think, Jobe voted agin him; helped to defeat -him, as it were. But Mistur Richer holds no spite agin -Jobe for that. He was a Dimicrat, and he knew Jobe was -a strait Republican.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Such things will happen to any feller runnin for office; -somebody has to be defeated. They all cant hold office. -I wish he had been elected agin, and so does Jobe. Jobe -wishes it, though he is a Republican and voted agin him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Mistur Richer, he is in desperate strates. He is -hard up. If he had been elected agin he wouldent a been -that way.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It makes my head swim to think about what his disappointments -are and may be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Here is his letter to Jobe. It is so kind and nice. And -jist to think of what a big man it is from, and the place. -Jobe likes to read the headin:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>House of Representatives</span>,</div> - <div class='line in7'><span class='sc'>Washington</span>, D. C., Feb. 23, 1895.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c021'><span class='sc'>J. Gaskins</span>, <span class='sc'>Esq.</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Dear Sir and Friend</em>—Owing to circumstances over -which I <em>now</em> have no control, I am compelled to call on -you to pay the $2,100 with interest due me on mortgage, -not later than April 1st of the current year.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>No doubt, Mr. Gaskins, this will take you unawares, and -most probably unprepared. Were it not for the political -reverses with which I met last fall, I would not be compelled -to do what, I assure you, is a very unpleasant thing -to me, <em>i. e.</em>, call on you for this money at this time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No doubt you will think that on the $5,000 a year salary -I have drawn for two years, now nearly past, and the other -sources of revenue that have become the perquisites -belonging to a Congressman’s office, I ought to be able to -get along without, in this way, inconveniencing you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Had I been re-elected last fall I would have been in -such circumstances. But when I call your attention to the -fact that the nomination two years ago cost me $2,500 spot -cash; that I have only been able to dispose of a very few -post-offices at anything like paying prices; that, it being -my first term, my services were not sought to any paying -extent by those seeking “profitable” legislation, as well -as the high rents and expenses in maintaining the dignity -of myself and family, I am satisfied you will realize not -only my great disappointment, but the loss, financially, I -suffer as a consequence of my late defeat.</p> - -<p class='c006'>True, I have bought something like $20,000 worth of -real estate in this city, but I still owe nearly $5,000 on it. -I bought it expecting to be re-elected; so you will see the -necessity of my calling in the money I now have outstanding -in order to meet the deferred payments on my -real estate venture.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I may be able to dispose of one and possibly two more -post-offices between now and March 4th, but as they are -small offices it is not likely that I will get more than $300 -to $500 each for them, and as the friends of my successor -are using every effort to postpone these appointments -until after March 4th, you can see that I may even lose -the profit on these appointments, since, as you are aware, -all such revenue goes to my successor after that date.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The fact is, friend Gaskins, I have not been able to -clear over $15,000 in the two years I have served as your -Congressman, while some of the older members (those -better known and more sought for by the liberal rich who -come here to secure legislation favorable to their interests) -make as high as a million a year.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>With kind regards to Betsy, and hoping you will not -put me to the necessity of foreclosing the mortgage I hold -against you, I am</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Yours truly,</div> - <div class='line in4'><span class='sc'>D. M. J. Richer</span>, M. C.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div id='i045' class='figcenter id007'> -<img src='images/i-045.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“That very sheet of paper.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Now, jist to think, that letter, that very sheet of paper, -come right from the great capital of these here United -States; right from where all the great and leadin men of -the country sit and make laws, and sell post-offices and sich—yes, -this very sheet of paper has been writ on, handled -and folded by a live and livin Congressman. The beautiful -red tongue of a real Congressman licked that invelope, -and his fingers sealed it up and put it in that great marble -post-office there; then it traveled across them high -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>mountains, over -the big rivers -and through the -great cities to -Jobe Gaskins, a -common, everyday -farmer, of -Tuskaroras -County, Ohio.</p> - -<div id='i046' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-046.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>Congressman Richer.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Yes, that -letter was writ -by fingers that -have fingered -$5,000 salary -money in only twelve months, and the Lord only knows -how much post-office money—but lots—as it must a been, -though they dident sell high enough to suit him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Five thousand dollars from Noo Years to Noo Years! -More than Jobe Gaskins has cleared since he become the -lawful husband of his dear wife Betsy!</p> - -<p class='c006'>And jist to think, all them $5,000 paid by taxes. Paid -by Jobe and his likes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Mr. Richer, how he must pant and sweat to airn -that much money in twelve months—as much as Jobe could -airn in twenty years if he could airn $250 every year. Jist -to think how Jobe works and sweats, and walks stiff and -plans and studies, and don’t airn $250 a year.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I expect there wasent a dry thread in all of Mr. Richer’s -clothes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I expect that even his pants was wet through every day -of that whole year.</p> - -<p class='c006'>What big washins poor Mrs. Richer must a had.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he jist couldent stand sich sweatin, day in and day -out.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>It would take a whole barrel of soft soap to keep his -clothes clean.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Five thousand dollars!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Five thousand dollars a year!!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Four hundred and sixteen dollars a month!!!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Seventeen dollars a day for every workin day in the -year!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Seventeen dollars!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Enough to buy me twenty-four caliker dresses a day!</p> - -<div id='i047' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-047.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe works and sweats.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>One every hour!!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Seven thousand four hundred and eighty-eight caliker -dresses in a year!!!</p> - -<p class='c006'>How in the world could I git them all made?</p> - -<p class='c006'>I spect poor Mrs. Richer has to so day and nite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And jist to think, all of them 7,488 dresses for one man’s -wife!</p> - -<p class='c006'>All paid for by taxes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now I wonder, if them Congressmen dident have to -work so hard, and could get along on less pay—I wonder -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>if the tax-payer’s wife wouldent have a dress or two more, -even if Mrs. Richer and her likes had to get along on a -dress or two less? The Lord knows she could spare them -out of all them 7,488 dresses.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, the idea okepyin my mind most now is: “Where -can Jobe git the money to pay all that $2,100, when he -haint got even one post-office to sell?”</p> - -<div id='i048' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-048.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER VI. <br /> <span class='fss'>BETTY, THE DRIVIN ANIMAL.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>EVER since we got that letter from Congressman -Richer, demandin his $2,100 by the fust of Aprile, -Jobe has been scourin the country fur and near -tryin to borrow the money, and, poor man, he is worse -destracted than ever. Things haint like they use to be. -Nobody seems to have any money to lend. He finds lots -of people a huntin money, but nobody a findin any. He -has been to Sandyville, and Mineral Pint, and Zoar, and -way up in Stark County as fur as New Berlin, and nary the -man has he found with $2,100 to lend on good security.</p> - -<p class='c006'>What to do Jobe dont know, nor neither do I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says he will write to Mr. Richer and git him to wait -a little longer, until times pick up a little.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“But,” says I, “Jobe, when will times pick up?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And the poor man, lookin at me sadder than he has -since he become my dear husband, says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, the Lord only knows—I dont.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And I think Jobe is right.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, we—that is Jobe and me, the two old parties—have -decided that the interest will have to be paid whether -the $2,100 is or not. So Jobe has been a rakin and a -scrapin to raise what he could, and I have been a rakin -and a scrapin to raise what I could.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We sold Betty the other day, the only drivin animal we -had; sold her for only $42.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As the stranger went a leadin her away Jobe and me -both sot down and cried. We both loved Betty. We -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>had raised her from a colt. She was a purty colt, and so -lovin like, Jobe he named her for me. We had intended -to always keep her, and since our little Jane was taken -from us we jist loved Betty as if she was a child. And, -poor Betty, I know she loved us. When the stranger -started to lead her away she jist looked back at Jobe and -me, so pleadin like, as much as to say: “Dont let him -take me away from you!”</p> - -<div id='i050' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-050.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe and me both sot down and cried.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When I seen that look my heart come up in my throat, -and I jist couldent hold in any longer. I busted out a -cryin, and so did poor Jobe. We both sot there and cried -and looked at our poor Betty as fur as we could see her, -and she kept a lookin back at us, nickerin—tryin to speak -the best she could.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ever since she has been gone my heart keeps a comin up -in my throat, and tears keeps comin in my eyes every time -I think of her. I know it is foolish and no use, but I cant -help it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I know the interest has to be paid if it takes everything -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>we have, but I cant help cryin when I think poor Betty is -gone from us forever—yes, gone for interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, with the $42 for Betty and twenty-six bushels of -wheat and twenty-eight bushels of corn and $14 worth of -sheep, and the only brood sow we had, and 96 cents’ worth -of old iron, Jobe has been able to raise $92.34, arter payin -Banker Jones the discount for cashin the notes he took for -the sheep and the sow, and Jobe says he cant think of -another thing to sell. I jist up and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, its awful. Poor Betty gone for interest; our -wheat gone; nearly all our corn; our sheep gone; our -brood sow; and what will we have to show for it when the -interest is paid? Nothin. We will owe jist as much on -the mortgage as before. But Jobe, dear,” says I, “I will -help you all I can to raise the balance. I will spare you a -dozen hens, though layin time is just here. And there is -my carpet rags, that I wanted to git made into a new -carpet for the spare room; we might sell them for something. -And I have them two new quilts I made last fall a -year. I can spare them by patchin up the old ones to last -a year or so longer. I see, too, Jobe, that feathers are a -good price, considerin the times; we could sell all the -feathers we have in our pillers, if you think you could -sleep on straw pillers awhile, until times git better. If -you say so, Jobe, Ile gether all these things up and we will -take them to town and sell them for what we can git. The -Lord knows, Jobe, I am willin to do all I can to help you -raise the interest money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>As I looked at him I saw big tears rollin down his -wrinkled cheek.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Whether he was thinkin of poor Betty, or me a sellin -the pillers, or what, I dont know. He said nothin, but -turned aside and walked out toward the barn. I saw him -usin his hankercher as he went.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>Now, though I be crazy on what I read in them noosepapers, -though I be so crazy that I dream about it, I -would like to ask you if my dream about the new money -plan, and the county treasurer, and borrowing money at -two per cent., though that dream, Bill Bowers and all, -come from the mind of a crazy woman, sleepin alone—I -say, wouldent it be a godsend to Jobe and his likes if he -could go to the county treasurer this spring and if, by givin -the same kind of a mortgage he gave Congressman Richer, -he could git the money to pay Mr. Richer off at only two -per cent.? Next year our interest would only be a little -over $40.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And, oh, how that lump comes up in my throat when I -think that if we had had sich a law this Aprile we need -not have sold poor Betty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Would it not be better to have a State law authorizin our -county treasurer to receive deposits, and loan money at a -low interest, even if we had to take tax off from money to -do it, than to have people sellin the things they love, doin -without the things they ort to have, and losin their homes? -Who would sich a law hurt? Congressman Richer and his -likes would git their money if they wanted it, and Jobe and -his likes would be able to pay two per cent. interest and -some on the mortgage every year. And jist to think, if -interest was less, the difference in interest alone would pay -off all the mortgages in this county in a few years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then people would live in homes of their own, in homes -with no mortgages on them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Everybody would be out of debt and happy. But Ime -talkin crazy agin and will have to stop until Jobe and me -gits back from town.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER VII. <br /> <span class='fss'>THEY DRIVE OLD TOM.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>JOBE and me have been to town and we are back alive, -thank goodness. There is no place like home—if it -<em>is</em> mortgaged.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Last Tuesday mornin, bright and airly, Jobe and me got -up and got ready to go to town to raise some more interest -money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wore that blue cambric dress that Simon Kinsey’s wife -got me for helpin her make apple butter last fall three -years ago, and the lace cap mother knit and gave me the -year John Sherman fust begin to borrow greenback money -on bonds and burn it up, and that black straw hat Mrs. -Vest Hummel traded me for that half dozen of dominic -hens the spring she was married.</p> - -<p class='c006'>While I was a standin before the lookin glass gittin -ready Jobe come in, as men allers do, and says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, are you ever goin to git ready?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then he begin to comment on my clothes. Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I hope you haint a goin to wear that cap? Why, its -out of fashion ten years ago. Haint you got a dress with -bigger sleeves in? Why dont you borrow a hat more -becomin you?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stood it as long as I could, then I jist up and says, -says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins, my mother wore a cap, and she made -this one with her own fingers, and, fashion or no fashion, I -expect to wear it when and where I please. If my dress -sleeves haint big enough to suit you, you quit votin the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>ticket that is causin us farmers to spend five dollars for -interest and taxes to one for women’s clothes. If my hat -is out of date, sir, you begin to inquire why I haint able -to buy a new one, and see if you cant have sense enough -to vote for a better system of laws, instid of votin for a -lot of office-seekin canderdates who belong to your party -for the salary they are a gittin or expect to git. Yes, see -if you cant have sense enough to vote for a party that will -make laws for the farmer as well as for the banker.”</p> - -<div id='i054' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Started for town bright and airly.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>You ort a seen him tuck tail and sneak.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The idea of a man, with the sense Jobe Gaskins has, -wantin his wife to put on airs, when he knows it takes all -she can rake and scrape to help pay interest and taxes to -the leadin citizens so they and their wives can put em on!</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, we loaded in our truck—that is, our chickens and -our quilts and our feathers and sich, and started for town -bright and airly.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We hitched old Tom, the only boss we have since we -sold Betty, to the spring wagon.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Tom haint purty, and, bein stringhalted in his right -hind leg and lame in his left fore foot, I couldent help -thinkin of poor Betty as we proceeded toward town. Betty -would trot along as though she enjoyed takin us. Tom -he limped and jerked along as though he would like anything -else.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>We finally got there, and from the time we struck the -superbs of the town till we hitched in front of Urfer’s store -people were a snickerin, and a titterin, and a pintin at us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Women would come to the winders and scream out a -kind of a holler laf, and then two or three more would -come, and they would laf and titter and holler until I was -ashamed of them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When we got up to the court-house square a lot of -young upstarts, eighteen or nineteen years old, were -standin on the corner by Miller’s drug-store, smokin paper -segars, and they begin to holler at us and poor old -crippled Tom, all sich nonsense as “Git on to that horse,” -“See his gait,” “Where’d yer git that hat?” “Have you -got any hay to sell?” “See her style!” “Oh, haint she a -lolly?” etcetery.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dont know who they were, but they were young men -and big enough to have more sense and better manners; -but I guess maybe their raisin was neglected and they -couldent help it. They dident look like coal miners, or mill -hands, or farmers, and I know they wasent sich. They all -were well dressed and wore pinted yaller shoes. They -couldent a been the sons of the leadin citizens, because one -would think they would teach their offspring better sense. -Maybe they were orphans, born without parents. I dont -know.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter we got through the storm of insult and -abuse that we had to suffer because we had to sell our -drivin animal to git interest money, we begin to try to sell -our stuff. Most of the stores was willin to trade goods for -what we had, but none of em wanted to spare any money. -We went from one store to another, Jobe a tellin them -that he had to have money to meet interest, and that we -were sellin our quilts and pillers to git it. Fust one and -then another would buy somethin, jist to accommodate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>us, until we finally got our stuff all disposed of. We got -$14.45 in cash, which, added to what Jobe had, made -$106.79, lackin $19.21 of enough to pay Congressman -Richer the $126 interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We was in Mathias & Dick’s store when we sold the -last of our stuff, and steppin aside Jobe and me counted -up how much we had and how much we lacked.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says Jobe, “where will we git the -balance?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I studied a minit. Then it come to me all at once.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Jobe,” says I, “lets go and accept that canderdate -feller’s invitation to ‘come and see him arter he’s -elected;’ he’s elected, and you voted fur him and fed him -and his hoss when he was runnin. He will lend you the -$19.21 you lack.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Maybe he will,” says Jobe; “lets go and see.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And at that we started fur the court-house.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jist as we got across the street onto them big stone -flaggin in front of the court-house, we met that Republican -feller with black mustache and curly like hair who is -hankerin arter the county clerk’s office. Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, hello, Gaskins, howdy do?” all smilin and -nearly shakin the arm off Jobe. “Well, Gaskins, weve -got em out,” says he, “got em out! Every office in that -grand old buildin is now okepied by one of our own fellers. -I tell you, Gaskins, its a day we may well feel proud of,” -hittin Jobe a lick on the shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well,” says Jobe, “I cant see as it makes much -difference to me. Taxes are jist as high and interest -money as hard to raise as it was when the Dimicrats were -in. I cant see where us tax-payers has anything to be -proud of; we dont git any of the salaries.”</p> - -<div id='i057' class='figcenter id011'> -<img src='images/i-057.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe and me counted up how much<br />we had.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Gaskins, what do you mean?” says he. “Dont -you feel proud that the people of our own party, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>Republicans, has at -last routed the Demmies -from the county -offices?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, I cant say as -I do,” says Jobe; “fact -is, I cant see much -difference to me between -a good Dimicrat -and a good Republican -or between a bad Dimicrat -and a bad Republican, -so long as -both are willin to let -bad laws remain and -good ones go unmade, -provided they git to -draw a salary. Where -is the difference?” says Jobe, with force.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Gaskins!” says he, steppin back and lookin at Jobe -from head to foot. “Gaskins, is it possible you are -succumbin to pettycoat argament?” (lookin sideways -at me).</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was teched.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist up and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mister Canderdate, it would be a Lord’s blessin if him -and more of his likes would listen to pettycoat argament -instid of the argament of you office-seekin canderdates.” -Says I: “Come on, Jobe,” takin hold of his arm and -startin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked back when I got a piece away, and I seed the -feller had met Doc Tinker and was pintin at my clothes -and smilin. I thought I heard Doc say:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, them are the marks of prosperity the administrations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of the past thirty years have scattered over the -country.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>That is what I thought he said. The feller went on -across the street. I dident see him smile or pint any -more.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, we went on to accept the invitation to see the -feller okepy a county office.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We clumb up them high steps, went through them big -doors, past several fine rooms, till we come to the sign of -that office to which he was elected.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The door was shet.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe knocked, and some one inside hollered, “Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>They hadent manners enough to git up and open the -door for us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In we went. It was a nice place, nicer than my spare -room, and so warm and pleasant. If I could git to live -there day in and day out, without payin interest money or -rent, Ide do all their writin for a good deal less than what -I hear they git. It is so nice.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when we got in we found two men and two women -settin over next to the winder, a eatin oranges and laffin. -Nobody was doin nothin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I spect the county officer got up airly so as to do his -work before his visitors would come.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They all was a talkin and a laffin and a shootin orange -seeds at each other, and enjoyin theirselves high.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They stopt when we went in, and the feller what eat our -dinner and hoss feed come up to the fence and asked -what he could do for us, lookin round at the women.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The women they would look at me, then at one another, -then whisper, then look out of the winder and laf.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe, answerin the feller, says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to borry $19.21 till arter oats harvest.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says the feller:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>“Why, my dear man, I dont <em>know</em> you,” lookin round -towards the women.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They smiled.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Dont know me?” says Jobe. “Why, Ime Jobe Gaskins, -the most prominent and influential Republican in our -township. Jist afore election last fall you was at my -house, when you was runnin. I voted for you.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The feller studied a minit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That may all be, Mr. Gaskins,” says he, “but I saw -so many people durin my campaign, and so many voted -for me that if I was to lend each of them $19.21 I would -have nothing left for myself. I can not accommodate you. -You see I have company” (pintin to the women), “so you -will have to excuse me” (turnin to leave us).</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist up and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold on, Mister Officer! Dont be in a hurry. We -are here by your invitation. We paid you for the privilege -of visitin you—paid you, sir, in hoss feed and grub, besides -payin by taxes to come here any time we see fit. We -have come to stay all day; to visit with you. I have -brought my knittin and am in no hurry. You ort a be -decent enough to ask us over the fence and give us cheers -to sit down on.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>You ort a seen them women. They looked distrest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The officer looked tired.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The women begun to tuck their skirts close agin their -legs. I suppose they wanted to keep my cambric dress -from rubbin em.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But land a goodness! jist to torment em I said I was -goin to stay. I knode they would have no more fun that -arternoon if I stayed there. I knode I wouldent be welcome, -and if Ide a had to stayed there Ide a wanted them -women gone.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When that feller said he wouldent I knode it was no use -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>of askin any more. What does he care for the hardships -of old Jobe Gaskins and his wife Betsy?</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I jist up and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Dont worry, Jobe. Weve got along without any commodation -from him; we can git along agin. Arter this -when a office-seekin canderdate comes to our house and -talks about your bein the ‘most intelligent, influential -and prominent Republican in our township,’ and is ‘astonished -that you ever read sich nonsense as Populist noosepapers, -much less indorse them;’ that talks about the -Dimicrats all bein rascals and the Populists all cranks; -that feeds you on three-for-five segars and tells you they -are regular five-centers, you have sense enough to charge -him 25 cents for dinner and 15 cents for hoss feed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“When votin day comes recollect that ‘self-preservation -is the fust law of natur;’ that the officeholder draws the -salary and you pay the taxes; that votin can bring you to -distress or prosperity.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Come on,” says I, and we left.</p> - -<p class='c006'>None of them was laffin. They seemed to be thinkin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he was jist so disappinted at not gittin the money, -and his perlitical loyalty was so shockt at the feller furgittin -him, that he wouldent try to borry the interest -money any more that day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We jist got in our wagon and went up that alley by -Urfer’s store till we got out of town. Nobody seen us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe is diggin a well for Bill Gerber, gittin 50 cents a -day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If they dont strike water too soon, and if it dont take -too long, and if the fust of Aprile dont come too airly, we -may be able to raise the balance of the interest money in -time to keep from being foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No letter from Congressman Richer yit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wish interest was two per cent., dream or no dream.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER VIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>ANOTHER LETTER FROM RICHER.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>JOBE went to the election Monday and voted her -strait. That nite I put another patch on his pants. -Ive been a doin his patchin just arter election every -year since 1873.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe dont mind patches so long as the Republicans are -in, but there is no end to his kickin if the Dimicrats are in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I cant see what difference it makes; the patchin has to -be done, and more of it, every year.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Tuesday Jobe went to town to pay his interest and hear -how the election went. He had borrowed what he lacked -of Bill Gerber and will work it out at diggin that well.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he got to town he went strait to Jones’s bank -and paid the $126 interest, then went to the post-office and -got this letter:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>OFFICE OF</div> - <div><span class='large'>BERIAR WILKINSON,</span></div> - <div><span class='sc'>General Speculator and Political Wire-Puller</span>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c021'><span class='sc'>D. M. J. Richer</span>, Attorney.</p> -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>Washington, D. C.</span>, Mar. 29, 1895.</div> -<p class='c021'><span class='sc'>J. Gaskins, Esq.</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Dear Sir</em>—Your letter to hand. I must have the money. -I have instructed my attorney to begin foreclosure proceedings -at once, unless the $2,100 is paid by April 10th, 1895.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Yours truly.</div> - <div class='line in7'><span class='sc'>D. M. J. Richer.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'> took Jobe’s breath. He forgot to ask who was -elected. He hurried from the post-office to the bank, to -git his interest money back, hopin he could save that -much.</p> - -<div id='i062' class='figleft id009'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span> -<img src='images/i-062.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“That night I put another patch on his pants.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When he got into the bank -and explained to Mr. Jones -that he had got that letter -and that he wanted his interest -money back, Banker -Jones kind a smiled and -said: “You should have -gone to the post-office first, -Mr. Gaskins. I cannot give -you the money back <em>now</em>. -That would not be bizness, -Mr. Gaskins. It would not -be bizness.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he explained to him -that the reason he did not -go to the post-office fust was because he was anxious to git -the interest paid, and that was the fust thing on his mind.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Cant help it,” says the banker.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he begged and plead for the money. Told him of -our sellin Betty, and our wheat, and corn, and sheep, and -hog, and quilts, and feathers, and chickens, and of his -borrowin part of it from Bill Gerber—told him how he had -tried to borrow the money to pay it all and couldent find -any one that had it to loan; he showed him how, if we were -foreclosed, we would have nothin left at all.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Banker Jones told him it was too bad, but it couldent be -helped; he couldent give Jobe any of the interest money -back.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Bizness is bizness,” says Banker Jones, “and I have -to do bizness accordin to bizness rules.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe asked him to be merciful, and told him the Lord -would bless him if he would show mercy to them a needin -mercy.</p> - -<div id='i063' class='figright id009'> -<img src='images/i-063.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He explained to Mr. Jones.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>But Banker Jones said he was purty comfortable as it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>was, and when he needed -any favors from the Lord -he ginerally paid “spot -cash” for em; in fact he had -several blessins paid for in -advance.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then he told Jobe if he -had any other bizness to -attend to he had better go -and attend to it, as he was -bizzy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe! He jist got -out and come home. He -says he dont recollect how -he got home, he felt so -dazed and queer. He has -been droopin around all day. -He looks distrest; and, poor -man, I know he is. The -Lord only knows what will -become of us—I dont.</p> - -<p class='c006'>My heart has been a raisin up in my throat all day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Every time I see anybody a comin up the road I feel -faint like and skeert. I think its the sheriff a comin to -notify us that we are foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If Jobe had only heerd how the election went he might -feel better. I wish the Republicans got in. I wish it, -though Ime a Dimicrat. I wish it for Jobe’s sake. It -might help him bear his trouble better.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jist to think, if we had only $2,100 of all them -$683,000,000 of greenbacks that John Sherman burned up -when he was in office—yes, and put Jobe and his likes in -bonds to git them to burn—I say if we had only $2,100 of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>all them millions, we could pay off our mortgage and Jobe -would be happy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If Sherman had burned less of that money, I wonder if -Jobe and his likes wouldent have more?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Do the people in the poor-house have interest, and mortgages, -and foreclosures, and taxes and sich to worry them?</p> - -<p class='c006'>I have to quit. My heart is heavy.</p> - -<div id='i064' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-064.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER IX. <br /> <span class='fss'>A FEW REASONS BY BETSY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE Republicans swept the platter. They elected -every officer from township clerk down, and the -sheriff has sent Jobe a notice to appear before the -Common Pleas Court and show cause why he should not -be foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe feels good over the election, but bad over the -notice.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now I think there are a good many reasons why we -shouldent be foreclosed, and more reasons why we hadent -ort to be. Its not our fault that we have to be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>First. We shouldent be because Jobe has voted the -strait Republican ticket, rain or shine, for nigh onto -thirty-five years. In this he has done his dooty—as he -seen it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Second. We have paid our taxes every year without -ceasin, not even complainin when the law-makers drawed -two years’ pay for one year’s work, nor when new officers -were added and old ones given more wages. In this we -done more than our dooty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Third. We have given all we raised to Congressman -Richer for interest, not even keepin enough out to take a -trip to Urope or to buy me a new spring bonnet. In this -we done all our health and opportunity enabled us to do.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Fourth. We have indorsed everything the polerticians -and office-seekers done or said durin our united lives, -even havin to change our minds as often as twice a year to -do so. In this we have been foolish.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>Fifth. When John Sherman was a burnin up that -$623,428,000 of greenback money and givin the rich men -of New York and Urope mortgages on our property to git -the money to burn, I agreed it was fine sport, jist to please -Jobe, and when Jobe said the national debt John was -makin was a national blessin, I nodded my head to it, -though I was a Dimicrat. I nodded to keep peace in the -family.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I am now payin for them nods, payin for them in fifty-cent -wheat and high interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Sixth. We have taken good care of the farm, and have -jist as many acres as when we bought it from Mr. Richer -and give him a mortgage for the balance due. We have -paid him $1,700 of the purchase price and all we raised -besides, and I think he ort to wait till land increases in -price before foreclosin us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We sent him down to Congress to make laws for us, and -it was his dooty to make sich laws as would make it easier -for Jobe and his likes to git a home and git it paid for. -He dident do it. In this he dident do his <a id='corr66.20'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='dooty,'>dooty.</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_66.20'><ins class='correction' title='dooty,'>dooty.</ins></a></span></p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, suppose Mr. Richer, as our Congressman, had -introduced a bill, and got it made into a law somethin -like my dream was. He would have been sent back to -Congress and a been a drawin $5,000 a year salary and -disposin of post-offices and sich at payin prices, and -wouldent need the money still due on the mortgage, or if -he did need it to help him out on his real estate deals, -under that new bill Jobe could borrow the money of the -county at two per cent. and pay it, and besides could pay -the interest easier and have more each year to pay on the -mortgage.</p> - -<p class='c006'>You remember that my dream was that Congress had -passed a law that hereafter, when more money was needed -to do bizness with in any county, instead of the United -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>States lendin it to the national banks at one per cent., -and lettin the banks loan it to the people at eight or ten -per cent., I dreamed that the law was that the same -officers of the government should lend it to the county at -one per cent., on county bonds as security, and that the -county treasurer should lend it to the people of his county -at two per cent., on sich security as the banks now take, -and I drempt that Jobe and me and Bill Bowers went to -the county treasurer to see about gittin the money to pay -Congressman Richer the $2,100, and we found that sich a -law was passed, and the county still lived. And I dreamed -that the bankers was a peckin, and a beckenin, and a -coaxin of people to borrow their money at the same rate of -interest as the county treasurer loaned it. Now, had we -ort to be foreclosed because no sich law was made? Had -Congressman Richer ort a want to foreclose us when he -dident try to git sich a law made? Had we ort to be foreclosed -when Jobe has been a votin men into office to make -laws that would make it easier for him to live and pay for -his home, and they dident do it? Had we ort to be foreclosed -because them men have made laws agin Jobe instead -of fur him? Made laws to reduce the value of his farm and -the price of his crops; made it harder for him to pay -debt?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Had Mr. Richer even made a law permittin county -treasurers to receive deposits of people who would ruther -put their money in the county treasury than in banks, and -allowed the county treasurer to loan it out in the name of -the county at three or four per cent., givin all he received -as interest, less what it cost to attend to it, to the fellers -what deposited it, it would a helped us some. But he -dident do it nor try to do it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If we are foreclosed and our farm is sold by the sheriff, -and Mr. Richer bids it in for $2,100 and gits the farm back, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>where is Jobe’s $1,700 cash paid on the principal and -$2,212 interest money he has paid?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Who gits it? What has Jobe got for it? For who has -Jobe and me been a workin for the last sixteen years? -For who is this foreclosin law, with high interest, made? -I hope we will be able to git our case at court put off till -arter the fall election and corn huskin! Livin in this hope -I must retire to bed. Jobe is asleep in his cheer. Every -little bit there is a troubled look comes into his face, as -though his dreams haint all pleasant.</p> - -<div id='i068' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-068.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER X. <br /> <span class='fss'>IS THERE A WOMAN IN THE BARN?</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>YOUD a dide to see the fun I had with Jobe day -before yisterday. It was warm like, and I went out -to the barn to see what Jobe was a doin. When I -got up to the barn door I heerd Jobe a talkin. Peekin in -through a crack, I seed Jobe settin on the half-bushel, -lookin desperate and jist a layin it off with his hands, like -as if he was argyin with some one. At times he come so -near a swearin that he is in danger of gittin churched, if -they find it out on him. Jist as I got my eye to that crack -he brought his fist down on his knee with force, and says, -says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ive been made a fool of and I know it. Ive marched -up to the ballot-box for nigh onto thirty-five years and -voted men into office that cared no more for Jobe Gaskins -and his likes than they did for a good fox hound, and not -as much. They said it was necessary to destroy the greenbacks, -and I said, ‘Destroy them.’ They said, ‘We ort -to demonitize silver,’ and I said, ‘Demonitize her.’ I -seed that times was gittin harder, but they said way back -in the seventies that the tariff ort to be higher, and the -next year higher, and higher, and higher. And every time -they said higher I hollered, and the higher they made it -the louder I hollered, and kept a hollerin until to-day -about all I have to show for my hollerin and votin is the -holler, and there is dummed little of that left now.</p> - -<div id='i070' class='figleft id012'> -<img src='images/i-070.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Peekin through a crack.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Here I am a old man. I have worked hard, year in -and year out, and have been fool enough to vote a ticket -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>that was enslavin -me for thirty years -or more. The -wealth that I have -produced by my -hard work has -been taken from me -by the laws they -have made, while -the fellers I have -voted for have got -rich, and say that -it is my fault if I -am poor. Me and -my likes had to be -made poor in order -that others might -be made rich. Its -no fault of mine. -Ive tried to be -honest and scorn -dishonesty, and am -to-day nearly without a home for bein sich and for votin the -strait ticket and not askin what they was doin; while -the fellers I have voted for looked on dishonesty as a -honor, and have made laws by which the products of my -labor has been taken from me and given to themselves and -others no more honest. Ime dummed if I know what to do.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If I leave the party the polerticians and officeseekers -will call me a ‘sorehead’ and sich names; if I stay in I am -doomed to distress.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I wish the Republicans would make some of them -Populist ideas into a law. Ide—Ide——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Just then I opened the door all of a suddent, and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>“Jobe, who air you talkin to?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Nobody, nobody,” says he, gittin up and steppin -round, quick like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins,” says I, puttin my hands on my hips -and throwin my head back. “Jobe Gaskins, dident I hear -you a talkin?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, you dident,” says he, mad like. “I haint spoke -a word for hours.”</p> - -<div id='i071' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-071.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jist a layin it off with his hands.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I stepped back a step or two, lookin Jobe square in the -face. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, I heerd you a talkin, and you needent deny it. -If there is a woman in this barn I want to know it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that Jobe got mad, and comin at me with his fist -drawed, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy Gaskins, do you dare accuse me with anything -like that?” grittin his few teeth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had grabbed the pitchfork. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, take care!”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>He stopped, and I started to turn the hay upside down, -sayin, “If there is a woman in here, Ile—Ile——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he watched me a minit or two; then says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, what the Harry is the matter with you? There -haint any woman in here.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And at that he sneaked out of the barn and went down -in the sheep-shed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, jist to think! There is Jobe Gaskins, a man of -good sense, a man who sees that every law made by the -Republican party since the war was a law agin him, and -for people who make their livin off Jobe and his likes -without workin. Yit, fool like, Jobe will keep a votin his -party ticket, jist to please a lot of office-seekin canderdates -and “hangers-on” that eek out a existence by doin the -dirty jobs set up by the leadin polerticians and fellers who -pay to git laws made agin Jobe and his likes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe ort to be ashamed to admit that he was talkin the -talk I heerd him talkin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But, poor Jobe, I suppose he will keep a votin for the -hand that has smote him, and will keep a smotin him, till -he is in his grave and beyond smotin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Had the Republican party made laws for all the people, -instid of for only the rich; had they made laws to make -interest less and taxes lower; had they made laws to make -it easier for people to borrow money when they needed it, -instid of makin it scarce and hard to git—I say, if they -had made sich laws, if they had been as foolish as my -dream was, do you suppose Jobe and me would have to go -to court next week to show cause why we hadent ort to be -foreclosed?</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XI. <br /> <span class='fss'>“IN TOWN.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>WE are at court. The case is on. Poor Jobe, he is -so worried and troubled and downhearted that he -dont seem to enthuse when the officeseekin canderdates -and polerticians are shakin of his hand and tellin -him that “we got there, and are now ready for ’96,” -&c., &c.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he jist takes it, and says: “Is that so?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Not one of all them polerticians or canderdate fellers -seems to know that one of their “old and respected -citizens” is about to be foreclosed out of house and -home. Not one of them seems to care if he does know. -The leadinest idea in their minds is gittin office and -enthusin over the election. But I notice some of them -dident come near, but seem kinder cold toward Jobe. I -spect they have heerd of the foreclosin and dont want to -be seen in our company.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, we got to town this mornin and come strait to -court. I jist felt as though the house would fall on me; I -was so out of place.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But them lawyers and fellers what okepy that field over -the fence from the common herd, they jist walked around -and whispered, and tiptoed, and laffed, as though they was -raised right there in that field all their useless lives. Some -of them even had nice tables to put their feet on, and -carpet and soft cheers and sich. Well, I spect the poor -things were brought up tender like, and it would hurt them -to git along with common things like taxpayers git -along on.</p> -<div id='i074' class='figleft id009'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span> -<img src='images/i-074.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Mr. Court, Gaskins is here.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter a while the -judge come, and the officer -opened court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then the case of</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>“<span class='sc'>Richer</span>, Plaintiff,</div> - <div>vs.</div> - <div><span class='sc'>Gaskins</span>, Defendant,”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>was called.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt like as if Ide faint—gone -like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge asked if the -parties to the case were in -court and ready for trial.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The lawyer for Congressman -Richer got up -and said he was “there -and ready.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then the court called for the “defendant, Gaskins.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe he jist sot still and looked as white as a -ghost. He never moved.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hunched him, and told him to “git up and answer.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said he couldent; he was sick.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The court, kinder mad like, called for “Gaskins” agin, -when I riz up and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mistur Court, Gaskins is here, and I am Betsy -Gaskins, the lawful wife of Jobe Gaskins, the defendant.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Whose your lawyer?” says the court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We haint got any,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Youd better git counsel,” says the court, “if you -desire to contest this case.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Will counsel keep us from bein foreclosed?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge said the case would be decided on the law -and evidence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Then,” says I, “what do we need of counsel? You -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>have the law, and we will give you the evidence, and if the -court please, if our side needs any pleadin, Ile do it -myself.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hadent them words out of my mouth till up jumped -Mr. Richer’s lawyer and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I ’bject.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The court said that I could not do the pleadin, as I was -not a party to the case, nor had I a license to practice -before the court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I riz up agin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mistur Judge,” says I, “what difference does it make -who I am or what I am, so long as I treat the court with -respect, and know as much, or nearly as much, about this -case as any lawyer we could hire?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If the case, Mistur Judge, is to be decided on the law -and evidence, and not on the pleadin, why cant I do what -pleadin we need, as well as some lawyer?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge looked at me a minit over his specks.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Mrs. Gaskins,” says he, “if we allowed anybody -and everybody to come into our courts and represent -a neighbor or friend, half our lawyers would have nothin -to do. The law prohibiting this privilege is made so as to -afford our attorneys a livelihood. While it sometimes -proves a hardship to litigants, it would be a greater hardship -on our lawyers if they dident have sich a law in their -favor. However, Mrs. Gaskins, as this is a case of small -importance, if the bar is willing I will permit you to say -what you desire in behalf of the defendant.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><a id='corr75.30'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Turin'>Turnin</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_75.30'><ins class='correction' title='Turin'>Turnin</ins></a></span> to the lot of high-toned cattle over the fence -from us, says he: “What do you say, gentlemen?”</p> - -<div id='i076' class='figleft id009'> -<img src='images/i-076.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘I ’bject.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>They kind a hemmed and hawed and whispered together, -and looked disgusted and disappinted and contemptible, -and finally one of them says:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>“We shant ’bject.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And four or five of em -got up and left, lookin -like as if they had lost -somethin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, the judge invited -us over into the field.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We went in, and I sot -down by a table. The -lawyer for Mr. Richer -got up and stated his -case. He said that he -would prove that a number of years ago one Jobe Gaskins -purchased from the Honorable D. M. J. Richer certain lands -and tenements to the value of $3,800; that there has been -but $1,700 paid on the amount; that there remains due and -unpaid some $2,100, which is secured by mortgage. And -he was there to pray for the foreclosure of said mortgage -and sale of the premises to satisfy said claim.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I got up.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I says, says I: “Mistur Judge, this here case haint -just exactly like that there lawyer said. We claim there -haint no $2,100 still due Mr. Richer, although he has our -notes and a mortgage for that amount. We claim that he -has got nearly full value for all we got from him. We -have paid him $1,700 of the principal and over $2,200 in -interest. The land, for some cause, haint worth now as -much as we paid for it, and we expect to prove that Jobe -haint done anything to cause the land to fall in value. -The land may now be worth $2,500, if we could find some -one that had the money and wanted to buy land. If we -are foreclosed and forced to sell it, it may not bring more -than the $2,100 that he claims we owe him.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>“Now, we want to be fair with Congressman Richer, -Mistur Judge, and all we ask is that Mr. Richer and his -likes what lends money be treated by the law and the -courts the same as Jobe and his likes what owes money is -treated.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, as I said before, Mistur Judge, the farm is the -same size as it was the day we bought it; the land is jist as -good; the improvements are better. We have paid Mr. -Richer his interest every year for sixteen years, and $1,700 -besides.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Mistur Judge, wouldent it be fair for Mr. Richer -to take the farm back and give us our $1,700? He would -have jist what he had before we bought it, and he would -have $2,212 interest money for the use of it, and we would -have the $1,700 we have paid him over and above the -interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Or, if he dont want to do that, Mistur Judge, we will -value the farm at $2,500, which is all or more than its -worth to-day, and will pay him the difference between the -$1,700 we already have paid and the $2,500, or $800, in cash.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Mistur Judge, this would be honest and fair, and -he can take his choice, while if you foreclose us, and the -farm at sheriff sale only brings $2,100, and Mr. Richer -buys it in, he will have the farm he had at fust, our $1,700 -principal and the $2,212 interest money we have paid him, -or he will have the farm and $3,912 in money, and we in -our old age will have nothin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I was through the other lawyer got up and said -sich argament was all bosh and contrary to law; that the -court had too good sense to be governed by sich anachristic -talk from a rattle-brained woman. At that, it bein noon, -the court dismissed for dinner, without explainin why this -was “a case of small importance.” It looks to me that -its a purty tolerable important case to Jobe and me.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XII. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE DECISION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THAT day, when the judge and lawyers got back from -dinner, and arter Jobe and me had eat our lunch in -the jury-room, they opened court agin, and the judge, -lookin at me tired like, says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mrs. Gaskins, the court is now ready to proceed with -the case.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“So be we, Mistur Judge,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So Congressman Richer’s lawyer got out a lot of papers -and notes, and, showin them to Jobe and me, asked us if -we admitted signin of them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Certainly we do,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So he handed them to the judge, sayin that that was -all the evidence he desired to produce, and as the notes -had not been paid, as stipulated in the mortgage, he asked -to have the mortgage foreclosed and the property sold, and -judgment for costs rendered agin the defendant.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that he sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he looked distressed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt kind a gone like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But when the judge said that if we had any evidence to -produce or objection to make why the mortgage should -not be foreclosed, now was my time to make it, I jist -gathered up courage and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mistur Judge, we have some evidence to offer, and I -want to say a few words.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We never denied that we signed that mortgage and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>them notes; we never claimed we had paid all we did -sign.</p> - -<div id='i079' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-079.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘I want to prove to you, Mistur Judge.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, what I want to prove, Mistur Judge, is, that the -reason we haint paid more of the notes was because times -have been so hard, prices so low and money so scarce that -we jist couldent pay any more than we have paid.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to prove that we have paid every dollar we -could pay, and that we have went naked and hungry, or -nearly so, to pay what we have paid.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to prove, Mistur Judge, that when we bought -this farm, some sixteen years ago, times were better than -now; that farmers could sell what they raised for more -than now; and I want to prove that it has not been by any -act of the farmers that times have been made harder and -prices lower than then.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to prove, Mistur Judge, that taxes haint got -any less; that interest is jist as high as then; that it takes -twice as many bushels of wheat for Jobe to pay his share -of your wages, and the wages of the other officers in this -buildin, as it did then. I want to prove that Jobe had to -use wheat to pay you fellers that he could have used -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>toward payin on them notes if prices had staid up or -officers’ pay had been brought down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to show you that all you officeholders have -helped to bring about this condition by your endorsin of -men that made laws to destroy the greenback, to demonitize -silver, encouragin high interest and money monopoly, -and by your increasin of wages of officeholders or lettin -them remain the same as they were when wheat was high.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to prove, Mistur Judge, that Mr. Richer was one -of the law-makers, that he voted agin silver, and did not -try to do anything or to make any law to make money as -plenty as it use to be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I want to show that Mr. Richer already has got all we -have raised by our hard work for the last sixteen years, -and, Mistur Judge, I think that instid of you sellin our farm -to satisfy him, you ort to order him to give us back all the -money we have paid him, except the interest, and let us -give him back the property we got from him; we are willin -to do this, and give him our improvements besides, if he -will give us back our $1,700. This is all we ask, Mistur -Judge.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If you grant it we would have a few dollars to keep us -in our old age, and Mr. Richer would have all we got from -him and $2,212 interest money besides.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If you foreclose us, as this high-toned lawyer asks -you to do, we will have nothing left, and Mr. Richer will -have as much as he had before and $3,912 of our hard-earned -money besides, part of it, Mistur Judge, bein money -I got from home when father died.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge kind a looked at me pityin like, and says, -says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mrs. Gaskins, your argament may be all right from -your point of view; but it is not law, Mrs. Gaskins. <em>It is -not law.</em> We must proceed according to law.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>“What is law?” says I. “Haint it justice?” pleadin -like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge studied a minit, cleared his throat a time or -two, and then says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is supposed to be, Mrs. Gaskins. <em>It is supposed to -be.</em> It should be justice; it should be. I appreciate the -position of you two old people. I believe, as you say, that -you have worked hard and saved that you might get your -farm paid for and have a home in your old age. I believe -you have done all you could do. Your argament has been -well made.</p> - -<div id='i081' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-081.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘This is the law, whether it is justice or not.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“But the law—the law, Mrs. Gaskins, says that if these -notes have not been paid according to the provision of the -mortgage, it can be foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Even if you had paid all of the notes but one dollar, -and had worked fifty years to pay them, and for some -reason money had become scarce, and your farm under -forced sale would not bring more than the one dollar, it -would have to be sold, under the law, to satisfy that one -dollar still due on it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To make it plainer to you, Mrs. Gaskins, suppose that -all the money was demonitized or destroyed except gold -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>or silver (no matter which), and suppose that one man had -succeeded in getting possession of all the money, and you -owed one dollar on a farm that had cost you $3,800, you -would have to get that one dollar from the man who had -it, and he could place his own estimate of value on it, and -could, if he so desired, demand 120 acres of good farm land -for one of his dollars, and, in case of forced sale under the -law, all the property you have would have to be sacrificed -to satisfy that one dollar. It would have to be done, even -though that one man who had all the money cornered -owned your mortgage and had made the law, or got it -made, that destroyed all the other money. So this, Mrs. -Gaskins, is the law, whether it is justice or not, and I, as -the judge of this court, must be governed by the law as it -is. All the testimony you have mentioned is not such as -could be admitted before this court. Hence I shall render -judgment as prayed for by the plaintiff, with costs of this -action attached.”</p> - -<div id='i082' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span> -<img src='images/i-082.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe and me sot there dazed like.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I wanted to say some more, but the judge told me the -case was over, and that I need not say any more.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So Jobe and me sot there dazed like for a little while. -Then the sheriff come to us and said the case was over and -we had better go home. We got up and come home.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have been over the dear old farm half a dozen times, -so as to carry its memory in our minds to wherever we shall -go. Oh! how queer I feel when I wonder where that will be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe is jist a mopin around with no life in him at all.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I haint heerd him holler for McKinley since we got back -from court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wonder if Mr. McKinley, and Mark Hanna, and Henry -Flagler, of the Standard Oil Trust, and Mr. Kohlsaat, and -them other millionairs what has been down in Georgia -schemin and plannin and arrangin to git Mr. McKinley -elected to the president’s office, want to git him elected so -as to make it easier for Jobe and his likes to pay for their -homes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wonder if the laws they are wantin to git made, or keep -from bein made, is to make themselves richer or to make -the life of the fellers who vote the ticket they fix up easier.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Them millionair fellers seem to take a great interest in -elections and things.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE CHEERS UP.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE’S aunt Jane out in Indyana is dead. The poor, -dear soul worked hard all her life, and now she is -dead. She had been takin care of a rich inverlid for -some twelve years, and got two dollars a week for all that -time. By livin plain and not goin anywhere for all that time, -she has saved $563, and she has left all her savins to Jobe, -her only kin, the lawyers out there write us.</p> - -<div id='i084' class='figleft id005'> -<img src='images/i-084.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>Aunt Jane.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>We got a letter from them last week sayin she had -died of a suddent, and left Jobe all she -had, arter payin her buryin expenses.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe has been more like hisself, -ever since he heerd she was dead, than -he has been for some time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He now says that if he lives to vote -for McKinley it will be the happiest -moment of his life. I hope Jobe will -live.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As soon as he got that letter he -started out agin to try to borrow -enough money to pay off Mr. Richer’s -mortgage before foreclosin day. He -found one banker at Canal Dover -who said he would let him have $1,800 -at seven per cent. interest, jist to commodate Jobe. Jobe is -a goin to take it, which, with what he is to git as his dead -aunt’s heir, will make the money Congressman Richer is -wantin so bad, and a little besides.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe went to town yisterday to try to stop the foreclosin -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>bizness until our legicy money comes and we can git the -other from the bank at Canal Dover.</p> - -<div id='i085' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-085.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He would call him ‘Billy,’ in honor of the next president.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>They told him down to the court-house that they would -try to “stave it off.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe said that when the report got out that he was -about to git a legicy everybody wanted to shake hands -with him and be friendly like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Even them canderdate fellers, what acted kind a cold -durin our foreclosin trial, come around smilin, Jobe said, -and shook hands, and said that “they knode it would -come around all right,” that “a man never loses anything -by votin the strait ticket.” They told Jobe to “cheer -up and git ready for the next election,” and all sich stuff. -Jobe he come home declarin that the Republican party -was the “grand old party” of the universe, he was so -puffed up like.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>Last night I actually heerd him whistlin one of them -campaign tunes, while he was a feedin of the calf. When -the calf got all the milk out of the bucket and looked up -at Jobe lovin like, Jobe patted him on the head and told -him he was a nice feller and looked so knowin, like -McKinley, that he would call him “Billy,” in honor of -the next president.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe then started to the house a whistlin agin, when -William came at him stiff-legged, and struck Jobe on them -election patches I put on his pants, and knocked Jobe -down on his hands and knees, and before Jobe could git -up, William hit him agin, knockin him clear down. Jobe -turned over on his back and begin to strike at McKinley -with the bucket, sayin, “You dum rascal,” or somethin like -that. He then clamered to his feet and took arter the calf, -kickin as hard as he could kick. The second kick he -missed the calf and fell. Then I hollered at him.</p> - -<div id='i086' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-086.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Before Jobe could git up William hit him agin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He got up, put his hand on his hip and limped to the -house. When he come in says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ile kill that dum calf if he ever acts that way agin. -He like to a broke my hip.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Jobe,” <a id='corr86.22'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='says, I'>says I</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_86.22'><ins class='correction' title='says, I'>says I</ins></a></span>, “dident I jist hear you namin -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>him for the leadinest Republican of the State? Dont you -know he was jist a givin you a practical lesson in polerticks? -Dont be mad, Jobe,” says I, “youle be a lovin him -tomorrow with all your heart.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that Jobe went into the room to git the bottle of salvation -oil, mutterin somethin as he went about me not -havin any sense.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, isent it a fact that the polerticians and officeholders -have been actin like that bull calf toward Jobe and -his likes for years?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they been lookin into the face of the taxpayers -pleasin like jist before every election? Haint they been -buttin the life out of the people that feed them by -increasin salaries, and makin taxes higher, and sellin out to -rich trusts and sich, ever since the war?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they made law on law agin the poor and for the -rich?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they issued bonds on top of bonds, to the rich -people and on the poor?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they raised salary arter salary of officeholders -when the people never asked it?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they brought us to a gold basis and made it hard -for people to pay interest and mortgages?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they made it easy for the money-lender to foreclose -agin the borrower?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they destroyed millions and millions of the people’s -greenback money?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they demonitized silver?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint they done everything agin the people and nothin -for them?</p> - -<p class='c006'>And what has the people to show for all the money they -have destroyed, and salaries they have increased, and -mortgages they have foreclosed, and bad laws they have -made, but hard times and debts, and people without homes, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>and cheap wheat, and low wages, and high interest, and -big taxes, and foreclosin, and beggin, and the Lord only -knows what all?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Yet Jobe and his likes will vote the strait ticket, and I -suppose will keep a votin it until the bull calf knocks -their brains out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>What has Jobe and his likes got to show for all the votin -they have voted? What, I say!</p> - -<p class='c006'>If we can save our farm, and if we raise enough to pay -the interest and taxes this year, and a little besides, I am -a goin to git me a pair of them bloomers and go to workin -and votin for more good laws and less polerticks; and the -fust polertician that comes around our house talkin “party -success” and “party principles” Ile kick clear into the -middle of the big road—Ile do it if I split them bloomers -from waistband to waistband in doin so.</p> - -<div id='i088' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-088.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XIV. <br /> <span class='fss'>A NEW MORTGAGE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>WE was that bizzy last week, with gittin our legicy -and payin of costs, and a borrowin of money, and -a writin of papers, and a signin of our names, and -a swearin to this, that and the other thing, that I dident -git my bakin done, let alone do any writin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The fust of last week we got our share of our legicy; -the officers in Indyana got the balance.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Howsomever, what we did git come handy for a while -anyhow.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dont know what we would have done if Jobe’s poor, -dear dead aunt hadent a died jist when she did.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when what was left us, arter payin them Indyana -fellers, come, Jobe and me hitched up old Tom and struck -out for town to stop the foreclosin bizness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We fust went to the bank at Canal Dover, and made -arrangements to borrow $1,800 at seven per cent. Jobe he -hung for six per cent., but when the banker explained to -Jobe that we was now on a gold basis; that McKinley had -come out for a strait gold basis platform; that he could -lend all the money he could git at seven per cent. or more, -and that all the leadin financiers and bankers, in fact all -the leadin citizens, were in for a gold basis, Jobe he -“saw it” and agreed to seven.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Comin home Jobe told me he would ruther pay seven -per cent. than six, in order to support a “sound money -basis;” that “nobody believed in small interest but them -crazy Populists and their likes.”</p> - -<div id='i090' class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span> -<img src='images/i-090.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He would rather pay seven per cent. than six, in order to support a sound money basis.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter we arranged for the money we went to the -court-house, and from the time we got there till I got out -I heerd nothin but “costs,” “costs,” “costs.” They had -it all charged to Jobe. Not one cent was charged to Mr. -Richer. There was the clerk’s costs, and the sheriff’s costs, -and the auditor’s costs, and the judge’s costs, and supeena -costs, and writ costs, and mileage costs, and the Lord only -knows what all or who all had costs charged up agin Jobe. -The very fellers Jobe had helped to elect had jist as big -bills charged up as the law would allow, and some bigger, -and nary one of them was willin to knock off a cent. We -had to pay it or be foreclosed, and we had to take our -legicy money to pay it with—the money that poor, dear, -dead Aunt Jane had worked so hard to save.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when we got the costs all paid, we then begin to -draw up papers, and sign and acknowledge, and read and -reread of papers, to git the money from the Canal Dover -banker.</p> - -<p class='c006'>One feller told Jobe and the other fellers to go out of -the room till he examined me seperate and apart, at which -I became insulted and up and says, says I:</p> - -<div id='i091' class='figright id010'> -<img src='images/i-091.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Law or no law,’ says I.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“No, you wont, sir; no man will examine me seperate and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>apart or any other -way in the absence -of Jobe Gaskins.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The law requires -it,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Law or no law,” -says I, “Ile not -submit. I have submitted -to law instid -of justice; Ive -submitted to law -instid of right; Ive -submitted to law -instid of humanity, -but when it comes -to submittin to law -instid of decency, Betsy Gaskins demurs.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>But arter they explained that he jist wanted to read and -explain the mortgage to me, I even submitted to law agin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When they was all out, the feller read the mortgage to -me, and asked me if the signin of it was my “free act and -deed.” I told him it was so fur as I had to sign it to keep -from bein foreclosed, but that I would not sign it as it -then read.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Whats wrong?” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The wrong,” says I, “is where it says that Jobe shall -pay the ‘principal and interest in gold.’”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I explained to him that Jobe and me hadent had ten -dollars in gold for years and years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But he said it was only a form; that we was now on a -gold basis, and the bank requires all their mortgages to -read, “payable, principal and interest, in gold,” since we -have come to a gold basis.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But I wouldent sign it, and the feller called Jobe and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>other fellers in. Jobe he got mad at me and scolded and -fretted around until I got ashamed of him, and I jist up -and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ile sign it, Mr. Gaskins, but you will find that payin -seven per cent. interest and payin it in gold to keep your -party in power is up-hill bizness.”</p> - -<div id='i092' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-092.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic013'> -<p>“‘Payin it in gold to keep your party in power is up-hill bizness.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>So I signed it. But the Lord only knows where we will -git the gold to pay even the interest with. We have to -pay the interest every six months.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ive lived on this farm for nigh onto seventeen years, and -have never found a piece of gold as big as a pin-head. -Maybe Jobe knows where it is. I dont, goodness knows.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter the signin was done there was some more -charges and sich to pay for, and Jobe had it to pay. Then, -arter requestin Jobe to look arter his party’s interests in -our township, they bid us good-by, and Jobe and me -come home.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XV. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE, OUT OF TROUBLE, IS UNRULY AGAIN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE he is jist as contrary and stiff-necked as he ever -was. He acts as though he had never went through -what he has went through since last Noo Years. He -is beginnin agin to act towards me as if I was his inferior; -as though it wasent me who stuck up for him and fought -his battles in time of trouble—yes, stood by him when all -creation, office-seekin canderdates and all, had forsook him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He now says the reason he did not pay off that other -mortgage years ago was because it wasent made “payable -in gold;” he says he believes in payin debts in “sound -money,” and that he now feels sorry that he dident git -gold and pay what he did pay on it; that he feels as -though he has cheated Mr. Richer by payin him in greenbacks -and silver and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He says that he would ruther pay seven per cent. -interest in gold than six per cent. interest in paper money -or silver.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then he gits up and swells out his boozum, and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“John Sherman is the greatest financier on airth. He -has brought us to a gold basis quicker than any other livin -man could a done it. He has taught old Cleveland all he -knows about sound money.” And so forth and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He goes on in this way day in and day out until I am sick -and tired of it. He even wants me to come out and be a -Republican, when he knows I have been a Dimicrat for -nigh onto thirty-five years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he is tellin the neighbors about how much better -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>it is to pay debts in gold, and about us a givin a “gold -mortgage” to the banker, he always calls it his mortgage -and his doins. He never even mentions my name -when speakin of the mortgage, when he knows as well as -I do that both the old parties, as it were, made that gold -mortgage, and that it is “our mortgage” and “our doins” -that made it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But that is the way with Jobe. As long as everything is -goin along without trouble he wants all the glory; but as -soon as trouble arises he tries to blame me for gittin him -in it, and calls on me for help.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, as Betsy Gaskins, I am ashamed of that gold -mortgage, and if I could have had my way I never would -have signed it. Ide a dide fust. But as a Dimicrat I -must approve it, to be in line with my party, and I think -Jobe is mean that he dont speak of it as “our mortgage” -and “our doins,” when he knows the highest paid Dimicrats -in the land is jist as much in favor of “gold mortgages” -as John Sherman or Mistur McKinley or any high-up -Republicans are.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint Mistur Carlisle, who is drawin $8,000 a year (for -work he ort a be a doin in the money department at -Washington), spendin lots of time makin speeches for -gold mortgages down in Kaintuckey?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint Carlisle a Dimicrat?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Dont Mistur Cleveland set up of nites and write letters -favorin “gold mortgages,” and some nites like as not lets -Mrs. Cleveland sleep all by herself?</p> - -<p class='c006'>What more has John Sherman done, or McKinley?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe thinks because McKinley has spent all spring outside -of Ohio, talkin “gold mortgages” and workin to git -elected to the best payin office in the country, that he is -intitled to all the credit for bringin about “gold mortgages.” -Now, I dont believe it, though he was so bizzy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>at it that he had to have his salary -as governor sent to him by mail -for months.</p> - -<div id='i095' class='figright id014'> -<img src='images/i-095.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘John Sherman is the greatest financier on airth.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Suppose my dream was true, -and instid of us havin to give the -banker a mortgage drawin seven -per cent. interest (“interest and -principal payable in gold”), that -we, that is, Jobe and me, could -have gone to the county treasurer -of Tuscarawas County and a borrowed -the same amount of paper -and silver money (the same kind -we got from the bank) at two -per cent. interest, payable in any -money of the government. Who would it a hurt?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Wouldent it a been better for Jobe and me? Wouldent -we a had only $36 a year interest to pay to the county -instid of $126 in gold to the bankers? Wouldent we a -had more money to pay toward our home or to buy store -goods with?</p> - -<p class='c006'>If we could spend $90 a year for store goods that we -now have to pay as interest, wouldent that help the storekeepers -a little?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Which would be the best for the storekeepers, for Jobe -and his likes to have to pay high interest in gold, or low -interest in any kind of good money?</p> - -<p class='c006'>There is another question I would like to ask you.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is this: If the pay of the post-offices is big enough to -pay a feller to buy them from Congressmen, and pay big -money for them, haint it about time that the pay of such -post-offices was cut down?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Why is a feller’s time what is glad to clear $300 or $400 -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>a year doin anything else worth $1,500 or $2,000 for keepin -the post-office?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Does it hurt their character so much? And why is it -that all them fellers what sells post-offices, and most of them -what buys em, favor a gold basis and gold mortgages -and sich?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Are they afraid they will have to go back to their old -jobs and less pay if they dont holler as the big fellers -holler?</p> - -<div id='i096' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-096.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XVI. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE IS SCARED.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE he is in a critical condition. Day before yisterday, -when Jake Stiffler brought our mail out from town—it -consisted of the two noosepapers that we have took -for years, that is, the <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite> and the <cite>Tuscarawas -Advercate</cite>—I played a trick on Jobe that nearly cost him -his life, and nearly made me a weepin and mournin widder.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For years and years we have took them two “stanch -and substantial” noosepapers without ceasin. We have -took them simply because one was a Dimicrat paper and -the other a Republican. We have took them when payin -for them kept me from gittin a new dress or Jobe a change -of pants.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have took them though durin all them years they -have said the same things over and over agin, aginst each -other and aginst the party they wasent, jist at the time, -gittin any campaign money or county printin from.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <cite>Dimicrat</cite> has allers called the Republicans rascals -and sich, and the <cite>Advercate</cite> never fails to show how the -Dimicrats are worse still.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Always, when the <cite>Advercate</cite> comes, Jobe he sets down -and reads out loud all the abuse agin the Dimicrats; then, -lookin over his specks at me, says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Betsy, you see what kind of a party you belong -to. You see now what kind of leaders youve got,” &c., &c.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Its a regular thing for Jobe to read the same things -week arter week and then to criticise me and the Dimicrat -party time arter time, until for years Ive been in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>habit of goin in and settin down and a listenin to Jobe -read the <cite>Advercate’s</cite> abuse of the Dimicrats, and a waitin -for my regular weekly tongue-lashin. Ive done it jist for -the good it seems to do Jobe.</p> - -<div id='i098' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-098.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Now, Betsy, you see what kind of a party you belong to.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Sometimes to answer him I jist read from the <cite>Ohio -Dimicrat</cite> the same things he has read from the <cite>Advercate</cite>—only -where the <cite>Advercate</cite> says “the Dimicrat party,” the -<cite>Dimicrat</cite> says “the Republican party.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then Jobe will flare up and say:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite> is a dum dirty sheet, and full of lies.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He knows that I dont swear and wont say that -about his <cite>Advercate</cite>, even if I know it is the same kind of a -paper as the <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite> is, except in the name at the -top of the fust page. Of course it gits its campaign money -and public printin from the office-seekin canderdate fellers -of the other party.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, when Jake brought them papers, I happened to -pick up the <cite>Advercate</cite> (a thing I seldom do), and one of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>the fust things I read was a article a praisin Mr. Cleveland -for workin to git a “gold basis” and “gold mortgages” -and sich. I was so surprised to find a word of praise -for a Dimicrat president in a Republican noosepaper that I -looked twice at the headin to make sure it was the <cite>Advercate</cite> -I had instid of the <cite>Dimicrat</cite>. Sure enough it was the -<cite>Advercate</cite>, but I dont want you to blame Editure McIlvaine -for sich a article appearin in his paper. He couldent help -it. It was in that part of his paper that he dont print. -It was in the patent part what is printed in Cleveland—the -part, you know, which them fellers down east, the -fellers what gits rich by havin on this gold basis bizness, -pays to have in all papers, Dimicrat, Republican, Methodist, -Prisbyterian or any other kind except them howlin -Populist papers. Them Populists seem to be so sot agin -that “gold basis,” and a “contractin of the money to -make it scarce and hard to git,” that they wont put anything -a favorin the “gold basis” in their papers for love -or money. They are jist that mean.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I dont want you to blame Mr. McIlvaine or any other -feller for sich articles a bein in their papers. They cant -help it. They jist have to do it or lose their rich money-lendin -friends.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But the feelin I felt when I seed sich a article in a -Republican noosepaper prompted me to do the thing that, -as I said afore, nearly made me a weepin widder.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist thought Ide have some fun with Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I went to work and cut the headin off from last week’s -<cite>Tuscarawas Advercate</cite> and pasted it over the headin of this -week’s <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite>. Then I cut the headin out of last -week’s <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite> and pasted it on this week’s <cite>Advercate</cite>. -I then folded the papers up nice like and laid them on the -table in the settin-room, where I had laid them week arter -week for near onto fifteen years.</p> -<div id='i100' class='figleft id015'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span> -<img src='images/i-100.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“So I went to work and cut out the headin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Arter supper, when -Jobe had his chores all -done up, he says, as he -come in from the barn:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, has the mail -come?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A question that he -has asked about that -hour, on that same day -of the week, fifty-two -times a year for these -many years. The mail -alluded to meanin the -<cite>Tuscarawas Advercate</cite>. -I told Jobe, as usual, -that it was in on the -table. He took his -specks down off the -kitchen mantel, and, -wipin them as he went -on the corner of his coat tail, approached the table.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He sot down, rared back in his split-bottom rockin cheer, -put his feet on another, then picked up the <cite>Ohio Dimicrat</cite> -(with its name changed), and begin to read, as he expected, -Editure McIlvaine’s slaughter of Dimocracy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It started out with:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“There never was a more corrupt gang in control of any -State government than the Republican boodlers at -Columbus.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Then:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Every Republican officeholder in this county seems to -exist for no other purpose than to suck the life-blood out -of our hard-working tax-payers. We must turn the rascals -out.”</p> - -</div> - -<div id='i101' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-101.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>‘It is all over, Betsy,’ says he.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And so on and so on, clear through the paper. Jobe he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>read a minit or so; then looked at the name of the paper; -then read another item; looked at the top of his paper -agin; took off his specks; rubbed them hard; put them on -and read, or started to read, another item; laid the paper -down; got up and went to the lookin glass; stuck out his -tongue and shook his head in a troubled manner; then -he felt his pulse, shook his head agin and fell over on the -lounge that was near him. He groaned once or twice, then -hollered, “Betsy, Betsy!” dyin like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went a hurryin in. There he laid as white as a ghost, -and drawin short, quick breaths.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Jobe, dear,” says I, pleadin like, “what on -airth is the matter?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is all over, Betsy,” says he, “all over; Ime a goin -to die. The end is near. Betsy, Ive tried to be a good -husband, but at times I know Ive been a little cross and -contrary. Betsy, I want to hear you say you forgive me -before I go.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Jobe,” says I, “what in the world is the matter?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Oh, Betsy,” says he, “the end is near. I know it is. -Editure McIlvaine is changed, or my mind is shattered. -My mind is so onbalanced that I can no longer read my -paper and understand it, or the leopard has changed his -spots. Betsy, its me. It must be me, for where my paper -has been praisin, it is now abusin; and where it has been -abusin, it is now praisin. Betsy, I want to die. I want -to die a believin that its me and not the <cite>Advercate</cite> that -has changed. You must do the best you can, Betsy; and -if you marry agin arter Ime gone, remember my last wish -is that you do not marry one of them wild Populists. -Betsy, will you promis?” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that I began to laf out loud, as hard as I could laf.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Oh my! oh my!” says Jobe. “Is my wife crazy or do -my eyes deceive me agin?”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>I took holt of him and jerked him off the lounge, sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Here! git up and have some sense. That is all the -truth you read in your paper to-nite. The office-seekers -of both parties are corrupt, and if the papers were -honest they would say so. Neither of them dare tell -how the people have been betrayed, and so they fill up -their columns with abusin the party they dont happen to -belong to.”</p> - -<div id='i103' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-103.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“That nite he slept in the barn.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Then I explained what I had done, and he jumped to his -feet and swore awfully. That nite he slept in the barn, and -for the second time in her married life Betsy Gaskins slept -alone. Jobe is still critical and sleepin in the barn.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XVII. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE SLEEPS IN THE BARN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>IF Ide a knode that Ide a had to went through what Ive -went through since I last writ, I would have been a -old maid longin for some one to love, and some one -to love me in return, instid of bein the tormented wife of -Jobe Gaskins, Esquire, as I am to-day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>From the time Jobe come in from the barn, the next -mornin arter nearly dyin over the <cite>Advercate’s</cite> change of -abuse, to this hour, the two old parties has been on the -outs; and instid of gittin better, things are gittin wuss.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Lord only knows what it will lead to. I dont.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That mornin, about breakfast time, he come a bouncin -into the house all of a suddent, while I was a puttin some -corn cakes in the skillet, and, shakin his fist in my face, -says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy Gaskins, you’ve got to take it back. Take it -back or Ile—Ile smash you,” makin a motion towards me, -and, with his hair all mussed up and full of hay-seed, he -looked dangerful.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist drawed back the dipper what I was puttin batter -in the skillet with, sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins, you make another move towards me, or -attempt to strike me, and Ile knock you so cold youle never -vote for another Republican office-seeker.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was a lookin at him all the time with the dipper drawed. -He seen I meant jist what I said; so he walked over and -sot down on the edge of the wood-box. Continerin, says I:</p> - -<div id='i105' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-105.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘<span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins, you make another move!</span>’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“You are a purty-lookin feller, haint you? Thats as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>much sense as you and your likes has got. You would -strike down the pardner of your life rather than listen to -the truth about the rascality of the men who run your -party.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had the dipper drawed all the time, and had stepped -nearer to him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy,” says he, pleadin like, “tell jist one dishonest -thing a Republican officer ever done.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Now, Jobe, you are actin with sense. Where -do you want me to begin, at the top among the big ones, -or at the bottom among the little ones?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Begin at the bottom, Betsy, at the bottom,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Jobe,” says I, “you listen, and I will keep at -the cakes or they will burn.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Thinkin a minit, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fust, there is the county commissioners.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold!” says Jobe, jumpin to his feet, “dont lets go -into that commissioner bizness——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I turned right square in front of him, and drawin the -dipper, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, sir, you set down, and set there till I tell you to -git up.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I agin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fust, there is the county commissioners and the -bridges——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy——” says Jobe, conquered like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe!” says I, and I looked a look at him that made -him drop his head.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then proceedin agin, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fust, there is the county commissioners, the bridges -and iron tubes.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe flipped his thumb and fingers, and held up his hand -like they do in school.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>Says I: “Whats you want?” cross like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, if you are a goin into that bridge bizness, with -them iron tubes and all, I would like to have my say as -well as you,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That depends,” says I. “If you act with sense and -dont git mad, you can have your say. If you flare up Ile -silence you, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Are you mad, Betsy?” says he, cowed like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, Ime not mad. Ime in airnest,” says I, takin up -the cakes and settin them on the table. Then I sot down -in a chair in front of Jobe, still holdin the dipper. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Jobe, who is agent for a iron bridge company in -this county but a Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who went over into a adjoining county and offered to -sell a iron bridge for several dollars per foot less than -he charged his own county for the same kind of a -bridge? Who done this but a Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who let a contract for stone butments for one of the -leadin bridges in this county, and then let them put in iron -tubes instid of stone butments? Who done this but a -Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who sold the Trenton bridge out in three sections at -$999.99 a section, so as to evade the law that says all -public contracts for $1,000 or more shall be advertised -and sold to the lowest bidder? Who done this sellin but -a Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who gits a commission on all the bridges the taxpayers -are a payin for, but a Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who has tore down good bridges jist to git to sell a -new bridge to this county, but a Republican county commissioner?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Who is it but Republican county commissioners that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>dont care how high taxes are so they git their commission -for sellin bridges?</p> - -<div id='i108' class='figcenter id007'> -<img src='images/i-108.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Are you mad, Betsy?’ says he.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Who but a Republican county commissioner refused -to allow the expense necessary to collect the $65,000 back -taxes, Beriar Wilk——?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold! Hold!” cried Jobe, jumpin to his feet. “Wilkins -was a Dimicrat! Wilkins was a Dimicrat! A leadin Dimicrat, -and you know it! And more, Betsy Gaskins, when -you say that nobody was mixed up in that bridge bizness -but a Republican county commissioner, you <em>lie</em>, and——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dident let him finish. I couldent. I was teched. I -jist grabbed the mop-stick that was standin near, and struck -at him with all my might as he went out at the door. I -follered him clear to the fence, strikin at him as he went; -and jist as he was crossin the fence I broke that mop-stick -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>(that cost me thirteen cents) on them election patches.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So my heart is heavier than it has been since I become -the lawful wife of Jobe Gaskins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The idea of him a tellin me that I <em>lie</em>, this late in our -lives! It is awful! It teched me to the quick! Well, Jobe -Gaskins got no breakfast that day, and I was so worked -up that I couldent eat much.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That nite Jobe slept in the barn agin, comin in some -time between dark and daylite to get what vittles was -cooked.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He stayed out around the barn for three days and nites, -only comin in arter I had gone to bed, to git what he -needed to eat. I dont know how long he would have kept -it up if it hadent got cold Thursday arternoon and evenin. -That evenin he froze out, and came up to the fence and -hollered:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hello!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went to the door, and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hello, sir! What you want?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy,” says he, “I would like for you to let me come -in and lay by the cookin stove to-nite.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “If you wasent so set in your ways and insultin, -you could a been sleepin in your usual place, by my side, -all these nites. Come in,” says I, “and keep your mouth -shet, and all will be well.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He come in, and I set him a good warm supper. He -eat three bowlsful of corn mush, and drunk two big cups -of hot coffee.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, I intend to git all the names and facts about that -bridge bizness, and that Beriar Wilkins back tax bizness, -and them commissioners, and Ile convince Jobe that all -his high-toned Republican officeholders are arter is the -chance to get rich off from the people’s money. Ile do it -if it costs me a divorce suit to do it.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>That nite Jobe went to bed fust. When I went in I -found that he had got in with his head to the foot. He -thought it would spite me, I spose. But it dident. I -laffed and jist stood there and looked at him, and while I -was a lookin I couldent help thinkin how much he represented -his party on the money question. You know how -they use to claim that they was the party what believed in -lots of greenback money, and how they pinted with pride -to the great amount of greenbacks they had given the -people to do bizness with. Now they are turned end -about, jist like Jobe. Now they claim they are for “gold -only,” that “lots of greenbacks haint good for the people.” -They are a sayin now agin silver and paper money jist -what Vallandingham and his likes said about greenbacks. -But then this is about the top fellers. So I wont discuss -this any more until I git the facts about them bottom -fellers—about the county commissioners and auditor and -prosecutin attorney and Beriar Wilkins, and lots of sich -things that is done and bein done all over this country. -Ile git enough to drive Jobe clear under the bed, if I can -hold him down to listen to it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says he is a goin to git the facts agin the Dimicrats -if he has to subscribe for every Republican noosepaper in -the county. Now I dont think he need to go to all that -expense, because so fur as I can see they are all alike and -run for the same purpose—for the purpose of keepin the -Republican voters in line.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XVIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE SPITTOONS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>COULD you tell a feller where he could borrow a little -money to pay taxes with? Here it is June, and -taxes are due agin—bridge taxes and all—and Jobe -lacks $22.69 of havin enough to pay his share.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Taxes seem to stay up better than anything else. They -really seem to be on the rise.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wonder if a feller could borrow that much money from -them county commissioners? They git their pay when -they sell a bridge to the taxpayers—cut-worms or no cut-worms.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Them commissioners ort a have a little spare change by -them, when they git pay from the people of the county for -buyin bridges and pay from the bridge companies for sellin -bridges.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ime a hearin a good deal about that bridge bizness. -About them iron tubes that we paid the same for as stone -butments would a cost, and that sellin out of the Trenton -bridge in pieces privately, so that it would bring more -“commission,” and of them contractors that come down -here and got paid for not biddin on another job, and all -them things, and Ime a layin low for Jobe so that the next -time he lites into me Ile pulverize him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He’s been quiet for a day or two. He’s been out a tryin -to borrow tax money, workin on the “gold basis,” as it -were.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He ginerally is quiet durin tryin times. He dont know -what minit he may need my help.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>This tax bizness is a deep question, and seems to be a -gittin deeper. How does it come that a feller what has a -farm, and owes for it, has to pay the same tax as he would -if he had it all paid for?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, here is Jobe and me. We have this farm, that -haint worth more nor $2,500; we owe $1,800 gold mortgage -on it. So we own $700 of its worth, and the banker -what holds the mortgage owns the balance. We have to -pay $51.80 a year tax on it. That is, we pay $51.80 tax on -$700 we own. Haint that over seven per cent. tax on all -we are worth? Now, if the banker is permitted to deduct -his debts from his tax list, and the storekeeper and manufacturer -is allowed to deduct their debts from their tax -list, why haint the law-makers what Jobe and his likes has -been electin to office made laws to allow the farmer to -deduct his debts from his tax list? Why haint they, I say? -Haint a voter what farms for a livin jist as good a citizen, -jist as much entitled to the benefit of laws as the fellers -are what lends money for a livin, or what sells store goods, -or gits rich by makin things to sell to the farmers and sich?</p> - -<p class='c006'>If we only had to pay taxes on what we have paid on this -farm, on what we have over our debts, we wouldent have -to borrow any tax money this June. If anybody but them -crazy Populists would offer to make sich a law, I believe I -could git Jobe to vote for it. But them Populists are -pizen to Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He is so swelled up and elated over the county offices -bein filled with Republican officeseekers instid of Dimicrats, -that I dont suppose he will ever vote any other -ticket, even if doin so would put him out of debt or bring -down taxes and interest and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The second nite arter the cold weather drove Jobe in -from the haymow to the comfortable bed of his lawful wife, -I had a experience Ile never forgit.</p> -<div id='i113' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span> -<img src='images/i-113.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>Jobe was on his knees in the middle of the bed.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>We had gone to bed about the usual hour, and as neither -was very sleepy we fell to talkin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had tried to avoid anything of a perlitical natur since -that tryin mornin in the kitchen, and Jobe had got along -with givin me a slur now and then.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter we had laid there some time we got onto the -question of taxes, and I onthoughtedly said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, why couldent there be a law to make interest -less and taxes lower?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What good does it do you and your likes to vote the -same party ticket year arter year, when you see they dont -do anything to make things easier for you—when you -know, or ort a know, that the men what runs your party -only work for the money they can git out of the taxes you -pay?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What difference is it to you what party has the offices? -Better laws is what you ort a look to.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What satisfaction is it to you to have the Republicans -in, anyhow?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hadent that last question out of my mouth until Jobe -was up on his knees in the middle of the bed, layin it off -with both hands. The moon shinin in through the winder -made him look like a ghost, with his long gray whiskers -and nothin on but his shirt.</p> - -<div id='i115' class='figright id009'> -<img src='images/i-115.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“A strait, influential, leadin Republican officeholder.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Satisfaction! satisfaction!” says he, loud and quick. -“Betsy Gaskins, for forty odd years Ive been goin to that -air court-house and have had to pay my taxes to Dimicrats—copperheads, -if you please, rebels!—and do you -suppose its no satisfaction for me to go there now and see -a Republican in every office? Betsy, it was the happiest -day of my life when George Sharp told me that the last -office in that air court-house was filled by a Republican. -Even the janitor, Betsy, is a Republican. Yes, sir, the -janitor is a prominent Republican. Satisfaction! Do you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>suppose it is no satisfaction -for me to go into that court-house -and see a influential -Republican cleanin them big -spittoons and a sweepin of -that stone floor? Do you -suppose that when I spit in -one of them large vessels, or -throw a chaw of terbacker in -one of them, that it does not -give me more satisfaction to -know that that terbacker -what has been in the mouth -of Jobe Gaskins will be -handled and wiped out of -that spittoon by a prominent, -influential Republican -than if a copperhead Dimicrat -was to do it? Satisfaction! Betsy, you women dont -know what real perlitical satisfaction and enjoyment is—thats -one reason you haint got sense enough to vote.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do you suppose that Ive been a votin the Republican -ticket all these years for nothin? No, sir.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If the Republicans hadent a turned out the Dimicrat -what was janitor, and appinted a tried and true Republican -in his place, I wouldent a gone to the next election. -Jist to think of all them court-house offices bein filled by -Republicans—janitor and all—is enough to make any true -Republican farmer rejoice.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Durin all this time I jist laid there and let him talk. -Finally he laid down, and, thinkin I was asleep, he muttered -a few things to himself and went to sleep too.</p> - -<div id='i116' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-116.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Lots of fellows just like him.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe! If I had a knode it would be sich great -enjoyment to him and his likes to knock the Dimicrats out -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>of that court-house, -Ide a been -in favor of it long -ago. I would, -though Ime a -Dimicrat.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says you -can find lots of -fellers, jist like -him, standin -around the court-house -nowdays, -chawin terbacker -and talkin polerticks, -jist to git -to spit in them -big spittoons and -to have the satisfaction -of knowin that it will be cleaned out by a strait, -influential, leadin Republican officeholder.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, all Ive got to say is to let them enjoy their -satisfaction while they can, for that is about all they git -for the taxes they pay and the vote they vote and have -been a votin for years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ime glad they have spittoons in that court-house. If -they hadent, what would Jobe and his likes git for votin the -strait ticket? What would they git, I say?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Susan Swaller is a goin over into Harrison County next -week to visit her aunt, and Ime a goin along.</p> - -<p class='c006'>While Ime over there Ime a goin to find out more about -the county commissioners of our county offerin to sell that -county a bridge for much less money than they charged -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>this county for the same kind of a bridge. If what I hear -is true, Ile give Jobe names and dates and prices that -will make him stand clear up in bed next time, moonlite -or no moonlite, shirt or no shirt.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-117.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XIX. <br /> <span class='fss'>A BIG-HEADED MAN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE and me are livin under a flag of truce. I went -down into the adjoinin county to find out which one -of our county commissioners is the bridge agent, and -by what I could hear it was Commissioner Westholt what -was down there, but it seems they are all agents or kind a -pardners in the “commission” bizness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I got home I up and told Jobe that it was one of -the Republican commissioners—givin his name. Jobe he -flew up and claimed he knew better; that Commissioner -Westholt is a Dimicrat, for he had been inquirin too.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe said that it was purty hard to find anything out -about it, as all the court-house fellers thought it would be -better not to let it git out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says they told him that it wasent anything onusual -for a county officer to make all he could while he had a -chance, and as a <a id='corr118.17'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='differeuce'>difference</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_118.17'><ins class='correction' title='differeuce'>difference</ins></a></span> of $400 or $500 on a bridge was -only a little thing to each tax-payer, they hadent ort to -know much about it, as they might git to talkin about it and -hurt the party.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And Jobe says they told him on the quiet that the Dimicrat -commissioner was the bridge agent <em>now</em>, but jist as -soon as his time was out a Republican would come in, and -a commissioner of his own party would git the job of -lookin arter the bridge company’s interests in this county.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This seemed to satisfy Jobe, so he proposed to me that -if I would say nothin more about it he wouldent until they -can git a full board of Republicans in.</p> -<div id='i119' class='figright id014'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span> -<img src='images/i-119.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe he flew up.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And as there seems to be some -doubt as to which one is agent -<em>now</em>, that Dimicrat or one of the -Republicans, I agreed to postpone -further argament on the subject -until that pint was settled.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I would like to know which one -is <em>it</em> now.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If it is the Republican, and not -the Dimicrat, Jobe will ketch it. -If it is the Dimicrat, and not a -Republican, I expect Ile have to -lay low.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But let it be Republican or -Dimicrat, either or both, it seems -to me that a man must have a big -head for bizness that is able to be -the buyer and seller of a thing at -the same time. It seems to me -he would git “mixed in the deal.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>As county commissioner he takes an oath to buy the -things for the county as cheap as he can git them. As -agent of the bridge company he would want to sell a -bridge for as high price as possible, so that his commission -would be big.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Wouldent you like to see him a argyin with himself, fust -as buyer, then as salesman?</p> - -<p class='c006'>But then, Jobe says, “they work the office for all there -is in it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, if Mistur Republican or Dimicrat, as the case may -be, as county commissioner, gits his salary from the taxpayers, -whether he buys a bridge at a high figger or a low -figger, dont you suppose he lets himself, as bridge agent, -work himself, as county commissioner, for a little bigger -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>price for a bridge than he would let himself, as county -commissioner, be worked for if somebody else was bridge -agent, especially when the pay for sellin bridges depends -on the price you sell them for?</p> - -<p class='c006'>I cant see what Jobe and his likes expect to git out of -that way of runnin bizness.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But then there are the spittoons.</p> - -<div id='i120' class='figcenter id016'> -<img src='images/i-120.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“It wasent anything onusual for a county officer to make all he could.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XX. <br /> <span class='fss'>“BONDS SELL WELL.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE haint got that tax money yit. Times seem awful -hard. But Jobe says they jist seem that way; they -haint hard at all. “Times are never hard under a -gold basis,” Jobe says.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe was a argyin last nite that “times is better than -they was jist arter the war.”</p> - -<div id='i121' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-121.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Hadent we all ort to be satisfied so long as bonds sells well?’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Hadent we all ort to be satisfied so long as -bonds sells well?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, I dont know. Maybe we had.</p> - -<div id='i122' class='figleft id017'> -<img src='images/i-122.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Times are never hard under a gold basis,’ Jobe says.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>But Jobe and me have been a keepin house for nigh onto -thirty-six years, and of all the crops we have raised to try to -make a livin at, Ive never seen Jobe plant a single government -bond at seed-time nor harvest one at harvest time; -so whether government bonds bring high prices or low, -good prices or bad, I cant see what benefit it is to Jobe and -his likes so long as they haint got any to sell. And if government -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>bonds are like -bridge bonds, I think the -lower they are, and the -fewer of them that are -sold, the better it will be -for him and his likes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I guess it is really so -that them iron tubes -under the Dover bridge -cost the taxpayers of this -county jist what stone -butments would a cost.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hear the contract was -fust let for stone butments, -and then the same -contractors persuaded -the county commissioners, -“by word of mouth -or otherwise,” to let them -put in them little iron -tubes, and was paid the -same pay as if they had -put in stone butments.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They dont do things -that way down in Pennsylvania. -My aunt Jane’s -son Charles is a workin -down there. He sent me a paper from his town, and -here is the way they do it down in that State:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>“<span class='sc'>Court Wouldn’t Release Them.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Hollidaysburg, Pa.</span>, June 24.—The Blair County Court, -this afternoon, declined to order the release from custody -of County Commissioners John Hurd and James Funk on -a writ of <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>habeas corpus</em></span>. The accused officials were required -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>to furnish bail in three different prosecutions for malfeasance -in office. The grand jury reported to court this afternoon -that the two commissioners had unlawfully let two important -bridge contracts to the Groton Bridge Company at a -loss to the county of $1,490. The jury requested that the -court interpose its power to prevent such loss.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>You notice that it would be dangerful for county commissioners -to let a bridge contract, like the Trenton bridge, -contrary to law, without advertisin, if they were down in -that State.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe hasent time to discuss this bridge question now, -nor wont have till arter tax-borrowin time is over. He is -bizzy.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-068.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXI. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE SERMON.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_2_0_4 c018'>I GUESS Jobe and me are goners. Jobe is nearly -broken-hearted, and I feel kind a faint like. We will -have to go to hell. Our preacher says so.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Last Sunday Jobe wanted me to go to meetin. I said -Ide go. So I jist put on that hat I got from Jane Summers, -and the blue cambric dress I have wore now for -some three years, and we hitched poor old crippled Tom -to the spring wagon and we went.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We tied Tom under a shade tree jist outside of town -and walked in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They was singin when we got there. As we walked up -the ile of that big Methodist church, crowded full of -leadin men and women, they pinted and whispered and -snickered at my straw hat and Jobe’s linen coat, with a -muslin patch on the sleeve, till I was really ashamed of -some of them. High-toned people <em>do</em> sometimes act so -silly that its shockin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, the preacher took a hard text to preach from.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was about Jesus tellin a young feller “to go sell all -he had and give it to the poor.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I thought the preacher had his foot in it the minit he -read that text.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But then he got out of it in a way that cast a gloom over -Jobe and me. He went on to explain that Jesus dident -mean what he said; that he was jist a jokin with the feller.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said Jesus wanted to make a preacher out of the -young man, and he told him that jist to try him; but when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>he told him to do that the young feller went off sorry and -dident go to preachin.</p> - -<div id='i125' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-125.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“They whispered and snickered at my straw hat and Jobe’s linen coat.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I jist thought if that was what Jesus intended to do and -why he told him that, Jesus was a poor judge of timber to -make a preacher out of.C</p> - -<div id='i126' class='figleft id009'> -<img src='images/i-126.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He said the rich all belong to church.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Then the preacher went on to show that the young feller -Jesus failed to make a preacher out of was the only one -he meant should give anything to the poor; that he dident -mean anybody in that Methodist meetin-house; that they -and everybody else could git all they could and keep all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>they can git; that the -more they git and the -less they give to the -poor the surer they -would be of gittin to -heaven.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said the rich all -belong to church and -were good; that that -was the reason they -were rich—because -God loved them and -prospered them; that -God had made them -his bankers, and they -were his bankers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when he said -all that I jist felt gone -like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked at Jobe, -and he was as pale as -a ghost. He was -skeert.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We both felt that -we were doomed to eternal torment, because the Lord -knows he hasent prospered us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We are old and poor. If riches is evidence that God -favors the rich, and that they are good, and that He will -take them to heaven because they are rich, to be poor -is a sign that God does not favor the poor, and that they -are bad and will go to hell.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have worked hard, Jobe and me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have plowed and sowed and rept; we have labored -in sunshine and in rain; we have paid interest on interest, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>taxes on taxes; we have caught bushels of pertater bugs and -killed thousands of cut-worms, tryin to git rich and thus -gain the favor of the church and reach the kingdom of -heaven.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have picked the lice from spring calves and buried -many a sheep that died of the rot, tryin to gain the praises -of the preachers and the world and git on equal footin, in -the race for eternal bliss, with the fellers who live on -interest and rent and taxes and dividends and sich, and in -all our efforts we have failed. So now in our old age, with -late frosts in the spring and airly frosts in the fall, with -drouth when it ort to be wet, and wet when it ort to be -dry, I can see no chance to gain the praises of the church -and the necessary qualification for God’s favor this late in -our lives.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Feelin this way, I can see nothin for us to do but to -work day and nite to pay interest and taxes, so as to help -the money-lenders, monopolists and officeholders git there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Its bad, but I suppose it must be that way. The -preacher knows.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe has been buildin great hopes on havin it easier in -the hereafter. His hopes are blasted. It looks now as -though he would not have the pleasure of even votin the -strait ticket in the great beyond.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe! Its a great disappintment to him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But whats to be done?</p> - -<p class='c006'>He will jist have to submit. He cant help it.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXII. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE HELPING TO RAISE THE OFFICERS’ SALARIES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE has been a helpin Hen Minick cut wheat and -harvest for a week past, and the poor man has big -blisters in his hand and cracks and sores on his fingers -that jist keep me busy a pickin and a salvin and a doctorin. -And he is that stiff he can hardly walk.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He has been workin to git money to pay taxes with.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he got done Hen told him he would have to wait -till arter thrashin time for the $7.50 he owes him for -helpin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe told him he would have to have it right away, as -his taxes was past due, and if he dident pay them soon -they would attach a penalty to them. Hen said he was -sorry, but he dident have a dollar, nor haint had for -weeks.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe come home discouraged like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>How can he git it from Hen when Hen haint got it?</p> - -<p class='c006'>If Jobe sues him, Hen will git mad and git somebody -else to do his harvestin next time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Besides, Hen is honest and would pay if he had it. He -is a good nabor and worth it, but Hen says times is hard -and money scarce.</p> - -<div id='i129' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-129.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p><span class='sc'>Harvesting.</span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div id='i130' class='figleft id009'> -<img src='images/i-130.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I was puttin salve on Jobe’s hands.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When I was a puttin salve on Jobe’s hands last nite I -jist thought:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Here is the same hand that has been puttin tickets in -the box for thirty years or more to help elect the law-makers -who made laws to lend money to national bankers -at one per cent.; laws to issue bonds to git the paper -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>money of the country -to burn; laws to demonitize -silver; laws -to make money scarce -and times hard; laws -to enable the rich to -live off the poor. And -here that hand is sore -and full of cracks and -pain—yes, the same -hand that has helped -to elect the county -officers of this county—full -of blisters and -scabs, made so a -workin to git money -to help pay them -officeholders their -salaries—salaries of thousands of dollars a year—and they -ready to add to that tax and sell our home in order to -git them big salaries if Jobe dident pay his sheer.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>There is the probate judge, who gits $5,300 a year; and -the county clerk, who gits $5,500; and the recorder, who -gits $3,600; and the sheriff, who gits $3,900; and the -treasurer, who gits $3,400; and the auditor, who gits -$3,500; and the prosecutin attorney, who gits $1,600; -and the county commissioners, who git $1,400 apiece. -And they git it from Jobe and his likes, who dont make -$500 a year, even when seasons are favorable and crops -good. And they are gittin of them big salaries by the -votes of Jobe and his likes, who has them to pay—yes, by -the votes of the very fellers who are a blisterin their hands -and a rubbin salve and a walkin stiff to pay them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now if them salaries were reduced to what them same -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>men would be willin to work for at anything else—if them -salaries were reduced to $600 for commissioners and $1,500 -for probate judge, auditor and sich, I wonder if it wouldent -take less blisters and briars and cracks and backaches to -pay them to do the people’s work.</p> - -<div id='i131' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-131.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>The hand that voted “the strait ticket.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Any of them would be willin to do the same work for -them figgers, if the people would git together and, instid -of votin for officeseekers, vote for men who would make a -law to only pay sich figgers for public work.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Is it any wonder they want to hold Jobe and his likes in -line?</p> - -<p class='c006'>All Ive got to say is: If Jobe and his likes would rather -have sore hands and stiff backs, if they would rather rub -salve and pick briars than to quit votin the “strait ticket,” -let them have them. Let them pick and rub.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This strait ticket bizness is increasin the demand for St. -Jacob’s oil and Green Mountain salve and sich alarminly.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But as they are great on the “home market” scheme, I -suppose they are satisfied, and I ort to be.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>PLAN TO RELIEVE THE RICH OF AN EXPENSE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>ON the fust page of last Tuesday’s <cite>Plain Dealer</cite> there -is a article that has caused me to have a great deal -of thought.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is about Captain Fred W. Lawrence of Company B, -of the Standin Army of Ohio, a writin to the coal operators, -and railroad officers, and monopolists, and bankers, -and rich speculators of Cleveland, askin them to give -somethin toward supportin said army.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He says he wants to git “good men in the militia—men -who can be depended on to do their duty in case of <em>labor -trouble</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, Fred dont want any common scrubs in his company. -He needs money to hire the kind of men he wants—“men -who will do their duty in case of labor trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now what is the “duty” of sich men?</p> - -<p class='c006'>What does Fred want them to do to the “laborin -people”?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Haint it the “duty” of good men belongin to a army, -like Fred, to shoot?</p> - -<p class='c006'>Judge Hutchins and Judge Blandin and some of the -other polerticians say Fred hadent ort to a writ that letter, -or, if he wanted to write it, he hadent ort to a writ it in -that way, because <em>now</em> it is out what the militia is for.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The militia is to shoot laborin men with.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They are afraid some of the laborin people will begin to -ask themselves what they are votin the strait ticket for.</p> - -<div id='i133' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-133.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>Some good men in case of labor trouble.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Fred says he jist copied that letter from the ones his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>predecessors in office have been sendin out to these rich -people for years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now what is botherin me is how to save them coal operators, -and railroad owners, and monopolists, and rich stockholders -in monopolies, from havin to pay toward sich things -as “keepin up the militia.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>They are leadin citizens and own the coal fields, and -railroads, and banks, and trusts, and sich. They are rich, -and everything should be done to make it easy for them to -git along in the world without trouble.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If there were no laborin men there wouldent be any need -of “keepin up the militia.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So if the militia is to be used only to quiet the people -who labor, the best thing I know of is to get rid of the -laborin people.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They seem to be a kind of unwelcome creatures in this -world anyhow.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If we can get rid of them this will be a fine country. -The rich can live in peace and the militia fellers can go to -doin somethin useful.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now there is several good ways to git rid of the people -who work for a livin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The best and surest way is to kill them, and now is the -time to do it, when land is cheap. The buryin wont cost -so much now as it would if we had more money and land -was higher.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But I dont believe in shootin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They ort to be killed in some nice, quiet way, in a way -that wont cripple them up as militia shootin might.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hate to see crippled poor people; it makes me feel -sorry for them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The thing to do is to git a great lot of them together in -a bunch, then do it quick and sure.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The best way I know of is to offer a great feast of bread -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>and “real cow butter,” with three or four side dishes, and -invite all to come and feast their fill.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then when they are all at a great feast, eatin and enjoyin -theirselves, like the rich people do, have an electric arrangement -fixed so the current could be turned on the whole -crowd at once, and in twelve seconds they would all be -stone dead.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They would die with a smile on their faces, jist like as if -they had allus sot at the table of plenty and enjoyed theirselves. -The big Methodist church in town would be a -good place to have the feast and do the killin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then arter the current was turned off all we would have -to do would be to load their dead bodies in wagons and -haul them off and bury them in some cheap piece of ground -and let the militia disband.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Dont you see, in that way we would dispose of the old -and young alike—the little children as well as the grown -up men and women. I know some of the little children -are pretty. Some even have nice yaller, curly hair, big -blue eyes and red cheeks, and love one another. Ive heern -of them clingin to the necks of their fathers and mothers -with love, even when hungry. But we will have to kill the -little things, or they will grow up to annoy the rich, jist as -their fathers and mothers annoy them now.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Of course, I know drownin is a easy death, and pizenin -and all sich, but them are old-fashioned ways. Some of -them might escape if we undertook to do it them ways.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This electricity bizness is a grand thing, and is sure -death if worked right.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Of course, other counties could do it whichever way -they think best, but here in Tuscarawas County, with the -big Methodist church and all and plenty of laborin people, -electricity is the thing to use.</p> - -<div id='i136' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-136.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Some of the little children are pretty.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>We might have two or three killins in this county. Fust -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>we could give a feast -to all the rollin mill -men and rail workers; -then to all the -coal miners; then -to all the carpenters, -and stone -masons, and day -laborers, and sich, -and by not lettin any -escape, one kind -wouldent git onto -what was bein done -until we had them -enclosed and the -current turned on.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ive been a talkin -to Jobe about it, and -he says that jist -whatever the Republican -party says -he’ll agree to; but -he declares he dont -want to go to town on the day of the killin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dont know why he doesent want to go. It may be he -is afraid he will git inside, or it may be he doesent want to -look upon the faces of those dead poor people, whose toil -has created all the wealth the rich people own who now -wants them killed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, Mistur Editure, if you will talk this scheme up -among the rich people of the nation, and especially of -Ohio, I think you can git them to see that it would be -much cheaper than their payin each year to keep a standin -army, and it would be more kind to the laborin people -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>than to shoot them through the head when they are hungry, -or make them cry with pain by cripplin them all up with -big, heavy Winchester bullets.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Besides, think of the moanin and grief and heartaches -and tears it would save the wives and children if they are -killed at the same time their husbands and fathers are.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Shootin down men folks allers makes someone cry, and -I hate to hear it even if it is poor women and little poor -children.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And shootin seems to be sich a slow way of gittin rid of -them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Why, down in New York they use electricity to kill -murderers with. They wouldent think of standin off and -shootin even murderers down there. They use electricity -because it is quicker and surer death, and more refined, -and I know that the people of Ohio who labor for a livin -haint any worse or deservin of more cruel treatment than -murderers are in New York.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hopin the rich will be merciful to the poor as long as -they let them live on their land and in their country, I am -yours for electricity and agin the militia.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-048.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIV. <br /> <span class='fss'>THEM PROMISES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE took what hay he could spare to town yisterday -and sold it to Billot, the miller. He dident git any -money. He took Billot’s note, due ten days before -our semi-annual interest falls due on our mortgage.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says he would rather have Billot’s note than the -money. He says it haint in style to pay cash durin a gold -basis.</p> - -<div id='i138' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-138.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe took what hay he could spare.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Our hay crop wasent nothin to brag on this year. We -got $19 worth of hay off from five acres of medder, and a -little doodle for old Tom.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, I haint a goin to complain any more till arter fall -election, but when Jobe come home and told me that $19 -was all he got for his hay, and that what he did git would -have to go for interest, I jist thought that it would not be -so hard to give what you raise to somebody else if you got -anything to show for it when you did give.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But arter we sell our hay and thirty bushels of wheat -that Billot said he would take at 60 cents a bushel, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>the Lord only knows -what else, to pay that -$63 interest in October, -we will still owe jist as -much as we did before.</p> - -<div id='i139' class='figright id012'> -<img src='images/i-139.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“They are kept so busy legislatin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Now, if my dream had -been true, and we had -borrowed that $1,800 -from the county treasurer -at only two per -cent., instid of the -banker at seven per -cent., our semi-annual -interest would a bin only -$18 instid of $63.</p> - -<p class='c006'>With $63, then, we -could have paid the $18 -interest to the county -and $45 on the mortgage—and -that would be -encouragin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wonder when the -Dimicratic, or Republican -party either, or -both, will begin to do -somethin to make it easy -for people to buy homes, and pay for them, by makin it -easy for people to borrow money when they need it, by -reducin interest and taxes and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Every election since Jobe and me was married, fust one -party and then the other has been promisin to do somethin -to help the people git along in the world, but I declare to -goodness I have nearly got discouraged waitin for them to -do it.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>They seem to be so forgetful arter election. I guess -they are kept so busy legislatin and makin laws to help -the rich that they jist dont have time to do anything for -the poor.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By the time the law-makers git all the laws that the -railroad-owners and street-car companies and bridge companies -and bankers and bondholders and monopolists and -other milionairs want, they haint got any time to look -arter the farmers and mechanics and merchants and mill-hands -and coal miners and sich; so they jist let the people’s -bizness go, until the next election, to make promises on. -And as the voters seem willin to wait, jist so they git to vote -the strait ticket, I guess I will have to do so too.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-064.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXV. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE EXCITED OVER A NOMINATION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THIS mornin while I was settin a churnin and -thinkin, thinkin how high the monopoly men and -the money-lenders and the officeholders live, and -how low the farmers and mechanics and day laborers live, -and wonderin why some live high and some low, Jobe -come a stormin in at the kitchen door, so suddint like that -it skeert me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Betsy, give me my overhalls, quick, and put -up that churnin and come out and help me build a higher -fence around the medder.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And while he was a sayin it he was a jerkin skirts and -pettycoats and sich like down from the nails in the wall -onto the floor, a huntin them overhalls.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Jobe,” says I, “what on airth is the matter? -What do you want more fence around the medder for?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To save the grass, Betsy, to save the grass,” says he. -“What would you suppose Ide want more fence around the -medder for? Hurry up, quit that churnin and git me them -overhalls, or he will have half the grass stomped out before -we git a rail up.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stopped churnin, and, lookin him strait in the face, -says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins, are you crazy? What are you talkin -about anyhow?”</p> - -<div id='i142' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-142.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“A huntin them overhalls.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“What am I talkin about?” says he. “What am I talkin -about? Betsy, Ime talkin about Coxey—Coxey! Theyve -went and nominated him for governor, and he’ll stomp all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>the grass out of the -State of Ohio if the -fences haint built -higher and stronger.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You can see now -what them Populists -are a bringin us to.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You can see now -what you git for -readin them Populist -books and papers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You git to carry -rails, and set stakes, -and put on riders, -and——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had sot down -and went to churnin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When Jobe heerd -the sound of that -dasher he stopped huntin for them overhalls, and, turnin to -me with fire in his eyes, says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Haint you a goin to help build that fence?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stopped churnin, and, turnin round facin him, with my -hands on my knees, says I:</p> - -<div id='i143' class='figright id018'> -<img src='images/i-143.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I had sot down and went to churnin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins, if you and your likes would begin to -build up your common sense and good judgment with sich -ideas as Coxey’s ‘county bonds without interest,’ and -Coxey’s plan of makin roads and givin work to idle men -like yourself—I say, if you and your likes would build up -your common sense with some sich ideas instid of votin -the strait ticket with your eyes shet, you wouldent have to -lose so much time in the future a borrowin interest money -and workin to pay taxes. Yes, if you and your likes had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>been a votin for -some sich ideas -for years past -instid of votin -for a lot of office-seekin -canderdates -(who never -had a idea), you -wouldent be $1,800 -in debt to-day; -you wouldent -be a sellin -wheat for sixty -cents a bushel -and wool for fifteen -cents a -pound; you -wouldent be a -givin all you -raise every year -for interest and -taxes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“So my advice -to you, Jobe -Gaskins, is for -you and your likes to open gaps in your wall of prejudice -and let Coxey and his ideas in, instid of buildin higher -fences around your medders to keep him out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, put up a notice invitin Mr. Coxey to come in and -plant his ideas all over your field, and tromp them in if -need be.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do this, and I think when you go to vote hereafter you -will see crops a growin you haint seen before.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe had been sidelin toward the door while I was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>speakin, and, reachin it, he went out a mutterin somethin -about dyin before he would change; that he wouldent -let Coxey into his medder if it would cause enough hay to -grow next year to pay off the $1,800 mortgage that’s on -our farm.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went on a finishin my churnin so as to have the butter -to trade for some groceries when the huckster comes -around. It was lovely butter. I was tempted to use some -of it for dinner, but dident dare, for fear I wouldent have -enough left to git what we actually need.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVI. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE BLOOMERS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>I MADE me a pair of Dimicratic bloomers day before -yisterday, and Jobe he is mad. Ive been a waitin to -make me a pair all summer, but put off doin so till -arter the Dimicratic State convention. As soon as I heerd -from that convention I sot to work and made them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I made one leg and the waist out of a pair of Jobe’s old -black pants, and the other leg I made out of a sheet.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The black leg is to represent the polerticians and -schemers what wants a “gold basis,” and the white leg is -for the Dimicratic voters what wants silver for money jist -like we use to have years ago when times were good.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I made the black leg and waist for the right side, because -it seems that the fellers what it stands for is the strongest, -and the white leg is for the “left” side.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I was a soin that white leg to the black leg, every -now and then a stitch would break out of the white leg, -jist as though that white leg dident want to be hitched -onto that “black leg” side, and I jist thought it would be -a wonder if the white leg side of them bloomers dident -split clear off from the “black leg” side before election day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But by a good deal of whippin and stitchin I got them -together and put them on to go out and pick pertater bugs.</p> - -<div id='i146' class='figleft id012'> -<img src='images/i-146.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“The Dimicratic bloomers.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he was away, and I was as busy as I could be -knockin bugs into an old tomato can, bent over like, when -Jobe come up to the gate and hollered:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hello, mistur!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stopped and turned towards him and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>“I thank you, Jobe -Gaskins; Ime no ‘mistur.’”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, you ort a seen -the look on that man’s -face.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He turned pale, -opened his eyes skeert -like, stepped back and -says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Betsy, what -air you out here for -with your clothes off?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>That made me mad. -Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mistur Gaskins, I -thank you for none of -your insults. If you -had any sense you -would know that I am -dressed in the latest -fashion.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I explained -to him that bloomers -were all the go, and that I had made mine arter the style of my -party—arter the Dimicratic State platform of Ohio and -the Dimicratic county platform of Tuscarawas County—one -gold, the other silver. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Dont you see, Jobe, in this garb we ketch em a comin -and we ketch em a goin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Betsy, do you intend to wear them things -all fall?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I do,” says I.</p> - -<div id='i147' class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span> -<img src='images/i-147.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>Hello, mistur!</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He studied a minit. Then, -lookin at me determined like, -says he:</p> - -<div id='i148' class='figleft id019'> -<img src='images/i-148.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘We ketch em a comin an we ketch em a goin.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“You needent look for me home -to-nite.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And off he started.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As he went he kept lookin, fust -back at me, then down at his pants.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Whether or not he was a thinkin -that his pants with their patches -represented the platform of his -“dear old Republican party” I -cant say. But I jist thought: “If -they dont represent his party -platform, they are a good standin -advertisement of the greenbacks -that have been burnt, and the -bonds that have been issued, and -silver that has been demonitized -by them within the last thirty -years.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe is gone, the Lord only -knows where, but Ive made up -my mind to truly represent the -divided principles of Dimocracy as it now stands, if doin -so elects Coxey the next governor of Ohio and makes me -a grass widder for life. Feelin that way, I am yours in -bloomers.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVII. <br /> <span class='fss'>“THEM POPULISTS.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>IME in trouble. Them Dimicratic bloomers seem bound -to split asunder, or worse. Some days there is only -a stitch or two breaks out; other days they rip half -the length of my arm.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Every time I think of the high interest we are payin and -have been a payin for these many years, of the number of -times we have changed officers from Dimicrats to Republicans, -then from Republicans to Dimicrats, back and -forth, time and agin, without any change except for the -worse—every time that I think in all these years not one -Dimicrat or Republican officeseeker or polertician has riz -up in Congress and demanded that the law that permits -interest and foreclosin and sich be abolished, a stitch or -two lets go. Yes, neither Dimicrat or Republican has -ever proposed to abolish interest or in any way make it -easier for the hard-workin poor people to git homes and -pay for them. And the more I think of what they did do -that they oughtent a done, and what they haint done that -they ort a done, the more I wonder that there are enough -men left of either of them, or, for that matter, of both, to -hold a county convention.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But then I spose its because they are born that way.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But talkin of my gold and silver bloomers, nothin seems -to strain them so much or make as long rips in them as a -listenin to them Populists explainin Coxey’s “Good Roads -Bill” and them bonds what wont draw any interest. When -I see in my mind people a needin work and a gittin it—when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>I can see how under that law Jobe wouldent have to -spend time a borrowin tax-money, but could work for it, -them bloomers keep a gittin more obstreperous all the time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The other nite at our school-house they jist kept a rippin -and a rippin as speaker arter speaker went on a showin us -what we haint got that we ort to have; showin us how we -had been a throwin our votes away for these thirty years -or more; showin us how that votin for officeseekers and -polerticians and votin for good laws and good government -was two different things; showin us that while Jobe and -his likes has been a doin the votin, the officeseekers and -polerticians has been a makin the laws that takes from us -in taxes and interest what we raise, and that it seems that -we are willin to submit just so long as they will let us keep -on a votin for them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I tell you its a goin to take a good deal of Brice’s senatorial -soin thread to hold these bloomers together until -election day; and arter election, sooner or later, I know -they will split. That white leg side hates the black leg -side worse nor pisen, and here and there all over the -white leg I notice strange-lookin spots the same color as -the clothes them Populists wear. And the spots are a -growin and I fear there will be no bloomer bizness when -them spots are big enough to rule that leg.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If it ever happens that all the people who have suffered -from the hard times that bad laws have brought them go -to flockin together, and votin for common, decent people -to make our laws, there will be a weepin and a wailin -among the high-toned rulin class. The people will quit -bein led around with a ring in their nose by the polerticians -and officeseekers jist like Dave Syke’s Durham bull. But -so long as one Dimicratic convention declares for gold and -the other for silver, I suppose Ile have to try to hold my -bloomers together.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>Well, Jobe he come back last Saturday. He had been -gone for two weeks. When I seen him a comin up the -lane, I jist felt like I use to when I was a girl. He dident -say a word about my bloomers, but seemed pleased like to -see me. Before he got up to the porch he says: “Hello, -Betsy!” and when he got to me he shook hands and kissed -me (the fust time for nigh onto twenty years)—yes, sir, -kissed me, and me in bloomers—Dimicratic bloomers!—and -him a Republican. Somehow it seems the Republicans -do like us Dimicrats better than they use to. Maybe -its because we all hate them Populists so.</p> - -<div id='i151' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-151.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I seen him a comin up the lane.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter Jobe had come in and got his supper and I -got my work done up, we went into the front room and sot -down; sot down to have a talk—to court like. I had to -begin the talkin. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, where have you been for so long?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says he, “Ive been around over the -country learnin all I could about them Populists. Do you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>know, Betsy, that them Populists are jist made up of a lot -of farmers, and school teachers, and doctors, and store-keepers, -and railroad hands, and mill-workers, and coal-miners, -and carpenters, and stonemasons, and day -laborers and sich? Do you know that the lawyers, and -judges, and officeholders, and bondholders, and polerticians, -and monopolists, and bankers, and railroad officials, -and coal operators, and in fact nearly all the fust, high-toned -and leadin citizens of our country—all them that -dont work for a livin—them what are smart enough to live -without workin—all sich, they dont belong to them at all.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Is that so?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes,” says he, “it is. And now, Betsy, what do -them Populists expect to do? Do they expect to elect -farmers, and school teachers, and merchants, and -mechanics, and men what work for a livin, as officers?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do they expect to have men what haint got any more -sense than to work for a livin to make our laws?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do you think farmers have sense enough to know what -laws farmers need?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do you suppose school teachers has sense enough to -know anything about schools?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Does merchants know anything about the store-keepin -bizness?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Do you suppose mechanics and mill-men and miners -know anything about laborin? No. These men what do -all these things dont know anything about the things -they do.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We want lawyers, and bankers, and railroad owners, -and monopolists, and speculators, and bondholders, and -mine-owners and sich as our law-makers. These are the -fellers what know all about farmin and teachin, and sellin -goods, and diggin coal, and buildin houses, and workin -mills, and makin things. Yes, Betsy, the fellers what do -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>them things haint got sense enough to know anything -about the things they do. Its the fellers what dont do -them that knows all about them.</p> - -<div id='i153' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-153.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>The fust time for nigh onto twenty years.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Betsy, this bein the case, if you are a goin to -wear bloomers, I want you to color that white leg black -and work for the strait ticket, so, if the Dimicrats git in, -we will have the same kind of men to make our laws as we -would have if the Republicans git in. We must unite agin -them Populists, Betsy, or the fust thing we know they will -be a gittin in and passin them laws what Coxey is wantin -passed, and then people what work for a livin will go to -askin $1.50 a day—and a gittin it. I repeat it, Betsy, we -must unite.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was silent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe, continerin, says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, think over this and lets us two old parties hereafter -live in peace and unite our efforts in keepin things -jist as they are, and not go to complainin of hard times of -our own makin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It bein late, and not wishin to git into a argament with -Jobe so soon arter his return to my boozum, I retired in -silence, but I cant jist say that I swaller all of Jobe’s logic -without peelin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I think I shall defer the colorin of that white leg for a -few days, until we have discussed the subject further, and -until I have obtained the full consent of the white leg side -to the colorin act, remainin for the time ondecidedly yourn.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>TROUBLE WITH BILLOT.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THERE may be hopes of my bloomers survivin the -election, but I tell you it takes stitchin and soin to -do it. That State platform ort a been like the county -platform, or else the county platform like the State. Then -my bloomers would a been all alike—both legs made of the -same kind of stuff—and wouldent a needed this whippin -and stitchin and soin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe is in a fix agin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Our interest falls due the 20th of October, and you -remember it is payable in gold.</p> - -<div id='i155' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-155.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Billot jist laffed at him.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, what do you think? Jobe sold his hay and wheat -to Billot, the miller, and took Billot’s note for $37.60, -and yisterday, when Jobe went to git his money, Billot -counted him out paper money for the amount.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe told him that he wanted gold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Billot jist laffed at him, and told Jobe that paper money -was legal tender in sich bizness as this.</p> - -<div id='i156' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span> -<img src='images/i-156.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe he got mad and called Billot a Populist.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe told him that we was on a “gold basis,” and that -he had to have gold to pay Banker Vinting his interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Billot said he had nothin to do with Jobe’s interest or -Banker Vinting; that Jobe could take that paper money -or nothin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he got mad and called Billot a crank and a Populist -and all sich terrible names.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then Billot ordered Jobe out of the mill, and Jobe went -off and sued Billot for $37.60 in gold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says he’ll teach Billot that gold is the money of -this country. He says that Billot thinks that jist because -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>he is a old farmer that he haint good enough to pay -gold to.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Do you think Jobe will git the gold from Billot?</p> - -<p class='c006'>I will have to go to the trial next Monday and help Jobe -inforce the law agin Billot.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe is a full-blooded American citizen and has voted -the strait ticket since he was twenty-one, and Billot will -learn by the time he gits done with that lawsuit that this -gold basis bizness is for the low-toned people as well as -the high-toned people.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The idea of paper money bein money!</p> - -<div id='i157' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-157.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIX. <br /> <span class='fss'>“INFORCIN THE LAW AGIN BILLOT.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>WHEN we got to the trial, on Monday, we found our -witnesses and the witnesses and lawyers of Billot -a talkin, and a laffin, and a whisperin together. -They seemed to have some deep subject which Dimicrats -and Republicans were both in earnest about.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I told Jobe to git around among them and listen, and -see if they wasent layin some plan to gain the lawsuit for -Billot.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Soon arter Jobe he come in a smilin and said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“They haint a talkin about the lawsuit at all; they are -jist talkin together how to beat them Populists at the -election next month.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe seemed tickled. He said them lawyers and editors -are smart fellers, and when they git out among them -ignorant farmers and laborin class they’d soon settle all -that Populist argament.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“There wont be any change in this country,” says he, -“as long as them editors and lawyers can help it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said they were goin at it purty soon, and from what -he could hear it dident make any difference to these leadin -fellers who beats, jist so them Populists dont git in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I to Jobe:</p> - -<div id='i159' class='figright id010'> -<img src='images/i-159.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Lawyers a talkin and a laffin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“They had better git at it, for if them Populists elects a -farmer for representative, a farmer for treasurer, a farmer -for commissioner, a coal miner for sheriff, and a mechanic -for infirmary director, and they all make good officers, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>chance of them -lawyers and town -polerticians holdin -all the offices -herearter will be -slim.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, sich -people was never -made to hold -office,” says Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The squire -come in at that -time and stopped -the argament between -Jobe and -me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The case was -begun.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The fust witness for our side was Sam Moore, editure of -the <cite>Times</cite>. I questioned him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Question. “What is your bizness, Mr. Moore?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Answer. “Editure and polertician,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Do you believe in the free coinage of silver?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “If we can git it inside the Dimicratic party, I do. -If we cannot, I do not.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Mr. Moore, is a treasury certificate issued by the -United States treasury money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Well, now, Betsy, I—I—that is, I am not prepared -to answer that question at this time. Cal -Bri——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold! hold!” cried Lawyer Jim Patrick, jumpin to his -feet. (Patrick is Billot’s lawyer.) Gittin red in the face -and pintin his finger at Sam, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Moore, we dont want Cal Brice’s name mentioned -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>durin this camp—cam—or, or lawsuit, I mean. You know -as well as I do that he can never git back to the Senate if -we let the people know that he is after the office.” Then, -turnin to the squire, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I object to the gentleman answerin the question.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I argued that all we wanted was to git at the truth; that -we was intitled to the truth, if gittin it defeated Mr. Brice -or any other canderdate for office.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But Jim he out-talked me, and the squire ruled that “the -less said about Cal in open meetin the better for his -chances.” As much as to say that sometimes things could -be done better by suppressin the truth than by tellin it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I perceeded:</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Mr. Moore, how long has it been since you quit -advocatin the issue of ‘good old-fashioned greenback -paper money’? How long has it been since you said time -arter time in your noosepaper that ‘the greenback was the -best money we have ever had’?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Well, Betsy, I haint advocated paper money for -nigh onto a year. Not since we decided that we wanted -Cal Bri——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold, hold!” shouted Jim Patrick agin. Says he, -jumpin to his feet:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Moore, what do you mean? Dont you know you are -injurin our cause? Dont you know that if it gits out that -Cal is a canderdate he will be defeated? Dont you know -if he is defeated none of us will git an office? Sam, I want -you to bring his name in this matter no more.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>That made Sam mad. He riz up and says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mr. Patrick, I want you to understand that I am -under oath now, and not a editin a free silver paper -in the interest of a gold-bug canderdate, nor am I under -the control of the Dimicratic Executive Committee while I -am on this stand.”</p> - -<div id='i161' class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span> -<img src='images/i-161.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘<span class='sc'>Mr. Moore, how long has it been since you quit advocatin the use of good old-fashioned greenbacks?</span>’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Sam was gittin madder every minit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I riz to my feet and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hear, hear, gentlemen, dont lets drag family affairs -into this suit agin Billot.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I saw they was likely to give away the secrets of my -party.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Seein that Mr. Moore was excited, and, if pressed, was -liable to swear agin us instid of for us, I excused him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then Jim took him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Mr. Moore, what is money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Money is anything the law says is legal tender for -debts.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Mr. Moore, are not United States treasury notes -legal tender? and then are they not money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Sam begin to color up agin. Answerin, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, now, look here, Jim, you know what shape our -party is in—that all the big fellers are for a gold basis—and -you know, too, that there is no chance for any of us to -git appinted to office if we dont come out for gold. You -know I edit one of the leadin papers; and you know it -takes a great effort to hold the party together. Now, Jim, -dont you think you had better not make me answer that -question—under oath? Or if you want me to answer it, -dont you think you ort to git this case abjourned till after -election day?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jim studied a minit, looked wise like, and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mr. Moore, youre excused.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Sam got down and went out, mutterin as he went somethin -about it bein “hard, these times, for a truthful man -to be a Dimicrat.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>My next witness was Buckannan.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Buck, what is your bizness?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Lawyer—Dimicratic lawyer and polertician.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Buck, what is money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>A. “Gold—gold is money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Who makes money, Buck?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “God—God makes money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>That was all I wanted. Thats the kind of swearin I -wanted to inforce the law agin Billot. So I turned Buck -over to Patrick.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jim he looked Buck in the face a minit. Buck he -dropped his eyes shamed like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then Jim perceeded:</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Buck, what is your bizness and polertics?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Ime a lawyer—a Dimicratic lawyer and polertician.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Buck, did you ever study the money question?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “No, sir; never did; never want to; never will. I -know enough. Ime a Dimicrat—a Dimicratic lawyer—and -that suits me.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Buck, dont you know that anything that the law -says is legal tender for debts is money? and dare you -swear here under oath that a paper bill issued by the -United States treasury is not money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Buck colored up and looked hurt like. Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Patrick, you know the condition our party is in, and -you know that our names would be Dennis if Cal——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold, hold!” cried Jim, jumpin to his feet—and, pintin -his forefinger strait at Buck, vicious like, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Here, Buck, dont you know that Brice has instructed -us to mention his name as little as possible. Now, I want -you to answer this question without any reference to Cal -or anybody else: Is paper money money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Buck, he filled up, and, trimbling like, says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is, Patrick—it is.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And great big tears rolled down his manly cheek and -dropped on the lapel of his Prince Albert coat.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The squire asked him what was the matter.</p> - -<div id='i164' class='figleft id010'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span> -<img src='images/i-164.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Lawyer—Dimicratic lawyer and polertician.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He said he was ruined; that -he had been tellin everybody -that “nothin was money but -gold,” and now if it got out that -he swore in the case of Gaskins -agin Billot that paper -money is money, nobody would -believe him hereafter. And, -poor man, he cried like a child.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, as I had examined what -I considered my strongest witnesses, -and they dident swear -as they talked -to the voters, -but jist to the -contrary, I concluded -to end -the case and let -the squire decide it. I argued that nothin was money but -gold, showed how all the noosepapers said so, and how -all the lawyers and polerticians said so (except when on -oath). I showed how Jobe had delivered good wheat and -hay to Billot and took his note for it, how Billot offered -Jobe jist common paper money when the note was due; -showed how Jobe demanded gold money and nothin else, -because gold was the recognized money of the world, and -closed by askin the court to give us judgment agin Billot, -payable in gold, and to make Billot pay the costs. I -sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jim Patrick got up and said they had no testimony to -offer except Jobe Gaskins’ own statement that Billot had -offered to pay him with paper money, and now he tendered -to the court the same money Billot had offered to Gaskins, -and asked for judgment agin Gaskins for the costs.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>The squire took the money, counted it and stuck it in -his pocket, then hemmed and hawed a minit and said that -Billot had made a full legal tender of the amount due -Gaskins, as in his court paper money allers had been -good and he hoped it allers would be. He then said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“My judgment is in favor of the defendant Billot, with -the costs of this case charged to the plaintiff Gaskins.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>It nearly took my breath.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The costs was $18.60, all told.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The squire said that paper money made by the United -States was real money, and if a man offered to pay a debt -with it, and the man he offered it to refused it and tried to -make him pay gold, he would have to pay the cost for -tryin it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Instid of us inforcin the law agin Billot, it looks to me -that we have had the law inforced agin us.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe says that Squire Reed is a anacrist and ort to be -hung.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-096.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXX. <br /> <span class='fss'>BETSY DISCUSSES “FIAT” MONEY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>LAST Sunday, arter I got my dinner dishes washed up -and the kitchen swept, I went out in the front yard -where Jobe was. I found him a settin at the foot -of the big apple tree, sound asleep.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He had took the noosepaper with him and sot down there -to read why it is better to borrow money from Urope -than to make it ourselves, and had went to sleep over it. -Besides he had been out all the nite before to a big -Republican rally and had carried a banner sayin:</p> - -<div class='dottedbox boxwidth40'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>GIVE US MONEY</div> - <div>GOOD IN UROPE.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And the poor man had to tramp three or four miles through -the mud to git to do it; so I suppose he was tired—tuckered -out, as it were.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, I looked at him a minit a sittin there with his -head throwed back agin that apple tree, his legs stretched -out, his boots a shinin with the fresh lard he had rubbed -on them jist afore dinner, and his honest old face turned -up toward me, and I says to myself, says I: “There sets -one of God’s noblemen, injoyin the sleep of innercence.” -And then I thought if I could only git him and his likes to -understand that they are a part of this government, and -that the government belongs to them and not to those only -who are rich and high-toned—I say, I jist thought that if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>I could only git them to see that they had rights that ort -to be respected and the power to inforce them rights, what -a different country this might be.</p> - -<div id='i167' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-167.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He carried a banner.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Thinking this and feelin the importance of my duty, I -decided to begin to edicate him then and there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He has a habit of gittin up and leavin me when I begin -to talk to him on things; so I made up my mind that I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>would fix him this time so he couldent git away, and would -give him some plain talk on the money question.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I got the rope I use as a clothes line, and, slippin up -behind him, I wound it around and around him and the -tree from his waist to his neck. He never flinched. Then -I got the check lines from the barn, and, fastenin them to -his feet, I tied one to one gate post and one to the other, -and with the hitchin strap I tied his hands behind him. -Then I got a straw and tickled his nose.</p> - -<p class='c006'>You ort a seen him try to jump; but he couldent move.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He opened his eyes and says to me, skeert like:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, what does all this mean?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I think he was afraid I was a goin to kill him, but, -answerin, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It means, Mr. Gaskins, that I propose to discuss the -money question here without interference and without my -audience a leavin before I git done, as is its usual custom.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Betsy, wont you let me loose?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Not till I git done,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Why, I cant sit here and listen to you for -an hour?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You cant?” says I. “But you will. You can spend -all nite, and nite arter nite, a listenin to argaments in favor -of continerin the laws that makes prices low and interest -and taxes high—laws that keeps you poor and the polerticians -rich—but you think you cant spend a hour listenin -to a argament for a law that would make it easier for you -to live; that would give you better prices and lower -interest.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then, puttin my hands on my hips and lookin, lovin -like, down at him, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, dear, I guess you will listen this time, and you -wont leave till the speaker dismisses, will you?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he, half laffin, half cryin:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>“It looks that way, Betsy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I went and got me a chair, brought it out and sot -down in front of him. When I got seated says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, is it Dimicrat or Republican argament that you -want me to listen to?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “It is neither, Jobe. It is neither. It is -female—female argament, based on common sense and -bed-rock experience. It is the argament of a lovin wife to -a errin husband. The argament of one who knows there -is somethin wrong and has tried to find somethin better -than what we have got. Are you ready?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe tried to nod his head, but couldent. He looked -real interestin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Perceed with the argament,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, leanin up strait in my chair and foldin my arms across -my boozum, I perceeded. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, what is money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Money?” says he. “Why, money is—is—is—why, -Betsy, money is jist money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Is that all the answer you can give?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I guess so,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then a thought seemed to strike him, and, lookin up -sudden like, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, money is gold—thats what money is.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked at him a full minit. Then says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe Gaskins, if money is gold, how much money have -you seen since you was a baby? If money is gold, how -much have you handled since you become the husband of -Betsy Gaskins?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why—why,” says he, “I haint handled much gold, -but I have——”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Hold on,” says I. “Then you haint seen much -money, or else somethin is money besides gold—haint -that so?”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>“Yes, I guess there is some money besides gold,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Then you agree that paper money is money, do you?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, I reckon it is,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, then,” says I, “we will perceed with the argament.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe looked worried. If it hadent a been for them ropes -and straps, about this time Jobe would a had bizness somewhere -else. It seems that some men get very bizzy about -the time one is ready to show them how they can help -themselves. But, havin full confidence in that clothes -line, I went on.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Money,” says I, “is somethin made by one’s government -that we git when we dispose of somethin we have. -If you sell somethin direct to the government and the -government gives you money for it, it is the same as a -receipt from the people that they have received from you -somethin of so much value—and it at the same time is an -order on all the people for them to give you whatever you -want of equal value. The officers that make the money -and do the bizness is merely the agents of a big company -of people known as the United States, and each man, be -he rich or poor, is a member of the firm. Instid of havin -our money (that is these receipts) signed by every member -of the company, which would require a very large piece of -paper, we have a stamp, and say to our agents or officers -for them to put that stamp on our money and we will stand -by it. The placin of that stamp on a piece of paper by -the right officers is the same as if all the twelve million -men had signed it, and the women too.</p> - -<div id='i171' class='figcenter id020'> -<img src='images/i-171.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I got a straw and tickled his nose.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“So, if you sell the government say $10 worth of oats -to feed our army mules on, or if you do $10 worth of work -a keepin books or a holdin office or a bankin up the -Mississippi River, and you git a $10 bill for it—that bill, -or your havin of that bill, says that you as a individual -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>have delivered to all the balance of the seventy million -people—to the company, if you please—$10 worth of value, -and hold their paper for it. Now, if, arter you git that $10 -from all the people, you go to Alick Smith and buy his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>Chester White brood sow and give him the $10 for her, -your claim aginst all the people has passed from you to -him—he has the receipt for the value you delivered the -government and you have his sow. And, bein a good -citizen, he takes the paper $10, because the value you gave -the government was in part for him, and the $10 is an order -to him as one of the twelve million or more pardners. -And you bein one of the twelve million, you are one of the -firm also, and stand ready to accept that same $10 for anything -you may have to sell that Alick Smith might want.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe seemed to be a gittin interested.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Then,” says I, “we will say that Alick would go to -town and buy two gallons of John Schwab’s rye whiskey. -John takes the bill for the same reason that Alick did. -Well, John bein a licker dealer, we—that is, all the people—charge -him $25 a year for sellin rye whiskey and sich. So -John sends that same $10 to the revenue collector at Cleveland -for his revenue tax. The revenue collector sends it -to the treasury at Washington, where it was made, and -where it fust come from. Haint it been redeemed? Haint -that money? John Schwab paid for the work you done, or -for the oats the government mules eat, and paid for it with -the receipt you got for the oats or the work.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, suppose nothin was money but gold, and the -government couldent issue sich receipts or orders, or -whatever you want to call them, and suppose the government -dident have any gold—so then you couldent sell your -oats, nor you couldent git the work to do on the river -bank, and you wouldent git any money. If you couldent -git the money you couldent buy Alick’s sow; if Alick -couldent sell his sow he couldent buy Schwab’s whiskey; -if Schwab couldent sell his whiskey he couldent pay -revenue tax, and when people cant pay revenue tax the -government gits hard up and has to borrow money.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>“Now, Jobe,” says I, “honest injun, which do you -think would be the best: to make what money this firm of -the United States needs or to keep on a goin deeper and -deeper in debt a borrowin money?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Speak out,” says I. “Haint that good money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe studied a minit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Y-a-s,” says he, “but haint that fiat money?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, sir,” says I, “that is fiat money, and fiat money -is the only honest, true money we can have. Any other -kind is a deceit and a fraud.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe twisted and would have got away if he hadent a -been tied. As he couldent git away he snorted out:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What good would that money be in Urope?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The very best that could be made, so far as you and -your likes are concerned,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Whats its basis? Whats its basis?” says he, “a -hundred cent gold dollars or fifty cent silver dollars?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Neither,” says I. “And as long as we have so many -grains of gold or so many grains of silver or so many -grains of both as a basis, you and your likes will be a payin -high interest with low-priced grain.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What!” says he, “no standard! How are you to tell -what your dollar is worth?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We will have a standard, Jobe, and the best standard -in the world, and the dollar will always be worth -one hundred cents, and each cent will be worth ten -mills.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe looked puzzled, but inquirin like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Jobe,” says I, “dont you know that the law that -says that the dollar shall be of the value of so many grains -of silver or so many grains of gold is what makes everything -you raise low in price? Rich people can make the -gold or silver scarce and dear, and that makes every dollar, -either paper or metal, dear also, and the dearer the dollars -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>the more of your grain or the more of your work it takes -to git them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, what ort to be done is this: Make a law callin -in all the gold and silver money, and redeem it in paper -money, dollar for dollar, the same kind of money I spoke -about a while ago; give them only six months to turn it in, -and therearter let neither gold nor silver be money or a -legal tender. And if any of them Wall Street gold sharks -want to hang on to their gold money let em hang, and -they will find that they will have to sell it for old metal. -Arter the government gits it redeemed let us sell it to the -jewelers and spoonmakers to make watches and spoons -out of.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And instid of the law a sayin that each dollar shall be -of the value of so many grains of useless metal, let it say -that ‘<em>The Dollar shall be of the value of sixty pounds of wheat -in the Chicago market</em>.’<a id='rB' /><a href='#fB' class='c019'><sup>[B]</sup></a></p> - -<hr class='c020' /> -<div class='footnote' id='fB'> -<p class='c006'><a href='#rB'>B</a>. <span class='sc'>Note.</span>—This may strike the ordinary reader as a strange proposition. -Some of those who have studied the philosophy of money may differ from -Betsy and claim that the unit of value should be a day’s labor. There are -various good reasons, however, which make Betsy’s suggestion appear not -only plausible, but expedient and logical.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By making a bushel of wheat the unit of value we could establish not -only the value of the dollar, but also the price of wheat, and of nearly all -other commodities. As a rule a bushel of wheat is worth two bushels of -corn, three bushels of oats, four pounds of wool, ten pounds of cotton, etc. -This price ratio of wheat to other commodities varies very little. Prices of -other things rise and fall with the price of wheat.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy’s plan would raise the price of wheat and of all other farm products, -and, consequently, would make farming more remunerative. By -making farming more profitable it would start more people farming, and -thus relieve the overcrowded labor markets of the great cities. The farmers, -obtaining better prices for their products, would be able to consume -more of the products of the factory. The increased demand for factory -products would give work to the unemployed and raise wages in all the -industries. Under these conditions, with our money system on a proper -basis, and with trusts and monopolies obliterated, as they soon would be, -we would need no labor unions to maintain the wage scale. Labor would -no longer crouch at the feet of its creature, Wealth, and strikes would be a -thing of the barbarous past. On the other hand, the workingman of the -city cannot prosper so long as the farmer is not prosperous.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Again, if one day’s labor will produce two and one-half or three bushels -of wheat, and each bushel is of the value of one dollar, then a day’s labor -will be worth $2.50 or $3.00. Then will wages begin to go up, more help -will be employed, more products will be consumed, and soon “surplus -labor” and “overproduction” will be heard of only in the reminiscences -with which we as grandparents will entertain the curious of the next -generation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is a remarkable coincidence that at the time this chapter is being put -into type (May, 1897) news comes over the wires that the Russian minister -at Washington has submitted a proposition that the governments of the -United States and Russia jointly fix the price of wheat.—<span class='sc'>Ed.</span></p> -</div> -<hr class='c020' /> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Jobe,” says I, “if the law said that the dollar -should be of the value of sixty pounds of wheat in the -Chicago market, what would be the value of a dollar?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe studied a minit and then looked up sudden like, as</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>if something had broke loose in his mind, and says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, it would be of the value of sixty pounds of -wheat.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, then,” says I, “what would be the value of -sixty pounds of wheat in Chicago?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why—why,” says he, “it would be worth a dollar.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What would be the price of wheat west of Chicago?” -says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“A leetle less than a dollar,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What would be the price of wheat east of Chicago?” -says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, a leetle more than a dollar,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You are a good scholar,” says I. “You are a larnin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He tried to git loose agin, but failed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“But—but,” says he, “what good would sich money be -in Urope? Would that money be good anywhere in the -world?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“There you go agin,” says I. “I haint got to Urope -yit. We’ll go to Urope purty soon.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, but that would be fiat money,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, sir, it would,” says I, “and the sooner you and -your likes git up to that word ‘fiat,’ and touch your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>nose to it and smell of it—the sooner you pick it up and -look at it and examine it, the sooner you will find that -instid of bein a curse it will be a blessin to you.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fiat money is money made by you and the balance of -the people that makes this government. You make it by -puttin your great stamp on it, and each one of you what -are fit to be citizens stand ready to defend it and uphold -it with your lives if need be. It is made by you havin -printed and stamped on money paper the followin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“‘This is one dollar, a full legal tender for all debts, -public and private, receivable for all taxes, duties and -customs; and any money-lender, bondholder or other -citizen of these United States who attempts to dishonor or -discredit this bill shall be deemed a traitor, and if found -guilty of such attempt shall be hanged by the neck until -dead.’”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Dont you think that would be a little seveer, Betsy?” -says Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Seveerness of that kind—seveerness for them what are -bound to rule this country for their own benefit or ruin it—is -what we need, and the sooner we git it, and the more -of it that we git, the better,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, perceedin with the argament, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, Jobe, we’ll go to Urope.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, hold on,” says Jobe, “lemme loose fust.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Not till we git through Urope,” says I, determined like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, shove off, then,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I did so by sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Jobe, would it skeer you if I was to tell you that the -money what is good anywhere in the world is the very -money that we as a people dont want?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I put my elbows on my knees and leaned over and -looked him square in the eyes to note the effect of my -question.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>He looked at me, starin like, for a whole minit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “How does it strike you, Jobe?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Betsy, have you been a drinkin?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, sir,” says I, “Ive been a drinkin—a drinkin in -the sad, hard experience of the last thirty years—a drinkin -the dregs of poverty, hardship and trouble caused by low -prices and high interest—caused by havin money so good -anywhere else in the world that the only way we can git it -back when once it gits away is to borrow it back, and put -ourselves in bonds to do it. And, Jobe, when I say that -the ‘money thats good anywhere in the world’ is the very -money that we as a nation dont want to use, I am a talkin -sober, hard sense. We want <em>money that will come back to us</em> -and buy our wheat and corn and oats and sich, instid of -goin to Roosia and Germany and France and India and -buyin their stuff. What we want is money that is the best -for America, whether it is good for any other part of the -world or not.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“As it is now, Jobe, when we pay the $300,000,000 a -year interest to Urope, or when our high-toned people buy -their Uropean clothes and sich and give our gold and silver -for them, them Urope fellers takes that gold and silver and -go to Roosia and Germany and France and India and other -countries and buy what wheat and flour and oats and corn -and meat and cotton and cattle and wool and manufactured -goods they need, while our wheat and our cotton and our -wool and sich lays in the warehouses along our seashores -a waitin a market. And while it lays there a waitin a -market our farmers are gittin lower prices and our workinmen -lower wages, or goin idle, which is worse.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, if we paid that interest with money that was not -good in Roosia and Germany and France; if our rich -people had to pay for their fine stuff with common everyday -paper money, each dollar of which was of the value of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>sixty pounds of wheat—money that couldent be melted up -and made into Roosian money or French money or Dutch -money or Indian money—if them Urope fellers would have -to send the money they git from us back here to git its -value in breadstuffs or grub or clothes or somethin our -workinmen make, dont you think our warehouses would -be emptied? And when our warehouses are emptied -wouldent it require work to fill them agin? And haint -honest work what our people need and ort to have?</p> - -<p class='c006'>“So, Jobe, you can see that if them three hundred -million interest money was made out of paper and sent to -Urope to pay that interest; if the money spent there by -our rich people and all was good greenback paper money, -redeemable in wheat and flour and corn and oats and -cotton and manufactured goods of all kinds made, raised -and produced in the United States, and they had to send -it back here to git its value, instid of sendin to Roosia and -them other countries to buy their stuff, and them warehouses -would be emptied, you would find more demand -for the wheat you raise to fill them agin, you would find -prices a raisin and times a gittin better.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe was a thinkin hard.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Jobe, can you see the cat?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe was silent. The wheels in his head was a beginnin -to turn and he was a listenin to their moosic. Finally -says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Betsy, if each of them dollars was worth sixty -pounds of wheat at Chicago and sixty pounds of wheat -was worth a dollar, what would our leadin men what make -a livin and git rich a speculatin in wheat do? They -couldent force it up nor force it down. What would they -do?” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “They would be like lots of fellers who haint -leadin citizens are to-day—they would be a huntin a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>job, and would have to ingage in some honest okepation.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says Jobe, “is that Populist argament?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, Jobe,” says I, “it haint Populist argament; it is -the argament of a plain, old-fashioned female woman—the -one that thinks more of you than all the polerticians -piled in one pile—and I hope you will think on it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says he, “if it haint Populist it seems -to me that it is worth thinkin about.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, havin for one time held Jobe down to a finish and -got him to thinkin, I unloosed the rope and straps, kissed -him out loud on the cheek and let him up.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He riz up, stretched out his legs and arms, gapped a -time or two and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, Ime glad you tied me down.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then he went out to do up the evenin chores.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, if I could only keep Jobe away from them office-seekers -and polerticians; if I could only keep him a -thinkin, I would have some hopes; but as it is, no tellin -how soon the good lesson of his wife may be overcome by -a smooth-tongued canderdate.</p> - -<div id='i179' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-179.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXI. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE BLOWS A FISH-HORN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE has been so busy tryin to git Mr. Bushnell, the -millionair, elected governor, that he forgot about his -interest bein due at the bank. He stayed to town the -nite of the election till the chickens were crowin for daylite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was nearly mornin when I heerd the patriotic sounds -of the fish-horn.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I got up and looked out of the winder, and there was -Jobe a comin up the lane, with his breadbasket stuck out -and his head throwed back, blowin that fish-horn as though -his life depended on it, and every now and then he would -stop, take off his hat and holler for Bushnell, jist as loud -as he could holler.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, he come in and acted the fool worse nor a drunk -man, till he nearly wore my patience out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said the gold basis bizness had succeeded and now -one dollar was jist as good as another, and asked me if I -wasent ashamed that I was a Dimicrat, and all sich fool -questions.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, he got to bed at last and went to sleep, and in the -mornin dident want to git up; so I jist let him lay.</p> - -<div id='i181' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-181.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>It was nearly mornin when I heerd the patriotic sounds of the fish-horn.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>About 9 o’clock a feller rid up to our gate and hitched, -come to the door and asked if this is where Mr. Gaskins -lives. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is where Jobe Gaskins lives.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He handed me a paper and told me to give it to Mr. -Gaskins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I took it in and waked Jobe up and got him his “specks.”</p> - -<div id='i182' class='figleft id019'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span> -<img src='images/i-182.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He looked kind a pale.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He unfolded the paper and -read it over to hisself. I saw -he was worked up. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“What is it, Jobe—an appintment -from Bushnell?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He looked kind a pale. -Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, Betsy, its a summons -to court in the case of Vinting, -the banker, agin Gaskins; he -has begun foreclosin proceedins -agin us, Betsy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked at him a minit. -He dident look up.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “The official returns -are comin in quite airly, -haint they?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I then went back to the -door, and the court officer was -gone.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe got up in a little bit, lookin worried.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he come out in the kitchen I handed him his -fish-horn and says, says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Give us a tune, Jobe.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He dident offer to toot a toot. He jist looked hurt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, from that day to this he has been tryin to raise -the money to pay Vinting, the banker, his interest. After -payin all them costs in the Billot lawsuit there was very -little left out of that wheat and hay money, sich as it was.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He sold our cow, and nearly all our pertaters, and then -sold old Tom, our only hoss, and borrowed $5.50 from -Widder Baker, when she got her penshun money, and took -that $63 down to Banker Vinting and handed it to him at -his bank. Vinting pushed it back to Jobe and says, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>“This is not accordin to contract. The contract, Mr. -Gaskins, says you must pay the interest in gold. I must -have gold. <em>Gold</em>—Mr. Gaskins.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe told him he “had no gold, that this money was all -good, legal tender government money, and he would have -to take it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Banker Vinting told him, “Gold or nothin.”</p> - -<div id='i183' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-183.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Give us a tune, Jobe.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe went around to all the stores in town and to all his -friends and tried to git gold for the paper money, and not -one of them had a dollar in gold to help him out with. -Everybody said they “hadent seen any gold for a long -time;” that “paper money was good enough for them; that -they was glad to git even it, these times.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So Jobe come home, and he haint got that gold yit, and -the Lord only knows when and where he can git it. I dont.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he is nearly distracted.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, if the law makes Jobe take Billot’s paper money -for wheat, I dont see why the same law wont make the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>banker take the same paper money for interest, especially -when a feller cant git any other kind. If the banker wont -take Jobe’s paper money, all I know is for him to go on -with his lawsuit to foreclose us—until the court makes him -take it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We cant do anything else. It jist seems the world is -full of trouble and sich.</p> - -<div id='i184' class='figcenter id007'> -<img src='images/i-184.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘This is not accordin to contract.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXII. <br /> <span class='fss'>AT COURT AGAIN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE lawsuit to foreclose us out of our home is bein -tried to-day. We borrowed Ike Hill’s gray mare -and driv to town airly, and found the lawyers hangin -around like buzzards waitin for the arrival of a dead beast.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They begin to meet us and shake hands from the time -we hitched in front of Urfer’s big dry-goods store until we -got clear inside the fence that surrounds the judge’s seat -and divides the high-toned cattle from the low-toned breed. -They all wanted to know if we had “ingaged counsel.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I told them that our family had counsel of its -own blood, in the person of myself, Betsy Gaskins, wife of -Jobe Gaskins, the defendant, they would kind a sneer and -walk off. They looked hurt like, jist as a feller does when -he loses a ten-dollar bill.</p> - -<p class='c006'>These lawyers seem kind a anxious that the people who -are bein foreclosed should have “counsel,” but I could -never see where “havin counsel” changes the foreclosin -act any.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, we got inside the lawyers’ field, the officer opened -court and the judge called the case of “Vinting, plaintiff, -vs. Gaskins, defendant, for money only.” Says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Are the parties to the case ready for trial?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jim Patrick, the lawyer, nodded his head and says, -“Ready,” without even takin his feet off the table.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dident have my feet on the table. But when the judge -looked our way I nodded and says, “Ready.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I hadent that word out of my mouth till Lawyer Porter -riz to his feet, and, addressin the court, says:</p> - -<div id='i186' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span> -<img src='images/i-186.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“We hitched in front of Urfer’s big dry goods store.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“If your honor please, on behalf of the ‘bar’ of this -county, I object to Mrs. Betsy Gaskins a practicin law -before this court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I object for three reasons: First, because she is a -woman; second, because she has not been admitted to -practice in this court; third, because it interferes with the -legitimate profits of the legal fraternity of this county.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“If your honor please, as you well know, the lawyers of -this county have no other source of income than from the -parties to the cases brought to this court, and if women -and persons who have not been admitted to the bar are -permitted to practice in this court, our bizness will be -ruined, and some of us, at least, will have to go to workin -for a livin; therefore I object to permittin this woman to -farther participate in this case, and in doin so I voice the -sentiment of every member of this bar.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I riz up.</p> - -<div id='i187' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span> -<img src='images/i-187.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Ready.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The judge looked at me, steady like, over his specks, as -if he was a goin to tell me to set down. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mistur Court, may I speak?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He looked around at the bar. Several heads went east -and west. The judge thought a minit and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You may speak.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Perceedin, says I: “Mistur Court, I am the lawful wife -of Jobe Gaskins, the man you are asked to foreclose and -turn out of the home he has tried hard to hold. We are -old people. We are poor. Times are hard and money is -scarce, and, bein called here without our choosin, we came -without money to pay anything toward the support of the -‘bar’ the lawyer spoke about.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“All we ask, Mistur Court, is to be heard. We want to -save our old home if we can do so. All I ask is, if there -is any speakin that can be done to persuade you that we -hadent ort to be turned out, that you let me do that -speakin, because I feel that I can tell you what we would -suffer, and why we hadent ort to be turned out, as honestly -and as earnestly as any lawyer could who was talkin for -only a few dollars pay.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>“God knows, Mistur Court, that what I shall say to you -will not be prompted by a few dollars, but by the love I -have for the roof that has sheltered us, for the fire that -has warmed us, and those things about the place that has -caused a lump to come up in my throat whenever I think -we may soon have to leave them forever, or when I wonder -where we would go if you say, Mistur Court, that we must -be foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I know I am a woman—a old woman. I haint a -regular lawyer, but I ask to do the speakin in this case, -because we haint the money to pay any of these regular -lawyers to do it, and God knows we have always tried to -pay for everything we have ever got or had done for us.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I sot down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The judge set a studyin; finally says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mr. Sheriff, adjourn court until 1:30 o’clock p.m.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And that is where the lawsuit is at this hour. I am -waitin to see if I will be allowed to speak. Yours at court.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-088.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>JUDGMENT RENDERED.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE lawsuit is over. The decidin is done, and we -are foreclosed. My heart has been so heavy and -Ive been so troubled that I jist couldent set down -and write a letter with any sense to it till to-day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>You dont know how bad it makes a body feel to know -the place you have looked on and loved as home is a gittin -away from you—slippin from under you, as it were. -Everything seems to change. Jobe, poor man, he jist -sets and studies.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, that day at court, arter dinner, the judge come in, -took his seat, ordered court opened, and says, lookin at me:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mrs. Gaskins, I have decided to let you argy this case.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that all them lawyers except Jim Patrick, the one -doin the foreclosin, got up and left the house.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When everything was ready Jim he got up and handed -in the mortgage and the notes, and stated that he would -prove by those papers that last Aprile Jobe and Betsy -Gaskins executed notes and a mortgage to Mr. Vinting, -the banker, for the sum of $1,800, with interest at seven -per cent., payable semi-annually “in <em>gold</em>;” that a few -days after the interest fell due Jobe Gaskins tendered to -Banker Vinting $63 in paper money as said six months’ -interest, and refused or neglected then or at any other -time to tender gold in payment of the interest as the -contract provided, and upon this evidence he would ask -the court to foreclose the mortgage and sell the premises -to satisfy the claims of his client.</p> - -<div id='i190' class='figleft id017'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span> -<img src='images/i-190.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘I am a banker, sir, a banker.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He then called Banker Vinting -to the stand and had him -hold up his hand and swear.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then he examined him as -follers:</p> - -<p class='c006'>Question. “Mr. Vinting, -what is your bizness?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Answer. “I am a banker, -sir, a banker.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Did Jobe Gaskins, -the defendant here, tender you -the interest due on this mortgage -as the mortgage provides?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “No, sir, he did not. -He offered paper money—nothing -but paper money—while -the mortgage and notes -call for gold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Is this interest still -due and unpaid?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “It is, sir. It is.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“You may have the witness,” says Jim.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I examined the banker. He looked very witherin -like at me, but I dident wither.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Mr. Vinting, what kind of money did you give for -this mortgage and notes?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “Paper money, paper money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Then why haint paper money good enough for -interest on them?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A. “The contract says ‘gold,’ Mrs. Gaskins—it calls -for gold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Q. “Well, haint paper money as good as gold—<em>now, -since the election</em>?”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>“I ’bject,” says Jim, and then he got up and argyed -that my question was leadin, &c., and the court decided -that he needent answer it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We rest,” says Jim.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I got up and stated our case. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mr. Court, we will prove that Jobe Gaskins sold hay -and corn to Billot, the miller, to git the money, or a part -of it, to pay this interest, and took Billot’s note; that -when the time come to pay it Billot offered to pay it in -paper money; that Jobe refused to take it, jist as the -banker refused; that Jobe sued Billot before Squire Reed -for the amount ‘in gold;’ that Mr. Patrick, who is now -the lawyer a tryin to foreclose us for not payin gold, was -the lawyer agin us when we was a tryin to git the gold to -pay with. We will prove that the law made Jobe take -paper money or nothin, and made him pay the costs for -tryin to collect gold. We will prove that Jobe took some -of that money the law made him accept for wheat, and -more jist like it, to the banker, and offered to pay his -interest; that the banker refused, and on this testimony we -ask you to render judgment agin Mr. Vinting, the banker, -for costs, and make him take this $63 in paper money that -I now tender in open court as payment of the six months’ -interest due.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that I handed the $63 to the clerk. He took it and -gave me a receipt for the amount.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I put Jobe on the stand and proved that he had -taken the same money the law made him take for his wheat -to the banker and offered it to him; that the banker -refused to take anything but gold; that he had tried to git -the gold, but couldent find anybody that had any gold, and -that he had done all he could to raise the gold and couldent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I then proved by Squire Reed that Jim Patrick was -Billot’s lawyer, and had argued and proved by Sam Moore -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>and Lawyer Buchanan and others that paper money was -money and was a legal tender for debts, and that Jobe -was beat in his lawsuit agin Billot and had to pay the costs -and take paper money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I “rested.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then Jim Patrick got up and made a short speech, statin -that “gold was God’s money;” that He had hidden it -away in the vaults of nature for the use of mankind as -money. He showed how Banker Vinting was a Christian -and one of our leadin citizens, and all he asked the court -to do was to inforce his contract agin Jobe Gaskins. He -showed how all the bankers and bondholders and other -money-lenders was in favor of gold and gold contracts; -then he showed that it was dishonest for Gaskins to -attempt to pay that interest in any other kind of money -than gold as stipulated in the contract.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is in fact repudiation,” says he, and he made sich a fine -argament for gold and agin other money that I put on my -specks to make sure it was Jim Patrick, the same Jim what -argyed so loud and long for paper money and agin gold the -other day, in our case agin Billot for wheat money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>His argament was so fine and patriotic that I felt half -ashamed for askin the court to make Banker Vinting take -the same kind of money for interest as the law made Jobe -take for wheat.</p> - -<div id='i193' class='figright id012'> -<img src='images/i-193.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He made such a fine argament for gold and agin other money.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter Jim got done I riz up and stated that we was -aware that the interest was due and unpaid; that I knowed -the contract called for gold. I told the court how I kicked -agin signin the mortgage last Aprile, when it was made, jist -for the reason that it called for gold. I showed how it -was the banker’s doins, and not ourn, that it called for gold. -I told the court how Jobe and the others laughed at me and -called me an anacrist and all sich names for refusin to sign -a gold mortgage. Then I told him about havin to raise the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>money then to pay Congressman -Richer to keep -from bein foreclosed at -that time, and about my -succumbin to their ridicule -and signin at last, -hopin agin hope that in -some strange way we -might raise the gold and -save our home.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I told the judge that -I dident believe “gold -was God’s money;” that -I dident think God would -make a metal to be used -to turn people out of -home with; that if it was -made for any sich purpose -it must a been the “other feller’s” doins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I showed how government officers, through the influence -of the rich people, had called in the paper money and -burned it up; how they had issued bonds agin Jobe and his -likes to git it to burn. I showed how the same men had -demonitized silver and brought us to a “gold basis,” all of -which had reduced prices, made money scarce and hard to -git, and kept up interest. I showed him how sich laws had -throwed people out of homes and turned all their earnins -over to the money-lenders and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I showed him how we had paid $3,800 toward our farm, -and how, if he dident make the banker take Jobe’s wheat -money, we would be sold out, and, at the low price -land is sellin for, we would have nothin left in our old -age.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I begged him with tears in my eyes to make the banker -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>take Jobe’s wheat money and give us one more chance to -save our old home.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then I sot down, and my eyes would water, no matter -how often I would wipe them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, the court cleared his throat a time or two and then -said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It is a common occurrence for us judges in our official -positions to do unpleasant things. I am sorry for the old -people, but the law must uphold the <em>sacred rights of contract</em>. -The contract calls for gold. I will therefore render -judgment agin Gaskins, the defendant, for full amount -of mortgage, accrued interest and costs of this case, and -order the sheriff to sell the premises to satisfy the judgment.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When them words was spoke I jist felt smothered. I -felt so queer I hardly knowed where I was.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe he jist sot there a starin, with a pleadin look on his -face. We both sot there numb like till the officer come -around and told us the case was over.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We kind a come to then and got up. Then I thought of -the clerk havin that paper money, so I told Jobe to go and -git it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He went, and the clerk told him he couldent surrender -the money till the case was settled; that that money was -part of the court record, and the land might not sell for -enough to pay the judgment and all costs.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So we come home and left our wheat money and hay -money and cow money and the money for poor old Tom -and all with the officers of the court.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe, poor man, from the time he left that court-house -till now he has jist moped around, sighin and moanin.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXIV. <br /> THE LITTLE WHITE ROSE-BUSH.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>WHEN Ike Miller brought Jobe’s paper, the <cite>Advercate</cite>, -to us day before yisterday, the fust thing my -eyes fell on was:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“SHERIFF’S SALE.—Isaac Vinting, plaintiff, <em>vs.</em> Jobe -Gaskins, defendant.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I tried to look away from it, but, all I could do, I couldent -git my eyes off from them lines. I turned the paper over, -but it jist seemed to me that I could see them words all -over that paper.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I never had anything make me feel so queer in all my -life. My head seemed to be goin round and round, and I -couldent see anything but “Sheriff Sale”—“Vinting—Gaskins—Gaskins—Vinting—Sheriff -Sale.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Sheriff Sale.” I had seen them same two words hundreds -of times before, but they never looked like they did -that day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was all alone at home, and I thought I would never -live to see another livin bein—I felt so queer.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, I laid that paper down and went out in the yard. -Arter a while I begin to feel better, though nothin seemed -to look like it use to—nor dont to this day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I got out in the yard I could see the trees, and -bushes, and fences, and the house, and the big road, and -the little stream down over the bank; but they looked so -queer. Though I had lived by and among them for years, -they dident look like they did when I use to think they -would be around me and near me when I should die. No, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>they now looked like somebody -else’s trees and -bushes and fence and road -and sich.</p> - -<div id='i196' class='figleft id009'> -<img src='images/i-196.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>Little Jane.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I felt as though I was -not at my own home, but -intrudin on other people’s -property, “trespassin,” as -them court-house lawyers -calls it. That “sheriff -sale” in that paper had -changed the looks of things.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went over to the little -white rose-bush—the bush -my little Jane planted the -day she was four years old—the one she had watched and -called hers till she was taken from me two years arter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I thought, as I stood there by that little bush, planted -by her little hands, that I could nearly see her little form a -squattin down and her little dimpled fingers pattin the dirt -around the roots of that little bush. I remembered how -she plucked the first rose and come a runnin to me with it, -sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Mamma, mamma, my bush raised this. How pritty!”</p> - -<div id='i197' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-197.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic021'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>I could nearly see her little dimpled fingers pattin the airth around the roots of that little bush.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I thought how, every spring, Jobe would pull the weeds -and leaves from around it, and how a many a time I saw -him wipin his eyes as he stood by our baby’s rose-bush. -And as I was thinkin this I thought that before long somebody -else would own this ground and that bush, and we -could not take care of it any more for our little girl that -is gone. I wondered if anybody would stand there arter -we are turned out and weep for the child that planted -it. I wondered why it was that the law could tear people -away from everything they love. I wondered why there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>couldent be some way fixed to make it easier for people to -git homes and pay for them. I wondered why interest was -never less than six per cent., and sometimes more. I -wondered why people who paid interest had sich a hard -way of gittin along, while the people who got interest got -along so easy.</p> - -<div id='i198' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-198.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Mamma, ... how pritty!’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And as I stood there by our baby’s rose-bush I thought -of all the interest Jobe has paid on this place, of the taxes -he has paid year in and year out, and I got to figurin, and -I found he had paid for the farm nearly twice over.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And then I thought of that dream I had nearly a year -ago, when I dreamt that Jobe could borrow money of the -county treasury at only two per cent. And I kept on a -figurin, and I found that if interest had only been two per -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>cent. since we bought this farm, the difference between the -interest we have paid and what we would have had to pay -at two per cent. would have let us out. We would have -had our farm nearly paid for, and we could have stayed -here and taken care of baby’s little rose-bush and carried -the roses to her little grave each year as long as we lived.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But interest haint two per cent., and we must leave the -little bush, leave the trees, leave the flowers, leave all and -go. Oh! that nearly chokes me. Where shall we go? -Who will take care of baby’s grave? I cant rite any more. -I feel so queer.</p> - -<div id='i199' class='figcenter id022'> -<img src='images/i-199.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXV. <br /> <span class='fss'>JOBE TALKS OF THINGS THAT ARE GONE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE is down sick with “brain fever and nervous -prostration.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The doctor says it all come from his worryin over -bein foreclosed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe jist lays and moans and talks to hisself. He is -out of his head most of the time.</p> - -<div id='i200' class='figcenter id023'> -<img src='images/i-200.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Jobe jist lays and moans.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Last nite he thought he had Betty, our drivin mare, -back (the one we parted with last spring to git money to -pay interest to Congressman Richer). He thought our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>little Jane was livin -agin, and he was -holdin her on Betty’s -back, a lettin her -ride.</p> - -<div id='i201' class='figright id024'> -<img src='images/i-201.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I have to chop all the wood.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He jist kept a -talkin fust one thing, -then another, all -nite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dident git to -sleep any, and since -he has been sick I -have to chop all the -wood and do the -chores and wait on -him till I am nearly -wore out and not -able to write.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dont know what -I will do if they foreclose -us and put us -out before Jobe gits -able to go about.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It jist seems one trouble brings on another. If the law -would make the banker (contract or no contract) take the -same kind of money for interest as it makes Jobe take for -wheat, Jobe wouldent be down with brain fever and sick -from worryin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I wonder why laws haint made as much in favor of hard-workin -poor people as rich people who sets in offices and -dont do any hard work.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I see Congress and Mr. Cleveland are a goin to issue more -bonds on the people, and sell them at the post-offices to -the popular people. Jobe and me cant invest.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVI. <br /> <span class='fss'>BILL BOWERS IS ON THE FENCE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE is able to be up. We have been foreclosed, and -ex-Congressman Richer has the farm back.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have a notice in writin to vacate these premises -on or before the first day of March.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe bein sick, neither of us was to town the day our old -home was sold by the sheriff.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt bad all that day—felt jist like somethin awful was -about to happen. Jobe seemed weaker and more restless -than usual.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Bill Bowers rode by our place in the evenin, stopped at -the gate and hollered.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went to the door, hopin agin hope that maybe for -some unknown reason the foreclosin hadent been done. -But as soon as I laid eyes on Bill I knode our home was -gone.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He hemmed and hawed and stammered, tryin to say -somethin that was hard for him to say. Says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Out with it, Bill; we are prepared for the wust.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says he, “its gone. Congressman -Richer bought it in, at jist what the mortgage and interest -amounted to, and you people will have to pay the costs. -Mr. Richer seemed pleased to get the old farm back -agin.”</p> - -<div id='i203' class='figright id025'> -<img src='images/i-203.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Out with it, Bill; we are prepared for the wust.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, Bill,” says I. “I allow he was glad to git it -back. He ort to be. He has some $3,800 of interest and -principal we have paid him on the farm, before he forced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>us to borrow the -money from Banker -Vinting to pay him -last spring. You -see, Bill, we paid -him $3,800 interest -and principal up to -last Aprile; then -last Aprile we paid -him $1,800 that we -borrowed from the -banker, and some -$300 of Jobe’s legicy -money from his -dead aunt, makin -in all some $5,900. -Now he takes $1,863 -of that money -and buys it back, -givin him the same -farm we got from -him and $4,000 -nearly of money besides that Jobe has airned by hard -knocks.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says Bill, “it does look kind a tough.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes,” says I, “and it dont look any tougher than -it is.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I spose not,” says Bill.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No, Bill,” says I; “if the lawmakers only knew how -hard it is to be sold out and turned out of your home, they -would surely make laws to make money plentier and easier -to git; they would surely reduce interest.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“They ort to,” says Bill.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, Bill,” says I, “we have done all we could to hold -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>the farm, and hoped to have a home to stay in in our -old age.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We have give all we raised to Congressman Richer in -payments and interest and taxes and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We have done without many a thing we ort to a -had tryin to keep our payments up, hopin that our old age -might be spent here among our neighbors; but every year -since we bought the farm times have got harder, prices -lower and money scarcer.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We have raised good crops, Jobe has worked hard, -and now, arter all the years of hard work and good crops, -we have $512 less than we had when we bought the farm -seventeen years ago.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“They kept a tellin Jobe that it was ‘better to have less -money and lower prices than to have more money and -higher prices,’ and Jobe and his likes have kept a votin -for the fellers that told him sich until to-day he is sick and -sold out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“He has done the votin and the other fellers has got the -money. They held the bag, and Jobe and his likes -poured in the grain.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says Bill, studyin like, “Ive about -made up my mind that none of us farmers have much to -show for our past votin. It looks as though, while we -have been workin hard nite and day, economizin and -savin; while we have been a tryin to lay up somethin for -ourselves in old age, and for our children; while we have -been doin all this, and doin the votin, there has been a lot -of schemers and rascals seekin office and gittin laws made -to redeem one kind of money in another, and then cornerin -the redeemin kind, and contractin and destroyin this kind -and that, even issuin bonds on us to git it to burn, and -doin everything so they would be able to take from us -what we were a raisin and savin.”</p> - -<div id='i205' class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span> -<img src='images/i-205.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘Ile tell you, Betsy. Ive made up my mind to try them Populists hereafter.’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Then, leanin over on his horse, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, step up closer to the fence.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>I walked out to the fence.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he, whisperin like:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ile tell you, Betsy. Ive made up my mind to try them -Populists hereafter. I see they have some purty smart -men in the United States Senate. But for the life of you, -Betsy, dont say anything to any one about my changin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist stepped back a step or two and looked at Bill -Bowers for a whole minit. He looked at me. Then -says I:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Bill Bowers, I am surprised! I am surprised that you, -a full-blooded American citizen, a grown-up man, a man -who has made up his mind to do what he believes to be right, -and then hasent the manhood to let the world know that -you are independent, but are afraid that some officeseeker -or polertician who lives off of you will turn up his nose at -you! Bill Bowers, I thought you had more firmness in -you than that. If the party you have been votin for has -betrayed you, if the officeseekers you have helped to elect -have used you as a tool, haint it your dooty as a man and -a citizen to let it be known that you are a goin to quit the -gang? Instid of bein afraid of them, you should make -them afraid of you. Thats your dooty, Bill.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Betsy,” says he, “I dont know but what youre -right, but Ide ruther you wouldent say anything about it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then, changin the subject, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, where do you think of goin to?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Where do I think of goin to?” says I. “The Lord -only knows. I dont.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>At that Jobe hollered for me, and, biddin Bill “good -day,” I come in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Yourn, nearin the close.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVII. <br /> <span class='fss'>BETSY FAINTS. A VISION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE other day ex-Congressman Richer’s lawyer -brought a man out to look at the farm. They driv -into the gate, out through the bars back of the -barn, across fust one field then another, the lawyer a pintin -and layin it off, the feller a lookin and noddin his head.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arter a while they come back and come up into the -yard, the lawyer still a pintin, the feller still a lookin and -noddin. I heerd the lawyer say:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We want you to clear this all up. Clear away these -bushes, and sow the yard down in lawn grass.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>As soon as I heerd that word “bushes,” I thought all of -a suddint of poor “little Jane’s white rose-bush.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt faint like—smothered—and a tear came a rollin -down my cheek and dropped on the floor before I could -git my apron to my eyes, and they kept a comin, no matter -how hard I wiped.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I use to read and hear of “sheriff sales” I dident -take time to think what an awful thing it is to have the -only place one knows on airth as “home” sold away from -you. But now, when I know of what it is, I think of all -the tears and sobs and heartaches and sich that has been -a goin on around us, and we dident know anything about it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Sometimes I find myself stoppin and standin still and -lookin up in the sky and sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“O Lord, is there no other way to do? Is there no way to -save the women and children and hard-workin men from -bein turned out of their homes, where they have lived -and loved and been born?”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>And every time I think I can hear a whisperin voice, jist -a little piece away from me, a sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<em>Yes, by reducin interest.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And then in a minit or so it seems as though I hear a -ringin in my ears, in words jist a little further away than -the other, a sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It—will—be—done. It—will—be—done.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>If I only knew where we are to go to, and what Jobe can -git to do, I might bear it easier. It seems as though an -old man haint wanted to do work, and it seems every -place is taken up.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Jobe has been out, ever since he has been able to go -about, lookin for work and some place to move to.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Everybody seems to a heard of our bein foreclosed, -and they dont seem to trust Jobe like they use to, though -God knows he is as honest as he ever was.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter the lawyer had gone all around the place, -givin his orders to the feller, he come up to the door -and knocked. I opened the door and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No,” says he, “I jist wanted to know if you intended -to git out by March the fust.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “We will if we can find a place.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, you must git out whether you find a place or -not,” says he, “as we want this gentleman to move in and -commence spring work.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We will, Mistur Lawyer, if we can possibly find a -place,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, look here, Mrs. Gaskins,” says he, short like, -“we dont want any ‘ifs’ about it. I notify you now, in -the presence of this gentleman, that if you are not out by -March the fust, I will see that the law puts you out. Now, -take warnin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And at that he turned on his heel and walked off.</p> - -<div id='i209' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-209.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘<span class='sc'>O, Lord, is there no other way to do?</span>’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>I am an old woman, and have had many hardships, but, -Mistur Editure, in all my life I never had anything to -strike my heart like them words did. It jist seemed like -everything turned black before me, and I sunk down in -the doorway and must a fell to sleep, for arter a while I -woke up, or come to, as it were.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had a dream while I lay there that I will never forgit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I thought that a great, large man stood before me, and -jist behind him stood two other good-sized fellers. The -big man said to me, in a cruel, coarse voice: “Ive come -to turn you out.” I thought I bursted out a cryin, and -turned my eyes up toward the sky, as I had done before, -and right there, a flyin through the air, come my dear -little Jane, lookin jist as she did years ago before she died. -I thought she throwed her little arms around my neck, -and laid her little soft face agin my cheek, and says: -“Dont cry, mamma. If no one else cares for you, I do,” -jist as plain as I ever heerd her little voice in life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I clasped my arms around her, and begin to feel a thrill -of happiness as I once did, when the big sheriff stepped -up and grabbed her by the neckband of her little dress, -and, with a mighty jerk, threw her behind him, sayin: -“Stop this sentimentalism. The law must have its way.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I paid no attention to his cruel words, but jumped -toward my little Jane, who laid there with the blood a -runnin out of her little head jist above the left eye. Her -eyes were open and starin, and, with a scream of agony, -I cried: “Oh, my child! My child is dead!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was so shocked that it woke me up, and I found myself -a layin there in the door, and, bein cold, I got up and -went in, all a shakin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>From that day to this I can hardly think of anything -but my little girl a comin through the air and throwin her -baby arms around my neck.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE PARTING.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>JOBE is gone. Last Monday morning bright and -airly he started for Lorain to find work. He had -hunted and hunted far and near, high and low, around -here for work, but couldent find any. Some one told him -there was lots of work at Lorain, and poor Jobe decided -he would go there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He only had $2.95. He said he would take the railroad -to Medina and walk the rest of the way.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ile never forgit the mornin he left.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We sot up late the nite before, talkin. We talked over -our whole lives—about when we were fust married; about -how different times were then and now; about the happiness -we had then, and the plans we laid. Jobe was strong -and healthy, and so was I. Money was plenty, and -people were always lookin for somebody to work for them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We talked of little Jane; of how we loved her, and how -she used to love us. We talked of when she died, and how -it nearly killed us; and then we both jist cried as though -our hearts would break. We talked of how hard we had -worked to try to git along in the world, and how our plans -had failed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arter we had talked a good long while, and cried, and -felt like cryin, Jobe he moved his chair over near to mine, -and took my hand in his, and says:</p> - -<div id='i212' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-212.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He drawed me over in his arms and kissed me.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Betsy, weve had our little differences. I know sometimes -I have been tryin. Ive had so much to trouble me that -at times I was peevish. But, Betsy, I want you to look over -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>all my failins. You -have been a good -woman. You have -done your dooty, and -more than your dooty. -It nearly breaks my -heart to go so far -away and leave you -behind; but we have -to give up the old -farm, Betsy, we have -to give up the old -farm, and I must find -some place to go to, -and something to do. -We must live, Betsy,—<em>we—must—live</em>,—and -I must find something -to do, <em>to live</em>. -I hope to be able to -find work, and have -you to come to where -I am before long.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I surely can find -something to do some -place. I heerd Jonas Warner, that rich man in town, tell a -feller the other day that anybody could find work that wanted -to work. God knows, Betsy, I want to work, and if Mr. -Warner is right, I surely can find somebody willin to give -me something to do.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>We dident sleep much that nite. Jobe wanted to ketch -the five o’clock train on the C., L. & W. Railroad, and -was afraid of oversleepin hisself. He had to git up airly -so as to git to town in time to ketch it.</p> - -<div id='i213' class='figright id009'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span> -<img src='images/i-213.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He was wipin his eyes and blowin his nose as he went towards town.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>That mornin I had his -clothes done up in a neat -bundle. I had washed and -ironed all his clothes the -day before, so he would -have enough to do him till -I could go to him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He dident eat much -breakfast. He said he -“dident feel hungry.” -When he got ready to start -he come up to the winder -where I was a standin, and, -seem that I was choked up, -my eyes full of tears, he -drawed me over in his arms -and kissed me; then, -turnin, walked out of the -door without sayin a word. -The moon was a shinin -bright, and I stood a lookin -at him as far as I could see -him. He was wipin his -eyes and blowin his nose as -he went towards town.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he was gone from -my view I still stood a lookin for some time, then sot -down and cried, and kept a cryin every little bit all -mornin. Everything seemed so lonesome like. Wherever -I looked it seemed I could see poor Jobe a standin there -lookin sad like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said he would rite as soon as he found work. I am -lookin for a letter every day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe! Little did he think, or me either, some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>thirty-six years ago, that in our old age we would be turned -from our home by the law of our country. Little did we -think that when we got old Jobe would have to go -hundreds of miles from home, and out among strangers, -a beggin for work to feed us by.</p> - -<div id='i214' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-214.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Then sot down and cried, and kept a cryin every little bit all mornin.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Jist to think of all the interest money and payments we -have give Congressman Richer—some $3,800 all told. If -interest had been less we would have had our home, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>had it nearly paid for, and Jobe would not be gone out -into the world to hunt work. If we had half or a quarter -of that interest money we could buy us a little home to stay -in the few remainin years of our lives.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But, then, interest must be kept up, and the law -inforced, so as to enable Mr. Richer and his likes to live in -style and assert the dignity of their citizenship. It has to -be done, no matter if the hardworkin poor people are -turned out of their homes and those that love each other -are parted.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If Jesus was here and a makin laws, I wonder if he -would have interest, and foreclosin, and turnin out, and -all that?</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-037.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXIX. <br /> <span class='fss'>THE PREACHER AND THE SALOONKEEPER.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>MY heart is so broke that I hardly know how to rite. -This is March 3d, and yisterday arternoon they put -me out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had about give up their comin, and was tryin to feel -better, when all of a suddint I heerd a knock at the door. -I opened it, and there stood three strange men.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Said the one who acted as leader: “Is this where the -Gaskinses live?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “One of them is stayin here, and the Lord -only knows where the other one is.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am a deputy sheriff,” says he, “and have orders to -set you out.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Where is Mr. Richer?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“In Washington,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Where is his agent—his lawyer?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“In town,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, dont they have to be here to put me out?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No,” says he; “the law puts you out for them.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, Mistur,” says I, “couldent you let me stay a -little longer? Jobe’s gone to hunt work and a place to -move to. If you will let me stay, as soon as he finds it -Ile go out without your botherin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I cant do it, Mrs. Gaskins,” says he; “the law must -be inforced. The law is no respecter of persons.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I, pleadin like: “You see, I am a old woman, -and not stout. Jobe is away, and I am here alone. If the -law is no respecter of persons, why should it come here -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>and put me out of a home that we have paid over $3,800 -toward, jist to please the man that we have paid the -money to?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He shook his head.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Where are you a goin to put me?” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am goin to put you out,” says he; “out in the big -road yonder, off these premises.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Mistur, please dont be so cruel as that. It -would kill me to sleep out there all nite. Please let me -stay a little longer—jist a little longer.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No use a talkin,” says he. “Ile have to do as the law -says. Its not me a puttin you out, Mrs. Gaskins—its not -me that is cruel. It is the law, the law, that is doin it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Come on, men,” says he, speakin to the other fellers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So they come right into the house, the house I had loved -so well, walkin over the floor I have scrubbed on my hands -and knees thousands of times, and begin to tear up my -things and carry them out in the big road.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I jist felt so queer I could hardly breathe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They tore down my stove and tore up my carpet, and -carried out fust one thing, then another, and sot them down -beside the road, till all I had was out there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When they got it all out, the deputy come in and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why dont you go out there where your things are? -You have no right here. You must git out, so I can lock -up the house.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says I: “Mistur, is Congressman Richer a goin to -move in to-nite?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he, sneerin like: “Why, Lord no; Mr. Richer -wouldent live in sich a house as this—he lives in Washington; -he lives in a <em>fine</em> house.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, then, Mistur, let me stay in here till I hear from -Jobe.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No,” says he, “you must git out.”</p> - -<div id='i218' class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span> -<img src='images/i-218.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“They pulled me away from the winder.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Says I, chokin like: “Mistur, I <em>cant</em> go.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, youve <em>got</em> to go,” says he. “Are you a goin?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I cant,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Here, men,” says he, “take her out of here and out -yonder, where she belongs.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So one of them big men took hold of one arm, and the -other hold of the other arm, and pulled me away from the -winder where I was standin (the same one where I was -standin the mornin Jobe left), and pulled me out of that -dear old kitchen door and across the yard and out into the -big road, where they had piled my things, and sot me -down on a chair.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The sheriff had locked the house and follered them out.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>When he came out he says, as though he wanted to be -friendly: “Where do you think of goin to, Mrs. Gaskins?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked at him to see if he was crazy or what, but I -couldent speak, I was so full.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Says he: “Do you want the boys to put up your bed -for you?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I nodded my head.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They set my bed up and put two jints of pipe on my -stove, and then got in their buggy and went to town. It -was nearly sundown when they left me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Soon arter they had gone Tom Osborne come a ridin by -and brought me a letter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As soon as he said “letter” my heart leapt. I knew it -was from Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Tom said he was sorry to see me out here in the road, -and the man really shed tears. He lives some eight miles -from here, and wanted me to go home with him for the -nite. But I jist couldent go. So he rode on.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arter he was gone I got a lamp and sot down by the fire -I had built in the stove, with some quilts around me, to -read poor Jobe’s letter. And every word seemed to be -another knife stuck in my heart.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe he is havin it hard too. I jist cried like my -heart would break as I read what he writ. I send it to -you to read. I want you to return it, as it is from the only -person in the world that cares for me. Here it is—you -can read it for yourself. You see it was writ at different -times and places.</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>JOBE’S FIRST LETTER.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>Elyria, O.</span>, Feb. 22, 1896.</div> - -<p class='c021'><em>To Betsy Gaskins.</em></p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>My Dear Wife</span>:—I have put off ritin to you thinkin I -would be able to rite you somethin to make you happy, -but to date I cant.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>I got into Lorain the third day arter leavin you. I -found a big iron works there and lots of men at work, but -on the sides of the door to their office and at all the gates -around the big fence they have signs stuck up, readin:</p> - -<div class='dottedbox boxwidth40'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>NO HELP WANTED HERE.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I went into their office, and asked them if they couldent -give me something to do.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They said: “No, we have all the men we need.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I told them how I wanted somethin to do at any price; -of our bein foreclosed and havin to git out and all. They -shook their head and said they “had to turn away hundreds -of men every day,” and told me to “look around,” I -“might find work somewhere else.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I left and went from one place to another, and everywhere -I went I saw them signs and was told the same -thing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I found lots of men huntin work.</p> - -<p class='c006'>On nearly every street, and down along the river and -over by the lake, were men a campin and a sleepin in -railroad cars and outdoors; cookin by fires built along the -banks and on the shore; “waitin,” they said, “till they -could git a job.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I got my supper with three fellers that nite that done -their cookin that way. They seemed to be nice fellers. -They was from different parts of the country.</p> - -<div id='i221' class='figleft id010'> -<img src='images/i-221.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“At all the gates around the big fence they had signs stuck up.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>That nite I got a bed for fifteen cents, and had forty-three -cents left.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The next day I walked and walked and walked to find -work, but couldent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At nite I had twenty-four cents left. Not wantin to git -clear out of money, I got into an empty box-car and slept -the best I could. It was cold, and most of the nite I had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>to walk -from one -end of the -car to the -other, -back and -forth, to -keep myself -warm.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So this mornin I -come down here to -Elyria, and have been -from one end of the -town to the other -tryin to find work; -but nobody seems to -want to hire me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I find men stayin -out around town here -too. They say they -have been all over -the country, and cant -find work anywhere. -I dont know what I -will do. Ile go over to -Berea and see if I cant find somethin there. I will not -send this letter till I git there.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Cleveland, O.</span>, Feb. 26, 1896.</div> - <div class='line in3'><span class='sc'>Box-car 1406, Valley Railway.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div id='i222' class='figleft id026'> -<img src='images/i-222.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I asked him for something to eat.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>Betsy</span>:—I am here. I will finish my letter. God only -knows what it is to be out of work, out of money and out of -home. I am not well. Ive had to sleep outdoors, in cars -and barns and around lumber piles so much that I have a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>bad cold. I have -not had anything -to eat since yisterday -mornin. -This cold weather -has nearly -used me up. I -got one day’s -work cuttin ice, -and got a dollar -for it. That nite -I got me a warm -supper and slept -in a bed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I run out of -money at Elyria, -and come from -there to Berea.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first beggin -I done was -from the farmers -on the way. I -got one warm -meal and a cold lunch. I was in Berea a whole day and -nite without anything to eat, so I jist had to go to beggin -agin. I went to the Methodist preacher’s house one of -them real cold mornins. I knocked, and the preacher come -to the door. I asked him for somethin to eat. He -called to the hired girl and told her to hand me a lunch, -and went in, shut the door, and sot down by the fire. I -could see him a settin there a readin the Cleveland <cite>Leader</cite>, -with his feet restin on a plush foot-stool, and while that girl -was a gittin that lunch and I was a standin out there in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>wind a lookin at that good big fire I thought I would freeze. -My teeth shook.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When the girl brought that lunch I was so cold that I -could hardly take it. It was two pieces of cold bread, with -some cold beef shaved off and laid between.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was hungry and tried to eat it; the bites seemed to -stick in my throat, it was so dry and cold. What I did -swallow seemed like chunks of ice in my stomach, and -made me colder. I shook from head to foot. I couldent -eat it, I was so cold. So I put what I couldent eat in my -pocket, thinkin I would eat it when I got warmer.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I thought Ide die with cold. No matter how fast I -walked, I dident get warm. I went on and on till I got -down where the bizness houses were. I could smell -coffee and warm meat a fryin. It jist seemed as though I -had to go in and take some, but I knew I darent. It -seemed to make me colder. Finally I saw a sign sayin:</p> - -<div class='dottedbox boxwidth40'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>FREE HOT SOUP.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When I got up to it a man opened the door, a sweepin. -I stopped, told him I had no money and was cold, and -asked him if I could go into his place and warm.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Certainly,” says he, “go right in. Ile be in in a -minit.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went in—yes, Betsy, went into a saloon, the fust time -in my life. Dont blame me. I had to—I was so cold. -The stove was red-hot. When the feller come in and saw -how I was shakin, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Old man, this is pretty cold weather to be out.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes,” says I, shiverin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He brought me a chair and told me to set down. Then -he felt my hands and ears and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>“Why, you are nearly froze.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I told him about havin to stay out all nite, and about not -havin anything warm for breakfast, the best I could, I -shook so.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He went and got a big woolen cloth, held it to the stove -till it got hot, and wrapped my ears up. Then he went -and got a little glass full of liquor, and told me to drink it -and it would warm me up. I told him I hadent any -money, and had never drank a drop of liquor in my life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well,” says he, “I know you have no money, and, if -you had, a old man like you, in your condition, shouldent -pay for it. If you dont wish to drink it I wont insist, but -I thought it would warm you up.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So he set the glass down on the counter and says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ile make you a hot cup of coffee, and then I think you -will feel better.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>When the saloonkeeper set the glass of whiskey down -and went to gittin me some hot breakfast, I seemed to git -colder inside as I got warmer outside. So, Betsy, I jist -made up my mind that Ide drink that glass of whiskey if it -killed me. And I did. Soon after I drank it I felt a warm -feelin inside; and as I sot there it jist seemed as though I -could feel myself a thawin out, with that big fire outside -and that glass of whiskey inside. I sot there till the feller -had my coffee and breakfast ready. It was the best coffee -I ever tasted,—though, Betsy, I always loved the coffee -you made,—and the fried eggs and the ham and the hot -cakes jist seemed to melt in my mouth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter I had my breakfast the saloonkeeper came -around and sot down and asked me all about myself, and -you too.</p> - -<div id='i225' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-225.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“‘<span class='sc'>Well, old man, sich things hadent ort to be.</span>’”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And as I told all our trouble, about our foreclosin and -sellin out, and my huntin work and not findin it, big tears -would every now and then leave his big blue eyes and roll -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>down his cheeks, and he kept a swallerin every little bit. -When I had told him all, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, old man, sich things hadent ort to be.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, when I got ready to go, he shook my hand and -wished me good luck in findin work; and when he took -hold of my hand I felt somethin hard in his, and when he -let go I had a silver dollar in mine. I handed it back to -him, and told him I dident know as I could ever return it -to him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No matter, pap,” says he, “keep it. If you are never -able to return it, all right, and if you are able and never see -me, ‘do unto some other human brother as I have done -unto you,’ and the debt will be paid. Times are hard, and -I have sich high taxes to pay that it makes money scarce -with me, or I would give you more. I hate to see you go -out in this cold; you are welcome to stay if you wish.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>But, Betsy, I was so anxious to find work and git a place -for you that I couldent stay. So that day and nite I made -it to here. This is a big town, but so far I have found no -work.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Your lovin husband,</div> - <div class='line in13'><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>When I got done readin that letter I was cryin out loud. -Poor Jobe. I wonder where he was last nite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Oh, how I love that man that took Jobe in and warmed -him and fed him!</p> - -<p class='c006'>I love him though he is a saloonkeeper. I could throw -my arms around his neck and cry on his shoulder with love -for him and for his kindness toward Jobe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, this mornin the world seems strange to me. Last -nite arter I had gone to bed and could look up in the clear -sky at the bright stars, it jist seemed to me, while I laid -there in my bed beside the big road, that every star was a -eye lookin down on me with pity. And, thinkin that they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>looked that way, I was not a bit afraid and went to sleep, -and slept till daylite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hopin God will forgive them for makin and havin laws -to put sich people as me out of home, I am</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Your troubled and homeless</div> - <div class='line in21'><span class='sc'>Betsy Gaskins</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-064.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XL. <br /> <span class='fss'>“THEM ROOMS.” THE “DIRECTOR OF CHARITIES.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THAT mornin arter I wrote you the last time—arter I -had built me a fire in my stove and got my breakfast -and washed up my dishes and made my bed—I sot -down on a chair out there by the big road. I never felt so -queer in all my life. Not a sound could be heard, except -over on the hill near Jake Stiffler’s I could heer a cow a -bawlin. It was awful lonesome. No one to speak to, -nothin to look at, except my things piled up there beside -the road.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I couldent help thinkin of poor Jobe—his beggin, and -bein cold, and starvin, and sleepin in box-cars, and sich.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, arter I had sot there a while a thinkin, I felt so -bad that I jist thought I would go up to the house and -take a look at them rooms and the place we had so long -loved as our home.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt afraid like to go, but I thought it might cheer me -up to look into them rooms that I had cleaned and papered -and swept—the rooms where Jobe and me had set in and -slept; the rooms that had sheltered us in sickness and -in health.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I jist throwed a shawl over my head, and walked up -the walk that I had walked up thousands of times.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There were the currant bushes, the lilac, the dead poppy -stalks. And all the weeds and posies, that used to appear -to wear a smile for me, now seemed to turn from me as if -to say, “We haint yours any more. You have no bizness -here now.”</p> - -<div id='i229' class='figright id012'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span> -<img src='images/i-229.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I slipped over and put my face agin the glass.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And as I looked at -them and felt that -feelin, a lump would -raise up in my throat, -no matter how much I -swallered and tried to -keep it back.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, I walked on -until I got up to the -kitchen winder. -When I got there it -jist seemed that I -couldent look in, but, -knowin I had come -there to see them -rooms, half afraid like -but determined, I -slipped over and put -my face agin the -glass.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Everything was -silent and still. There -was my kitchen, all -empty. Not a thing -to be seen but that -dear old kitchen—empty—no -stove, no -table, no chairs, no -nothin. There was the winder where I stood cryin the -mornin Jobe left. There by that winder I had set a combin -my little Jane’s hair years ago, while she drew pictures on -them same winderpanes with her little fingers. There were -the nails Jobe had drove in the wall when we fust moved in; -there was the same floor over which we had walked for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>years. Oh, how I longed to be a walkin over it agin! I -was locked out—I couldent git in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>So I went from one winder to another, lookin in at them -rooms. There was the same grate that had warmed us; -there in that corner, evenin arter evenin, Jobe had set and -studied; there in the other corner I had set and knit, or -set and read. It seemed that I could see Jobe there now. -Oh! how I would love to see him there. Poor Jobe! I -wonder if he thinks of the evenins weve spent beside that -fire together. There was our bed-room—empty, silent -and still—no bed, no nothin. There in that room I had -set, nite arter nite, with little Jane when she was sick; -there she had throwed her little arms around my neck and -put her fevered face agin mine the last time. From that -room Ellen Jane Moore had carried her arter she was -gone. It was empty now. I was locked out. I couldent -go in.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Turnin from them rooms, I walked around the yard, -lookin at the fence, the well, the coal-house, and the things -that had been mine. Then, comin to the front yard, I -come to the little white rose-bush; it seemed to look at me -pleadin like. I started to go on, but I couldent. That -rose-bush seemed to call me back. So I jist got me a -sharp stick and dug it up, and took it down to where my -things were and wrapped it up in a cloth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When I got back to the big road, and was settin there -wonderin what Ide do, how long Ide have to live there in -the big road, where Ide go to and sich, Constable Bill -Adams come a ridin by.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When he got up to me, says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why, Mrs. Gaskins, what are you a doin with all this -stuff piled in the road?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ime livin here,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, youle have to git this stuff out of the road,” says -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>he. “You darent obstruct the public highway. Its -dangerous to have a pile of stuff like this in the big road; -its liable to scare horses, and somebody might git hurt or -killed. Its aginst the law, Mrs. Gaskins, its aginst the -law, and you will have to move it.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The law put it here,” says I.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No matter,” says he; “youle have to git out of here, -or youle be arrested.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Where will I put it?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“How do I know?” says he. “Youle have to look out -for that yourself. Git it out of here, and that mighty -quick, or you will git yourself into trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>And he rode on towards town.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, as he rode away I sot down and begin to think. -Here I was, a old woman, set out in the big road by the -Law—put out of the house we had paid $3,800 towards; -the house empty, and now comes the Law and orders me -to even git away from where the Law had put me. What -to do I dident know. I jist sot there a cryin and helpless, -when I heerd wagons comin down the road. I looked up, -and there come two wagons and four men down the hill.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They drove up and stopped, and there was Tom -Osborne, and Charley McGlinchey, and that fat black-smith, -and Jones the baker, all from Mineral Pint. They -had come to move me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Tom Osborne had went home the night before and told -them about me bein put out in the big road, and they went -together and got teams and come and moved me to -town here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They seemed to be nice, kind men, but talked like them -Populists.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They dident talk much to me, but I heerd them talkin to -each other, sayin: “Its a shame,” “a disgrace to civilization,” -“wrong,” “wouldent be if the people could borrow -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>money from the government like they do in Switzerland,” -and all sich. They even said: “The time haint fur off when -it can be done, and the likes of this wont be.” And then -they said a good deal agin the money power and polerticians, -and sich, until I was glad Jobe wasent there to flare -up. I was glad he wasent there, though Ide give the world -to know where he is, or to have him with me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, they brought me to town and rented me this house -here at 1412 West Front Street, and paid the rent for a -month; then two of them drove off, and soon brought me -a load of coal. While them two were gone for the coal the -other two set up my stove, and fixed up my bed, and set -things around in pretty good shape for men; then, wishin -me good luck, and hopin Jobe would soon git work and I -would git to go to him, they drove off. They all looked -pityin like as they left.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I went to the post-office the next mornin to tell them -I had changed my place of livin. I got this letter from -Jobe. It jist seems there is no end of trouble for the -people who are poor.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Poor Jobe, how my heart bleeds for him. Here is his -letter. Read it for yourself:</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div>JOBE’S SECOND LETTER.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Cleveland Work-house</span>,</div> - <div class='line in5'><span class='sc'>Cleveland, O.</span>, March 5, 1896.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c021'><em>To Betsy Gaskins.</em></p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>My Dear Wife and Only Friend</span>:—I am here in this -prison—put here by the law. God only knows my feelins. -I am not a criminal. Ive done no wrong. Betsy, don’t -blame me. Pity me. I am a old man. I have worked -hard. Ive been honest. Ive tried to do right. To-day I -am in prison, wearin stripes. I was hungry. I had no -money. I asked for bread. They arrested me.</p> - -<div id='i233' class='figright id027'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span> -<img src='images/i-233.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>It was day before -yisterday. I -had hunted for -work all day. I -had had nothin -to eat for a whole -day and nite. I -was passin up -Ontario Street, -near Hull & Dutton’s -big clothin -store. I saw a -well-dressed -man, with a high -silk hat on, with -a hand full of -paper money, -talkin loud and -offerin to bet -$500 that McKinley -would git -the delegates -from Allegheny County. There were several fellers standin -there a listenin and talkin, and two policemen. I stepped -up and asked the feller with the money if he could give me -enough to git me a supper and bed. I was so hungry and -nearly sick by sleepin outdoors.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The feller turned around and looked black at me. Then, -turnin to the policemen, he ordered them to arrest me, sayin:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ime d—d if I dont intend to break up this beggin on -the streets.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The policemen took hold of me and jerked me out of the -crowd and pulled me down Champlain Street hill to the -city prison, and locked me in a iron cage.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>I asked one of them who the big man was that ordered -me arrested. He said it was “the Director of Charities, -one of the leadin city officers.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>You may have read in the papers of him a havin a tramp -arrested for askin him for somethin to buy bread with.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That tramp, Betsy, was me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They say he gits $5,000 a year for bein “Director of -Charities.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, they tried me next mornin and found me guilty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I am up for ten days. I cant find any work or a place -for you till I git out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>They brought me out here in a wagon with a cage on it. -They call it the “Black Mariar.” There was a lot of us in -it. Betsy, pity me. Dont blame me.</p> - -<div class='c007'>Your lovin husband, <span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span>.</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Mistur Editure, I cant comment. I feel so bad.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-068.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XLI. <br /> <span class='fss'>A SORE HAND.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_2_0_4 c018'>I AM sick. I have been sick since day before yisterday. -I have a high fever. My head bothers me. I cant -rite. Here is another letter I got from poor Jobe. Oh! -how I wish he was here. I know he would care for me and -watch over me and do for me while Ime sick. Read his -letter and return it. They seem so near to me. I havent -been able to be out of bed much to-day. If Jobe was only -out of that dreadful place.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div>JOBE’S THIRD LETTER.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='quote'> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Cleveland Work-house</span>,</div> - <div class='line in4'><span class='sc'>Cleveland, O.</span>, March 9, 1896.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c021'><em>To Betsy Gaskins.</em></p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>Dear Wife</span>:—I got your letter yisterday. I cant tell -you how I felt when I read of them a puttin you out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy, I little thought, the day you stood beside me and -become my wife, that the time would come when you would -have to sleep outdoors in the big road.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I felt then, Betsy, as though I was strong enough, and -God knows I was willin, to provide a home for you as long -as we both lived. Dont blame me, Betsy. Ive done the -best I could. You know Ive worked hard, and we have -lived savin, but by some unknown reason all I have aimed -is gone. Mr. Richer has $3,800 of it. Ive done the best -I could.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I have to work hard here in this place, but Ime not -complainin, nor wouldent complain if I was gittin paid for -what work I do, so that I could help you.</p> - -<div id='i236' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span> -<img src='images/i-236.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I have to work hard in this place.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Ime a wheelin coal to the furnace and a wheelin hot -cinders away.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It keeps me bizzy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There are lots of men in here. A great many for -beggin—jist as I am. Betsy, dont let the neighbors know -they have me locked up. I feel so disgraced.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I feel that if that “Director of Charities,” that had me -arrested and put in here, had known that I had feelins; if -he had known that I was a honest old man; if he had -thought of the difference between a old man, hungry, away -from home and out of money—I say, Betsy, if he had -thought of the difference between sich a man as I was and -a man drawin $5,000 a year as a leadin city officer, like -hisself, I dont think he could have had the heart to have -had me arrested and sent to prison.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lots of the fellers in here seem to be honest, kind-hearted -people, but poor and away from home. Not bein -known to the officers, they are arrested and sent out here.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>Betsy, I long to see you. When I git out I will come -back. I cant find any work up here. Nobody seems to -want to hire me.</p> - -<p class='c006'>My hand is sore. I can hardly use it. But then the -feller what watches me work keeps me a goin. He dont -allow me to stop a minit from the time they let me out of -my cell in the mornin till they lock me in it agin at nite.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The way I come to hurt my hand was—I had a dream. -Ive been a dreamin more or less for some time. Ime so -tired and my bed is so hard. I suppose I dont sleep sound -is why I dream so.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I dreamed I was in this work-house and there was more -than a thousand other men in, and a comin in from ten to -thirty a day—mostly for bein hungry and beggin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, I thought one bright mornin one of the guards -come through the buildin a hollerin and poundin on a big -gong, and tellin all the fellers “to come into the big yard” -that is in this place. He said that they had some good -news for us. “Glad tidings of great joy,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I thought we all stopped work and went a hurryin to -that big yard, and when I got there the yard was alive with -people, men waitin to hear them “tidings.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when we all got into that yard two nice-lookin -men climbed up on the platform that is in the middle and -one of them says:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Fellow-Citizens, Gentlemen and Brothers</span>: We are -delegated by the proper authority to declare unto you this -beautiful morning a new law that has been made by our -brothers, the law-makers at Washington. We solicit your -undivided attention for a few moments.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He then read:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<em>Be it resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, -in Congress assembled</em>: That the chief aim of human government -should be to secure to each individual member of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>such government contentment and happiness; that this -can be done only by securing to all the unrestricted opportunity -to employ the means intended by the Creator for -earning a livelihood—<em>i. e.</em>, labor.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<em>Therefore be it enacted</em>, That a fund of $500,000,000 be -provided (by the issue of said sum in full legal-tender -greenback notes, in denominations of one, two and five -dollars) and set apart for the purpose of giving employment -to such American citizens as may have no other employment, -and who may go before any board of county commissioners -in the United States and certify under oath that -they are American citizens, are out of employment and -desire to perform manual labor in the service of this -government.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Thereupon it shall be the duty of said county commissioners -to assign to such citizens work in improving -any of the public highways in said county, or in constructing -and equipping any public utility in and for said county. -The wages due each citizen for said services shall be paid -to him, weekly, by the treasurer of the county in which -the services are performed, on the warrant of the county -auditor and order of the said commissioners. A monthly -statement of the amounts so paid out shall be sent by the -treasurer of the county to the Treasury Department at -Washington, and thereupon the sum thereof shall be -repaid from the fund aforesaid into the treasury of such -county.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“On and after the passage of this act it shall be unlawful -for any person to beg or ask alms in the United States -except in cases of physical disability.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Arter he had read this law says he:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Gentlemen, we are aware that most of you are here -because you are victims of the system that has heretofore -prevailed—many for asking for bread when hungry, others -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>for other offenses, which you may have been forced to -commit in consequence of having no employment and -being in want.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Our county commissioners have assigned and set apart -work, on the Shaker Hill road and Kinsman Street, sufficient -to give employment to three thousand men for several -months, and Governor Bushnell has, by proclamation, -given their liberty to all inmates of the penal institutions -of the State (except the penitentiary) who desire to avail -themselves of the opportunity to work as provided by the -law I have just read. You, gentlemen, are excused from -making the oath mentioned.</p> - -<div id='i239' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-239.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“One nice little place that I thought I would rent as soon as I got my first week’s pay.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Now, all you who desire to work on these public -improvements will form in line and pass out through the -office, giving your correct names and addresses, as you -now become once more respected American citizens. -Form in line, two abreast, out on Woodland Avenue, -facing east, and we will take pleasure in conducting you -to the places of employment. There you will be supplied -with the necessary tools, and arrangements will be made -at different places where you can get accommodations until -you receive your first pay for services. Your compensation -will be $1.50 each per day.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>At that he stopped. Every man in that yard was in line. -It seemed as though a cloud had rose up off from that -crowd. Every one looked happy, cheerful.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, Betsy, we marched out into the open air onto -Woodland Avenue, and each one gave his real name and -address to the clerk as we passed out.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then we all went out to the place where they were at -work.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There they were—hundreds of them—a plowin, and a -shovelin, and a haulin, a talkin and a laffin, a whistlin and -a singin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I looked at several houses as we were on our way out, -and saw one nice little place that I thought I would rent -as soon as I got my first week’s pay.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When the week was up I went, and sure enough it was -empty. I hunted up the owner, and got it for $5 a month. -I used $3 of the other four to pay my board.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I worked there three weeks, makin $27, and had sent -for you. I was lookin for you on Saturday, and could -hardly wait until you come. I felt young agin.</p> - -<div id='i241' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-241.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>I worked there three weeks.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when I got to my boardin place on Thursday -night, I went in and up to my room, thinkin that in two -more days you would be with me. When I opened the -door, there you was a comin toward me with your arms -stretched out. My heart leaped. I jumped towards you, -throwin out my arms to embrace you, when——</p> - -<p class='c006'>I struck my hand agin the iron bed-post in my cell and -nearly broke it. It woke me up. Everything was cold -and dark. You was not there. I felt so queer that I sot -up in bed, and I sot there a thinkin of that dream—thinkin -of how glad I was to git work; thinkin of that law, and -what a grand country this would be if sich was the law; -thinkin of that little house with green winder-blinds; -thinkin of you doin your cookin and sweepin, your dustin -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>and cleanin in that little house; thinkin of me a makin $9 -every week, and a countin the money out to you every -Saturday night in new, crisp greenbacks; thinkin of all -these things, and then thinkin of you a sleepin out there -in the road, you a goin hungry and without shelter because -I cant git any sich work; thinkin how happy we might be -and how troubled we are. I jist had to cry. I had to, -though Ime a man. I sot there on the side of that iron -bed till I nearly froze; then I laid down and went to -sleep and slept till half-past five, when the watchman -came around to waken me up to go to wheelin coal and -cinders for another twelve hours for nothin.</p> - -<div id='i242' class='figcenter id023'> -<img src='images/i-242.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Everything was cold and dark.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I will git out a Monday, and will start back as soon as -they let me out. Somethin tells me I ort to be there; and -its no use me tryin to find work in this place or any other. -They either have “all the help they need,” or else “dont -want to hire a old man.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>Hopin this will find you well, and that some kind -person has taken you in out of the big road, I am, Betsy,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Your lovin but discouraged husband,</div> - <div class='line in1'><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Mistur Editure, the more I think of that letter, the more -I think of that poor old man a carin for me, and a dreamin -about me, the worse it makes my head ache and the higher -it makes my fever. If I had the money I would send for a -doctor, but I haint got it; and if I had, I haint got anybody -to go. I jist have to lay here. No fire, no one to -look at, no one to talk to—jist lay here and look at the -ceilin and think. Ile have to quit.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hopin your folks are all well,</div> - <div class='line in20'>BETSY GASKINS (Dimicrat),</div> - <div class='line in27'>Wife of</div> - <div class='line in23'><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span> (Republican).</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-157.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XLII. <br /> <span class='fss'>HATTIE MOORE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-r c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in6'><span class='sc'>Tuscarawas County Poor-house</span>,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Near New Philadelphia, O.</span>, March 15, 1896.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><a id='i244'></a></p> -<div class='c006'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-244.jpg' width='150' height='125' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_0'> -MR. EDITOR:—My name is -Hattie Moore. My age is -seventeen. My father was -a soldier. My mother is -a widow. I was betrayed -by one of the leading city -officials, and while he -to-day is performing the -duty and drawing the salary -of an office of trust -and honor, his child and I, its girl mother, are inmates of -this poor-house.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I write to let you know about Betsy Gaskins. They -brought her here yesterday. She is very sick. She is -delirious and talks a great deal in her sleep, about somebody -by the name of Jobe, and about their home and high -interest, and $3,800, and being turned out, and all such -things. Judging from the wrinkles on her face and the -hard places in her hands, she must have been a hard-working -old woman.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I pity her so much that every now and then I steal into -the room where they put her. I stayed in there nearly all -night last night, though I knew it was against the rules. -But my baby slept well, and I hated to let the poor woman -lie in that room all night sick and alone.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>I just thought that if my old mother was sick and poor -and taken to a place like this, I would love any girl who -would be kind to her and pity her. I would love her even -though she had been betrayed and was in the poor-house -to get away from the taunts of a heartless world.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I asked the man who brought her here who she was and -where she came from.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He diden’t seem to know much about her. He said that -some people found her sick and delirious in a small house -in the west end and notified the township trustees; that -the trustees went to the prosecuting attorney and wanted -to know what was best to be done with her and if the law -would permit them to hire somebody to go to her house -and take care of her. The prosecuting attorney asked if -she had any money or property. The trustees told -him that she had not; that she was very poor—had -nothing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Send her to the poor-house,” says the prosecutor, -“send her to the poor-house. The best thing to do with -such people is to get rid of them.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>So, the expressman said, they came and got him, and -they drove out and loaded her into his express wagon, and -he brought her out here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Her name is Betsy Gaskins,” says he.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was cold and stormy, and the poor old soul was in -great pain all night.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A few minutes ago I went in, and she was breathing so -weak that I put my hand in her bosom to see if her heart -was beating, and I found this letter from “Jobe Gaskins.” -It seems she is a married woman, and he has been away -from home and is coming back. I send it to you, and, if -you see him, tell him where he can find his wife.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, Mr. Editor, you had better send this old man’s -letter back, so that if the old lady gets better she will have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>it. But I don’t know as she will ever be much better; she -seems to be sinking.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Send the old man out as soon as he gets there.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>From a friend to Betsy Gaskins,</div> - <div class='line in24'><span class='sc'>Hattie Moore</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div>JOBE’S FOURTH LETTER.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>Akron, O.</span>, March 12, 1896.</div> - -<p class='c021'><em>To Betsy Gaskins.</em></p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>Dear Wife</span>:—They let me out last Monday. I felt very -strange when they opened them big doors and told me to -go. When I got out onto the street I felt jist like a feller -does when he is lost in a big woods. I dident know -which way to start. But I wanted to git back to you. I -saw a depot marked “Woodland Station,” and I went over -there—went in and sot down. Pretty soon a passenger -train come in headed south. Everybody got up to take -it, and, I dont know why, but I went with the crowd and -into the car. When the train got started, I thought of -havin no ticket or money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The conductor dident get around to me until we had -passed Newburg.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was lookin out at the big buildin where they keep crazy -people, when he teched me on the shoulder and says, -“Ticket.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I told him I had no ticket nor money; that I was a old -man; had been out tryin to find work and couldent; that -my wife was sick and I was wantin to git back.</p> - -<p class='c006'>He said: “You cant ride on this train. Youle have to -git off.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>I asked him if he couldent let me ride; that I would pay -him some time if I ever got the money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No,” says he, “my instructions are to carry no one -without a ticket or the money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>I told him the people what owned the railroad was rich -and wouldent care if he let a old man ride to Bayard.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No,” says he, “you must git off at Bedford. Ime not -permitted to carry you.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, when they got to Bedford I jist sot still, thinkin -he might forgit me. But when he come in I saw he was -mad. He rang the bell, and the train stopped; then him -and the brakesman come and took hold of me and dragged -me out of that train, and when they got me out they give -me a shove, jumped into the train, rang the bell and went.</p> - -<div id='i247' class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i-247.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“He teched me on the shoulder.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>They shoved me so hard that I fell down and struck my -knee agin a big iron pin that laid beside the track, and -hurt it so bad that I can hardly walk. Then I come on -till I got to Hudson; then I got onto a freight train -between two cars and rode to Cuyahoga Falls; there they -arrested me for it and was a goin to send me to the work-house -agin. But when I told them all they let me go if I -would agree to git out of town in thirty minits. They -went through all my pockets, to see if I had any money, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>before they told me that. I got out, and now I am walkin. -I will git there as soon as I can. The soles are off my -boots, and my feet are wet nearly all the time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hopin this will find you better,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I am your lovin husband,</div> - <div class='line in18'><span class='sc'>Jobe Gaskins</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div id='i248' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i-248.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“I got onto a freight train.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XLIII. <br /> <span class='fss'>A FAMILY REUNION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-r c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in5'><span class='sc'>Tuscarawas County Poor-house</span>,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Near New Philadelphia, O.</span>, March 25, 1896.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c008'>MR. EDITOR:—Your letter asking more about Betsy -Gaskins received. I will tell you all I know. -Whether Betsy Gaskins is living or dead I cannot -say, and I never will know, though what I do know I -never can forget.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The strange things I have seen since I last wrote you -are mysteries that can only be guessed at; they cannot be -solved.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy had been growing worse every day till the night -of that terrible storm. The rain and sleet and snow, the -wind and hail, made it one of the most dismal nights I -ever saw. The roaring in the woods on the hill back of -the poor-house sounded like a storm on the ocean. In -every direction cattle and sheep were bawling. It was so -cold, and the noise, I suppose, kept them awake.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That night Betsy was worse. She had smothering spells -that it seemed she would die in, and her suffering was -terrible. I couldn’t leave her, though my baby was fretful -and kept awake till after ten o’clock. I was with her -almost all the time.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had let the window down from the top to let in fresh -air, as she seemed to need it. I had no light except what -came in over the transom of the door from the hall.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was about two o’clock that I was sitting there all -alone. Betsy seemed to be getting worse very fast.</p> - -<div id='i250' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span> -<img src='images/i-250.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Pushing back the hair of the sick woman, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The roaring of the storm, the bellowing of the cattle, -the creaking of the window shutters and the moaning of -that old woman made it sad and lonesome.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was sitting there, thinking of what an awful thing it is -to be poor and homeless and sick and friendless,—thinking -of the wrong and misery, the cruelty and crime that is -going on in the world against the weak and helpless,—when -for some reason I looked toward the window, and there -was the face of the most beautiful little girl I ever saw, -looking in just over the sash. Her face seemed to shine, -it was so bright. Her hair was the color of gold. I -couldn’t speak.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That face (for the face and shoulders were all I could -see) seemed to float in at that window, and for a minute -stood still, like a humming-bird in the air, in the middle -of that room, with its eyes steadily fixed on the old woman. -Then it moved slowly and quietly downward and lit on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>bed beside Betsy, and, pushing back the hair of the sick -woman, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. At -that Betsy opened her eyes and clasped the little girl in -her arms, saying:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Oh, my child!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The head said, “Mamma.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>They held each other there a minute or so, when Betsy -all of a sudden threw her arms in the air, half rose up -and screamed at the top of her voice:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“See! see! Look yonder! Your father’s burning! Go, -child! Go!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The little girl turned her head, and they both looked -toward the west wall a second, as though they saw something -terrible to behold. Then the child rose as quick as -thought, and, like a flash, went out at the window, screaming -in a tone that made the chills run over me, “Oh, my -papa!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy fell back upon the bed, and seemed to be greatly -troubled and in much pain.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I had set there possibly an hour, watching the sufferings -of that poor woman, and thinking of that little girl, when -all of a sudden I looked toward the window, and there -again was the face of that little girl and the face of an old -man. The little girl was pointing with her chubby finger -toward the sick woman; the other arm she had around the -old man. He was looking to where she was pointing, -troubled like.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I can’t say I was scared. I just felt speechless.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When they had looked a little bit, both of them came in -at that window—just floated in—and stood in mid-air.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy was resting easier, and it seemed they didn’t wish -to wake her.</p> - -<div id='i252' class='figright id027'> -<img src='images/i-252.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“There lay Mrs. Gaskins.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I could see more of the little girl than before. Both their -faces were bright, and the lower down you looked the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>dimmer they -got, till they -became colorless. -I thought -I could see their -feet, as clear as -glass.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Well, after -they had rested -there in the air -a few seconds -the little girl -took her arm -from around the -old man, and they both settled down beside the old woman, -one on one side of the bed, the other on the other side, -and they each stroked her hair back with their hands.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Pretty soon Betsy opened her eyes, and looked up, -happy like, first at one, then at the other; then she -stretched out her arms, and they both laid their faces down -beside hers, one on one side and one on the other.</p> - -<p class='c006'>She seemed to rest easier then, only her breathing was -slower and each time farther apart. Pretty soon I saw a -mist or something gathering over her between the old man -and the little girl. I watched it, and it kept growing -brighter and brighter, till I could see the form of a woman; -then I could see that it appeared alive and looked like -Mrs. Gaskins, only happier. Mrs. Gaskins began to -suffer now, and was getting her breath hard.</p> - -<div id='i253' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-253.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“<span class='sc'>There again was the face of that little girl and the face of an old man.</span>”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Finally the old man and the little girl rose up, and each -put an arm around this form. The form would first look -at one, then the other. Then Mrs. Gaskins gave one long, -hard gasp, and straightened out, and the form broke loose, -and all three rose up in the air and floated to the middle -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>of the room, stopped, turned, and all looked at the bed. -Then they turned and gazed at me. I couldn’t move. They -kissed each other and began to move slowly toward the -window, each with an arm around another. As they went -out through the window the little girl began to sing the -prettiest song I ever heard, in a low, sweet tone.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When they were gone I got up and ran to the window. -There they were, going up through the sky above the barn, -the little girl singing at the top of her voice.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I stood there looking as long as I could see them. I -heard that little girl still singing as they went out of sight -over the hill back of the poor-house.</p> - -<div id='i254' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-254.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“In the morning there was found a white-haired man.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>I felt so weak that I don’t know how long I stood there, -but finally I thought that I must run and tell the superintendent -that Mrs. Gaskins had gone. With that thought -in my mind I turned from the window, crossed the room, -and was just opening the door, when I happened to look -toward the bed. And there lay Mrs. Gaskins as she had -lain all evening, only stiller.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I was scared. I could hardly believe it. I went to the -bed. She was cold. She did not breathe. I rubbed my -eyes and hands and face to try to bring myself to realize -what it all meant. Then I went into my room and lay -down beside my baby till morning.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>I straightened out Betsy’s clothes the next morning -before they put her in the box. While doing so, I found -a little rose-bush, tied up neatly in a rag and pinned fast -to her skirt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This, Mr. Editor, is all I know of Betsy Gaskins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Of Jobe Gaskins I know very little, unless it was he that -came with the little girl.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In yesterday’s daily paper, however, I noticed this item:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>New Philadelphia, O.</span>, March 22, 1896.—Last night a -supposed tramp entered the Canal Dover rolling-mill in an -almost frozen condition and asked for shelter from the -storm. In accordance with his instruction from the company, -the night watchman ejected him. In the morning -there was found a white-haired man, apparently sixty -years of age, lying cold in death on the ash-heap. The -initials ‘J. G.’ were marked on his shirt. His face was -burned so that it scarcely looked like a human countenance. -His feet and body were covered with ice and snow.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The coroner’s jury, judging from the time the man was -refused shelter in the mill and from the amount of snow -on his feet and body, decided that he must have died -between two and three o’clock the night before.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Could this tramp, Mr. Editor, have been the old man -who was trying to get back to his sick wife?</p> - -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>Hattie Moore.</span></div> - -<p class='c023'>P. S.—The rose-bush which I found pinned to poor -Betsy’s skirt I have planted on her grave.</p> - -<div id='i255' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-255.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span> - <h2 class='c009'>CHAPTER XLIV. <br /> <span class='fss'>AFTER THE WOE, THEN COMES THE LAW.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><a id='i256'></a></p> -<div class='c006'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-256.jpg' width='250' height='234' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_0'> -BETSY GASKINS’ sad history -and the terrible fate of -poor Jobe—for he it was -whose body was found -on the cinder-pile—caused -great excitement, not only -in Tuscarawas County, -but throughout Ohio, and -even in many other sections -of the country. One -Chicago paper devoted a -whole column to portraying the awfulness of turning -an old man from a friendly shelter on such a cruel night -as the one when Jobe Gaskins froze to death. Other -papers in different parts of the Union expatiated on the -hardships of the old couple from the time the hard hand -of the law began to push them from their home until death -took pity on them and removed them beyond the reach of -man’s cruelty to man. The lesson of their humble lives -was made the subject of sermons and of editorials everywhere.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By the time of the campaign of 1896, the people of the -United States had become so wrought up that there seemed -to be a spontaneous demand for the restoration of the -conditions which prevailed when it was possible for Jobe -Gaskins and his likes to pay off their debts. So universal -was the demand that three parties nominated the same -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>candidate for president. He made a brilliant campaign; -but, owing to his being handicapped by a plutocratic, -mortgage-holding, interest-taking running mate, he was -defeated.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Out of the campaign and the knowledge gained by the -people, however, much good resulted. In many States -legislatures were elected that were above the corrupting -influence of the money power. The people were awake to -their needs, and many laws were enacted for the betterment -of the conditions of the common people, particularly the -poor and homeless.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Ohio, especially, was active in this direction. It seemed -that nearly every member of the legislature had learned -the story of Betsy and Jobe Gaskins, and had come to -Columbus determined, if possible, to provide laws that -would stay the hands of Ohio sheriffs from turning honest -people out of the shelter they had erected by their own -industry and economy, and to make it easier for people to -pay for homes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It was only the second day of the session when sixteen -bills were presented in the House and four in the Senate, -all designed to lessen the hardships of debtors and the -burdens of the oppressed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There seemed to be a unanimity of opinion that county -treasurers should be authorized to receive money on -deposit in order to protect the depositor from loss; that -money so deposited should be exempt from taxation, and -that legal interest should be reduced to four per cent. -There was some diversity of opinion as to whether or not -the treasurers should do a general banking business; all -agreed, however, that money should be loaned out on first -mortgage real estate security at not to exceed four per cent. -interest. The bills were referred to a committee appointed -for the purpose, and the following is the bill reported back -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>by the committee, the chairman of which, Mr. L. W. -Chambers, of Ashtabula County, became its champion:</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div>THE BILL.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“<em>Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio</em>: -That on and after the first Monday in April, A. D. 1898, -any person so desiring may deposit money in any sum -from one dollar ($1) up, with the treasurer of the county -in which he resides, and receive therefor a certificate of -deposit or a credit on a pass-book, and all such money -may be withdrawn on demand unless otherwise stipulated -in the certificate of deposit. The treasurer may require a -notice of sixty days for the withdrawal of any sum exceeding -one hundred dollars ($100).</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Sec. 2.</span> The county treasurers of Ohio are hereby -authorized to receive on deposit money from the citizens -of their respective counties; keep the same separate from -the other funds received by them; place the same in a -special account, to be called the People’s Savings Fund; -provide such extra clerk hire as may be necessary to attend -to the business; lend the money of such fund on first -mortgage real estate security to such citizens as may apply -for same, at a rate of simple interest not to exceed four (4) -per cent. per annum.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“All securities and title of property shall be certified to -the treasurer by the auditor and recorder, and shall be -appraised by a board of appraisers residing in the township -where the property is situated.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Not more than ninety (90) per cent. of the appraised -value of any property shall be loaned thereon.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The trustees of the respective townships of Ohio are -hereby constituted a board of appraisers of the property -on which loans may be asked in such township. For such -appraisement, whether the loan is granted or not, the -applicant shall pay said appraisers a fee of two dollars -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>each. At least two of such appraisers shall go upon and -assess the value of any such property.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The borrower shall pay all incidental charges connected -with any loan. The treasurer shall not receive -more than one per cent. per annum on the money loaned, -as his compensation for conducting and caring for said -business; all interest received, less expense to said treasurer, -shall be distributed pro rata to the depositors in -accordance with the amount and time of deposit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“A failure to pay interest for three years shall work a -forfeiture of any loan made under the provisions of this -act, and the property shall revert to the county without -process of law further than order of court upon sworn -statement of the treasurer as to such delinquency; and -the mortgagee shall be permitted to occupy such premises -for such a length of time as the payments made thereon -shall amount to a yearly rental of four per cent. and taxes, -after which the said property may be rented at not less -than four per cent. and taxes, or sold at private sale at not -less than appraised value.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Any losses sustained by the depositors, through the -defalcation or dishonesty of the county treasurer, or any -other officer of a county, shall be paid by the county in -full, and the said officer apprehended, his property, as well -as any and all property transferred or assigned by him -during his incumbency, shall be confiscated, and he shall -be hanged by the neck until dead, without benefit of trial -except to ascertain the certainty of such defalcation or -dishonesty. In such cases there shall be no appeal, pardon -or reprieve.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>No sooner was this law proposed than the telegraph -wires were put in use to notify every banker in Ohio, as -well as the principal bankers in Chicago, New York and -other great centers.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>Their hired agents were there. In two days the lobbies -and corridors of the State-house at Columbus were crowded -with well-dressed, well-fed, diamond-studded gentlemen -from all parts of the country, crying out against such a -law and picturing the direful results that would follow its -passage.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Legislators were buttonholed, wined and dined, threatened, -abused, coaxed, cajoled, persuaded and bribed for -some five or six days. The newspapers of the country -denounced the bill as “revolutionary,” “socialistic,” -“destructive,” “ruinous,” and suggested that “the militia -should be called out to drive the anarchistic law-makers -not only from the State-house at Columbus, but out of the -State of Ohio.” They bemoaned “the terrible disgrace -that had already been brought upon the fair name of -Ohio,” and claimed that “to uphold the honor and -integrity of the State the bill must be overwhelmingly -defeated.” Brilliant lawyers and leading business men -were summoned to Columbus to oppose the bill and to -tell the law-makers how bitterly the people were opposed -to it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>All this time from ten to a hundred homes were being -sold weekly by the sheriff of each county. Thousands -were starving in Chicago, New York and other cities and -towns, and all because during all their lives they had been -paying directly or indirectly from six to ten per cent. -interest to these same fat, well-dressed fellows who were -now at Columbus trying to prevent legislation for the -relief of the people.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For days it looked as though the bill would be defeated. -Very few spoke in its favor, but one could hear criticism -almost anywhere. Two days before it was to come up for -third reading a thing happened, however, that gave it new -life. Bill-posters in all parts of the city of Columbus -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>filled the bill-boards and store windows with brilliant -posters announcing that on the following night the famous -actor James A. Herne and his company would play</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>“BETSY GASKINS (<span class='sc'>Dimicrat</span>),</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>WIFE OF</span></div> - <div class='c000'>JOBE GASKINS (<span class='sc'>Republican</span>),”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>at the Grand Opera-house, for the benefit of the poor of the -city, and that the members of the General Assembly of the -State of Ohio had been invited to attend free as the guests of -Tom L. Johnson, of Cleveland. The large posters in the -windows and on the bill-boards showed “Betsy Set Out -in the Big Road,” “Jobe in Berea,” “The Cinder Pile,” -and “Little Jane at the Family Reunion.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Crowds gathered before the windows and about the bill-boards, -studying the pictures. Strong men and brave -women were seen to wipe away the tear of sorrow as they -recalled and rehearsed the sad tale of Jobe and Betsy -Gaskins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In the afternoon word got out that the legislature had -under consideration a bill that would make it easier for -people to get homes. By morning of the next day it was -the talk of the town.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The night of the show the large theater could not hold -more than one-fourth of those who had come to see. The -doors were closed at seven o’clock, and the performance -began at once, word being sent to the disappointed crowd -outside that Mr. Herne would give two shows that night, -the doors to open for the second performance at nine -o’clock, and, further, that seats would be free to all, only -those paying who desired to contribute to the fund for the -needy.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Immense enthusiasm, tears, and at times laughter, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>followed the players. As the hardships, trials and disappointments -of poor old Betsy and innocent Jobe were -made vivid and real by the actors, like conditions in the -lives of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters or friends came -to the memory of nearly every one in the audience, and -tears and sobs proved the interest with which the people -were drinking in the great lesson that was passing before -them. Finally, when the curtain fell on the last act, -instead of the crowd rising and hastening to the exits, as -crowds usually do, they sat for some moments as if spell-bound. -Then individuals began to rise in their seats here -and there, and, leaning over, to converse with their nearest -neighbors in words and tones of consolation and hope, as -though some great pall hung over them. Women were -crying; the men looked earnest and thoughtful.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This was the condition of the audience when a great -tumult was noticed in the front of the house; loud shouts -of men filled the room, while above all others and on the -shoulders of two brawny men there was lifted a middle-aged -man, pale, nervous, yet seemingly calm. Every one seemed -to be trying to reach his hand or touch his garments. He -smiled. He was borne forward to the stage and placed -upon it. At the same time two other men climbed on with -him. When the larger of the two, who I afterward learned -was the representative from Seneca County, vigorously -pounded for order, the crowd settled back in their seats -and quiet reigned. Then the big legislator said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed to-night one -of the most wonderful plays ever presented to an intelligent -public—wonderful in the fact that it is so true to life -that nearly every one in the vast audience knows some near -or dear one who is only Betsy or Jobe Gaskins under -another name; wonderful in the fact that this proud nation -of the United States, after an existence of over one hundred -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>years, should have a system of laws that works such -terrible hardships on her citizens, and then claim to be -civilized or advanced; wonderful in the fact that these -conditions exist on every hand, in every direction, and yet -a nation of Christians has not risen up against them. But, -good people, my heart swells with joy when I tell you that -sitting by my side, carried here in the arms of admiration, -is a man who has set out to relieve the people of Ohio -from such slavery—who has introduced in the legislature a -bill which will come up for a third reading to-morrow, and -which will relieve the poor of many of such hardships as -poor Betsy and Jobe Gaskins had to bear—a bill, if you -please, that will make it easier for us and our children to -buy and pay for a home.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fellow-citizens, I present to you the Hon. L. W. -Chambers, of Ashtabula County, the chairman of the committee -and champion of the bill I have just referred to.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The audience arose <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>en masse</em></span>, climbed on seats, cheered, -stamped and whistled, while Mr. Chambers, without -a smile, but calmly and courteously, bowed and sat -down.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then the big legislator, after getting the crowd quiet -again, said that the bill he referred to would enable any -one with reasonable security to borrow money from the -county treasury at not more than four per cent. interest, -and that in his opinion the play they had just seen had in -part offset the influence of the lobbying bankers who had -been hanging around the Assembly hall like buzzards for -nearly a week.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Mr. Herne then came out and requested the audience to -disperse, stating that four thousand other people were -waiting outside for a repetition of the play.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The audience left reluctantly. No sooner was the theater -cleared than the second audience made a rush for admission. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>It was only a few moments until the house was filled again -from pit to gallery.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The interest manifested was fully as great as that evoked -by the first performance, and the acting again was superb. -At 11:20 o’clock the curtain fell on the last act for the -second time that night.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The next morning early people from all parts of the city -could be seen traveling in the direction of the State-house, -in street-cars, carriages, on bicycles and afoot. All seemed -to be intent and anxious. Fully fifteen thousand people -were on the State-house grounds by nine o’clock. They -talked, whispered, argued and made speeches. The sole -theme was Betsy Gaskins and the new law. The antiquated -crank was there, claiming that it “can’t be done,” “better -leave things as they are.” Every now and then a lobbying -banker could be seen, slipping along, eyes cast downward, -as though he felt his guilt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When the session opened the galleries of the Assembly -room were filled with people. The State-house was full. -The gavel of the speaker fell. The chaplain offered -prayer. He prayed that right might prevail; that the -poor and heavy-laden might be unburdened; that the -bribe-taker, together with the bribe-giver, might perish -from the land; and, above all, he invoked the blessings of -Divine Providence on the acts of that particular day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>After prayer silence reigned a while. It was broken -when a tall, partly bald, large-faced, keen-eyed law-maker -over in the northeast corner of the hall arose in his seat, -took a general survey of the house and galleries, took a -large roll of money from his pocket, and, waving it above -his head, said in thunder tones:</p> - -<div id='i265' class='figright id010'> -<img src='images/i-265.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p>“Behold! See that money!”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Behold! See that money! There sit in this house -fifty-three men who know where that money came from, -and what it was given for. They know it because they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>each have received -from the same hand -like sums. They -came here sworn to -represent the people -who elected -them; they would -sell them into slavery -instead. They -are bribe-takers, -and have sold their -votes and influence -against the bill that -comes up to-day. -This hall for the -last week has been -surrounded by a -horde of lobbying -bankers and bankers’ -lawyers, buying -the manhood of -men that the poor -may continue to be -oppressed.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then, turning and pointing toward a banker from Cincinnati -who sat in the south gallery, he said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“There is the man! I defy him to deny that he paid -me the five hundred dollars I hold in my hand to vote and -work against this bill!”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The banker was livid. All eyes were turned toward -him. He sat looking straight at the legislator, who pictured -the banker as a “thief,” a “murderer,” a “corrupter -of justice,” a “despoiler of government,” and closed by -waving his hand over the hall and exclaiming that such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>criminals had by their own acts put themselves beyond the -pale of the law.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By this time the crowd had become furious. The Assembly -arose as one man, many with rolls of money in their -hands, and a cry went up that was awful to hear—a cry of -<em>lost manhood found</em>.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There were repeated calls for order, but there was no -order to be had. Well-dressed, sleek men could be seen -hurriedly making their exit from all the doors of the State-house, -and hastening at full speed in all directions. For -more than an hour the tumult continued.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In the meantime some of the spectators had caught the -Cincinnati briber and a lobbying lawyer from Findlay, and, -securing a rope, tied them together, took them out on -High Street, and made them run a gauntlet of some three -hundred yards’ length through a maddened concourse of -American citizens. Some had staves, straps, switches; -others, lamp-black, flour, Venetian red, and whatever they -could get to deface and besmirch the fine clothes, fair -faces and dignified appearance of the two corrupters of the -law. The pair trotted up and down that space until they -became so fatigued and crestfallen that they fell prostrate -and begged for mercy. They were permitted to go on -sworn promises never again to come to Columbus to bribe -or influence the people’s legislators.</p> - -<p class='c006'>After the tumult had subsided and when quiet had been -restored at the State-house, some forty-eight members, -seemingly under the influence of a stricken conscience, took -from their pockets various sums of money and sent them -up to the clerk as a contribution to the fund for the needy. -In all there was $21,468. Many admitted that it was bribe -money, and many others, while not openly admitting it, -said so by their convicted looks. It was a solemn occasion. -It seemed as though money and dishonor had been routed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>and the spirit of human justice reigned in that hall, touching -each heart with unseen hand.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The bill that would make it “easier for the poor to live -and secure homes” had come to life again. When the bill -was read there was a murmur of general approval. Its -champion made one of the most eloquent and pathetic -speeches ever delivered in the State-house at Columbus. -He showed how, at six per cent. interest, all the wealth of -the nation may pass into the hands of the money-lenders -every sixteen years, and leave of the annual increase only -enough to support the great mass of the people with a -meager living. He showed how the bankers had conspired -together to rob the nation in time of peril; how -they had robbed the business men, robbed the masses, -robbed everybody by their contraction of the currency and -their thieving, unjust laws. He said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“We have had demonstrated here in this hall to-day -the manner in which the bankers have looked after the -interests of the country for the last thirty-five years. They -know no god but money, and with money they have corrupted -the world. They are of no service to either God or -man, and yet they demand that both man and God bow -before their will.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>He showed how hundreds of millions of dollars had been -stolen from depositors in the banks of the United States -by suspension and failure, the result of the most dishonest, -the most unsafe system of banking known to the world. -“The American banker laughs when asked for security; -takes all the money he can get; breaks up at pleasure, and -mocks the grief of the poor depositors.” Closing he said:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Fellow-legislators, I appeal to you for the passage of -this bill. I appeal to you in the name of common honesty; -I appeal to you in the name of thousands of hard-working -citizens who, desiring to save their earnings, now have no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>safe place to put them. I appeal to you in the name of -the millions of husbands and fathers whose shoulders are -stooped under the burdens of high interest and money -contraction heaped upon them by this conspiring horde of -money-mongers. Let our motto be: ‘Justice to mankind; -equality before the law.’ And let human rights and -human liberty be our ever-burning beacons of guidance.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Then followed the member from Sandusky County. He -took up the feature of the bill that favored the exemption -from taxation of money deposited in the county treasury. -He showed how a tax on money always fell on the borrower -in the way of increased interest; how, if we take -taxes from money and give the people a safe place to -deposit, thousands of dollars, now kept out of circulation -and hidden in the homes of the people, would come out -and be used in the channels of trade to the benefit of all. -He then appealed to the legislators to be men and patriots, -and to spurn with contempt the influence of the lobbying -money-lenders and corruptionists.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Many others spoke in favor of the bill, and only one or -two offered any opposition. It was evident from the -beginning that the opponents to the measure were routed, -and when it came to a vote the bill passed with only -fourteen votes in the negative.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When the result was announced the scene on the floor -and in the galleries was one of joy beyond description. -Liberty, long chained, had broken her bonds. Men grasped -each other’s hands, and women wept with joy. They saw -the dawn of the new day of liberty—freedom from debt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The bill passed the Senate the same afternoon and -became a law on the 18th day of March, 1898.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The news was telegraphed all over the world. The -county treasurers of Ohio were instructed to begin on the -first Monday of April to receive the people’s money on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>deposit and to loan the same to the people at four per cent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In every county seat, in almost every town, post-office -or store, around nearly every fireside, the new law was -discussed. When the first Monday of April came scarcely -a man could be found who did not thoroughly understand -this “law for the common good of the common people.” -As soon as the doors of the banks were opened, men began -to draw out their money, carry it over to the county treasuries -of the State, deposit it and depart for home. Others -called at the county treasuries, signed mortgages bearing -four per cent. interest, and borrowed money to pay off -their mortgages, held by the banks, drawing seven or eight -per cent. interest, returning home feeling a thrill of new -life and new hope.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No sooner would one borrower pay off an old seven or -eight per cent. mortgage at the banks than would some -depositor withdraw the money, carry it to his county -treasurer, deposit it, and another borrower would deposit -a new four per cent. mortgage and pay off an old seven or -eight per cent. mortgage at possibly the same bank.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This continued for nearly six months, by which time -most of the loans on which the people had been paying -seven or eight per cent. had been converted into four per -cent. mortgages, payable to the various counties. Most -of the bankers were honest and continued to take in -money on old mortgages and pay it out to the depositors -until their business was settled up in full.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In Tuscarawas County the aggregate of the mortgages -held by the six banks was $1,048,692. On this amount the -people saved by the new law an average of three and one-half -per cent., or $37,703.22. This sum, instead of being -paid to the bankers of the county each year, was saved by -the borrowers, and, being applied on the principal, helped -pay off the burdens of the people.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>The first man in New Philadelphia to withdraw his -deposit was Clem Waltz. He had $2,200 in the First -National. He drew it out at 9:10 a. m., took it to the -county treasurer, deposited it at 9:28 a. m.; and at 9:52 -a. m. Seymour Grimes borrowed $1,600 of it on his River -Bottom farm, and paid off a mortgage against him held by -the same First National. About the same time Jacob -Moore borrowed $500 on his house and lot on Eighth -Street for the same purpose. So by 10 o’clock $2,100 of -that $2,200 taken out by Waltz was back in the bank, and -two hardworking, honest, industrious citizens were paying -only four per cent. interest instead of seven or eight. And -Clem Waltz had all of Tuscarawas County back of him as -security for his $2,200, and would receive three per cent. -interest on his money clear of taxes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>About 11 o’clock Robert Witt came into the county -treasurer’s office with $2,000 of the same money that had -been paid to the bank by Moore and Grimes, and by noon -it was loaned out to other persons who would rather pay -four per cent. interest than seven or eight. In the afternoon -business was still brisker.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first day there was $38,000 withdrawn from the -various banks; deposited with the county treasurer; -loaned to the same people that owed the banks; paid back -into the banks; taken out and placed in the treasury, etc.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first week loans to the amount of $356,828 were -thus changed. Everybody seemed to be happy except a -banker here and there. Many bankers, however, admitted -that they were pleased to see the poor have more chance -in life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In six months’ time all the banks except the First -National had closed up their business and quit. Business -in all other lines has picked up. Two of the ex-bankers -are clerks in the county treasurer’s office, while -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>the others, being rich, have decided not to engage in any -business for a while, feeling that it is due themselves and -the community that they take a long-needed rest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Betsy’s dream has, at least in part, come true. Jobe’s -dream still remains to be realized. Millions of men are -still out of work. But the people have been aroused. -They are thinking hard, and soon they will act. They -will act at the ballot-box, and by their votes they will -declare that “the chief aim of human government should -be to secure to each individual contentment and happiness, -and that this can be done only by securing to all the -unrestricted opportunity to labor.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Work for the unemployed” is the issue on which the -people will fight and win the battle of the ballots.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There is much talk that a memorial be erected to Betsy -Gaskins—not to perpetuate the memory of her hardships, -but to ever keep the people in mind of the fact that every -liberty or right we enjoy has cost much suffering, distress -and woe, and, further, that every advance toward a perfect -state of human society as taught by Jesus Christ has been -in spite of selfish and ignorant wealth, and never by its aid.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Long may the spirit of human justice live, is the -prayer of</p> - -<div class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Editor</span>.</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-271.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span><span class='large'>BROTHERS ALL.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c024'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>BROTHER of mine, if one should come,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Should come to your door to-day,</div> - <div class='line'>With the marks of the nails in His hands and the scars</div> - <div class='line in4'>Of the thorns on His brow, and say:</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Brother of mine, I stand in need;</div> - <div class='line in4'>I am He who was crucified;</div> - <div class='line'>Will you help me to-day in word and deed?</div> - <div class='line in4'>Will you stand to-day at my side?”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Brother of mine, I know that you</div> - <div class='line in4'>Would give Him this answer true:</div> - <div class='line'>“You died for me, and what can I do</div> - <div class='line in4'>But die, if I may, for you?”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Brother of mine, if one should come,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Should come to your door to-day,</div> - <div class='line'>With the scars of toil on his hands and the marks</div> - <div class='line in4'>Of the sweat on his brow, and say:</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Brother of mine, I stand in need;</div> - <div class='line in4'>I am being crucified;</div> - <div class='line'>I have sought for work from door to door;</div> - <div class='line in4'>I am everywhere denied.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Brother of mine, I ask not alms;</div> - <div class='line in4'>I have asked no man to give;</div> - <div class='line'>I but ask for work to earn my bread;</div> - <div class='line in4'>I ask the right to live.”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Brother of mine, what would you say,</div> - <div class='line in4'>What would your answer be</div> - <div class='line'>To this lowly brother of Him who said:</div> - <div class='line in4'>“Even so unto me.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c025'><span class='sc'>Henry Benson.</span></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span><span class='xlarge'>Part II</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> - -<div id='i274' class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span> -<img src='images/i-274.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic002'> -<p><span class='sc'>The world’s oppressor.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span> - <h2 class='c009'>PART II</h2> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c026'> - <div><span class='xxlarge'>Present Day Problems</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='sc'>Edited by</span> K. L. ARMSTRONG</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span> - <h3 class='c015'>CONTENTS OF PART II.</h3> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/leaf.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<table class='table2' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='9%' /> -<col width='80%' /> -<col width='9%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c010'> </td> - <td class='c014'> </td> - <td class='c012'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>I.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Impending Revolution</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_277'>277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>II.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Philosophy of Money</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_283'>283</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>III.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Bird’s-eye View of American Financial History. By Samuel Leavitt</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_307'>307</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IV.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Eight Money Conspiracies</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_345'>345</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>V.</td> - <td class='c014'>Financial Authorities</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_352'>352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Interest and Usury</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_380'>380</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Debt and Slavery</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_387'>387</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Laws of Property. By Lyman Trumbull</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_393'>393</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>IX.</td> - <td class='c014'>Direct Legislation</td> - <td class='c012'><a href='#Page_401'>401</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span> - <h3 class='c027'>I. <br /> THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c028'>“And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou? Speak -unto the children of Israel that they go forward.”—<cite>Exodus</cite> 14:15.</p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c008'>THE purpose of the following pages is to present in -compact form a series of articles on money and -kindred subjects from the point of view of one -who, realizing that a world-wide economic revolution is -imminent, hopes that this revolution will be accomplished -by reason and in peace, not by treason and violence—by -book and ballot, not by bullet and bayonet. It is not -intended to make a special plea for the doctrines of any -particular school of economics, or of any political party. -The object is rather to place in concrete the arguments and -principles of many branches of Reform thought which, -while widely divergent in respect of methods, have a common -aim in the emancipation of industry.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The many elements which make up the great and growing -army of Reform may be segregated into two divisions—individualists -and collectivists. In the early history of -this nation the men who had battled for its independence -were similarly divided into two great parties—one advocating -the centralization of power in the national government, -the other demanding for each State sovereign -independence. The flexibility of our Constitution is -ascribed to the wisdom of the fathers, who sought out and -adopted what was best in the ideas of both. So out of the -apparently conflicting elements of the Reform movement -will come the ultimate solution of economic problems.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>The editor is in thorough accord with the collectivists, -whether they be known as socialists, nationalists or co-operators, -in so far as they advocate the public ownership of -monopolies. The people should own and operate the -railroads, the telegraph, the telephone, etc., as they -already own the post-office. The people should also own -and operate the street railroads, water-works, gas-works, -electric light plants, etc. The notorious corruption of our -law-making bodies is due almost wholly to their power to -grant special privileges and to sell public franchises to -private individuals or corporations. Legislative reform -that ignores the cause of corruption is never remedial and -seldom even palliative. Public ownership of natural monopolies -will abolish the bribe-taker by making impossible the -bribe-giver.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The editor believes also that it is the duty of the government -to provide for every citizen willing to work full and -free opportunity to earn a livelihood, and therefore advocates -government employment for the unemployed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The editor further believes that reforms in these directions -can only be accomplished by direct legislation, and a -special chapter is therefore devoted to that subject.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The problem which now presses most persistently for -immediate solution is that of money. The crying need of -the hour is to provide work for the unemployed. Tinkering -with the tariff will not do this, because you cannot make a -people prosperous by taxation. You can set the wheels of -industry in motion, however, by putting money in circulation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And what is money?</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Money is the public credit</em>, stamped or imprinted upon, or -represented by, metal, paper, or any other convenient -substance recognized by law or usage, and employed as a -medium of exchange and a measure of values.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>Money is money only so long and in so far as it represents -the public credit. Moses, as well as the early fathers -of the Christian Church, undoubtedly adopted this view -of money when they denounced usury, which is the device -whereby the drones in humanity’s bee-hive, monopolizing -the public credit, have in all ages exacted tribute from the -workers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have seen what money is. Now let us see how we -can best circulate it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Suppose that this country were governed by a czar, an -autocrat, with absolute power to make what laws he pleased -for the government of his people. Suppose this autocrat -should issue an order increasing the standing army to one -million men, these one million men to be armed, not with -muskets and swords, but with pickaxes, shovels, etc., and -to be set to work improving roads, reclaiming desert and -waste lands, etc. Suppose these men were paid $1.50 a -day in money issued for that purpose by the government. -What would be the result?</p> - -<p class='c006'>One million of men would be taken from the overcrowded -labor market, and at the end of each week nine million -dollars would be put in circulation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Would it be necessary to pay these men in gold and -silver? No. Would not mere paper money inscribed -something like this, in denominations of one, two, five, -ten, twenty and fifty dollars, answer all purposes?</p> - -<div class='dottedbox boxwidth80'> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>This certificate, to the amount of its face -value, will be received by the government -of the United States in payment of -all public dues, and is a full legal -tender in the payment of all debts, -public and private.</span></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>Would not these certificates pass everywhere for their -face value? Would they not have back of them all the -power of the law?</p> - -<p class='c006'>And would they not have the same power if they were -issued and ordained, not by an autocrat holding merely -a fictitious authority, but by the will and the vote of a -sovereign people? Would they not be backed by all the -wealth of the nation?</p> - -<p class='c006'>The right to issue money is a sovereign right and should -be jealously guarded by a sovereign people. To delegate -this power to banks and money-lenders is as grave an error -as it would be to confer on a class the privilege of making -laws for the whole community.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The volume of money should be regulated to suit the -requirements of all the people and not the greed of those -who thrive on usury.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The use of metals for money is unscientific, and they -will eventually be relegated to obscurity with the shells, -pelts, tally-sticks and other cumbrous mediums of exchange -employed by our ancestors. But great reforms cannot be -accomplished at once. Gold and silver are the money of -the Constitution. The act of 1873, which made gold alone -the basis of credit, and which, by reducing the volume of -money, doubled the burden of debt, was a violation of the -fundamental law of our government. The wrong perpetrated -in 1873 must be righted now. This is the first -great step in monetary reform.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Following this, the issue of interest-bearing bonds must -be stopped forever. The careful student will find that -interest is at the bottom of all our financial ills. Unselfish -patriotism must abolish usury by substituting the credit of -all the people for that of the banks.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Every physical or moral ill is the result of some breach -of natural or divine law. For generations we have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>violated the laws of God as they relate to money and to -land.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay -with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be -a stranger or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. -Take thou no usury of him or increase; but fear thy God, -that thy brother may live with thee.” (Lev. 25: 36-37.)</p> - -<p class='c006'>Moses, the inspired law-giver, the great soldier-poet-statesman, -who led a semi-barbarous people from the -slavery of Egypt and made of them a nation which endured -the longest in the world’s history, wrote these words.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We also read: “The land shall not be sold forever; -for the land is mine [saith the Lord]; for ye are strangers -and sojourners with me.” (Lev. 25: 23.)</p> - -<p class='c006'>Let the Christian world cease bickering over questions -of dogma and study again the inspired law of Moses, the -law which Christ came to fulfill, and a solution of all the -many questions which now vex us will soon be found.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Under the Mosaic law, slaves were emancipated, human -life was made sacred, debtors were liberated every seven -years, inherited property was divided and paternal inheritances -were alienated, luxury and extravagance were -discouraged, and by forbidding land-monopoly and usury -(in the Bible usury and interest are synonymous) disproportionate -fortunes and vast accumulations of wealth, -which have caused the decline of the world’s great empires -and are now threatening the foundations of modern -civilization, were made impossible.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Chattel slavery no longer exists in any part of the -civilized world, imprisonment for debt has been abolished, -the right of the people to rule is established, but humanity -is still bound in chains of servitude as galling and oppressive -as in any period of its history. The rule of kings is -passing away, but the autocracy of money and monopoly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>is seated on the throne and swaying a more imperious -scepter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But the people have it in their power to overthrow their -oppressors. In this country, at least, we have the ballot. -The duty of the hour is to study political economy, so that -this weapon may be wielded intelligently and effectively. -“Education” must be our watchword. It is only by -education that we may hope to gain the three great essentials -for perfect liberty and equality: <em>direct legislation</em>—<em>direct -money</em>—<em>direct taxation</em>. These will establish forever -the sovereignty of the people.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-157.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span> - <h3 class='c027'>II. <br /> THE PHILOSOPHY OF MONEY.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c028'>“The American people must learn the lesson of money -or they are lost.”</p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE word “money” is derived from the Latin <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>moneta</em></span> -(from <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>moneo</em></span>, to warn), meaning “warned” or -“admonished.” <em>Moneta</em> was a surname for Juno, -because she was believed to have warned the Romans by -means of an earthquake to offer sacrifice. In the temple -of Juno Moneta coins were made; hence <em>moneta</em>, meaning -either a mint, or coin, or coined money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The English word “money” is defined by Webster as -“any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying -and selling;” and the word “currency” is defined as “that -which is in circulation or is given and taken as having or -representing value.”</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>Varieties of Money.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Until recent times many substances entirely foreign to -our modern ideas of money were used as measures of -value, among which were:</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Leather.</em> In Rome and Sparta 700 B. C., and in Persia, -Tartary, France and Spain as late as the sixteenth century.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Bark.</em> China used the inner bark of the mulberry tree -in the fourteenth century.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Base Metals.</em> Iron was used by the ancient Spartans, -Romans and Hebrews; tin was used in ancient Syracuse -and Britain, while lead is still used in Burmah and brass -in China.</p> - -<p class='c006'>All of these forms of money were stamped with some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>sort of design indicating their exchangeable value and by -whose authority they were issued.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Wood.</em> Several ancient governments used money made -of wood. From the time of Henry I. (A. D. 1273) up to -the foundation of the Bank of England, in 1694, a period -of over four hundred years, England circulated a legal-tender -money make of wood, called “exchange tallies.” -The “tally” issued by the British Exchequer was a stick -or bit of peeled rod upon which notches were cut, indicative -of an account, pledge or other commercial transaction. It -was split in such a way as to divide the notches. One-half -the “tally” was given to the payer and one-half was -retained by the Exchequer; and the transaction might be -verified at any time by fitting the two halves together, -when the notches would be found to “tally” with each -other if the check had not been tampered with. Jonathan -Duncan said that these wooden representatives of value -circulated freely among the people and sustained the trade -of England.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Wampum.</em> One of the prevailing forms of money in use -among the New England colonies was wampum. This -was simply strings of white and black beads made from -sea-shells found along the New England coasts. In 1641 -Massachusetts made these beads a legal tender at the rate -of six for a penny up to the sum of £10; and they were -receivable, at that rate, for all judgments and taxes. In -1643 the limit of this legal tender was reduced to 40 -shillings. In 1649 the colony passed a statute forbidding -the receipt of wampum for taxes, and its use as money -rapidly declined, though it still circulated in a limited way -in several of the colonies as late as 1704.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Tobacco.</em> The people of Maryland and Virginia, before -the Revolutionary war and for some time after, in default -of gold and silver, used tobacco as money, made it money -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>by law, reckoned the fees and salaries of government -officers in tobacco and collected the public taxes in that -article.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Peltries.</em> In an early day several of the Western States -made peltries a legal tender. In 1785 the people of the -territory now called Tennessee organized a State called -“Franklin” and passed the following act, which is -illustrative of similar acts in other States:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of -Franklin, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the -same:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“That from the first day of January, 1789, the salaries -of the officers of the Commonwealth be as follows:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“His Excellency the Governor, per annum, 1,000 deer -skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“His Honor the Chief Justice, per annum, 500 deer skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Secretary to His Excellency the Governor, per -annum, 500 raccoon skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The Treasurer of the State, 450 raccoon skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Each County Clerk, 300 beaver skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Clerk of the House of Commons, 200 raccoon skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Members of the Assembly, per diem, 3 raccoon skins.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Justice’s fee for signing a warrant, 1 muskrat skin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To the constable for serving a warrant, 1 mink skin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Enacted into law the 18th day of October, 1788, under -the great seal of State.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'><em>Gold and Silver</em> have been used as money metals from -the earliest times of recorded history. The Bible has -many references to the use of both gold and silver as early -as the age of Abraham.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Paper.</em> The first printed bank notes of which we have -any record were issued by Palmstruck, a banker of Sweden, -in 1660.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>Intrinsic Value.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>No kind of money, as such, has any intrinsic value, for -the instant the material of which the money is made is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>used for another purpose it ceases to be money. As -money, the sole value of the material arises from its function -as a circulating medium; and even the value of gold -and silver as used in the arts and sciences will be largely -determined by the demand for them for money purposes. -Of recent years the general demonetization of silver by the -principal nations has depreciated the value of that metal -about one-half, and there is but little doubt that if gold -were similarly demonetized it would correspondingly -decline in value. This was the opinion of Cernuschi. He -says: “If all nations should demonetize gold it would be -worth more than copper, but it would not be worth much -more.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Appleton’s American Encyclopedia (XI, p. 735) says: -“After the discovery of gold in California, Austria, the -Netherlands, Belgium and Germany all demonetized gold -and adopted silver as the legal tender at a fixed rate. In -those countries gold only circulated as a commodity, subject -to daily fluctuations in value; and as a consequence, -deprived as it was of legal support as money, it was but -little used.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Upon the subject of intrinsic value the following authorities -are cited:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Congress shall have power to coin money and regulate -the value thereof.”—<cite>Constitution of the United States.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“To coin money and regulate the value thereof as an -act of sovereignty involves the right to determine what -shall be taken and received as money; at what measure -or price it shall be taken; and what shall be its effect -when passed or tendered in payment or satisfaction of legal -obligations. Government can give to its stamp upon -leather the same money value as if put upon gold or silver -or any other material. The authority which coins or -stamps itself upon the article can select what substance it -may deem suitable to receive the stamp and pass as money; -and it can affix what value it deems proper, independent of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>the intrinsic value of the substance upon which it is -affixed. The currency value is in the stamp, when used as -money, and not in the material independent of the stamp. -In other words, the <span class='fss'>MONEY QUALITY</span> is the authority which -makes it current and gives it power to accomplish the purpose -for which it was created.”—<cite>Tiffany, Constitutional -Law.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“Whatever power is over the currency is vested in Congress. -If the power to declare what is money is not in -Congress, it is annihilated.... We repeat, money is not a -substance, but an impression of legal authority, a printed -legal decree.”—<cite>U. S. Supreme Court (12 Wallace, p. 519).</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“The gold dollar is not a commodity having an intrinsic -value, but <em>money</em> having only a statutory value; and every -dollar has the same value without regard to the material. -The gold dollar has not intrinsic value.”—<cite>Supreme Court -of Iowa (16 Iowa Rep., p. 246).</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“Money is the medium of exchange. Whatever performs -this function, does the work, is money, no matter -what it is made of.”—<cite>Walker, Political Economy.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“An article is determined to be money by reason of the -performance by it of certain functions, without regard to -its form or substance.”—<cite>Appleton’s Encyclopedia.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“Money is a value created by law. Its basis is legal, -and not material. It is, perhaps, not easy to convince -one that the value of metallic money is created by law. It -is, however, a fact.”—<cite>Cernuschi.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<h4 class='c029'>Specie Basis.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Where paper money is made redeemable in gold or silver -the paper money is said to rest on a “specie basis.” This -monetary scheme now prevails throughout the civilized -world. In almost every commercial nation a large portion -of the currency in use is paper money, convertible in theory, -at least, into metallic money, at the option of the holder. -This financial system is framed upon the violent hypothesis -that real money can only be made of the precious metals -and that paper bills are not money, but only representatives -of money. Those who are addicted to this theory -<span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>are in the habit of designating coins made of the precious -metals as “primary money,” “redemption money” or -“standard money;” while paper bills are called “secondary -money,” or “credit money,” and are worthless except -as they may be redeemed in “primary money.” The -specie basis may be gold or silver or both. Since the -world-wide demonetization of <a id='corr288.7'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='silver'>silver,</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_288.7'><ins class='correction' title='silver'>silver,</ins></a></span> gold only is the basis -in the leading nations of the earth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The specie basis theory is open to the following weighty -objections:</p> - -<p class='c006'>1. It is contrary to the fundamental law of the United -States—the Constitution.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Judge Tiffany, in his work on Constitutional Law, -expounding the right of Congress “to coin money and -regulate the value thereof,” says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The authority which coins or stamps itself upon the -article can select what substance it may deem suitable to -receive the stamp and pass as money; and it can affix -what value it deems proper, independent of the intrinsic -value of the substance upon which it is affixed.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>This learned opinion, which annihilates all necessary -distinction between “primary” and “secondary” money, -was followed by the United States Supreme Court in the -celebrated Greenback cases, and hence has all the authority -of law. (See 12 Wallace’s Reports, p. 519.)</p> - -<p class='c006'>2. The specie basis theory is contrary to the facts of -history, some of which will be recited in succeeding pages. -Many instances are recorded in which paper and other -material have been successfully used as money where no -redemption in coin was promised or possible.</p> - -<p class='c006'>3. The specie basis theory postulates that a certain -amount of “redemption money” will support or float a -proportional amount of “credit money;” as the specie -increases the paper money may be safely increased; and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>as the specie decreases paper money must also be -decreased—a philosophy that would lead to the absurd -conclusion that when all specie disappears the people can -have no money of any kind. Mr. R. H. Patterson, a -distinguished English economist, truly puts the paradox -as follows:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The gospel of monetary science now is, that when a -country does not want paper money, it ought to have a -great supply of it; and when it does require paper money -it shall have none. When a country has enough of specie -it ought to double its currency by issuing an equal amount -of bank notes; and when there is no specie there should -likewise be no notes. Is it necessary to discuss such a -theory? In order to be rejected it needs only to be stated; -in order to be rejected it only needs to be understood. It -is a theoretical monstrosity against which common sense -revolts—a burlesque of reason which even the present -generation will live to laugh at.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>4. The specie basis is insufficient in volume to redeem -the credit money which is necessarily used in business. -The entire circulating medium of the United States is, -approximately, sixteen hundred millions of dollars, of -which about one-third is gold, one-third silver and one-third -paper. Since silver was demonetized it is now only -credit money; hence we have but one dollar of redemption -money (gold) with which to redeem two of credit money, -or, taking into consideration, as we should, the vast -volume of checks, drafts and other credits which must -finally be redeemed in gold, it is perfectly apparent that -the United States has not one dollar of redemption money -with which to redeem one hundred dollars of credit—and -thus the whole theory of redemption becomes a mere -figment incapable of practical realization. And what is -true of the United States is true of all other countries.</p> - -<p class='c006'>5. The specie basis is a breeder of panics. In times of -prosperity and confidence credits are safely increased to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>accommodate the increasing volume of business, and the -specie basis is sufficient merely because it is not put to the -test, the people preferring paper money because of its -superior convenience. But at such a time a pebble may -start an avalanche. A startling failure occurs somewhere, -creditors press for liquidation, the banks are besieged, and, -being unable to redeem their promises to pay gold, they -suspend—and the panic is complete. Such is the recurrent -history of finance in all civilized lands.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Charles Sears, an eminent authority, says of the gold -basis:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Within the last fifty years, say, a money crisis has -come quite regularly every ten years. Something—any -one of a dozen causes, few know what—sets gold to flowing -out. Fifty millions withdrawn in a short time from its -usual place of deposit is quite sufficient to make the whole -volume of coin disappear from ordinary circulation as completely -as if it had never existed. The metallic basis is -gone—slipped out; the pivot of the system is dislocated; -somebody wanted it and took it, and the pyramid tumbles -down, burying in its ruins three-fourths of a business -generation.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>To the same effect is the opinion of the famous American -jurist, Judge Walker. He says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The whole paper scheme is founded on the presumption -that the holders of these bills will not generally ask -for specie at the same time; and, therefore, the amount of -specie kept in reserve bears but a small proportion to the -notes in circulation. And this is the great evil of the -system. A general and simultaneous demand for specie -cannot possibly be met, and disaster must follow. To -enforce a universal performance of these promises is to -insure their being broken. Every sudden panic, therefore, -must produce wide-spread calamity.”—<cite>Walker’s American -Law, p. 152.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>6. The specie basis affords a means by which greedy -speculators work “a corner” in gold and thus extort large -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>sums in profits which the people eventually have to pay. -The laws and official rulings, for instance, which require -the maintenance of a gold reserve in the Federal treasury -and the payment of duties and interest on the public debt -in gold, create a special and imperative demand for the -yellow metal; and as the supply for that kind of money is -almost entirely in the hands of a few great banking firms, -the latter can, at their pleasure, extort such terms as they -please when applied to for gold. An instance of the kind -occurred on Feb. 8, 1895. On that day, in order to maintain -its gold reserve, the United States government -purchased of M. Rothschild & Sons and J. P. Morgan & -Co., bankers of London, 3,500,000 ounces of standard gold -coin of the United States at the rate of $17.80441 per -ounce, and paid for it in United States four per cent. -thirty-year coupon or registered bonds, interest payable -quarterly. These bonds were taken by the British bankers -at $1.04, and were sold by them within ten days at $1.18, -by which the foreign gold exploiters made a net profit of -about eight million dollars—to be eventually paid by the -people.</p> - -<p class='c006'>7. The specie basis must inevitably become more and -more insufficient with the lapse of time, and the disasters -due to it in the past become more frequent and distressing. -The population of the world is increasing, barbarous -nations are becoming commercial, and commercial nations -are extending their commerce with unexampled rapidity -from year to year. With this increasing business must -come a necessity for a corresponding increase in the -medium of exchange—money. But no material increase -of the precious metals is possible. On the contrary, as the -mines successively become exhausted, or deeper and more -difficult to work, it is clear that the annual supply of gold -and silver must become increasingly insufficient to replace -<span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>that which has been lost or consumed in the arts and -sciences; and hence the difficulties of the specie basis will -of necessity become more and more aggravated as time -goes on.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Considerations such as the foregoing have led to the -rapid development of a new school of finance which, rejecting -the specie basis as antiquated and no longer tenable, -professes to find a sufficient guarantee for the stability of -money in</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Legal Tender Basis.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>President Grant said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“My own judgment is that a specie basis cannot be -reached and maintained until our exports exclusive of gold -pay for our imports, interest due abroad, and other specie -obligations, or so nearly as to leave an appreciable accumulation -of the precious metals in the country from the -product of our mines.”—<cite>Message, Dec. 1, 1873.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Plentiful experience has demonstrated that a paper -money based upon the authority, faith and credit of the -government and made by law a full legal tender for all -debts will serve all the purposes of a staple circulating -medium as effectually as gold itself.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The effectiveness of legal-tender paper depends upon -two circumstances:</p> - -<p class='c006'>1. Government can by law compel the people to take -it in satisfaction of private debts, by refusing to enforce -contracts payable in any other kind of money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>2. The government may receive such legal-tender paper -in satisfaction of all kinds of taxes and duties, thus giving -such money a positive value equal to gold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The United States Supreme Court, in the celebrated -Greenback cases, says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Making these notes legal tender gave them new uses -(or functions), and it requires no argument to prove the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>value of things as in proportion to the uses to which they -may be applied.”—<cite>12 Wallace Reports, p. 519.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Benjamin Franklin, defending the Pennsylvania colonial -paper money before a committee of the English Parliament, -in 1764, said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“On the whole no method has hitherto been found to -establish a medium of trade, in lieu of coin, equal in all -its advantages to bills of credit founded on sufficient taxes -for discharging it at the end of the time, and in the meantime -made a general legal tender.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Thomas Jefferson, in his letter to Mr. Epps, said of -government paper money:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“It is the only resource which can never fail them, and -it is an abundant one for every necessary purpose. -Treasury bills, bottomed on taxes, bearing or not bearing -interest, as may be found necessary, thrown into circulation, -will take the place of so much gold or silver.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>President Jackson, in his message, 1829, said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“I submit to the wisdom of the legislature whether a -national one [currency] founded on the credit of the -government and its resources might not be devised.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>John C. Calhoun, in a speech in the United States -Senate, December 18, 1837, said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“It appears to me, after bestowing the best reflection I -can give the subject, that no convertible paper—that no -paper that rests upon a promise to pay—is suitable for a -currency. It is the form of credit paper in transactions -between men, but not for a standard of value to perform -exchanges generally, which constitutes the appropriate -functions of money or currency. No one can doubt but -that the credit of the government is better than that of any -bank—more staple and safe. I now undertake to affirm, and -without the least fear that I can be answered, that paper -money issued by the government, to receive it for all dues, -would form a perfect circulation which would not be abused -by the government; that it would be uniform with the -metals themselves.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Legal-tender paper money is usually issued in times of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>war, when gold and silver are <a id='corr294.1'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='horded'>hoarded</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_294.1'><ins class='correction' title='horded'>hoarded</ins></a></span> or exported from the -country; and, as a consequence, such legal tender is put -to the severest possible tests, those of an imperilled government, -disturbed industry and impeded foreign trade. -Nevertheless, history abounds with instances to prove the -entire sufficiency of this kind of money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1156 the Republic of Venice established a system of -paper credits which served as the principal circulating -medium of that country until 1797. This money was -always at par and frequently at a premium. In 1770 the -Russian government issued its own notes, which sustained -the government through two wars and commanded a -premium over coin. In 1797 to 1823 England issued -$225,000,000 full legal-tender paper with which to carry -on war against Napoleon. In his “Political Economy,” -John S. Mill says of these notes: “After they were made -a legal tender they never depreciated a particle.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>During the colonial period of American history several -of the colonies issued and successfully maintained legal-tender -paper money. One instance is illustrative of them -all. In 1739 Pennsylvania issued $400,000 in legal-tender -paper not redeemable in coin, but receivable for taxes, -which was loaned directly to the people on security of -land and plate. This money continued in circulation until -it was prohibited by the British government in 1775. -Commenting on the success of this system, Dr. Franklin -said: “Between the years 1740 and 1775, while abundance -reigned in Pennsylvania and there was peace in all -her borders, a more happy and prosperous population -could not, perhaps, be found on this globe.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>During the Franco-German war France issued an enormous -volume of legal-tender paper money, of which Victor -Bonnet, the eminent French economist, says: “In the -midst of the greatest calamities that ever befell a nation, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>with an enormous ransom to pay a foreign nation, and -with great domestic losses to repair, a credit circulation -was maintained four times as large as its base, without -depreciation. This circulation reached $600,000,000.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>During the war of the rebellion in the United States -(1861-5) the government issued a volume of legal-tender -“greenbacks” which, on July 1st, 1865, was outstanding -to the amount of $432,687,966.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The first $60,000,000 of this paper money, issued under -authority of the acts of July 17th and August 5th, 1861, -and February 12th, 1862, called “demand notes,” was -made a full legal tender for all debts public and private. -This issue never fell below and often was above par as -compared with gold. In a speech delivered in the United -States Senate, July 4th, 1862, Hon. John Sherman said of -these “demand notes”:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The notes are now held and hoarded. The first issue -of $60,000,000 were issued with the right of being converted -into six per cent. twenty-year bonds and with the -privilege of being paid for duties in customs. They are -now far above par and hoarded.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>In Schuckers’ Life of Salmon P. Chase, p. 225, the -author says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The demand notes, being receivable for customs the -same as coin, kept pace with the advance in the price of -coin.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>All of the greenbacks except the first $60,000,000 were -purposely depreciated by the “exception clause;” that is, -they were made a legal tender for all debts, public and -private, <em>except duties on imports and interest on the public -debt</em>, which latter were required to be paid in coin. This -exception clause created a special demand for coin, and as -a consequence metallic money rose to a great premium, at -one time (July, 1864) being at a premium of $2.85 in -greenbacks to $1 in coin. That these greenbacks were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>purposely depreciated stands upon the evidence of Hon. -John Sherman, who, in a report as chairman of the Senate -Finance Committee, made on the 12th of November, 1867, -said: “But it was found that with such a restriction upon -the notes the bonds could not be negotiated, and it became -necessary to depreciate the notes in order to make a -market for the bonds.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Speaking of the amendment by which the “exception -clause” was passed, Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, said in a -speech delivered in the House, February 20th, 1862:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“It has all the bad qualities that its enemies charged in -the original bill and none of its benefits. It now creates -money and by its very terms declares it a depreciated currency. -It makes two classes of money—one for the banks -and brokers, and another for the people. It discriminates -between the rights of different classes of creditors, allowing -the rich capitalists to demand gold, and compelling the -ordinary lender of money on individual security to receive -notes which the government had purposely discredited.... -But now comes the main clause. All classes of -people shall take these notes at par for every article of -trade or contract unless they have money enough to buy -United States bonds, and then they shall be paid in gold. -Who is that favored class? The bankers and brokers, and -nobody else.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>This conspiracy of the lawmakers, by which the soldier -in the field was paid in depreciated greenbacks while the -Wall Street usurer received gold, did not deprive the paper -money of its splendid functions. While coin rose to a -great premium, owing to the special use made of it in -payment of customs and interest on the public debt, the -legal-tender money carried on the great war and conducted -the business of the most prolific and prosperous epoch in -the history of the United States.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As a matter of fact the greenbacks, discredited by legislation -as they were, did not depreciate in comparison with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>commodities, but gold <em>appreciated</em> owing to the special -demand created for it by law. The people never lost -confidence in the government paper money, even in the -darkest hours of the panic of 1873, as shown by the -language of President Grant. He said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The experience of the present panic has proven that -the currency of the country, based, as it is, upon the -credit of the country, is the best that has ever been devised. -Usually, in times of such trials, currency has become -worthless or so much depreciated in value as to inflate the -values of all necessaries of life as compared with currency. -Every one holding it has been anxious to dispose of it on -any terms. Now we witness the reverse. Holders of -currency hoard it as they did gold in former experiences of -like nature.”—<cite>Message, December 1, 1873.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Functions of Money.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>The functions or uses of money are three-fold:</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is a measure of value.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is a medium of exchange.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is a means of storing wealth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As <em>a measure of value</em> money determines in what proportion -commodities and services shall be interchanged. The -yardstick measures the quantity of fabrics; but some -fabrics are more valuable than others. A bolt of silk, for -instance, is more valuable than a bolt of muslin—a difference -which the yardstick, alone, cannot indicate; it merely -measures quantities, not values. Here the money measure -becomes necessary. The abstract unit which we call a -dollar measures the <em>values</em> of both silk and muslin, and -determines how many yards of muslin should be exchanged -for a yard of silk.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Money is <em>a medium of exchange</em>. Smith has a horse and -buggy which he wishes to exchange for a piano belonging -to Brown. Brown is willing to part with the piano, but -does not want a horse and buggy; he does want, however, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>a gold watch. Jones has such a watch, but wants to dispose -of it for clothing. Wilson has clothing, but he wants -coal. For these four parties to find out each other’s -wants and effect an exchange of actual commodities and -adjust the difference in value between the articles would -involve time and labor and make so many difficulties that -the transactions would be greatly delayed, if not defeated. -Here money performs its beneficent offices as a medium of -exchange. Smith sells his horse and buggy for money, -and with it purchases Brown’s piano. Brown buys the -watch he wants, and thus money goes from hand to hand, -effecting innumerable exchanges, not only in the small -neighborhood, but in great commercial circles, thereby -bringing the antipodes together and enabling them to supply -each other’s wants with the least possible loss of time -and labor.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Money is, also, <em>a means of storing wealth</em>. Jackson has a -valuable farm, but is getting too old or infirm in health to -work it. He might exchange it for a great quantity of -food, clothing, and other necessaries sufficient to last him -the remainder of his life; but these articles could not -safely be stored so as to preserve them for future years, -and some representative, that can be stored, must be -found. Money is that representative. Jackson sells his -farm for money, and with the money purchases from time -to time the necessaries required.</p> - -<p class='c006'>From a brief study of these three great functions performed -by money may be readily determined what should -be the characteristics of a perfect currency, one that would -most effectually and justly serve mankind.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As a measure of values and as a means of storing wealth -it is clear that money ought to be stable, that is, it should -as nearly as possible have the same purchasing power from -year to year and in all sections of the country; for when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>money fluctuates in purchasing power it is obvious that -some men will gain and some will lose without any merit -or fault upon their part, but simply in consequence of the -fluctuations in the value of money. This is particularly -true in case of debt, for if a debt be contracted when -money is cheap, and paid when money is dear, the debtor -will evidently lose by the change, and if the circumstances -be reversed the creditor will lose.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To secure such stability or uniformity of purchasing -power no measure or method is so effectual as for the -government to make all its money a full legal tender for -all debts, public and private.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As a medium of exchange the volume or quantity of -money in circulation should be sufficiently large to accomplish -the transaction of business without waste or delay. -In estimating the necessary volume it is proper to take -into consideration the numbers of population, the magnitude -of business transacted, and, since a nimble dollar will -perform the work of several slow ones, the “effectiveness” -or rapidity with which money circulates; and, since population -and business are, upon the whole, constantly increasing, -and the rapidity of circulation (until some swifter method -of locomotion be discovered) remains unaltered, the -volume of money, clearly, ought to be increased from year -to year. Few who have not patiently studied the problems -of finance understand the mighty effects of an -expansion or contraction of the money volume upon, not -only the material, but the moral well-being of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The very heart of the complex money question, the -center of all its divergent issues, is the question of</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Volume of Money.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>The volume or quantity of money in circulation is -always hard to determine, principally because banks, -brokers and their allies in official and journalistic positions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>are generally interested in concealing or misstating the -facts on purpose to mislead the public; so that, not -infrequently, a period of financial disaster steals upon the -people unaware and they are compelled to endure all the -miseries of such an event without being able to detect the -cause or apply the remedy. In such circumstances the -masses may dimly perceive that they are being robbed, -yet, unable to detect the means of their spoliation, they -attribute it to every cause but the real one, and thus the -spoliators are enabled to repeat their robbery again and -again, undetected by any save a few whose complaints are -regarded as the extravagances of uninformed or fanatic -minds.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To fully comprehend how the exploiters of money may -enrich themselves and impoverish others by merely -manipulating the currency, it is necessary to understand -the primary fact that <em>an increasing volume of money brings -rising prices and business activity, while a diminishing volume -of money causes falling prices and business stagnation</em>. Upon -this proposition the following authorities are cited:</p> - -<p class='c006'>David Hume, the English historian, in his essay on -“Money,” says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“We find that in every kingdom into which money -begins to flow in greater abundance than formerly, everything -takes a new face; labor and industry gain new life, -the merchants become more enterprising, the manufacturers -more diligent and skillful, and the farmer follows -his plow with greater attention and alacrity. The good -policy of the government consists of keeping it, if possible, -still increasing as long as there is an undeveloped resource -or room for a new immigrant, because by that means there -is kept alive a spirit of industry in the nation which -increases the stock of labor, in which consists all real -power and riches. A nation whose money decreases is -actually weaker and more miserable than other nations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>which possess less money but are on the increasing -hand.”—<cite>Essays and Treatises, vol. I, p. 283.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Henri Cernuschi, an ex-banker of Paris, and recognized -as, perhaps, the most eminent of the French writers on -finance, says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The value of money depends upon its quantity. It is -the same with gold as with greenbacks. If the stock in -circulation is augmented the purchasing power of every -greenback is diminished; and so with gold and silver. -The purchasing power is always in relation to the quantity -of the money.”—<cite>Nomisma, p. 15.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“That commodities would rise and fall in price in proportion -to the increase or diminution of money I assume -as a fact that is incontrovertible. That such would be the -case the most celebrated writers on political economy are -agreed.”—<cite>Ricardo, Political Economy.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“If the whole money in circulation was doubled prices -would double. If it was only increased one-fourth, prices -would rise one-fourth. The very same effect would be -produced on prices if we suppose the goods (the uses for -money) diminished instead of the money increased; and -the contrary effect if the goods were increased or the -money diminished. So that the value of money, all other -things remaining the same, varies inversely as its quantity; -every increase in quantity lowering its value and every -diminution raising it in a ratio exactly equivalent.”—<cite>J. S. -Mill, Principles of Political Economy.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, in his -report, February, 1820, says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“All intelligent writers on currency agree that when it -[money] is decreasing in amount poverty and misery must -prevail.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>By joint resolution of the United States Congress, August -15th, 1876, a “United States Monetary Commission” was -appointed to inquire into the prevailing “hard times.” It -consisted of Senators John P. Jones, Lewis V. Bogy and -George S. Boutwell, and Congressmen Randall L. Gibson, -George Willard and Richard P. Bland; to whom were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>added Hon. Wm. S. Groesbeck of Ohio, Prof. Francis -Bowen of Massachusetts, and Geo. M. Weston of Maine, -the three latter acting as secretaries of the commission. -On March 2, 1877, the commission reported. The following -extracts are taken from the report:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“While the volume of money is decreasing, though very -slowly, the value of each unit of money is increasing in a -corresponding ratio, and property and wages are decreasing. -Those who have contracted to pay money find that -it is constantly becoming more difficult to meet their -engagements. The margins of securities melt rapidly, and -their confiscation by the creditor becomes only a question -of time. All productive enterprises are discouraged and -stagnate because the cost of producing commodities to-day -will not be covered by the price obtainable for them to-morrow. -Exchanges become sluggish, because those who -have money will not part with it for either property or -service, for the obvious reason that money alone is increasing -in value while everything else is decreasing in price. -This results in the withdrawal of money from the channels -of circulation and its deposit in great hordes where it can -exert no influence on prices. Money in shrinking volume -becomes the paramount object of commerce instead of the -beneficent instrument. Instead of mobilizing industry, it -poisons and dries up its life currents. It is the fruitful -source of political and social disturbance. It foments -strife between labor and other forms of capital, while -itself, hidden away, gorges on both. It rewards close-fisted -lenders and filches from and bankrupts enterprising -producers. An increasing value of money and falling -prices have been and are more fruitful of human misery -than war, pestilence or famine; they have wrought more -injustice than all the bad laws ever enacted.”—<cite>Report of -United States Monetary Commission, vol. I, p. 10 et seq.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Pointing out how a contraction of the money volume -increases the debt obligations of the past, R. H. Patterson, -especially commended by Gladstone as one of the ablest -of English writers on finance, says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“And what is such a dearth of money and rise in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>measure of value but an injustice to the many to the gain -of the few—an unfair exaltation of the power of the past -over the present, an unfair and undesirable aggravation of -the poverty of the poor and the wealth of the rich—a -stereotyping of classes according to wealth, until they tend -to become permanent? We have seen how powerful and -beneficial was the influx of the precious metals from the -New World four centuries ago in breaking the social -bondage which had settled over Europe during the long -night of the Dark Ages, enabling that generation to escape -from the heritage of the past and bound forward upon the -new career then opening to mankind. Such times come -from the hand of Providence, and with an exceeding rarity -even in the long career of civilized mankind. But at least -let us avoid the opposite and never allow successive generations -to be unfairly—nay, most unjustly, though it may -not be so meant—handicapped, each in its own race, -owing to a growing dearth and dearness of money.”—<cite>The -New Golden Age, vol. II, p. 500.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>President Grant said:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“To increase our exports sufficient money is required to -keep all the industries of the country employed. Without -this, national as well as individual bankruptcy must -ensue.”—<cite>Message, December 1, 1873.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Hon. John Sherman, in a speech in the Senate, January -27, 1869, said, in opposition to a bill to contract the currency -by retiring the greenbacks:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“It is not possible to take this voyage without the sorest -distress. To every person except a capitalist out of debt, -or a salaried officer, or annuitant, it is a period of loss, -danger, lassitude of trade, fall of wages, suspension of -enterprise, bankruptcy and disaster.... It means the -ruin of all dealers whose debts are twice their business -capital, though one-third less than their actual property. -It means the fall of all agricultural productions without -any great reduction of taxes. When that day comes every -man, as the sailor says, will be close-reefed; all enterprise -will be suspended, every bank will have contracted its -currency to the lowest limit; and the debtor, compelled to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>meet in coin a debt contracted in currency, will find the -coin hoarded in the treasury, no representative of coin in -circulation, his property shrunk not only to the extent of -the depreciation of the currency, but still more by the -artificial scarcity made by the holders of gold. To attempt -this task by a surprise upon our people, by arresting them -in the midst of their lawful business and applying a new -standard of value to their property without any reduction -of their debts, or giving them an opportunity to compound -with their creditors, or to distribute their losses, would be -an act of folly without an example in evil in modern -times.”—<cite>Congressional Globe, 1869, p. 629.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>In a speech in the United States Senate, March 17, -1874, General John A. Logan pointed out the cause of the -panic of 1873 as follows:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“But, sir, that the panic was not due to the character -of the currency is proved by the history of the panic -itself.... No, sir, the panic was not attributable to the -character of the currency, but to a money famine, and to -nothing else. In the very midst of the panic we saw the -leading bankers and business men of New York pressing -and urging the President and the Secretary of the Treasury -to let loose twenty or twenty-five millions more of the -same paper for their relief—the very same men who to-day -denounce it as a disgrace to our government. It was good -enough for them when they were in trouble.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why is it that representatives forget the interests of -their own section and stand up here as the advocates of the -gold-brokers and money-lenders and sharks, the same class -of men whose tables Christ turned over, and whom he -lashed out of the temple at Jerusalem?... Carry out the -theory of the contractionists, and what must be the inevitable -result? Every enterprise and industry must be -dwarfed in like proportion. The busy hum of the spindle -will cease its sound in many a mill which now gives -employment to hundreds of active hands and supplies the -comforts of life to many a happy home. The bright blaze -of many an iron foundry which gives life and cheerfulness -to the grand scenery along the streams of Pennsylvania -will cease to gild the night with its rays. And the same -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>industry in my own State, and that of the Senator from -Missouri, which has been so rapidly increasing of late, will -be crippled, and hundreds who now find employment -there will be compelled to seek a home elsewhere for want -of work. The undeveloped resources of the South and -West, which we have just begun to appreciate, will rest in -abeyance until a wiser policy shall bring them into use.... -Why, sir, the people were never freer from debt in -proportion to the business done than in 1865, at the close -of the war, when Mr. McCulloch began his system of contraction, -and at the very time when eleven million more -people were to be supplied. Was it to be supposed that -the activity and energy which the adequate supply of money -had put in operation, and which was giving prosperity and -happiness to the country, would suddenly dwarf itself to -suit financial notions without a struggle? The inevitable -result was an expedient to meet the consequent want, and -credit was expanded. At the very moment above all others -when adequate supply was needed, the opposite course was -adopted; and right here lies the true cause of the late -panic, which resulted from a money famine and not from -an excessive supply.... Sir, turn this matter as we will, -and look at it from any side whatever, and it does present -the appearance of being a stupendous scheme of the money-holders -to seize the opportunity of placing under their -control the vast industries of the nation. Therefore I warn -Senators against pushing too far the great conflict now -going on between capital and labor.... Capital rests -upon labor; but when it attempts to press too heavily on -that which supports it in a free republic, the slumbering -volcano, whose mutterings are beginning already to be -heard, will burst forth with a fury that no legislation will -quell.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>From the foregoing, which is but a small fragment of -the immense literature in harmony with the opinions cited, -the following conclusions may be digested:</p> - -<p class='c006'>1. A diminished volume of money always causes a -proportional diminution in the price of labor and commodities—or, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>to express it otherwise, money becomes dear -and everything else cheap.</p> - -<p class='c006'>2. This redounds to the advantage of the capitalistic -class, who are thereby enabled to exact more for their -money in services and commodities, to purchase all kinds -of stocks and properties at diminished rates, and to foreclose -mortgages and collect other forms of debts under -such conditions as to make “hard times” a harvest for -the creditor class.</p> - -<p class='c006'>3. The debtor class is compelled not only to yield more -services and commodities for the money which it receives -or has previously received, but suffers the further hardship -of languishing business and enforced idleness or diminished -wages; and it should be remembered that every producer -is a debtor, even though he has no specific obligations -outstanding; for he will have to aid those who <em>have</em> such -obligations by receiving less prices and wages and by -paying relatively increased taxes, salaries, rents and profits -to those members of the debtor class who are immediately -above him in the social scale, and who will seek to save -themselves by shifting the burden of their obligations onto -those who are below.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-048.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span> - <h3 class='c015'>III. <br /> <span class='fss'>A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF AMERICAN FINANCIAL HISTORY.</span></h3> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div><span class='sc'>By Samuel Leavitt</span>,</div> - <div><em>Author of “Our Money Wars,” “Dictator Grant,” etc.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c030'>“I am astonished at nothing in our business life so much as the -absence of an earnest, determined endeavor on the part of our -men of brains to find the cause of these chronic crises and hard -times and then set upon the track of some remedy therefor.”—<span class='sc'>Rev. -Heber Newton.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>WHAT may well be called the American system of -money has been gradually evolved, during three -hundred years, from the bitter experiences of the -most practical people that ever trod this globe. Franklin, -Jefferson, Jackson, Calhoun, Clay, Gallatin and Benton -were its prophets. But it first began to take definite shape -during our civil war under such men as Edward Kellogg, -Thaddeus Stevens, Henry C. Carey, Stephen Colwell, -Pliny Freeman, Ben Wade, Oliver P. Morton, Henry -Wilson and John Thompson; and later, Warwick Martin, -Peter Cooper, Thomas Ewing, Wendell Phillips, John E. -Williams, George Opdyke, John G. Drew, John P. Jones, -William D. Kelley, B. F. Butler and others.</p> - -<p class='c006'>What first strikes the observer in a bird’s-eye view is -that the whole modern movement toward a rational money -system was started by that much-maligned genius, John -Law, in France, in 1715. His system was one of the first -recent revolts against the tyranny of metal money. He -was the real founder of the Bank of France and the present -French system. The <cite>Encyclopedia Britannica</cite> calls him an -“unequaled financier.” His great thought was plenty of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>government paper money, and France has kept that -thought. Law was finally beaten by politicians and the -King’s mistresses when he tried to improve his system.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Turning homeward, we find the first American coin -money, succeeding the wonderfully useful wampum, came -very curiously—coin usually does. In 1652 a mint was set -up in Boston to coin silver into “pine tree” money. The -silver came mostly from the West Indian trade. Our -rulers in England then, as now, only busied themselves in -stealing from us any good money we could get hold of. -Singularly enough we depended largely then upon another -class of pirates—the buccaneers of the Spanish main, who -spent most of their plunder on our shores, where were -the nearest civilized ports. This was a great blessing—“a -blessed providence”—to our Puritan ancestors and the -coin money economists of those days.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1745 we had another blessed influx of silver. Governor -Shirley, of Massachusetts, and his pious Puritans, -went over and captured Louisburg, Cape Breton, from the -French, with fire and sword, and made a big loot. This -so tickled Mother Britain that, for once, she sent us a lot -of silver to “ransom” Louisburg. This enabled Massachusetts -to steal away the trade of Rhode Island.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1690 the first issue of paper money was made in Massachusetts. -This was before the establishment of the Bank -of England. It was for £7,000. In 1703 £15,000 was -issued, which was made a legal tender for private debts. -In 1716 another issue to the amount of £150,000 was -authorized. Mark the style of it, as compared with the -wild-cat projects of the present Congress, and see which is -the most reasonable and conservative, and then inquire if -the Farmers’ Alliance plan is so foolish: “The bills were -to be distributed among the different counties of the -province, and to be put into the hands of five trustees in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>each county, to be appointed by the legislature, to be let -out on real estate security in the county, in specific sums, -for the space of ten years, at five per cent. per annum.” -Another act for £50,000 in bills was passed in 1720, -“which resulted in clearing <a id='corr309.5'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Massachuetts'>Massachusetts</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_309.5'><ins class='correction' title='Massachuetts'>Massachusetts</ins></a></span> of debt in 1773.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1723 Pennsylvania led a number of States in issuing -paper money. In this year a great crisis occurred in -England and the Bank was suspended. The coin of the -American colonies was required, and drawn over, in -England’s selfish and peremptory way, to prepare the bank -for resumption. All coin left Pennsylvania, though the -State possessed laws raising its value. Then the State issued -treasury notes, and kept them in use until 1773, when -English jealousy caused Parliament to make all such issues -void. Some of the money was issued, says Adam Smith, -on land security of double the value, and redeemed in -fifteen years. It was made legal tender and remained at -par with coin for forty years. The necessary notes were -redeemed, by their payment for taxes, without loss to any -one. This is the familiar history of Pennsylvania and the -statement of Franklin. The cutting off of this money was -the chief cause of the Revolution. The tea-party in Boston -harbor was only a side-show.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Continental money was issued by Congress when we had -no government—no power to tax. Yet if made full legal -tender, with no mad promise of coin, fifty million dollars -might have been enough. Gallatin says: “It saved the -country.” Jefferson: “It expired without a groan.” Calhoun: -“It is the ghost conjured up by all who wish to give -private banks control of government credit.” It was used -in place of a war tax, and the people so regarded it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>French assignats broke the spell of royal tyranny in -Europe. Such is the power of a live nation to use and -absorb money that nine billion dollars’ worth of it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>issued before it broke down. Even then the cause of the -tumble was that it had no suitable foundation. It was -founded on land taken from the priests, and naturally fell -when that land was returned to the churches.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>Our Coin for a Century.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>We come now to the coin money of the last half of the -eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century. -Through ignorance of it, some silver advocates are dismayed -by the fact that so little silver was coined here before 1878. -The great point to be shown is that we had no need to -coin, because so much came from abroad. The way metal -money flowed here during the wars between England and -Spain reads like a fairy story. The treasures of Mexico -and South America passed through here and gave many -temporary and flitting coin deposits. Then from the opening -of the Napoleonic wars until 1820 the most of Europe, -including England, was using paper money. So coin came -and stayed here. In fact, coin stayed back in our Western -wilds often when it was scarce in Eastern sections and -large cities. Through all smashes and wild-cat times, -Western banks paid coin until 1820. Those were good -times for planters on new soil. The old Virginia planter, -in his blue swallow-tail coat with brass buttons, and his -ruffled shirt, always had a pile of doubloons in his desk. -He did not know that European war and paper money put -them there.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The banks, warned by wild-cat experiences, grasped at -all coin as they do now at gold. One bank sucked all there -was in North Carolina and owned the State. It was so -plenty in the twenties, in New England, that they shipped -it to Europe.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A point never to be forgotten by silver men, in answer to -the gold man’s statement about small coinage of silver, is -that from the foundation of the United States money laws -<span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>were passed giving legal value to foreign coins. Our -mistaken ratio of 16 to 1, instead of 15½ to 1, made it -generally useless for us to coin silver, when we could have -plenty from abroad that was legal tender. One fact alone -shows how immensely we were using our own silver and -foreign silver and gold—viz.: the panic of 1857 was largely -due to the demonetization of our small silver and those -foreign coins. In 1853 Congress demonetized all silver -halves, quarters and dimes in sums of over $5.00. Much -of the reserves of the banks was in these fractional silver -coins, which had been full legal tender, and in larger gold -and silver coins of the United States and other countries. -The silver dollars of Spain, Mexico, South America and -the United States were worth a premium over gold, and -were bought by the Rothschilds and sent out of the country, -though they did big service while they stayed here. -But the banks did not hold them as reserves. So the -demonetization of our small silver deprived the banks of a -large portion of their reserves and of paying their circulation -therein.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Up to February, 1857, all foreign gold coins and the -silver coins of most nations were, in the United States, full -legal tender with our coins at the values fixed by our laws; -and gold being, since 1834, overvalued in the United -States, immense quantities of these gold coins came here -and remained. Another reason why we did not coin silver -dollars is found in this fact: gold was superabundant. -These gold coins were also held by the banks as reserves -in large quantities.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But on February 21, 1857, Congress demonetized all -foreign coins. This took them out of the banks. They -went abroad never to return. And this was one chief cause -of the panic of 1857. The facts above given, properly -circulated, should forever silence the quibbles of the gold -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>men about the non-use and non-coinage of silver up to -1878. From 1861 to 1878 we used but little coin.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The gold men sneeringly ask if we want to go on a -50-cent dollar like Mexico. It is true they have worked -their diabolical will on some of those weak nations, where -the currency is thrown into horrible confusion thereby, and -foreign business is made almost impossible by the rise in -the gold dollar to a $2.00 dollar. They have come near -Mexicanizing us in this respect, but have failed as yet. -Their plea for the deposits of workingmen in savings banks -is like the howl the mortgage people are always raising -about the poor widows and orphans of the East, to whom -the Western farmer should willingly pay high interest. -Wise nations legislate for producers, rather than for -interest-suckers—male or female.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>United States Banks—Wild-Cat and State Banks.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Ever since the Revolution there has been war between -Jefferson’s treasury notes and the sharp fellows who wish -to collect interest on their debts. In the lush wild-cat -times bankers did not care whether they made their scoop -by shoving out bank notes so far that they would hardly -ever come back, or lending interest-bearing credit to their -neighbors. Now the telegraph, railroad and redemption -banks would make hard sledding for State wild-cats.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The United States banks (private) were so mixed with -the wild-cats for fifty years—1791 to 1841—that they need -describing. The first, in 1791, was got up by Federals -who hated treasury notes. But fortunately there was much -honesty then, and it was so managed that its notes were -like full legal-tender greenbacks. Those were halcyon -days. The wild-cats were around, but got little game. -They made their first big inflation in New England. -The Yankees thought they could swing out to any degree -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>when the Anglo-Spanish and the Napoleon wars made coin -so <a id='corr313.2'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='‘sic:'>plentiful?’</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_313.2'><ins class='correction' title='‘sic:'>plentiful?’</ins></a></span> here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There was a great rush of banks between 1811 and 1816, -when the second United States Bank came in. It was a -fraud from the start, violated its charter and was founded -mostly on personal notes. But it swung its twenty years. -The great plan of the wild-catters was to get its treasury -notes, good as gold, and drawing interest, for their red -dogs. Right here let us affirm that, for short, all State -bank money may be called wild-cats, red dogs and shinplasters. -For such it always proves in panic times. The -Chicago <cite>Tribune</cite> says that the Democrats are “committed -upon both principle and tradition against a Federal currency—committed -also to State banking.” Not so. Jefferson -was strong for Federal money, <em>i. e.</em>, treasury notes. -The Whigs were always as much given to wild-cats as the -Democrats. Again the <cite>Tribune</cite> tells of 34,000 who took -the benefit of the bankruptcy act in 1841-2-3, but says nothing -of the hundreds of thousands who failed between 1873 and -1890, under the crush of Republican gold resumption, -without any such release. Intelligent Democrats could -show billions of loss from Republican financiering against -hundreds of millions under Democracy. Give the poor -devil Democrat his due. He makes a clumsy attempt now -to cover his rascality in voting against silver bills by all his -talk of returning to wild-cats. The cheeky Republicans -offer no shadow of a real remedy for our financial ills.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To return to the time of the twenties. The new, hopeful -country kept having booms in spite of bad money. After -the close of the war of 1812-15, “blessed peace,” -said Matthew Carey, “came and brought two thousand -merchant buyers to Philadelphia.” Fortunes were made. -It was funny as a circus. The brokers stuffed the United -States treasury full of shinplasters, not good thirty miles -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>from home. Congress said “resume” in 1817. Banks -said, “Go to the devil.” With twenty-two millions “on -hand,” Congress had to borrow half a million to keep -house on. The big bank was given over to favorites, -bribery and corruption, but ruled the land. There was a -whirligig between the branches of the big bank and the -little banks. The latter bought, with their red dogs, -from the branches, drafts on Eastern cities. The drafts -bought European goods. Meanwhile the branches socked -it to the wild-catters up to five and ten per cent. a month, -till they redeemed their red dogs with the proceeds of -another crop.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1818 the president of the big bank resigned when it -was near ruin. A new president, Cheves, saved the bank, -in the Bank of England fashion, by ruining a lot of small -banks and merchants. In 1820 came “stay laws” and a -“relief system.” Men could redeem their lands and -negroes in two years by paying ten per cent. down. North -Carolina had an awful time. Robber bankers of Newbern -became the practical owners of the State and sucked its -blood. Were ruling still in 1833.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1825 the great Nick Biddle took the presidency of -the bank, and ran the whole country, till knocked out by -Jackson. Biddle was the biggest boss yet; moved crops; -lent ten millions at a time to the government. Some -thought he gave the rising sun a boost. When there was -a run, he only allowed his branches to cash their own -drafts. In 1832 was high water time for this fine old -Philadelphia gent. President Jackson, who hated all -undemocratic high kicking, made him pay the government -debt from his government deposits. Jackson stopped the -abnormal boom in wild lands by his “specie circular,” -ordering only specie to be taken for United States lands. -Then, to check the torrents of extravagance, he ordered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>the useless thirty-seven millions that he had foolishly put -in State banks distributed back to the people of the -States. The wild-catters paid eighteen millions, and then -all broke, beginning in New York in May, 1837. That was -a grand smash. Jackson had a glimpse of the greenback -remedy in his muddled head. Jefferson and Calhoun always -had it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Parallel with all this was the Mississippi tomfoolery of -1830 to 1840. That State borrowed thirty millions on the -old personal note plan from Holland, and fooled it away in -ten years. Slaves were then the only good assets. These -were run off to Texas, and “Gone to Texas” (G. T. T.) -was a familiar inscription.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>The College Professor and the Facts.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Prof. Laughlin of Chicago University said in his recent -speech before the Sunset Club and the Bankers’ Association:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“It seems to me that one of the greatest misfortunes -that this country ever suffered was that temporary, and to -the present time lasting, intoxication connected with the -issue of United States notes or greenbacks. From the -foundation of our government, in 1789, to February, 1862, -the United States government never issued any paper -money.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The Chicago <cite>Herald</cite> of December 10 voiced the same -falsity thus:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“In fact, the government never did anything of the kind -until 1862, when Congress authorized an issue of legal-tender -notes.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Are these men simply reckless liars, or are they ignorant -of the facts? Here are the facts: From 1812 to 1860 U. S. -treasury notes were issued at least twenty times; that is, -in every time of emergency, when the bankers’ wild-cat -money could not possibly keep business going. These -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>notes were receivable for all debts due the government, -including interest on the public debt and custom-house -dues; and that fact made them universally acceptable by -the people—better than gold. In these respects they were -better than the greenbacks; for never until the infernal -exception was put upon them, in 1862, did the government -refuse to receive its own treasury notes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Here are most of the dates and amounts of those issues—all -by acts of Congress readily traced: June 3, 1812, -$5,000,000; February 25, 1813, $10,000,000; March 4, -1814, $10,000,000; December 26, 1814, $25,000,000; -February 14, 1815, $25,000,000; October 12, 1837, $10,000,000; -March 21, 1838, $10,000,000; May 31, 1840, -$5,000,000; June 30, 1842, $5,000,000; August 31, 1842, -$6,000,000; July 22, 1846, $10,000,000; June 28, 1847, -$23,000,000; December 23, 1857, $20,000,000; December -17, 1860, $10,000,000.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Is that lie nailed? The above treasury notes were -hampered in various ways. The money-lenders persuaded -Congress that it would be “contrary to the laws of the -Medes and Persians” if the notes drew no interest. So -they were generally heavily handicapped in that way. -Sometimes they only drew one mill per annum, sometimes -nothing. When they drew none the Shylocks at once -cried that the country was ruined. They liked them well -enough plus interest, because they were sharp enough to -get hold of them and pull in the interest, while they -managed to cram the United States treasury full of their -wild-cat stuff.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To thoroughly verify these serious statements, let us -look at the statutes under which these issues were made -and the particulars of their issue:</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Act of June 3, 1812 (Statutes 2, p. 366).</em>—This law authorized -the issue of $5,000,000 treasury notes, to run one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>year, bearing five and two-fifths per cent. interest. They -were made receivable for all debts due the government, -and were to be paid to such public creditors and other -persons as were willing to receive them. They might also -be used to procure loans, or might be placed to the credit -of the treasury in banks at par and accrued interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Act of February 25, 1813 (Statutes 2, p. 801).</em>—This law -authorized the issue of $10,000,000 treasury notes to -mature in one year, bearing five and two-fifths per cent. -interest per annum. Terms same as act of June 3, 1812.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Act of March 4, 1814 (Statutes 3, p. 100).</em>—Authorized -an issue of $10,000,000 on same terms as above. No -charge to the government was to be made by the banks -which credited the notes.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Act of December 26, 1814 (Statutes 3, p. 161).</em>—Authorized -the issue of $25,000,000 treasury notes in place of a loan -of $25,000,000 previously authorized. Ten millions of -these notes were to be applied to the payment of -$10,000,000 previously borrowed. Otherwise they were -like the above.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Act of February 14, 1815 (Statutes 3, p. 213).</em>—This law -authorized the issue of $25,000,000 treasury notes in -addition to other issues. Up to this time the Secretaries -of the Treasury, Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Crawford, had complained -that the treasury notes so far issued were made too -large for common circulation, though their standing among -the people was good and the people were desirous of -having them. They said treasury notes had taken the -place of coin and equalized the exchange throughout the -country. To meet the wishes of these secretaries and of -Jefferson and Madison, as well as the people, these -$25,000,000 treasury notes for circulation were authorized -and issued. The most of them were required to be less -than $100 in denomination, and to be payable to bearer, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>while those of $100 and over were to be made payable to -order and to pay by indorsement, and were to bear five -and two-fifths per cent. interest. The smaller ones were -to bear no interest. They were also, for the first time, -made receivable for six per cent. bonds. They were made -to circulate as money, and to have the characteristics of -coin, but they were not redeemable therein. They were -legal tender to the United States. These notes, after -being paid into the treasury, were to be reissued.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When these $25,000,000 treasury notes of small denominations -were made to circulate as money, and to bear no -interest, the indignation of all the banks in the country -was aroused. They saw that if those notes went out -among the people, and became the money of the country, -there would be an end to the circulation of bank notes. -Such was the truth. There was, therefore, a general -combination in New England, New York, Delaware and -Pennsylvania to kill them off. The old Bank of the -United States, chartered in 1791, the charter of which -expired and which was not renewed in 1811, was then, as -the law allowed, closing up its affairs. The debts of the -people to this bank were very large. The bank was pressing -for payment. The people presented these treasury -notes, which did not bear interest, in payment. The bank, -to destroy the credit of the notes, and to force the recharter -of a national bank, refused to receive the notes of the government -in payment to the bank. As the bank would not -receive the notes from the merchants, the merchants were -reluctantly compelled to refuse to receive them for debts -due and for goods sold. The New England banks, and -those of Delaware, were also deeply involved in this conspiracy -to destroy the credit of these treasury notes, as all -such are now. The embargo and non-intercourse laws of -Jefferson and Madison had destroyed the carrying trade of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>New England, and had caused a suspension of the New -England banks in 1809 and 1810. The people of New -England were, therefore, greatly opposed to the war with -England. They did all they could to cripple the government -in carrying it on. They refused all loans, even of -bank notes, and were very hostile to all treasury notes, -especially to those intended to take the place of bank -notes, as were those of 1815.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By a general combination between State banks, the old -national bank bondholders and bullion brokers, these notes -of the United States were forced to a discount for a short -time. One of the strongest arguments in favor of having -all treasury notes made full legal tender is here presented. -Had they been legal tender to the people, as well as to -the government, all the efforts of the banks and brokers to -reject them and reduce their value would have been fruitless. -If the legal tender character were removed from the -greenbacks the national banks would at once discredit -them to-day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Immediately after these efforts of the banks to discredit -treasury notes, an application was made to Congress for a -charter for another United States bank, which proposed to -take from the government, as part of its capital, $15,000,000 -of these same treasury notes, to withdraw them from -competition with bank notes. (Just as the rascally conspirators -at Washington are now trying to do with three -hundred and forty-six million greenbacks.)</p> - -<p class='c006'>Mr. Madison vetoed the bill, principally on account of -this provision. But $28,000,000 of bonds were substituted -for treasury notes, as capital of the bank; and by a -combination of the Federal party and a few Democrats it -was chartered. The charter provided that no other such -bank should be chartered by Congress for twenty years. -This implied, also, that all treasury notes intended to circulate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>as money should be withdrawn, and that this bank -should furnish all the national paper circulation for twenty -years.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For this privilege the bank paid $1,500,000. The contract -on the part of the government was disgraceful, but, -having been made, it had to be carried out; and it was -carried out, as the following acts of Congress show:</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of March 3, 1817 (Statutes 3, p. 377).</cite>—The -second Bank of the United States had just gone into -operation. Congress was compelled to comply with its -part of the contract. It, therefore, passed this law, which -repealed all laws authorizing the reissue of the “treasury -notes of 1815.” But the people had these government -notes, and they preferred them to bank notes or coin. They -knew that the repeal of the law authorizing their reissue -could not affect the value of those then in their hands, -for a valuable consideration paid the government. They, -therefore, held on to the notes (as our people should now, -in spite of Sherman, Gage & Co.) Instead of paying -them into the treasury, where the law required them to be -destroyed, the people held on to them, and used them in -business, greatly to the annoyance of the bank and of the -Secretary of the Treasury, then a bank man (Mr. Dallas). -This officer ordered the collector of revenue to refuse to -receive these notes for duties on imports, <a id='corr320.25'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='suppposing'>supposing</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_320.25'><ins class='correction' title='suppposing'>supposing</ins></a></span> that -by this means he could injure their credit and force their -presentation at the treasury for payment in coin or national -bank notes, that they might be canceled. This gave rise -to a suit in Boston. A firm presented treasury notes in -payment of duties on imports, for which the law creating -them provided that they should be received. The government -refused to receive them, and brought suit for the -duties. The defendants pleaded a tender of treasury notes. -The government answered that they were not legal tender. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>Judge Story, in 1819, heard the case, and decided for the -defendants. The decision is that “Treasury notes are -legal tender for everything for which the government -makes them receivable.” This decision is in 2 Mason, -pages 1 to 18. This decision, though against the government, -was never appealed to the Supreme Court. It, -therefore, stood as the law of the land.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of May 3, 1822 (Statutes 3, p. 675).</cite>—Treasury -notes still remained out among the people, to the annoyance -of the bank and the Secretary. The decision of -Judge Story raised instead of depreciating them in the -estimation of the people, and increased the anxiety of the -bank and the Secretary respecting them. The notes did -not come to the treasury for destruction. (Just so the -people acted when John Sherman tried to make them take -5-20 bonds and give up the greenbacks.) They remained -among the people until May 3, 1822, when Congress again -came to the rescue of the bank and passed the law of that -date, which provided that these treasury notes should not -be received by any collector of revenue in the United -States, and that they should be received and paid at the -treasury only. All that came into the treasury were to be -destroyed. The people wished to retain these notes; but -the bank forced Congress to act against them; and Congress, -by destroying their receivability, compelled their -surrender by the people. We hear no more of treasury -notes thereafter until 1837, when, as usual, the necessities -of the government again called them into being.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of October 12, 1837 (Statutes 5, p. 201).</cite>—The -banks had all suspended, with nearly $40,000,000 government -bonds. Not one year before the law had made these -banks public depositories, with their promise that they -would always pay coin for all liabilities. The government -had, in 1835, paid off the last dollar of the national debt. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>The surplus then in the treasury was nearly $40,000,000. -This was in the banks. The government had no money to -pay ordinary expenses, unless the treasury used suspended -bank notes. This Mr. Van Buren, the President, refused -to do. He called Congress together to meet the emergency. -Its remedy for the emergency was treasury notes -(as it should now be), which Jefferson says are the only -reliance of a nation. This act of October 12, 1837, provided -for the issue of $10,000,000 treasury notes, in denominations -not less than $50, running one year. The law left -the interest which they were to bear discretional with the -President and the Secretary of the Treasury; but in no -case was it to exceed six per cent. Congress appeared too -timid to make these notes money bearing no interest. The -Secretary, knowing that the people needed them as money, -complied with the law by making many of them bear one -mill interest per annum. As such they circulated freely as -money, and the people were delighted to get and use them. -They answered all the purposes of coin, and equalized the -exchanges throughout the country. The banks did not, at -that time, possess sufficient power to injure them. Men -now living remember them and their usefulness, although, -imitating the foolishness of the Bank of England, they were -never paid out of the treasury but once.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of May 21, 1838 (Statutes 5, p. 228).</cite>—This act -authorized the reissue of the $10,000,000 treasury notes -issued under the act of 1837, which had been canceled. -They should have been used till worn out, and then -replaced <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>ad infinitum</em></span>. It has taken time and a great war -to open the eyes of the people and Congress to see what -Jefferson saw in 1813. And now, again, many are forgetting -the facts.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of May 31, 1840 (Statutes 5, p. 370).</cite>—This law -renews the act of 1837, relating to the issue of treasury -<span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>notes, and makes the following modifications: 1. That they -were to be issued in place of those redeemed; not to -exceed in this issue $5,000,000. 2. They were to be -redeemed in less than a year, if the treasury was in a condition -to redeem them. 3. When ready to redeem them, -the Secretary of the Treasury was to give notice. 4. After -due notice, these notes should cease to bear interest, if -they remained out. This act was to continue only one -year. It is evident that Congress supposed the necessity -for issuing treasury notes would soon cease. But it was -mistaken. Treasury notes continued to be issued up to -1848.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of July 4, 1840 (Statutes 5, p. 385).</cite>—This was -the first independent treasury act of the days of Van -Buren. It had good features, but was badly bungled. The -money of the government was to be kept by the government -(instead of the banks), in the mints, custom-houses, -post-offices and treasury building. The fool part of it was -that after January 3, 1843, no payment should be made to -the government in anything but gold and silver coin. The -banks were suspended. The government was being sustained -by treasury notes. But still this law provided that -after January 3, 1843, treasury notes should be excluded -from the treasury as well as bank notes. An appeal was -made to the people, in that year’s election, upon this law, -and Van Buren and his coin payments were knocked out by -Harrison with wiser plans.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of July 21, 1841 (Statutes 5, p. 438).</cite>—This was -among the first Whig acts, and they in turn made fools of -themselves. They favored a national bank, but opposed -treasury notes. The law provided for the issue of $12,000,000 -six per cent. bonds. The principal purpose was to -redeem the good treasury notes of the Democrats. A -Pittsburg man was sent to England to sell the bonds. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>Though the United States had paid its national debt in -1835, the bonds were no go. The Whigs, having failed to -found a bank and sell these bonds, were compelled to rely -upon the much-despised treasury notes of the Democrats.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of April 15, 1842 (Statutes 5, p. 473)</cite>, was a final -effort to shove the bonds. They were increased to $17,000,000, -the time extended indefinitely up to twenty years. -They could be sold at less than par. The rich, strong -young nation could not do it, though taxes and duties were -pledged for payment. The war was going on between the -Whig Congress and sensible President Tyler. The latter -advocated the issuing of all the paper money as well as -metallic money by the government; but Congress wished -the money issued by a national bank. The President -vetoed the bank bill. Congress, by way of heading him -off, passed the act to make treasury notes bear six per cent. -interest, to hinder their being used as money.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of June 30, 1842 (Statutes 5, p. 766).</cite>—This provided -for $5,000,000 treasury notes to run one year. Interest -five per cent. Otherwise like most of the others, as to -legal tender, payment to public creditors and placing them -in banks.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of August 31, 1842 (Statutes 5, p. 581)</cite>, shows a -lingering hope of selling the bonds. If not successful, the -government was to issue $6,000,000 more of treasury notes -(trotting out the despised pack-mule again), which might -even be reissued. What a let-up! Br’er Fox Shylock, he -lie low!</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of March 3, 1843 (Statutes 5, p. 614)</cite>, authorizes -the issue of new treasury notes to supply the place of those -redeemed.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of July 22, 1846 (Statutes 5, p. 39).</cite>—The <a id='corr324.32'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Demcrats'>Democrats</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_324.32'><ins class='correction' title='Demcrats'>Democrats</ins></a></span> -resumed power in 1845. This act authorizes $10,000,000 -treasury notes in place of those destroyed.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span><cite>The Act of August 6, 1846 (Statutes 9, p. 59)</cite>, finally -established the independent treasury on a sensible basis. -It made all treasury notes and gold and silver coins equal -in payment of all debts to the government. This held till -1861, and many of the provisions are still law, but badly -enforced, as when our recent Presidents deposited many -millions in banks.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of January 28, 1847 (Statutes 9, p. 118)</cite>, authorized -$23,000,000 (more than $500,000,000 now) to fight the -Mexican war. No interest was fixed. They mostly drew -one mill, and the people gladly used them as money.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of December 23, 1857 (Statutes 11, p. 237)</cite>, provided -for $20,000,000 treasury notes to take the place of -coin, the banks having suspended with the coin in their -vaults. (Heaven, or something, generally saves the -banks.) These were, like most of the previous issues, -with nominal interest. The plain people took them gladly.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of December 17, 1860 (<a id='corr325.18'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Statutes 11'>Statutes 12</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_325.18'><ins class='correction' title='Statutes 11'>Statutes 12</ins></a></span>, p. 121)</cite>, provides -for $10,000,000 treasury notes, running one year, at -six per cent. The interest was to run and the notes remain -out until sixty days after notice of readiness to redeem. -Otherwise they had the old provisions.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of February 8, 1861</cite>, authorized the issue of -treasury notes, or a loan of $25,000,000 to take up treasury -notes.</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Act of March 2, 1861 (Statutes 12, p. 178)</cite>, provides -for a loan of $10,000,000 to take up treasury notes and for -government expenses. Same old story. If bonds not -sold, then more notes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This brings us to the act of July 17, 1861, when the -gigantic $250,000,000 of loans and notes came up. The -further history is well known. That just given will surprise -those who thought treasury notes began with the -rebellion.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span> - <h4 class='c029'>Safety Fund—Suffolk and Redemption Banks.</h4> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>As many of the foolish propositions now put forth for -“reforming the currency” are only feeble imitations of the -Safety Fund, Suffolk System and Redemption Bank System -that arose before the Rebellion, a brief account of -them will be given here. In the thirties and forties there -were as many so-called systems as there were States. The -Suffolk System of Massachusetts, among those first started, -alone deserved the name of system. In 1829 that State -decreed that no bank should operate unless fifty per cent. -of its capital was paid in coin. Notes must not exceed -twenty-five per cent. of the capital. Liabilities, except -deposits, must not exceed twice the capital. Such provisions, -however, amounted to little, because, much of the -loans being simple credits, there was small inducement in -the strong banks to overissue notes. As no provision was -made for reserves, the coin to set a bank in motion could -be bought and sold again right after the organization. The -Redemption system, afterward adopted, was much better, -but, as will be shown, only a harm in panic times.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The New York banks were placed mostly in New York -City and the Hudson River towns. In 1829 the Safety -Fund System arose there. It allowed the banks under it -to issue notes to twice the amount of their paid-up capital, -and loans to twice and a half the amount. Every bank -under it had to pay the State Treasurer, annually, one-half -of one per cent. upon its share capital—these payments -to continue till each bank had a sum equal to three -per cent. of its share capital. The amounts so paid were -to be held as a common fund for the discharge of notes or -other liabilities of any bank of the system.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1841 and 1842 eleven of the Safety Fund banks failed, -making a loss to the creditors of $2,588,933. The fund was -then $86,274. The whole amount of the fund to September -<span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>30, 1848, was only $1,876,063. The balance of the loss -was provided by the State, which was to be reimbursed by -further additions to the fund. That was very nice for the -banks. In 1842 the act was so amended that the fund -became chargeable only with the losses to the public on -the note circulation, just as it is the case with the national -banks now.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In 1838 New York founded the “Free Banking System,” -by which banks could be formed without application to the -legislature. These associations were required to deposit -with the State Comptroller United States or State stocks -equal to a five per cent. stock, or bonds and mortgages on -improved real estate worth twice the sum secured, and -equal in amount to their note circulation. The Comptroller -issued the notes to them. Up to 1843 twenty-nine of these -banks failed—circulation, $1,233,374; nominal value of -securities, $1,555,338. These produced $953,371, or 74 -per cent. of the circulation secured. The law was then -amended to exclude all but United States stocks, and those -of the State, which must be equal to six per cent.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A wiser provision had been adopted in 1840, requiring all -the State banks to redeem their notes, either in New York -City, Albany or Troy, at a discount of one-half of one per -cent. In 1851 this discount was reduced to one-quarter of -one per cent. After 1851 two New York banks started the -Redemption System. The notes of such of the country -banks as kept deposits with them were returned, the -redeeming banks dividing the discounts between themselves -and the issuers. This system was useful, as it -forced a constant redemption; but see how it worked in -1857.</p> - -<p class='c006'>After 1838 no more Safety Fund banks were chartered, -and the system gradually lapsed. But a curious story -could be told of how it ran through the West. That -<span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>region was deluged with “safety” money—all but the -safety. In 1846 the new Constitution of New York took -from the legislature all power to pass any act granting any -special charter for banking purposes; such organizations -to be under general laws. After 1850 bank stockholders -were to be liable to the amount of their shares for all the -debts, and holders of notes to be preferred creditors.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, for the redemption banks in 1857. These banks, -useful in their way in ordinary times, did harm in that -panic. A few years before a new source of profit was -suggested to some New York banks. If the redemption -that was distributed among the money-brokers could be -monopolized by one or two institutions it would yield a -rich revenue; and it could easily be attracted by reducing -the rates of redemption so low as to exclude individual -competition. The system was based somewhat upon the -Suffolk system. Coupled with the payment of interest -on country deposits, it had grown into astonishing activity -before 1857. It worked admirably as a piece of machinery, -with the popular commendation that it restricted the bank -currency by enforcing prompt redemption, and saved the -merchants a heavy brokerage. It was a great convenience -in the first days of the panic, when private capital was -withdrawn from the purchase of currency, and when the -merchants, but for the redeeming banks, would have been -overburdened with unavailable notes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But the redemption system, like everything else that -was susceptible of abuse, was turned aside from its legitimate -purpose and made to answer a mischievous end. -The low rate at which the bills were taken in New York -accelerated their return <em>in bulk</em>, as a basis of exchange, or -for credit in account. Thus their distinctive character as -circulation was in a great measure destroyed. The cheap -redemption, so desirable in a common state of the market, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>became virtually a premium on the currency of New York. -The tendency, then, was to take it out of a healthful -circulation and throw it back to its source, whereby it -profited nobody so much as the stockholders of the express -companies. The country banks might keep their own bills -in a perpetual circulation, by exchanging them with each -other, and thus creating a trade in them. The same -packages were not unfrequently kept unopened in the -circuit, and reissued in bulk, as often as they were needed -to supply balances.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In a panicky time such redeeming banks must either put -more capital into the service or reject the bills. In 1857, -in spite of the best management, the currency circuit was -kept up; the bills of one bank were paid for the bills of -all the others.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Another evil arose from these banks. The credit given -to an unsecured currency by their indorsement gave it a -wide circulation, to the displacement of bills that were -based upon State and United States stocks. It was now -seen that this credit had no other basis than a current -deposit by the issuing bank, which deposit was in very -small proportion to its outstanding bills; and that the -redeeming bank was prompt to the hour in repudiating -those bills if the deposit was not maintained. This was a -fallacious credit, entirely independent of the separate -ability of the issuing banks. The general result was that -bills were <em>likely to fail in transit</em>, and they would not then -be admitted as a deposit, which would involve the rejection -of others. And so the row of bricks began to tumble -in both directions.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There was no incident of that panic that spread its -terrors abroad with such sure and rapid steps as the rejection, -by the redemption banks, of bills which they had -been accustomed to receive on deposit. If it had been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>possible to remove all other causes of excitement, that -alone would probably have involved the suspension of -specie payments. It filled all the shops of the country -with alarm. It created mobs in the savings banks, and -pushed forward the panic, by exciting the fears of the -multitude.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Example of France.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Professor Laughlin has the gall, as few of his confreres -have, to appeal to “the example of France,” after the -Prussian war of 1871, in not “interfering with her media -of exchange.” It is hard to tell whether his statement is -based upon impudence or ignorance. She interfered with -all the ideas of propriety entertained by his clique in a -way that has been secretly their despair ever since. Yet -hear his glorification of a scheme that cuts all the ground -from under him. He says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“France borrowed largely, collected large amounts of -capital by the creation of her national debt, and, on the -other hand, retained her circulating medium in so perfect -a condition that the moment the war was over she slipped -along smoothly upon the wheels of industrial success and -prosperity, without any derangement of her business. -And, during that time, she carried through one of the -most magnificent schemes of exchange, in the form of the -payment of indemnity, that has ever taken place in history. -She actually paid that foreign indemnity of the war to -Germany practically without deranging the rate of exchange -in France.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>He don’t tell how. Don’t tell that she flooded all the -avenues of trade with her paper money, and thus made her -goods so plenty and cheap that Germany bought them -instead of her own, and was then in turn nearly bankrupted; -so that France paid three quarters of the -“milliard” in French goods!</p> - -<p class='c006'>But hear the true story from Wendell Phillips, an -all-round, up-to-date reformer, whose motto <a id='corr330.36'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='was.'>was,</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_330.36'><ins class='correction' title='was.'>was,</ins></a></span> “Act in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>the living present.” When the monopolizers of black men -were beaten he turned to face the monopolizers of all men -and women. Here is his eloquent picture:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“France has just paid Germany one billion dollars. -Her chief cities have been sacked and plundered. -Humiliated by defeat, torn by civil dissensions, she -laughs, while all the rest of Christendom wade through -the mire of bankruptcy. Her ships are full busy, and -what little other nations do is in carrying to and fro her -manufactures. Her homes are happy, her streets crowded -with passing trains loaded with goods; all her mills hurrying -night and day to get even with her demand upon them. -Labor walks rejoicing and capital sleeps easy, fat with its -gains. What magician has done this? Paper money. -Like the rest of the nations, she ran to its protection -during the stress and strain of her German war. Unlike -and wiser than the rest of us, she has not hurried back to -coin. Wiser than we, she received the paper she offered -to others. This honesty has its reward. Her paper is, -to-day, more valuable than gold.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Among the great results of this policy were an abundance -of gold and silver coming from abroad, until -$1,200,000,000 was found to be in the country.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lest some may doubt the statement about the Germans -only getting a little gold for that indemnity, an extract is -here given from “Our Money Wars,” p. 152.</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Ivan C. Michels says: ‘The indemnity from France -to Germany, after the war of 1870-71, including interest at -five per cent. per annum, amounted to $1,060,209,015. -After crediting France with the value of certain railroads -in Alsace and Lorraine, the amount of <a id='corr331.32'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='indemity'>indemnity</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_331.32'><ins class='correction' title='indemity'>indemnity</ins></a></span> due Germany -was $998,172,069, or 4,990,860,349 francs, which was -paid by the French government through the Bank of -France. At my request the Bank of France furnished to -me several years ago the following statement as to the -mode of having paid said indemnity:</p> - -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='78%' /> -<col width='21%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c011'> </td> - <td class='c031'>Francs.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>In bank notes of the Bank of France</td> - <td class='c012'>125,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>In French gold coins</td> - <td class='c012'>273,003,050</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>In French silver coins</td> - <td class='c012'>239,291,875</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>In German bank notes</td> - <td class='c012'>105,039,045</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills of exchange drawn in thalers</td> - <td class='c012'>2,485,513,729</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on Frankfurt in florins</td> - <td class='c012'>235,128,152</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on Hamburg in marksbancs</td> - <td class='c012'>265,216,990</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on Berlin in reichsmarks</td> - <td class='c012'>79,072,309</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on Amsterdam in florins</td> - <td class='c012'>250,540,821</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on Antwerp and Brussels in francs</td> - <td class='c012'>295,704,546</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'>Bills drawn on London in pounds sterling</td> - <td class='c012'>637,349,832</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'> </td> - <td class='c012'>——————-</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c032'>Total francs</td> - <td class='c012'>4,990,860,349</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class='c006'>“‘The patriotic people of France raised the vast sum -by a loan in less than six months from the time the government -appealed to them. Germany expected to receive -for years to come five per cent. per annum on the indemnity -bonds; but the Bank of France, through the French -bankers, drew on Germany, England, Scotland and Belgium, -and in four months’ time the whole indemnity was -paid. Never in the history of the world has this financial -transaction been equaled, and I doubt that any other -banking institution could have succeeded so well as the -Bank of France. Germany expected the payment in gold -coin or bullion, having previously and purposely demonetized -silver. But the fact remains that actually in -gold only 273,003,050 francs, equal to $54,600,610, was -paid by the Bank of France, and that sum only left -France, was remelted in Germany and coined into reichsmarks. -England, with her gold standard, had to part with -her gold to the amount of 637,348,832 francs, equal to -$127,469,964. Bills of exchange on the German bankers -throughout the German empire, especially on Hamburg, -Berlin and Frankfurt, came to 3,064,901,180 francs, equal -to $612,986,236, nigh on two-thirds of the whole amount -of the indemnity. This magnificent stroke of finance on -the part of the Bank of France and the French bankers -came near ruining the leading German bankers; and -forty-one banking houses throughout the German empire -had to suspend temporarily, not being able to honor the -drafts made upon them. The extravagance of the German -people during the war of 1870-71 brought them into debt -to France for luxuries, wines, etc., to an enormous extent; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>and when the Bank of France purchased bills of exchange -from the French bankers, who drew on their German correspondents, -a panic ensued, and the Germans suffered -more than is generally supposed.’”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The above from Michels shows that he saw but dimly -what Phillips saw so plainly, that government paper -money, nourishing all industries, gave France that victory. -Michels catches a glimpse of the truth when he speaks of -luxuries, wines, etc.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To get a clear view of the French financial genius we -have to go back to 1848, when Louis Philippe abdicated -and the republic was founded amid great confusion. The -French have an instinct for finance far superior to anything -yet shown—by our rulers at least—in England and America. -“Paris,” says Victor Hugo, “is the city of the initiative.” -It is not afraid to start things. It is not, like Washington -and New York, always asking what London would do or -think. Taking Louis Blanc’s advice in 1848, it started -national work-shops to insure the employment of surplus -labor. Those did good for a time, but they were soon -perverted and destroyed by a treacherous Jew who got -hold of them.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Another new departure was more successful. “Besides -its regular financial operations,” says the London <cite>Times</cite> of -February 16, 1849, “the Bank of France made vast -advances to the city of Paris, to Marseilles, to the Department -of the Seine, and to the hospitals, amounting in all -to 260,000,000 francs. But even this was not all. To -enable the manufacturing interests to weather the storm, -at a moment when all sales were interrupted, a decree of -the National Assembly had directed warehouses to be -opened for the reception of all kinds of goods, and provided -that the registered invoices of these goods so deposited -should be made negotiable by indorsement. The -Bank of France discounted these receipts. In Havre -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>alone 18,000,000 francs was thus advanced upon colonial -products, and in Paris 14,000,000 on merchandise. In all -60,000,000 francs was thus made available for all the purposes -of trade. Thus the great institution had placed -itself, as it were, in direct contact with every interest of -the community, from the Minister of the Treasury down -to the trader in a distant part. Like a huge hydraulic -machine, it employed its colossal powers to <em>pump a fresh -stream into the exhausted arteries of trade</em>, to sustain credit -and preserve the circulation from complete collapse.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>How like “a grimacing dance of apes” our American -way of handling financial crises looks, in comparison with -the above.</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Bank of England.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>Prof. Laughlin showed the usual gold-bug worship of -British finance in this:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“In the Bank of England the first moment of stringency -the rate of discount is raised. That has the effect of preventing -all unnecessary loans. The borrower who has -good collateral will get the money if he is willing to pay -an increased rate. Our system is such that we can loan -until we come to the legal limit; and is deficient in that -respect, as we cannot loan at a greater discount because of -the iniquitous action of the usury laws. You can help a -customer by increasing the rate. Just at the moment of -the greatest stringency our American system is deficient.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Ordinary decorous language would fail to characterize -that infamous statement. The fact is that the British -system is utterly brutal. Our “iniquitous usury laws” -prevent a man from giving everything he has to the banks -in hard times. The British system is that of Jay Gould in -his gold corner of 1869. He settled with his debtors by -“taking all they had.” He was merciful, and forgave -them the balance; which is the usual stock exchange -style.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>In coin-paying eras corrupt governments and Shylocks -have debased coins to make them go further. In these -credit-mongering times they try to bring their coin basis -down to one metal, gold, and clamor for extreme fineness -of that, in order to make their inverted pyramid of credit -go further and sell dearer. The policy of Great Britain, -for instance, has been to make gold, its standard, so dear -and inaccessible to the foreigners and debtor class that -they would find the other commodities in the market -cheaper than the gold in the market, so that settlements in -other commodities would be preferable. The retention of -gold in the Bank of England, by raising discounts in -panicky times, though murderous (“kindness,” says Mr. -Laughlin) to individual active business men, is a necessary -factor in this piratical scheme, and the fulcrum upon -which England derricks into her treasure vaults the -plunder of the whole world. Business is made a lottery, -turning out dazzling prizes that keep merchants from -rebellion. Long-headed American Shylocks hope to see -the United States as much more successful in plundering -the globe, in this way, as our country is larger than -England.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Finally, as to Laughlin, with what bitter scorn this statement -from the “closet scholar” will be greeted by the -thousands of manufacturers who, during panics, have had -to shut their factories for lack of cash “to pay the -hands”—though they had all but gilt-edge collateral:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The monetary function has to do solely with exchanges -of goods; it hasn’t anything to do with their production.”</p> - -</div> - -<h4 class='c029'>The Washington “Currency Reformers.”</h4> - -<p class='c023'>In finishing this bird’s-eye view of the financial history -of this country, a brief review of the current financial plans -cannot well be avoided. It may be said of them, in a -general way, that no other set of robbers ever before -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>attempted to secure a law guaranteeing them unrestricted -right to plunder with unlimited government protection. -The out and out black-flag pirates, as represented by -Walker of Massachusetts, have a plan as simple and -explicit as a patent medicine. It runs thus: “Retire the -greenbacks, kill silver once for all, and let the bankers -manage the currency.” This obsolete idea, that banks -should issue money, is showing all the vim of a death -struggle. But a thousand columns of speeches in the -<cite>Congressional Globe</cite> on the safety of the national bank system -are answered by this solitary fact: In the year 1893, three -hundred and sixty banks west of the Alleghanies, owing -$125,000,000, went to smash, and about a dozen bankers -are now in prison or exile, while many more escaped as by -fire.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>The Baltimore Plan</span>, which a while ago had the sanction -of the Comptroller, Secretary of the Treasury and the -President, is, in a word, a scheme for issuing circulating -notes by both national and State banks, otherwise than -upon the pledge of government bonds as now. The banks -are to issue notes upon their own assets, supplemented by -a deposit of a certain amount of greenbacks, as a safety -and redemption fund. The theory of this plan is that -when any special demand for currency arises the banks -will make a special issue of notes to supply it; and that as -soon as this demand ceases the banks will retire the notes -it has called out. Thus the quantity of currency available -will, it is assumed, never be either deficient or excessive; -and there will never be at any point either a monetary -stringency or a monetary plethora. Were the function of -currency exclusively that of facilitating exchanges, such a -system (like that of 3-65 interconvertible bonds) might be -useful. But currency serves the additional purpose of -measuring the price of commodities; and since its relation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>to those commodities is determined by its volume, any -change of its volume changes its value also, and consequently -impairs its stability as a measure of prices.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Again, as to the State bank feature of the Baltimore -plan, the idea prevails extensively in the agricultural -districts of the West and South that the chief business of -a bank is to lend money to borrowers. That is why they -clamor for the removal of the ten per cent. tax on State -banks. An abundance of greenbacks and silver would do -away with most of the need of borrowing from banks. -That’s what’s the matter with the banks.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No further mention is needed here of the schemes of -Carlisle, Springer, Vest and others. They seem all dead -at this writing, and they certainly should be damned. -Even the New York <cite>Tribune</cite>, a monopolists’ own, says of -one of the safety-fund schemes:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The bankers are to have free issue; and when one fails -the government is to collect from the other banks and -redeem its currency. But in time of panic the government -would not and could not do that.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>On the other hand, the New York <cite>Sun</cite>, edited by a man -who was a radical socialist in his youth, and now a bitter, -hardened, cruel cynic, although lately a Greenback paper, -is as rabid as the New York <cite>Evening Post</cite> in advocacy of -gold and gold only. It says of the latest safety-fund -humbug:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The new bill, like the old one, authorizes an inflation -of our paper currency, by at least $550,000,000, without -providing for its redemption in gold, and without any -effectual provision for diminishing the volume of outstanding -legal tender. Our New York financial magnates, who -have put up, this year, $116,000,000 in gold, <em>to save the -treasury from suspending gold payments</em>, ought to bestir themselves -in opposition to this latest administration folly, if -they would not see all their efforts go for naught and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>catastrophe which they have labored to avert rendered -inevitable.” [!!]</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>In Chicago we have Lyman Gage’s plan. Mr. Gage is -a man of intellect who resembles some of those orthodox -clergymen who, by a long course of theological dissipation, -<em>i. e.</em>, reasoning from false premises, have impaired -their naturally fine faculties. Mr. Gage, if we must credit -him with sincerity, has come to the same condition by -financial dissipation. But his plan is not as vicious as -some. To furnish the needed foundation for national bank -circulation he would have the treasury issue $250,000,000 -of 2½ per cent. bonds, for which greenbacks or Sherman -notes should be paid. The money paid would not become -an asset of the government. It would be canceled, -destroyed, burned up. Of his scheme the Chicago <cite>Times</cite> -well says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Like other bankers, he thinks the chief end to be -sought is to relieve the government of the duty of issuing -the circulating medium of the country. Upon this point -we must note an emphatic disagreement with Mr. Gage, -and with the whole school of financiers of which he is a -type.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>A specimen of the demoralization and danger of the -times is seen in a recent statement of Senator Gorman, -that he and Quay had settled in their minds that a certain -government bond scheme, like that of Mr. Gage, in eight -items, including some about silver, was about the only -proposition that could pass the present Congress. No. 3 -among the eight items coolly dismisses the greenback -thus: “The legal tenders to be retired and canceled as -the bonds are put out.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>On the other hand, the Chicago <cite>Inter Ocean</cite>, which is -repenting of some of its financial sins, and remembering -what a good Greenback paper it was in 1878, says:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“One of the perils of the present financial situation is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>the disposition shown to reopen the greenback question. -It took fifteen years to fight the great battle. Secretary -McCulloch attempted to take snap judgment against legal-tender -notes, paying them off at a rapid rate. Illinois, -through one of its Congressmen, E. C. Ingersoll, stepped -in the very first day Congress convened after that payingoff -process had begun with a resolution which stopped it. -Then began the intriguing of the Eastern bankers to -destroy the greenbacks, and when the last decisive conflict -occurred Illinois was again in the leadership, G. L. Fort -being the especial champion of the greenback cause as -against both the contractionists and the expansionists. -There was a great victory. For half a generation the anti-greenbackers -have been quiescent. They have come to -the front again with this session of Congress. The knock-out -received in caucus Monday ought to satisfy them that -the greenback is here to stay. There never could be a -better money. It is good for its face the world over. In -that uttermost end of the earth, China or Japan, the United -States legal-tender note is good for its face value, and, -whatever changes are made, that part of our currency -should remain intact. Should the current of Congressional -events occasion a show of hands in the Republican party -on this question, no doubt an overwhelming majority -would say, as did the Democratic caucus, let the greenbacks -alone.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>An extraordinary scene in the House between Representatives -Hepburn and Hendrix so fairly illustrates the -muddled stupidity and impudence of the gold-bugs that it -deserves notice here as a sign of the situation. Mr. Hepburn -described Mr. Hendrix as a self-heralded national -banker, who came here with oracular utterances to tell the -House what to do. Mr. Hepburn said his self-laudation -was impaired by the recollection of his speech sixteen -months ago, when the same conditions existed. Mr. -Hendrix then found the panacea for all financial ills in the -repeal of the Sherman silver law.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Before describing this discussion, attention should be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>called to the fact that the panic of 1893 was immediately -brought on by the bankers because Secretary Carlisle -undertook to perform about the only good deed he has -ventured upon as Secretary, <em>i. e.</em>, to pay the Sherman -treasury notes according to the letter of the act of July 14, -1890, in silver, <em>just as France would have done</em>. Now mark -how Hendrix “opened his mouth and put his foot in it,” -and how, finally, Hepburn tripped him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Mr. Hendrix described at some length the process by -which the gold was withdrawn by speculators for shipment -abroad, and then proceeded to contrast this with the -situation in France, where the Bank of France refused to -pay, except where actually necessary, more than five per -cent. of gold on its demand obligations. These aggressions -on our gold reserve must be stopped, and if the pending -bill would stop them, afford relief, take the government -out of the banking business, as it has been taken out of -the silver business, he would vote for it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Does the action of the Bank of France, in refusing to -pay more than five per cent. in gold,” asked Mr. Hepburn, -“impair the credit of that bank?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Then would the credit of the United States be -impaired if the United States should exercise its discretion -and redeem the Sherman notes in silver?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yes, I believe it would at this time,” replied Mr. -Hendrix.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Because of the general distrust of the government’s -ability to pay in gold. One hundred and fifty-nine million -dollars of Sherman gold promises [?] to pay cannot be met -without gold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“But the notes are redeemable in coin, not in gold,” -was Mr. Hepburn’s parting shot.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>Mr. Hepburn declared that Mr. Hendrix had pointed -out unwittingly the remedy for the present evil when he -told the House that the great banking houses of Europe -exercised their discretion about depleting their gold vaults. -“Why will not the Secretary of the Treasury exercise the -same discretion?” he asked, amid a round of applause. -“The exercise of this discretion did not impair the credit -of European banks. Who dared to say that the credit of -this country, with 65,000,000 people behind it, and an -unlimited taxing power, would be impaired because it -refused to kneel at the demands of the Shylocks?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Why have not the Republican Secretaries of the -Treasury exercised that discretion?” asked Mr. Pence of -Colorado.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have not been Secretary of the Treasury,” replied -Mr. Hepburn hotly. “When I am I will answer. I am -as fully convinced, however, as I am that I am alive, that -if the Secretary of the Treasury were now to exercise his -discretion and pay gold when legitimate redemptions were -asked, and refuse it to sharks and speculators, the evils -from which we suffer would cease to be.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>A broader view is that the prime motive of the Secretary -in exercising his discretion should be the welfare of the -government; and gold should be refused where its payment -is likely to hurt the treasury.</p> - -<hr class='c033' /> - -<p class='c006'>In the foregoing pages we have attempted to give such a -bird’s-eye view of American money and finance as would -serve as an example and warning for the future. We -behold in this short story how our finances were continually -run upon the rocks and shoals of a false “political -economy,” so-called, and how they were occasionally -pulled off—though remaining most of the time stuck fast -in the most dismal way.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>As to the general aspects of the money question this is -added:</p> - -<p class='c006'>Our financial kings have kept two purposes in view. -<em>First</em>: To have our money issued by and for the special -use of private institutions called banks; and to have this -money scanty in quantity and of fluctuating value. <em>Second</em>: -To issue, foster and maintain, by all possible means, bonds -and other interest-bearing obligations, as the most convenient -means of transferring to the few the product of the -industry of the many.</p> - -<p class='c006'>To maintain these humbugs, they use learned language, -like doctors writing prescriptions in Latin. All the expert -handlers of money, stocks, etc., hate nothing so much as -that which is best for the other classes, viz., steady values. -Their delight is in ups and downs; and then, if speculators, -their effort is to be on the winning side. With -brokers, every change is profitable. With them it is: -“Heads I win, tails you lose.” Copernicus said of the -work of these traitors: “It is not by a blow, but little by -little, and through a secret and obscure approach, that it -destroys the state.” Further back in the ages Plato, -Lycurgus and Solon saw this most plainly.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The new American system of money is plainly and -briefly this: Abundant government fiat paper money—founded -upon the wealth and credit of a great, stable -nation; such money <a id='corr342.26'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='to to'>to</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_342.26'><ins class='correction' title='to to'>to</ins></a></span> be kept at a steady purchasing -power by the increase and decrease of its volume; and to -be quite void of intrinsic value, and quite free from particular -commodities as bases for the monetary units.</p> - -<p class='c006'>For the present we wish free coinage of gold and silver -at 16 to 1. The ultimate of gold and silver will probably -be free coinage for all who bring them to the mints, into -suitable coins stamped with their weight and fineness, and -returned to the owners to be used as they choose. And -<span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>no one will lie awake nights for fear the metals will go -abroad.</p> - -<p class='c006'>When we get that “honest” fiat paper dollar, nothing -will call for an extra session of Congress quicker than any -prospect of a change in its purchasing power, after we -have once got it to a generally satisfactory point, say about -the buying power of our dollar in 1866. While any kind -of a change, up or down, suits many gamblers and speculators, -the steady increase in the buying power of the -dollar, for thirty years past, has been destroying the producers -of this country and largely creating the pestiferous -breed of millionaires.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The bulk of our money wars have been crowded into -the past thirty years. We might call them “Our Thirty -Years’ War.” Its history has been utterly, wofully and -willfully misrepresented by such pseudo-historians as -Sumner of Yale and David A. Wells.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Those years nearly cover the great and little panics of -1837, ’47, ’57, ’60, ’73, ’84, ’85, ’90 and ’93. Vast tomes -might be written concerning the manifold causes. One -cause has always been foremost in them—scarcity of legal-tender -money.</p> - -<p class='c006'>At times our rulers have tried to deceive us by a great -show of abundant currency. Such were the fifteen kinds -of money thrust upon the nation to confuse it during the -civil war, by McCulloch and Sherman.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Why need we here repeat the many-times-told tales of -the craft of the national banks, demonetization of silver, -the mystery and raised value of gold, Rothschild tricks, -the control of our finances and politics by Europe, and the -gradual merging of the gold Democrats and Republicans -into practically one party?</p> - -<p class='c006'>The bankers’ rebellion of 1881, which conquered President -Hayes. The whirling of stock values up two billions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>then and down again in 1883. The deluge of trusts and -syndicates in full tide in 1887. The bogus silver bill of -1890. Cleveland’s object-lesson of ruin and misery in -1893. The counting out of victorious Bryan in 1896. -And now the ghostly attempt to bring prosperity by tariff -bills and Lyman Gage “currency reform,” while millions -of deceived, disappointed, dazed, discouraged, almost -maddened Americans suffer all the tortures of poverty.</p> - -<p class='c006'>And the end is not yet.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-088.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span> - <h3 class='c015'>IV. <br /> THE EIGHT MONEY CONSPIRACIES.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c028'>“When I stand in the United States Treasury, I stand on -English soil.”—<span class='sc'>Nathaniel P. Banks.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>“HUGH McCULLOCH hamstrung the whole nation. -His management of the finances, while -it enriched him and made him a great London -banker, has cost the American people more than the war -did.” These words were uttered by Hon. William D. -Kelley, and they are true as gospel. They would be -equally true if the name of John Sherman were substituted -for that of Hugh McCulloch.</p> - -<p class='c006'>That the constant aim and object of the manipulators of -our financial legislation since the war has been to contract -the currency and to burden the people with interest-bearing -debt, thereby enriching the usurers and impoverishing -the producing classes, is evidenced in the following brief -summary of the eight principal enactments affecting money -which passed Congress since 1861:</p> - -<p class='c006'>1. <b>The Exception Clause.</b> (Feb. 25, 1862.) In 1861 -and 1862 demand treasury notes to the amount of $60,000,000 -were issued by the government and made legal-tender -money for all debts, public and private—equal to coin. -Wall Street could not gamble in legal-tender paper money; -so, as soon as the legal-tender act passed the House and -was sent to the Senate, the Shylocks placed on the greenback -what is known as the “exception clause”—“Except -duties on imports and interest on the public debt.” This -practically demonetized the United States treasury note, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>and cost the producing classes millions of dollars. The -greenback “went down,” or, more correctly speaking, gold -“went up,” until $1 in paper money was valued at only -37 cents when <a id='corr346.4'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='campared'>compared</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_346.4'><ins class='correction' title='campared'>compared</ins></a></span> with gold. John Sherman said: -“We purposely depreciated the greenback, to get sale for -our bonds.” He was willing to destroy the people’s money -to appease the greed of gold gamblers at home and abroad.</p> - -<p class='c006'>2. <b>The National Bank Act.</b> (Feb. 25, 1863.) This -scheme was introduced in the Senate and advocated by -John Sherman in the interest of bondholders and capitalists, -just one year after legal-tender notes were authorized -by law, and before sufficient time had been given to test -their utility. The express object was to have the bank -notes supersede the legal-tender notes, after the investment -of legal tenders in bonds.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I look upon the national bank, as now recognized by -law,” says Myers in his “Money, Its History and Functions,” -“as one of the most gigantic schemes for robbing -the people ever devised by man. I cannot conceive of a -single reason for perpetuating the system one day beyond -the time required to settle its affairs. The national banks -of this country have cost the people, in thirty years of -their existence, over $6,000,000,000. The credit which -the banker sells at from 7 to 15 per cent. costs him only -1 per cent. on actual circulation; hence it is virtually a -present to him. He draws interest on this credit; on what -he himself owes. His note is not money, nor is it in any -sense a legal tender between man and man. It is simply a -‘promise to pay.’ The banker <em>lends his credit</em>, with which -he has supplied himself by gift from the government, and -the borrower <em>pledges his wealth</em>; the banker being far more -secure than the holder of the banker’s paper. The banker -takes pay for something he does not furnish; for the capital -(wealth) is furnished by the borrower. So the banker -<span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>gets something for nothing, and the borrower pays for that -which he never receives.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Banks are run on the deposits, rather than on any capital -the banker himself may have. The patrons of the bank -furnish the capital, and also the security. The banker -lends other people’s money to other people; on this he -draws interest; he conducts his business on <em>your</em> money -and <em>his</em> credit, which <em>you</em> furnish him.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now, if the government can afford to let the banker have -<em>credit</em> at 1 per cent. on actual circulation, why can’t the -treasury supply all the people with legal-tender money at -the same rate? Why not issue the money direct to the -people and then pay interest into the United States treasury, -instead of into the coffers of corporate institutions? -National banks are expensive luxuries which we don’t -need. So let the people unite in demanding their abolition -at once, and then institute in their stead United States -banks, sub-treasuries if you please, backed by all the -people, and hence absolutely safe. This would make a -government for the <em>people</em>, instead of for the corporations. -Let us do business on the credit of the people—on the -credit of the government; not, as we are now doing, on -the credit of banks and bankers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>3. <b>The Funding Act.</b> (April 12, 1866.) Commonly -called contraction. This law authorized the Secretary of -the Treasury to retire the legal-tender notes by investing -them in 6 per cent. bonds. Contraction continued until -some $1,500,000,000 were destroyed, and a corresponding -amount of 6 per cent. bonds issued. The treasury notes, -or legal tenders, were nearly all non-interest-bearing. -This reduction of the currency was an outrage upon -the people. The volume should have been increased -to keep pace with an increasing population. But Shylock -must have interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>4. <b>The Credit-Strengthening Act.</b> (March 18, 1869.) -This law provided that the legal-tender treasury notes -be paid in coin, as also all interest-bearing obligations -of the government. Prior to the passage of this law -public obligations had been payable <em>in the lawful money</em> of -the country; the greenback was lawful money, redeemable -the same as gold and silver coin, except duties on imports -and interest on the public debt. The credit of the nation -was good, and needed no strengthening. The war was -over, and the country was prosperous and the people contented. -Why, then, add another burden?</p> - -<p class='c006'>5. <b>An Act Refunding the Public Debt.</b> (July 14, -1870.) This act authorized the issue and sale of $1,500,000,000 -United States bonds, to refund 5-20 bonds and -make them conform to the law of 1860. To fund means to -put public <a id='corr348.16'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='obligatious'>obligations</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_348.16'><ins class='correction' title='obligatious'>obligations</ins></a></span> into stocks and securities, making -them interest-bearing.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The public debt should have been paid, as at first provided, -in the lawful currency of the country, gold, silver -and treasury notes. The law of 1869 added $500,000,000 -to the 5-20 bonds, by making them payable in <em>coin</em>; then -to refund the bonds, just to please English Shylocks, -is villainy unnamed and <a id='corr348.23'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='unnamable'>unnameable</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_348.23'><ins class='correction' title='unnamable'>unnameable</ins></a></span>.</p> - -<p class='c006'>6. <b>The Demonetization of Silver.</b> (Feb. 12, 1873.) -The act of 1869 had made all public obligations payable in -coin, gold or silver; while the act of 1873, clandestinely -passed, by omitting the silver dollar from the list of coins -enumerated, practically demonetized silver, making the -public debt, interest and all, as well as the paper currency, -payable in gold coin—a further contraction of the volume of -currency.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The silver dollar was created by the Congress of the -United States on April 2, 1792, and made the unit of value. -It contains 412½ grains of standard silver, nine parts pure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>silver, one part alloy. At that time the mints of all the -principal nations of the world were open to the free coinage -of both gold and silver. That is, all of such metal -presented to the mints could be converted into money -without any charge except the actual cost of coining. The -ratio then was about 15½ to 1; that is, one ounce of gold -was equal to 15½ ounces of silver. January 18, 1837, the -ratio between gold and silver coins of the United States -was changed to 15.988 to 1, commonly referred to as -16 to 1.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The act demonetizing silver was understood by few, and, -in fact, many of those who voted for it, and President Grant, -who signed the bill, were unaware of its actual meaning and -effect. The money speculators of England, backed by -cupidity and ignorance on this side, were its real instigators. -There was every reason in the world why England should -desire the demonetization of silver here. She is a creditor -nation, and her capitalists hold vast amounts in government -and other securities abroad. From this country alone the -capitalists of Great Britain derive each year more than five -hundred millions of dollars for interest on their investments, -all of which is paid in gold or its equivalent. The -United States produces an enormous quantity of silver, -but we very humbly <a id='corr349.24'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='sibmit'>submit</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_349.24'><ins class='correction' title='sibmit'>submit</ins></a></span> to the gold standard as set up -by Great Britain. We deny ourselves the right to use a -metal of which we have an abundance and adopt one more -scarce and, consequently, more expensive. By this policy -we are forced to purchase gold abroad, thus adding constantly -to the burden of a perpetual, interest-bearing -national debt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>By accomplishing the demonetization of silver in this -country, England gained a double victory, for the governments -of the Latin Union, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland -and Greece, were soon afterward forced to suspend -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>silver coinage. The gain to England and the loss to the -other countries involved, especially to the United States, -by this general demonetization of silver, can hardly be -estimated. The loss, of course, was the heaviest in this -country, where the production of silver is very large, -where so many are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and -where a large and freely circulating volume of money is so -essential to commercial activity.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Before silver was demonetized, we were under the burden -of an enormous national debt, but every dollar of this was -payable in silver. The stimulated demand for gold, and, -consequently, its increase in value, was not the only gain -to England. She now buys our cheap silver bullion, -exchanges it at its coinage value for products in the silver-using -countries of Asia, Africa and South America, and -nets a profit of over one hundred per cent. by the transaction. -We then buy from her at gold prices and pay with -gold or products at prices which, by forcing us into competition -with the world, England fixes herself.</p> - -<p class='c006'>7. <b>The Resumption of Specie Payment.</b> (January -14, 1875.) This law provided for the retirement of the -fractional currency ($45,000,000) and the legal-tender -treasury notes, their places to be supplied by national -bank notes, which are not a legal tender between man and -man. The name “specie payment” is simply a blind; it -does not mean anything; to get rid of the much despised -greenback was the real object of the act. The moneyed -aristocracy had long ago confessed their inability to “control” -the “greenback as it is called.” Had the provisions -of this law been carried out, it would have added to our -annual interest charge about twenty millions of dollars.</p> - -<p class='c006'>8. <b>The Sherman Purchasing Clause.</b> (July 14, 1890.) -This act was a miserable makeshift or substitute for a free -coinage bill. It provided for the purchase of not less -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>than 2,000,000 nor more than 4,500,000 ounces of silver -bullion per month, 2,000,000 ounces of which was to be -coined each month into silver dollars until July 1, 1891. -Instead of redeeming the treasury notes issued in the purchase -of silver with their equivalent in silver, upon the -demand of the holder, the Secretary of the Treasury was -required to redeem these notes in gold or silver coin at his -discretion. The legal-tender power of the silver dollar -was modified so as to read: “Except otherwise expressly -stipulated in the contract.” In 1893 President Cleveland -called Congress together in extraordinary session to consider -the financial condition of the country. November 1, -1893, the Sherman law was repealed, leaving us on a single -gold basis.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-199.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span> - <h3 class='c015'>V. <br /> FINANCIAL AUTHORITIES.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c028'>“Above all things good policy is to be used, that the treasures -and money of the state be not gathered into a few hands; for, -otherwise, a state may have great stock and yet starve. And -money is like muck, not good unless spread. This is done by suppressing, -or at least keeping a strait hand upon the devouring trade -of usury, engrossing, great pasturages and the like.”—<span class='sc'>Bacon.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE following is a carefully prepared collection of -quotations from the writings and speeches of eminent -statesmen, jurists, financiers and economists, -ancient and modern, foreign and American. It will be -found not only interesting and instructive to the casual -reader, but of extreme value to the student for reference:</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Alexander Hamilton</cite> (report on the mint, 1791): “To -annul the use of either of the metals as money is to abridge -the quantity of the circulating medium. It is liable to all -the objections that arise from a comparison of the benefits -of a full with the evils of a scanty circulation.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Benjamin Franklin</cite>, April 3, 1792 (Jared Sparks, page -255): “Want of money in a country reduces the price of -that part of its products which is used in trade. A plentiful -currency will occasion the trading produce to bear a -good price.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Page 185 of his autobiography (speaking of his pamphlet -on “The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency,” -for the purpose of increasing the circulation): “It was -well received by the common people in general, but the -rich men disliked it, for it increased as well as strengthened -the clamor for more money. The utility of this currency -by experience became so evident as never to be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>much disputed, so that it grew soon to be £55,000, and -in 1879 to £80,000, since which it rose to £350,000, -trade, buildings and inhabitants all the while increasing.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Daniel Webster</cite>: “A contraction of the currency, even -if not sudden, contracts business, discourages enterprise -and restrains the commercial spirit. A sudden contraction -aggravates these circumstances.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Henry Clay</cite> (debate on the sub-treasury, 1840): “The -proposed substitution of an exclusive metallic currency to -the medium with which we have been so long familiar is -forbidden by the principles of eternal justice. Assuming -the currency of the country to consist of two-thirds paper -and one of specie, and assuming, also, that the money of -a country, whatever may be its component parts, regulates -all values, and expresses the true amount which the debtor -has to pay his creditor, the effect of the change upon that -relation, and upon the property of the country, would be -most ruinous. All property would be reduced in value to -one-third of its present nominal amount, and every debtor -would, in effect, have to pay three times as much as he -had contracted for. The pressure of our foreign debt -would be three times as great as it is, while the six -hundred millions, which is about the sum now probably -due to the banks from the people, would be multiplied to -eighteen hundred millions!... A man, for example, -owning property to the value of $5,000, contracts a debt -of $5,000. By the reduction of one-half of the currency -of the country, his property in effect becomes reduced to -the value of $2,500. But his debt undergoes no corresponding -reduction.... But if the effect of this hard -money policy upon the debtor class be injurious, it is still -more disastrous, if possible, on the laboring classes.... -Of all the subjects of national policy, not one ought to be -touched with so much delicacy as that of the wages—in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>other words, the bread—of the poor man. In dwelling, as -I have often done, with inexpressible satisfaction, upon the -many advantages of our country, there is not one that has -given me more delight than the high price of manual -labor. There is not one which indicates more clearly the -prosperity of the mass of the community....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The revulsions of 1837 produced a far greater havoc than -was experienced in the period above mentioned. The ruin -came quick and fearful. There were few that could save -themselves. Property of every description was parted -with at sacrifices that were astounding, and as for the currency, -there was scarcely any at all. In some parts of the -interior of Pennsylvania the people were obliged to divide -bank notes into halves, quarters, eighths, and so on, and -agree from necessity to use them as money. In Ohio, -with all her abundance, it was hard to get money to pay -taxes. The sheriff of Muskingum County, as stated in the -Guernsey <cite>Times</cite>, in the summer of 1842, sold at auction -one four-horse wagon at $5.50; ten hogs at 6¼ cents each; -two horses (said to be worth from $50 to $75 each) at $2 -each; two cows at $1 each; a barrel of sugar at $1.50, -and a store of goods at that rate. In Pike County, Missouri, -as stated by the Hannibal <cite>Journal</cite>, the sheriff sold three -horses at $1.50 each; one large ox at 12½ cents; five -cows, two steers and one calf, the lot at $3.25; twenty sheep -at 13½ cents each; twenty-four hogs for 25 cents for the -lot; one eight-day clock at $2.50; a lot of tobacco, seven -or eight hogsheads, at $5; three stacks of hay at 25 cents -each.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Horace Greeley</cite> (“Political Economy,” page 65): “They -[false economists] assume that if half the money in a -country leaves it for goods imported, the residue will perform -the functions previously devolved on the whole, save -only that there will be a general reduction of prices. I, on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>the contrary, issue an appeal to the experience of mankind -to sustain me that in such cases the remainder, so far -from subserving the end formerly answered by the larger -volume of currency, will not even subserve half of it, for -it will all but cease to circulate at all.... In its absence -the people will quite generally be driven back to barter, a -discouragement of industry and a long stride on the downward -road to barbarism.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Treasurer Spinner</cite> (that portion of his report for December, -1873, which was suppressed by President Grant): -“When ... legitimate money becomes more and more -abundant, credits are asked for and given on shorter and -shorter time, until the time comes when there is money -sufficient to transact all the legitimate business and to -effect all necessary exchanges of the merchantable commodities -of the country; then private credits will be -almost entirely unknown, as will commercial revulsions -and consequent panics.... Inflation can only be when -the people are excessively in debt. Such is not the -position when money is plentiful; for when money is -plentiful people get out of debt and acquire habits of -promptness, punctuality, and pay as they go.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>George S. Coe</cite> (“Financial History of the War”): “As -the war progressed and the country became poorer, the -currency increased. It is strange that all other property -was eagerly sought for in preference to this, and that -prodigal expenditure became the law of the land.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Report of George S. Coe, John J. Knox, James Harsen -Rhoades and W. P. St. John</cite> (committee of New York -Chamber of Commerce, 1891): “The enlarged volume [of -legal-tender money], besides disturbing the equitable -relations of men to each other, at once adjusts itself to the -prices of all commodities and relatively enhances their -cost, so as to absorb at once whatever advances their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>cost.... This is why thoughtful men see in any issue of -legal-tender notes the way to inevitable destruction.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Robert G. Ingersoll</cite>: “We have passed through a period -of wonderful and unprecedented inflation. For years every -kind of business has been pressed to the very sky line. A -wave of wealth swept over the United States. Tatters -became garments and garments became robes. Walls -were covered with pictures, floors with carpets, and for -the first time in the history of the world the poor tasted -all the luxuries of wealth. But monopoly changed that -paradise into hell by creating a money famine.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John J. Ingalls</cite>: “No people in a great emergency ever -found a faithful ally in gold. It is the most cowardly and -treacherous of all metals. It makes no treaty it does not -break; it has no friend it does not sooner or later betray. -In times of panic and calamity, shipwreck and disaster, it -becomes the agent and minister of ruin. No nation ever -fought a great war by the aid of gold. In the crisis of the -greatest peril it becomes an enemy more potent than the -foe in the field.... In our own civil war it is doubtful if -the gold of New York and London did not work us greater -injury than the powder and lead and iron of the rebels. -It was the most invincible enemy of the public credit. It -was in open alliance with our enemies the world over, and -all its energies were evoked for our destruction. But, as -usual, when danger has been averted and the victory -secured, gold swaggers to the front and asserts supremacy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Hugh McCulloch</cite>, Secretary of the Treasury (1866): “The -process of contracting the circulation of the government -notes should go on just as rapidly as possible without producing -a financial crash.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John A. Logan</cite> (Feb. 17, 1874): “You may theorize and -argue to the farmers until you are hoarse, and you will fail -to get them to prefer low prices to high ones for their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>products.... The people have and do realize that their -most prosperous times were when currency was the most -plentiful....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I can see the people of our Western States, who are -producers, reduced to the condition of serfs to pay interest -on public and private debts to the money sharks of Wall -Street, New York, and of Threadneedle <a id='corr357.7'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Steet'>Street</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_357.7'><ins class='correction' title='Steet'>Street</ins></a></span> in London, -England. And this will be accomplished by withdrawing -the treasury notes from circulation, and destroying them -until the banks can control the entire volume of money.... -It was the contraction and increased want of currency, -and not a superabundance, which produced the necessity -for running in debt.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Falling prices and misery and destruction are inseparable -companions. The disasters of the dark ages were -caused by decreasing money and falling prices. With the -increase of money labor and industry gain new life.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I can see benefit only to the money-holders and those -who receive interest and have fixed incomes. I can see, -as a result of this legislation, our business operations -crippled and wages for labor reduced to a mere pittance. -I can see the beautiful prairies of my own State and of the -great West, which are blooming as gardens, with cheerful -homes rising like white towers along the pathway of -improvement, again sinking back to idleness. I can see -mortgage fiends at their hellish work. I can see the hopes -of the industrious farmers blasted as they burn corn for -fuel, because its price will not pay the cost of transportation -and dividends on millions of dollars of fictitious railway -stocks and bonds.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Preston B. Plumb</cite> (Senate, April, 1880): “The contraction -of the currency by 5 per cent. of its volume means -the depreciation of the property of the country three -billions of dollars.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span><cite>The Chicago Tribune</cite> (1878): “Straight along for four -and a half years the dollar has grown dearer and larger, -the debts heavier and harder to pay, and the value of -property has withered; business has been done at a continual -loss. Real estate—lands, lots and improvements, -the foundation of all wealth—has gone down year after -year in value, while the mortgages have devoured it, wiping -out equities and all that had been paid thereon, and -annihilating multitudes of fortunes.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>President Grant</cite> (message, 1870): “Immediate resumption, -if practicable, is not desirable. It would compel the -debtor class to pay beyond their contracts the premium on -gold at the date of their purchase and would bring bankruptcy -and ruin to thousands.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Message of 1873: “The experience of the present -panic has proven that the currency of the country, based -as it is upon its credit, is the best that has ever been -devised.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“To increase our exports, sufficient currency is required -to keep all the industries of the country employed. -Without this, national as well as individual bankruptcy -must ensue....</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Prices keep pace with the volume of money.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John Sherman</cite> (1869): “The contraction of the currency -is a far more distressing thing than Senators suppose. -Our own and other nations have gone through that -process before. It is not possible to take that voyage -without the sorest distress. To every person except a -capitalist out of debt it is a period of loss, of danger, -lassitude of trade, fall of wages, suspension of enterprise, -bankruptcy and disaster.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>William D. Kelley</cite> (House of Representatives, Jan. 3, -1867): “The experiment [on contracting the currency], -if attempted as a means of hastening specie payments, will -<span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>prove a failure, but not a harmless one. It will be fatal to -the prospects of a majority of the business men of this -generation, and strip the frugal laboring people of the -country of the small but hard-earned sums they have -deposited in savings banks. It will make money scarce -and employment uncertain. It will increase the purchasing -power of money, and by thus unsettling values will -paralyze trade, suspend production and deprive industry of -employment. It will make the money of the rich man -more valuable and deprive the poor man of his entire -capital, the value of his labor, by depriving him of employment. -Its final effect will be widespread bankruptcy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Toledo Blade</cite> (May 17, 1877): “In financial crises the -thing men want is money; that which everybody must -receive in payment of debt or forever thereafter forego all -claim of interest thereon. What men want in such seasons -of panic and distress is that which will pay a note in a -bank, will meet the exactions of government, will avert -the sacrifice of homestead, warehouse or other property by -sheriff’s or marshal’s sale; which, being money, will, when -tendered in payment, arrest such proceedings.... The -existence and inflexibility of the law are indisputable. If -the volume of money is increased creditors complain that -the prices of commodities are further enhanced.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>George William Curtis</cite> (<cite>Harper’s Weekly</cite>, July, 1877): -“There can be no doubt that as the volume of money -decreases the purchasing power increases.... It is -unquestionably true that it is a maxim of money that the -increase of its volume decreases and the decrease increases -the purchasing power of the unit.... It may be a fair -question whether the demonetization of silver did not -increase the value of gold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Thomas Ewing</cite> (November 22, 1877): “No greater -wrong can be inflicted on the people by government than -<span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>a contraction of the volume of the currency. The prices -of commodities, whether land, product or labor, are determined -absolutely by the effective volume of the currency. -An increase of the volume raises the price of commodities.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>James G. Blaine</cite> (House, February 7, 1878): “The -destruction of silver as money and establishing gold as the -sole unit of value must have a ruinous effect on all forms of -property except those investments which yield a fixed -return in money. These would gain an unfair advantage -over other species of property.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>James A. Garfield</cite> (1880): “Whoever controls the volume -of currency is absolute master of the industry and -commerce of the country.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Senator Mills</cite>, of Texas (House, February 3, 1886): “But -the crime that is now sought to be perpetrated on more -than fifty millions of people comes neither from the camp -of a conqueror, the hand of a foreigner, nor the altar of -an idolator. It comes from the cold, phlegmatic marble -heart of avarice—avarice that seeks to paralyze labor, -increase the burden of debt, and fill the land with destitution -and suffering to gratify the lust for gold—avarice surrounded -by every comfort that wealth can command, and -rich enough to satisfy every want save that which refuses -to be satisfied without the suffocation and strangulation of -all the labor of the land. With a forehead that refuses to -be ashamed it demands of Congress an act that will -paralyze all the forces of production, shut out labor from -all employment, increase the burden of debts and taxation, -and send desolation and suffering to all the homes of the -poor.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Leland Stanford</cite> (Senate, March 10, 1890): “An abundance -of money means universal activity, bringing in its -train all the blessings that belong to a constantly employed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>industrious, intelligent people.... Abundant and cheap -money places the power in the hands of the industrious.... -Cheap and abundant money means co-operation of -labor to an extent hitherto unknown.... Would go -far towards aiding his [labor’s] intelligence, toward realizing -his highest destiny. It seems to me that the -great thought of humanity should be how to advance the -great multitude of toilers, increase their power of production -and elevate their condition.... To me one of -the most effective means of placing at man’s disposal -the force inherent in the value of property is through -furnishing a bountiful supply of money.... If money -were suddenly annihilated from all business affairs there -would be a general suspension of business all over the -country. It is the duty of statesmen to furnish the means, -if possible, to find out the way by which the Creator’s -design for the highest advance of civilization is to be -obtained. Want, discomfort and misery are not necessarily -the heritage of the industrious and provident man. -So far as I can ascertain, no government has ever attempted -to furnish an adequate supply of money or establish any -standard by which its want could be ascertained.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John G. Carlisle</cite> (in the House, February 21, 1878): -“According to my views of the subject the conspiracy -which seems to have been formed here and in Europe to -destroy by legislation and otherwise from three-sevenths to -one-half the metallic money of the world is the most -gigantic crime of this or any other age. The consummation -of such a scheme would ultimately entail more misery -upon the human race than all the wars, pestilences and -famines that ever occurred in the history of the world. -The absolute and instantaneous destruction of half the -entire movable property of the world, including houses, -ships, railroads and other appliances for carrying on commerce, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>while it would be felt more sensibly at the moment, -would not produce anything like the prolonged distress -and disorganization of society that must inevitably result -from the permanent annihilation of one-half the metallic -money of the world.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John G. Carlisle</cite> (speaking for the Bland bill, 1878): “It -will reverse the grinding process that has been going on -for the last few years. Instead of constant and ruthless -contraction, instead of constant appreciation of money -and depreciation of property, we will have expansion to the -extent of at least $2,000,000 a month, and under its influence -the exchangeable value of commodities, including -labor, will soon begin to rise, thus inviting investments, -infusing life into the dead industries of the country, -and quickening the pulsations of trade in all its departments.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Secretary Windom</cite> (Jan. 31, 1891): “The ideal financial -system would be one that should furnish just enough absolutely -sound money to meet the legitimate wants of trade, -and no more. Had it not been for the peculiar condition -which enabled the United States to disburse over seventy-five -million dollars in about two and a half months last -autumn, I am firmly convinced that the stringency in -August and September would have resulted in widespread -financial ruin.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Chauncey M. Depew</cite>: “Fifty men can paralyze the whole -country, for they can control the circulation of the currency, -and create panic whenever they will.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Hon. G. G. Symes</cite>, of Colorado (commenting on the -demonetization of silver): “There would be truly enough -money to do the business after the shrinkage of prices and -the financial disasters. For the new order of things and -basis of values there would still be gold enough to carry on -the business. It would only require one-half after the new -<span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>condition and basis was reached. The monometallists, -then, would still argue that gold was not scarce.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Henry Clews</cite>, Wall Street financier (March 16, 1895): -“Wall Street keeps a quick eye upon the prospects of the -suggested international silver conference. It sees in the -adoption of a world-wide policy of bimetallism the certainty -of a material increase in the metallic money of the commercial -nations, and assumes that, in such case, there would be -a general rise in values and a consequent speculative -boom of wide dimensions.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Franklin H. Head</cite>, of Chicago (business man): “That -an increase in the quantity of money reduces prices, and a -diminution lowers them, as stated by Mill and other -economic writers, is the most elementary proposition in the -theory of currency, and without it we should have no key -to any of the others.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Amasa Walker</cite>, of Massachusetts: “Other things being -equal, the amount of currency in circulation determines the -prices of everything that is for sale; and these are increased -or diminished as the volume of the currency is increased or -diminished.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>A. B. Hepburn</cite>, of the United States Treasury (<cite>Forum</cite>, -1894): “When credit is withheld a money stringency is -easily created.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Prof. William G. Sumner</cite>, of Yale (“History of American -Currency,” page 205): “In 1872 this issue was forced out -of between forty and fifty million, reducing a redundancy -and enhancing retail prices.” Page 211: “The war being -ended, the financial question took this form: ‘Shall we -withdraw the paper, recover specie, reduce prices, lessen -imports and live economically until we have made up the -waste and loss of war? Or shall we keep paper as money?’ -Mr. McCulloch proposed to contract inflated paper and -pursue the former alternative.” Page 221: “The whole -<span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>story goes to show that the value of paper currency depends -upon its amount.” Page 329: “If, therefore, a nation -has a specie currency, a drain upon it by an adverse -balance of trade, a foreign payment, or any other similar -cause, would immediately produce a lowering of prices and -a return of current specie until the natural level was once -more restored.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Prof. Francis A. Walker</cite>, Yale (“Money,” page 57): -“The value of money in any country is determined by the -quantity existing. Its power of acquisition depends not -upon its substance, but upon its quantity.... That prices -will fall or rise as the volume of money be increased or -diminished is a law that is unalterable as any law of -nature.” Page 210: “Gold and silver undergo great -changes of value and become in a high degree deceptive. -Prof. Jevons estimates that the value of gold fell, between -1789 and 1809, 45 per cent.; from 1809 to 1849 it rose 145 -per cent., while in the twenty years after 1849 it fell again -at least 30 per cent.... When the process of contraction -commences the first class on which it falls is the merchants -of the large cities; they find it difficult to get money -to pay their debts. The next class is the manufacturer; -the sale of his goods at once falls off. Laborers and -mechanics next feel the pressure; they are thrown out of -employment. And lastly the farmer finds a dull sale for -his produce.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Robert Ellis Thompson</cite>, M. A., University of Pennsylvania -(“Political Economy,” page 151): “The influx of money -into a progressive country is one of the most powerful -promoters and increasers of production. When it is plenty -all sorts of productive work is stimulated. Labor is the -master of capital, and industrial enterprise gains a more -than proportionally large return for its outlay.” Page -209: “The possession of a large quantity of money -<span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>enables any country to organize its industries upon such a -scale as to carry its division of labor to such perfection as -will bring down the prices of all the products of industry, -while affording a larger return to both capitalist and -laborer. It therefore makes such a country a cheap place -to buy in, mainly because of that accumulation of money -which was to make everything dear.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Professor Thompson</cite> (“Political Economy”) quotes -Thomas Tooke, page 208: “If money has increased, -industry and trade are increased.... If iron and cotton -are scarce, those who need them suffer by the scarcity, but -it has no effect upon the prices of other materials. If, on -the other hand, money is scarce, the price of everything -else is affected. Every one must make exchanges, just as -when the water falls in the rivers traffic is interrupted -because the vessels are aground.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Professor Francis Bowen</cite>, Harvard (“American Political -Economy,” page 280): “The whole process of exchange -may be compared to the process of weighing a well-poised -balance, the money and the merchandise being placed on -the opposite arms of the lever. Increase the weight on the -money side, and the merchandise is sure to rise.” Page -281: “The equalization of money is but another name -for the equalization of prices.” Page 244: “The probability -of the notes being redeemed at some future day, -more or less remote, is not the cause even of the depreciation -in the value of paper money, ... but solely on the -relative amount of the currency compared with the needs -of business. How great are these needs? Commerce needs -money or currency enough to enable it to perform its -peculiar function; that is, to make the prices of commodities -in the home market equal or as nearly equal as possible -to the prices of the same commodities in foreign markets.” -Page 245: “If there is only $100 to buy flour with, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span>only ten barrels of flour offered for sale, the competition of -buyers and sellers must fix the price at $10 a barrel. If -there was twice as much flour, the number of dollars being -the same, the price must be reduced to $5. On the other -hand, double the quantity of money; there would be $200 -available for this purpose, and, as at first, only ten barrels -to be sold; the price would rise to $20 a barrel.” Page -301: “The general principle is that the value of money -falls in precisely the same ratio in which its quantity is -increased. If the whole quantity of money in circulation -was doubled, prices would be doubled; if it was only -increased one-fourth, prices would rise one-fourth.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>President Steel</cite>, Lawrence University: “The conventional -unit of lineal measure must not be a line which -averages a foot, though it may be fourteen inches to-day -and nine inches to-morrow; for the same reason it is -desirable that the unit of value should have the same purchasing -power next week as it has now.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Prof. Francis Wayland</cite> (“Elements of Political Economy,” -page 297): “If there is more money in a country than is -needed for its exchanges, the price of goods is raised and -it is sent abroad for new purchases. If there is a scarcity -of money in a country, the price of goods declines, and -money comes in from other lands to be exchanged for -them.” Page 298: “If money is abundant because -business is stagnant and exchanges are few, it is a sign of -adversity rather than of prosperity.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Edwards Pierpont</cite> (<cite>North American Review</cite>): “When -currency is small it is always easy for a few lords of corporations -and rich money-lenders to combine and lock it up, -and thus throw down the price of stocks, wheat, cotton -and other commodities, and work a corner on the currency. -Thus the market is made tight and extortion easy.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John Sheldon</cite> (<cite>New England Yale Review</cite>, March, 1890): -<span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>“This is of supreme importance, for prices tend to carry -with the amount and not simply with the kind of legal-tender -money in circulation. The greater the amount the -higher the range of prices; the less the circulation the -lower the prices. Prices tend ever to follow up and down -the amount of legal-tender money in circulation; they do -not tend to fixity of the particular kind of money or -standard used.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Alexander Baring</cite> (before the committee, House of Lords, -1819): “The reduction of paper would produce all those -effects which arise from reduction in the amount of money -in any country.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sir Robert Peel</cite> (May 6, 1844, speaking of the act to -regulate the currency): “There is no contract, public or -private, no engagement, national or individual, which is -unaffected by this.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Lord George Bentinck</cite> (Parliamentary Debates, about -1847): “Of all the subtle devices which the wit of man -has contrived to despoil the community of their property, -nothing equals the contrivance of laws which limits the -currency to gold.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Lord Beaconsfield</cite> (“Agricultural Depression”): “Gold -is every day appreciating in value, and as it appreciates in -value the lower become prices.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sir Walter Scott</cite> (speaking of abundant currency): “It -is not less an issue that the consequences of this banking -system as conducted in Scotland have been operated with -the greatest advantage to the country; have converted -Scotland from a poor, miserable and barren country into -one where, if nature has done less, art and industry have -done more than in perhaps any country in Europe, England -itself not excepted.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Encyclopedia Britannica</cite> (1859): “A fall in the value of -precious metals, like a fall of rain water after a long course -<span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span>of dry weather, may be prejudicial to certain classes. It -is beneficial to an incomparably greater number, including -all who are engaged in industrial pursuits, and is, speaking -generally, of great public or national advantage.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>North British Review</cite> (November, 1861): “Metallic -money, whilst acting as coin, is identical with paper -money in respect to being destitute of intrinsic value.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>William <a id='corr368.8'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Jocob'>Jacob</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_368.8'><ins class='correction' title='Jocob'>Jacob</ins></a></span>, F. R. S.</cite>, gives statistics of the world’s -volume of money from the year 14 A. D., when it was -$1,790,000,000, to 806, when it had fallen to $168,000,000. -The price of a horse in England then was £1 15<em>s</em> 2<em>d</em>; an -ox, 7<em>s</em> 2<em>d</em>; a cow, 6<em>s</em> 2<em>d</em>; sheep, 1<em>s</em> 2<em>d</em>; goat, 4<em>d</em>.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Ernest Seyd</em> (1867, speaking of a reduction in volume): -“Throughout the world a fall in prices will take place, -injurious alike to the owners of solid property and to the -laboring classes, and advantageous only, and unjustifiably -so, to the holders of state debts and other contracts of that -kind.” (“Bullion,” 1868:) “On this one point all authorities -are agreed: that the large increase in the supply of gold -has given a universal impetus to trade, commerce and industry, -and to greater social development and progress.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Baron Rothschild</cite> (French Monetary Convention, 1869): -“The suppression of silver would amount to a veritable -destruction of values without any compensation.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Ricardo, M. P.</cite> (high priest of the bullionists), in his -reply to Bauset, said: “The value of money in any -country is determined by the amount existing.... The -commodities would rise or fall in price in proportion to the -increase or diminution of money. I assume that as a fact -that is incontrovertible. However debased a coinage may -become, it will preserve its mint value.... A well-regulated -paper currency is so great an improvement in -commerce that I should greatly regret if prejudice should -induce us to return to a system of less utility.... By -<span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>limiting the quantity of money it can be raised to any -conceivable value.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John R. McCulloch</cite> (commenting on Ricardo): “He -explains the circumstances which determine the value of -money ... and he shows ... its value will depend -upon the extent to which it may be issued compared to the -demand. This is a principle of great importance, for it -shows that intrinsic worth is not necessary to a currency.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Speaking in favor of a gradual reduction in the burden -of debts, through the natural increase in the volume of -precious metals, McCulloch said: “It promotes industry -and diminishes the weight of obligations which press upon -the producing classes, whether employer or employed.... -Thus it appears that, whatever may be the material -of the money of a country, whether it consists of gold, -silver, copper, iron, salt, cowries, or paper, and however -destitute it may be of any intrinsic value, it is yet possible, -by sufficiently limiting its quantity, to raise its value in -exchange to any conceivable extent.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Samuel Bailey</cite> (Sheffield): “However some men doubt -the advantage of an increase of the currency, no one can -deny the ruinous effects of a decrease.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sir James Stewart</cite>: “Money is nothing more than a -scale of equal parts for the measurement of things -vendible.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sir James Graham</cite> (British statesman): “The value of -money is in the inverse ratio to its quantity, supply of -commodities remaining the same.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>William E. Gladstone</cite> (1876, speaking of the banks -issuing money): “It will be exactly the same thing, so far -as the money is concerned, to grant a legislative privilege -to a person or to pay over to him a considerable sum from -the consolidated fund.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>London Economist</cite> (1883): “England being the chief -<span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>creditor nation of the world, it is to her interest to keep -the volume of money as small as possible in countries from -which debts are due, in order to get more of their product -in payment of interest due to her citizens.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>The Royal British Commission</cite>, appointed August, 1885, to -inquire into the causes of the depression of business, made -world-wide inquiries and was composed of twenty-three -members, a number of whom were distinguished statesmen -and economists. They agreed that gold had greatly appreciated -in value and that the rise in the value of gold was -caused by the demonetization of silver and the falling off -in the supply of gold, and it was the leading cause of the -general depression in trade and industry. But it was -added:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“This country [England] is largely a creditor country -of debts payable in gold, and any change which entails a -rise in the prices of commodities generally—that is to say, -a demonetization of the purchasing power of gold—would -be to our disadvantage.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Archbishop Walsh</cite> (Dublin, 1893): “Of all conceivable -systems of currency, that system is sure to be the worst -which gives you a standard steadily, continually, indefinitely -appreciating, and which, by that very fact, throws a burden -upon every man of enterprise and benefits no human being -whatever but the owner of fixed debts.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Count Leo Tolstoi</cite> (Russian philanthropist): “Only by -means of money do some people command the labor of -others nowadays; that is, into slavedom. Money tribute -has become a chief means of the subjugation of men, and -by it are determined all the economic relations of man.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Cernuschi</cite> (French economist): “The purchasing power -of money is in direct proportion to the volume of money -existing.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Professor Chevalier</cite> (France), speaking of the increase of -money, says: “Such a change will benefit those who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span>live by current labor and enterprise; it will injure those -who live upon the fruits of past labor.... It has been -wisely said that there is no machine which economizes -labor like money, and its adoption has been likened to the -discovery of letters.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sauerbeck</cite> (German statistician): “The propositions of -some economists, that we have quite enough money in our -country, or that there is sufficient gold to carry on the -trade of the world, are valueless. They assume that there -is a certain quantity required that need not be increased. -Of course there is enough gold, and we could perhaps do -with half the quantity. It only depends upon the state of -prices.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Fichte</cite> (German philosopher): “The amount of money -current in a state represents everything that is purchasable -on the surface of the state. If the quantity of purchasable -articles increases while the quantity of money remains the -same, the value of the money increases in the same ratio. -If the quantity of money increases while the quantity of -purchasable articles remains the same, the value of money -decreases in the same ratio.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Herr von Barr</cite>, speaking of the loss to German -miners by the demonetization of silver, says: “This -direct loss, important as it is, is nothing, however, compared -with the indirect loss resulting from the fall of -prices.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>M. Edouard Cazalet</cite>, banker of Milan (“Bimetallism,” -page 14): “Since the value of all articles of commerce -is represented by the currency, the value of these articles -must fall in proportion to the reduction in the volume of -the currency. Otherwise the moneyed currency could not -possibly do the work which the two metals combined have -previously performed.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Dr. Soetbeer</cite> (German statistician): “The value of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>money has fallen through the issue of paper money as -well as through the increased production of gold and -silver.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Leon Fouchet</cite> (1843): “If all the nations of Europe -adopted the system of Great Britain the price of gold would -be reduced beyond measure. The government could not -decree that legal tender should be only gold, for that -would be to decree a revolution, and the most dangerous -of all, because it would be a revolution leading to unknown -results.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>M. Wolowski</cite> (French Institute, 1868): “The suppression -of silver would bring on a veritable revolution. -Gold would augment in value with rapid and constant -progress, which would break the faith of contracts and -aggravate the situation of all debtors.... If by a stroke -of the pen they suppress one of these metals [gold or -silver] in the monetary service, they double the demand -for the other metal, to the ruin of all debtors.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>John Locke</cite> (“Considerations, etc., in Relation to Money,” -1691): “The greater scarcity of money enhances its price -and increases the scramble, and makes an equal portion of -it exchange for a greater of any other thing.” 1690: -“Money is really a standing measure of the falling and -rising value of other things. If you increase or lessen the -quantity of money current, then the alteration of value is -in the money. The value of money in any one country is -the present quantity of the current money in that country -in proportion to the present trade.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Adam Clark’s</cite> commentary on II. Matthew: “The -scarcity of money in England in 1351 influenced Parliament -to pass an act fixing a day’s labor at 1<em>d</em>. Twenty-four -eggs sold for 1<em>d</em>; a pair of shoes 4<em>d</em>; wheat 3<em>d</em>; a fat -ox 80<em>d</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Copernicus</cite>, the astronomer (treatise “Monete Cudende -<span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>Ratio,” addressed to the King of Poland): “Numberless -as are the evils by which kingdoms, principalities and -republics are wont to decline, these four are, in my judgment, -most baleful: civil strife, pestilence, sterility of the -soil, and corruption of the coin. The first three are so -manifest that no one fails to apprehend them; but the -fourth, which concerns money, is considered by few, and -those the most reflective, since it is not by a blow, but -little by little, and through a secret and obscure approach, -that it destroys the state.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Daniel Watney</cite>, of England: “I cannot suppose that -everybody is wise. Must think of the folly of the United -States, when they were a debtor nation, in adopting a gold -standard. They knew nothing about currency matters; -they did not know it was going to increase their debt -enormously.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Paulus</cite> (Roman jurist, third century): “Money circulates -with a power which is derived, not from the substance, -but from the quantity.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Blackstone</cite> (vol. I., page 2761): “As the quantity of -precious metals increases they will sink in value and -become less precious. If any accident were to diminish the -quantity of gold and silver they would proportionately rise.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Faucet</cite> (“Handbook of Finance,” page 146): “The -decline of prices since 1872 and 1873 is explained by the -increased value of gold. The first effect was to cause a -collapse of speculative securities, namely, bonds of railroads, -etc.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Professor De Colange</cite> (“American Encyclopedia of Commerce”): -“The rate at which money exchanges for other -things is determined by its quantity.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Beasey</cite>: “Slavery is the inevitable result of poverty. -Poverty is the inevitable result of low wages. Low wages -are the inevitable result of a scarcity of currency.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span><cite>A. H. Gaston</cite>: “Money is simply a measure of value, -and as a nation contracts its circulation it contracts the -value of all property in like proportion.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Colton’s Public Economy</cite> (page 224): “We hold that money -enough for the demands of trade is the tool of trade to a -nation.” Page 193: “It is very desirable that there should -not be sudden and great fluctuations, as such changes affect -the value of incomes. For example, when the products -of the American mines had raised the general prices on -comforts of life as 4 to 1.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Silver Commission Report</cite> of 1876, page 49: “Whenever -it becomes apparent that prices are rising and money -falling in value in consequence of an increase in its volume, -the greatest activity takes place in exchange and productive -enterprises. Every one becomes anxious to share in -the advantages of a rising market, and the inducement to -hoard gold is taken away; its circulation becomes exceedingly -active; labor comes into great demand and at -remunerative wages. It not only increases production, but -increases consumption.” Page 50: “Falling prices and -misery and destitution are inseparable companions. It is -universally conceded that falling prices result from the -contraction of the money volume.” Page 50: “Money -is the great instrument of association, the very fiber of -social organism, the vitalizing force of industry, the pure, -true organ of civilization, and as essential to existence as -oxygen is to animal life. Without money civilization -could not have had a beginning.” Page 51: “It is -estimated that the purchasing power of the precious metals -increased between 1809 and 1840 fully 145 per cent.... -They had come to regard money as an institution fixed -and immovable in value, and when the price of property -and wages fell they charged the fault not to the money, -but to the property and the employer. Their prejudices -<span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>were aroused against labor-saving machinery; they were -angered against capital.” Page 53 (effects of a decreasing -volume of money): “It circulates freely in the stock -exchange, but avoids the labor exchange. It has in all -cases been the worst enemy with which society has had -to contend.” Page 56: “However great the natural -resources of a country, fertile its soil, intelligent, enterprising -and industrious its inhabitants—if the volume of -money is shrinking and prices falling, its merchants will -be overwhelmed with bankruptcy, industries paralyzed, -and destitution and distrust will prevail.” Page 59: “All -respectable authorities agree as to the relative effects of -an increasing and decreasing money.... History records -no such disastrous transition as that from the Roman -empire to the dark ages. In the Christian era the metallic -money of the Roman empire amounted to $1,800,000,000. -By the end of the fifteenth century it had shrunk to less -than $200,000,000. Population dwindled, and commerce, -arts, wealth and freedom all disappeared.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Henry C. Carey, LL. D.</cite> (“Social Science,” page 297): -“Money tends to diminish the obstacles interposed -between the producer and the consumer precisely as do -railroads and mills.... The most necessary part of the -machinery of exchange being that which facilitates the -passage of labor and its products from hand to hand, any -diminution of its quantity is felt with tenfold more severity -than is the diminution of the quantity of railroad cars -or steamboats.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Before the Congressional committee: “We next find him -[Secretary McCulloch] issuing the destructive Fort Wayne -decree, by means of which we were made to know that the -currency was in excess and prices too high; that the policy -of the treasury was to be one of contraction; and that -unfortunate debtors must as speedily as possible place -<span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span>themselves in a position to meet the shock to be thus -created. In other words, all debtors were required to sell, -capitalists meanwhile being advised not to buy, the government -being determined that labor, lands, houses, stocks -and property of all other descriptions should be promptly -reduced to gold values.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Treatise on “Wealth”: “A period of contracted currency -is one of embarrassment, difficulty, and generally, in the -end, of insolvency to the small farmer and moderate landholder.... -It will rise in price from that scarcity, and -become accessible only to the more rich and affluent -classes.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>[This greatest of American political economists, the late -Henry C. Carey, estimated the cost of contraction in order -to secure resumption between the years of 1873 and 1879 -at thirty billion dollars.]</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Henry Carey Baird</cite> (March 13, 1882): “The man who -has the greatest horror of the inflation of the currency -generally has no horror of the inflation of bank credits. -He likes it because it increases his power over his fellow -men. What he objects to is the inflation of the people -which causes an increase of their power.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>September 3, 1889: “People know that the expansion -of the currency means life, and equally well that contraction -means death.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Henry Carey Baird</cite> (“Money and Bank Credit,” page 14): -“The first and greatest need of a man is that of association -and combination with his fellow men, and the daily -life of a civilized people involves such countless myriads -of acts of association or commerce that a medium having -the quality of universal acceptability is absolutely necessary -to that life. That medium is money.... In its -absence in sufficient volume in Great Britain and Ireland, -thousands of millions of dollars of labor power annually -<span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>in those islands perish. While the Trenholms, the Russell -Sages, the Pearsalls, the Fahnenstocks and the Seligmans -wrangle over the efforts of the people to secure a -sufficient supply of ‘current money,’ more labor power -will go to waste than will represent the value of the -capital of all the banks in the city of New York many -times over.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Peter Cooper</cite>: “Contraction in finance is not the same -as economy in private life. Contraction in the finances of -a country means a stoppage of a certain amount of the -industry and exchanges, by reason of the contraction of the -credit by which these are sustained. Nothing can be more -certain than that a contraction of the currency by our government -has been followed by a reduction of all values, so -that a wrong has been inflicted upon all the enterprising -business men of this nation, whose property has been -virtually confiscated by this process of contraction.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>B. F. Butler</cite> (August, 1875): “I am informed that Mr. -Duncan, of Duncan, Sherman & Co., went to Washington -when the currency bill was before the President to advise -him to veto it because it was necessary to depreciate -values. The President did veto the bills. Values have -been depreciated, I trust, to an amount entirely satisfactory -to Messrs. Duncan, Sherman & Co.” [The firm of which -John Sherman was a member was bankrupted by the -depreciation.]</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Solon Chase</cite>: “I bought a yoke of steers a year ago for -$60; fed them all summer and winter, and in the spring -was offered but $60 for them in the market. Who got the -hay? So long as the owners of funded wealth control the -volume of money they control the price of a day’s work -down east and the price of a bale of cotton down south. -The higher the price of hogs and corn, the easier the -people can pay the debt. The farmer cannot pay off his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>debt on a falling market. The fight of the men who deal -in money is not for the metal, but to control the volume.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>James D. Holden</cite> (President National Citizens’ Alliance): -“So magical is the operation of this wonderful device -known as money that by simply restricting its issue -wealth is transferred from the hands that created it to the -possession of those not in the remotest degree responsible -for its production. Let the reader who does not indorse -this view give himself, if possible, a reason why a people -who by their laws create the supply of money should -limit the issue.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>A Georgia editor</cite> (speaking of the effects of contraction) -says: “In 1868 there was about $40 per capita of money -in circulation; cotton was about 30 cents a pound. The -farmer then put a 500-pound bale of cotton on his wagon, -took it to town and sold it. Then he paid $40 taxes, -bought a cooking stove for $30, a suit of clothes for $15, -his wife a dress for $5, 100 pounds of meat for $18, one -barrel of flour for $12, and went home with $30 in his -pocket. In 1887 there was about $5 per capita of money -in circulation; this same farmer put a 500-pound bale of -cotton on his wagon, went to town and sold it, paid $40 -taxes, got discouraged, went to the saloon, spent his -remaining $2.30 and went home dead broke and drunk.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Arthur Kitson</cite> (“Scientific Solution of the Money Question,” -1894, page 284): “A restricted currency means -restricted commerce; restricted commerce means restricted -production, and restricted production means poverty, -misery, disease and death.” Page 396: “The gold -standard is a device of the bankers for the measuring of -everybody else’s corn with their bushel.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Sealy</cite> (“Coins and Currency,” 1853): “The commerce -of the country is now in the power of the Bank of England -as it was before in the legislature.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span><cite>Doubleday</cite> (“Financial History of England”): “We -have already seen the fall of prices produced by this -universal narrowing of the paper circulation. Distress, -ruin and bankruptcy which took place were universally -among the landholders whose estates were burdened by -mortgages. The effects were most marked. Owners were -stripped of all and made beggars.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>President Andrews</cite> (Eaton University): “Demonetization -of silver was the hardest, saddest blow to human -welfare ever delivered by the action of states. So long as -gold is the sole standard of that money, so long these -wrongs and sufferings must continue.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>James Mill</cite> (father of John Stuart Mill): “In whatever -degree the quantity of money is increased or diminished, -other things remaining the same, in that proportion the -value of the whole and every part is reciprocally diminished -or increased.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><cite>Herbert Spencer</cite>: “Barbarians do not want any money -but hard money; semi-civilized people want hard money -and convertible paper; but when the world becomes -civilized and enlightened no other kind of money will be -used but paper money.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-037.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span> - <h3 class='c015'>VI. <br /> INTEREST AND USURY.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c028'>“It is against nature for money to breed money.”—<span class='sc'>Bacon.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE great Napoleon said, after studying a set of compound -interest tables: “There is one thing to my -mind more wonderful than all the rest, and that is, -that the deadly fact buried in these tables has not before -this devoured the whole world.” The ethical sense of -mankind saw at an early day the wrong of usury. The -Mosaic law was very explicit on the subject. Cicero mentions -that Cato, being asked what he thought of usury, -made no other answer to the question than by asking the -person who spoke to him what he thought of murder. -The Christian Church, in its early days and until the end -of the Middle Ages, utterly forbade the exaction of interest. -In the reign of Edward VI. a prohibitory act was passed, -for the stated reason that the charging of interest was “a -vice most odious and detestable and contrary to the word -of God.” It was not until the time of the Reformation -that this interpretation of the divine law was ever questioned. -Calvin was one of the first to contend that the -sentiment against exacting interest arose from a mistaken -view of the Mosaic law. A series of enactments, known -as the Usury Laws, restricted the maximum rate to be -charged in England. By Act 21 James I. this rate was -fixed at 8 per cent. During the Commonwealth this rate -was reduced to 6 per cent., and by Act 12 Anne to 5 per -cent., at which rate it stood until 1839. In the United -States the legal rate of interest varies, nearly all the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>States having passed statutes fixing a maximum rate.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Usury bringeth the treasures of a realm or state into -a few hands; for the usurer being at certainties, and -others at uncertainties, at the end of the game most of the -money will be in the box; and ever a state flourisheth -when wealth is more equally spread.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>This quotation is from the essay “Of Usury,” by that -wisest of philosophers, Francis Bacon. The reader must -bear in mind that while nowadays the term “usury” is -applied generally only to excessive interest, in Bacon’s -time the word was used for any rate of premium or interest -for the use of money. The word <em>usance</em>, now obsolete -in that sense, conveyed the same meaning, and is used -in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice.” The provocation -which Antonio first gave Shylock was that—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c024'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“He lends out money gratis and brings down</div> - <div class='line in1'>The rate of usance here with us in Venice.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>All are familiar with the conditions which Shylock -exacted of Antonio:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c024'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em>Shylock.</em> This kindness will I show.</div> - <div class='line'>Go with me to a notary, seal me there</div> - <div class='line'>Your single bond; and, in a merry sport,</div> - <div class='line'>If you repay me not on such a day,</div> - <div class='line'>In such a place, such sum or sums as are</div> - <div class='line'>Express’d in the condition, let the forfeit</div> - <div class='line'>Be nominated for an equal pound</div> - <div class='line'>Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken</div> - <div class='line'>In what part of your body pleaseth me.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em>Antonio.</em> Content i’ faith: I’ll seal to such a bond</div> - <div class='line'>And say there is much kindness in the Jew.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em>Bassanio.</em> You shall not seal to such a bond for me:</div> - <div class='line'>I’ll rather dwell in my necessity.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em>Antonio.</em> Why, fear not, man; I will not forfeit it;</div> - <div class='line'>Within these two months, that’s a month before</div> - <div class='line'>This bond expires, I do expect return</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span>Of thrice three times the value of this bond....</div> - <div class='line'>Come on; in this there can be no dismay;</div> - <div class='line'>My ships come home a month before the day.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>But Antonio’s ships did not come in—just as the farmer’s -crop often fails and the artisan’s employment gives out -just when the mortgage is due—and Shylock claimed his -pound of flesh. “The Merchant of Venice” is a comedy, -and Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio are mere creatures of -imagination; but there are thousands of tragedies enacted -every day in real life in which real Shylocks play a part. -The Shylocks of to-day are quite unlike the Shylocks of -fiction, however. Banker Morgan, who negotiated with -Grover Cleveland the star-chamber bond deal by which -the American government sold to the Rothschilds at a -premium of only 4½ per cent. $100,000,000 of interest-bearing -gold bonds which were immediately after quoted -at a premium of 21 per cent., is a philanthropist. As soon -as possible after the deal was made his portrait appeared -in many of the great dailies with a fulsome account of his -many charities! It will take many a pound of human -flesh, many a drop of life’s blood, to pay the interest on -the bonds which he negotiated, and out of the sale of -which he made a cool million in one day.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Bible has much to say on the subject of usury. The -writer has never heard a sermon preached on any of the -following texts, however—perhaps because bankers and -money-lenders rent the best pews. Remember that usury -here means simply interest—not excessive interest:</p> - -<p class='c006'>Exodus 22:25: “If thou lend money to any of my -people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an -usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Deuteronomy 23:19-20: “Thou shalt not lend upon -usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, -usury of anything that is lent upon usury. Unto a stranger -<span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>thou mayest lend upon usury, but unto thy brother thou -shalt not lend upon usury, that the Lord thy God may -bless thee.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Nehemiah 5:7: “Then I consulted with myself, and I -rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them: -Ye exact usury every one of his brother. And I set a -great assembly against them.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Psalms 15:5 (David describes a citizen of Zion): “He -that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward -against the innocent.”</p> - -<h4 class='c029'>A Chapter from “Cæsar’s Column.”</h4> - -<p class='c023'>I cannot do better here than quote a significant chapter -from Ignatius Donnelly’s powerful novel, “Cæsar’s -Column,” which certainly did as much as any book ever -printed to set people thinking:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“But what would you do, my good Gabriel,” said Maximilian, -smiling, “if the reformation of the world were -placed in your hands? Every man has a Utopia in his -head. Give me some idea of yours.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“First,” I said, “I should do away with all interest on -money. Interest on money is the root and ground of the -world’s troubles. It puts one man in a position of safety, -while another is in a condition of insecurity, and thereby -it at once creates a radical distinction in human society.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“How do you make that out?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The lender takes a mortgage on the borrower’s land, -or house, or goods, for, we will say, one-half or one-third -their value; the borrower then assumes all the chances of -life to repay the loan. If he is a farmer, he has to run the -risk of the fickle elements. Rains may drown, droughts -may burn up his crops. If a merchant, he encounters all -the hazards of trade: the bankruptcy of other tradesmen; -the hostility of the elements sweeping away agriculture, -and so affecting commerce; the tempests that smite his -ships, etc. If a mechanic, he is still more dependent upon -the success of all above him and the mutations of commercial -prosperity. He may lose employment; he may -sicken; he may die. But behind all these risks stands the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>money-lender, in perfect security. The failure of his customers -only enriches him; for he takes for his loan property -worth twice or thrice the sum he has advanced upon it. -Given a million of men and a hundred years of time, and -the slightest advantage possessed by any one class among -the million must result, in the long run, in the most startling -discrepancies of condition. A little evil grows like a -ferment—it never ceases to operate; it is always at work. -Suppose I bring before you a handsome, rosy-cheeked -young man, full of life and hope and health. I touch his -lip with a single <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>bacillus</em></span> of <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>phthisis pulmonalis</em></span>—consumption. -It is invisible to the eye; it is too small to be weighed. -Judged by all the tests of the senses, it is too insignificant -to be thought of; but it has the capacity to multiply itself -indefinitely. The youth goes off singing. Months, perhaps -years, pass before the deadly disorder begins to -manifest itself, but in time the step loses its elasticity; -the eyes become dull; the roses fade from the cheeks; the -strength departs, and eventually the joyous youth is but a -shell—a cadaverous, shrunken form, inclosing a shocking -mass of putridity; and death ends the dreadful scene. -Give one set of men in a community a financial advantage -over the rest, however slight—it may be almost invisible—and -at the end of centuries that class so favored will own -everything and wreck the country. A penny, they say, -put out at interest the day Columbus sailed from Spain, -and compounded ever since, would amount now [A. D. -<a id='corr384.28'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='1990'>1890?</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_384.28'><ins class='correction' title='1990'>1890?</ins></a></span>] to more than all the assessed value of all the property, -real, personal and mixed, on the two continents of -North and South America.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“But,” said Maximilian, “how would the men get along -who wanted to borrow?”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The necessity to borrow is one of the results of borrowing. -The disease produces the symptoms. The men who -are enriched by borrowing are infinitely less in number -than those who are ruined by it; and every disaster to the -middle class swells the number and decreases the opportunities -of the helpless poor. Money in itself is valueless. -It becomes valuable only by use—by exchange for things -needful for life or comfort. If money could not be loaned -it would have to be put out by the owner of it in business -<span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>enterprises, which would employ labor; and as the enterprise -would not then have to support a double burden—to-wit, -the man engaged in it and the usurer who sits securely -upon his back—but would have to support only the former -usurer, that is, the present employer—its success would be -more certain; the general prosperity of the community -would be increased thereby, and there would be, therefore, -more enterprises, more demand for labor, and consequently -higher wages. Usury kills off the enterprising -members of a community by bankrupting them, and leaves -only the very rich and the very poor; but every dollar the -employers of labor pay to the lenders of money has to -come eventually out of the pockets of the laborers. -Usury is therefore the cause of the first aristocracy, and -out of this grow all the other aristocracies. Inquire where -the money came from that now oppresses mankind, in the -shape of great corporations, combinations, etc., and in -nine cases out of ten you will trace it back to the fountain of -interest on money loaned. The coral island is built up of -the bodies of dead coral insects; large fortunes are usually -the accumulations of wreckage, and every dollar represents -disaster.”</p> - -</div> - -<h4 class='c029'>How Wealth Accumulates.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>As proof of the fact that it is a mighty fortunate thing for -humanity that the Rothschilds did not conduct a bank in -the year 1 A. D., I reprint from the <cite>Twentieth Century</cite> the -following article by H. C. Whitaker, which shows the -beauties of interest-drawing:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Had one cent been loaned on the 14th day of March, -A. D. 1, interest being allowed at the rate of 6 per cent., -compounded yearly, then, 1894 years later—that is, on -March 14, 1895—the amount due would be $8,497,840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (8,497,840,000 -decillions). If it were desired to pay this in -gold, 23.2 grains to the dollar, then, taking spheres of -pure gold, each the size of the earth, it would take 610,070,000,000,000,000 -of them to pay for that cent. Placing -these spheres in a straight row, their combined length -would be 4,826,870,000,000,000,000,000 miles, a distance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>which it would take light (going at the rate of 186,330 -miles per second) 820,890,000 years to travel.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“The planets and stars of the entire solar and stellar -universe, as seen by the great Lick telescope, if they were -all of solid gold, would not nearly pay the amount. A -single sphere to pay the whole amount, if placed with its -center at the sun, would have its surface extending 563,580,000 -miles beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune, the -farthest in our system.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It may be added that if the earth had contained a -population of ten billions, each one making a million -dollars a second, then to pay for that cent it would have -required their combined earnings for 26,938,500,000,000,000,000,000 -years.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span> - <h2 class='c009'>VII. <br /> <span class='fss'>DEBT AND SLAVERY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c034'>“And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty -throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—<cite>Leviticus</cite> -25:10.</p> - -<p class='c030'>“Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the -mightiest to undermine government and corrupt the people.”—<span class='sc'>Wendell -Phillips.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>FROM the earliest dawn of history debt has ever borne -a close relationship to slavery and servitude. “It -is worthy of remark,” says Grote (History of Greece, -vol. III., p. 144), “that the first borrowers must have been -for the most part driven to this necessity by the pressure -of want, contracting debt as a desperate resource -without any fair prospect of ability to pay. Debt and -famine run together in the mind of the poet Hesiod. The -borrower is in this unhappy state rather a distressed man -soliciting aid than a solvent man capable of making and -fulfilling a contract; and if he cannot find a friend to make -a free gift to him in the former character he would not -under the latter character obtain a loan from a stranger -except by the promise of exorbitant interest and by the -fullest eventual power over his person which he is in a -position to grant.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This remark,” says Professor Nicholson in the <cite>Encyclopedia -Britannica</cite>, “suggested by the state of society -in ancient Greece, is largely applicable throughout the -world until the close of the early Middle Ages.” The -conditions of ancient usury find a graphic illustration in -the account of the building of the second temple at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_388'>388</span>Jerusalem (Nehemiah 5:1-12). Some said: “We have -mortgaged our lands, vineyards and houses that we might -buy corn, because of the dearth.” Others said: “We -have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon -our lands and vineyards, ... and lo, we bring into bondage -our sons and our daughters to be servants, ... neither -is it in our power to redeem them, for other men have our -lands and vineyards.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>In ancient Greece we find a law of bankruptcy resting -on slavery. In Athens, about the time of Solon’s legislation -(594 B. C.), the bulk of the population who had -originally been small proprietors became gradually -indebted to the rich to such an extent that they were -practically slaves; those who nominally owned their property -owed more than they could pay, and stone pillars -erected on their land showed the amount of the debts and -the names of the lenders. Solon’s remedy for this state -of affairs was to cancel all debts made on the security of -the land or the person of the debtor, and at the same time -he enacted that henceforth no loans could be made on the -bodily security of the debtor, and the creditor was confined -to a share of the property.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In Rome’s early history practically the same conditions -prevailed as in Greece. About 500 B. C. an attempt was -made to remedy the evil by providing a maximum rate of -interest, no alteration being made, however, in the law of -debt. In the course of a few centuries the free farmers -were utterly destroyed. The pressure of war and taxes -and usury drove all into debt and into practical, if not -technical, slavery. The old law of debt was not really -abolished until the dictatorship of Julius Cæsar, who then -practically adopted Solon’s legislation of more than five -centuries before, but too late to save the middle class.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In the course of centuries and the evolution of civilization -<span class='pageno' id='Page_389'>389</span>chattel slavery has been abolished; but the slavery of -debt still remains, and usury is now, as it was in all the -history of mankind, the tool with which debt forges the -chains of nations. It is not the province of this work to -examine into the conditions of other countries than our -own, but the facts now to be presented will convince the -thoughtful reader that the American people are bound by -chains of debt which it will require the wisest statesmanship -to break.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Representative Warner of Massachusetts (Republican), -in a speech delivered in Congress in 1894, stated that the -interest-bearing debts of the United States, public and -private, aggregated a grand total of $32,000,000,000 (thirty-two -billions of dollars). This would be bad enough, but -careful estimates by conservative students of political -economy show that the amount is very much larger.</p> - -<p class='c006'>W. H. Harvey, author of “Coin’s Financial School,” -makes the following itemized estimate of the interest-bearing -debts of this country, public and private. -Most of the figures are derived from recognized official -sources:</p> - -<table class='table3' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='76%' /> -<col width='23%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>The national debt, according to the official census of 1890, was</td> - <td class='c035'>$ 891,960,104</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>State and municipal debts (census 1890).</td> - <td class='c035'>1,135,210,442</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Railroad bonds, 1892 (“Poor’s Manual,” 1893)</td> - <td class='c035'>5,463,611,204</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Debt on farms and homes occupied by owner (R. R. Porter, Supt. Eleventh Census, in <cite>North American Review</cite>, vol. 153, p. 618)</td> - <td class='c035'>2,500,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Mortgaged indebtedness of business realty, street railways, manufactories and business enterprises (estimated from partial reports of 11th census)</td> - <td class='c035'>5,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Loans from 3,773 national banks (Statistical Abstract of the United States)</td> - <td class='c035'>2,153,769,806</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_390'>390</span>Loans from 5,579 State savings, stock and private banks and trust companies (Statistical Abstract of the United States)</td> - <td class='c035'>2,201,764,292</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>These are figures on which something definite has been obtained; also the ratio of increase from 1880 to 1890, which was from $6,750,000,000 in 1880 to $19,000,000,000 in 1890. By computing the same ratio of increase we should now add</td> - <td class='c035'>8,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Mortgage debts on homes not occupied by owner (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>1,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Overdue accounts due merchants, wholesale and retail, drawing from 6 to 10 per cent. interest (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>5,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Debts due pawnbrokers, drawing from 60 to 120 per cent. per annum or 5 to 10 per cent. a month (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>1,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Private debts due from individuals to individuals and of which there is no public record or other data for census officers to obtain information (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>1,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Maritime debts (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>1,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'>Overdrafts, judgments, overdue taxes and miscellaneous items not included in the foregoing (estimated)</td> - <td class='c035'>4,000,000,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c014'> </td> - <td class='c035'>———————-</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c032'>Horrible total</td> - <td class='c035'>$40,346,315,848</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class='c006'>In commenting on his figures, Mr. Harvey says: "Debts, -a non-producing industry, growing to such a magnitude -that the profits derived from all the producing industries of -the country will not more than pay the interest on these -debts, make the producers thereafter work for the benefit -of the money-lending or non-producing class. When such -a condition as to debts arises as we now have, all money -nearly gravitates into the hands of the money-lenders and -piles up in the money centers. The effect of debts upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_391'>391</span>civilization has never been understood generally. A prosperous -country can carry about a certain proportion of -debt among its people without apparent injury, but when -it reaches the present proportion—a proportion only -reached three times before in the known history of the -world—it produces commercial paralysis and the financial -enslavement of the people. All the people make goes to -pay the money-lenders their interest.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“When you pay money to a merchant or a manufacturer -that you may owe, the money you pay him is paid by him -to others for material and other products of his business, -with no charge or embargo upon it; but when you pay -back to a money-lender a debt you owe him, the money -stops there until it is loaned out again to come back with -interest. When this grows to such an extent as to require -all or most of the money in the country to pay the interest -on debts, then commerce slackens and there is little or no -money among the people except as loaned out by the banks -and others whose business it is to loan money. They are -dealing in the blood of commerce, and when they take it -from the arteries of commerce there is commercial sickness -and distress.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>The Abstract of the Eleventh Census (page 189) gives -the true valuation of all real and personal property in the -United States as only $65,037,091,198. Against this we -have an interest-bearing debt of forty billions.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But Mr. Harvey’s figures are by no means complete. He -says nothing about the capital stock of the great railroad, -telegraph, telephone, insurance and other corporations, -most of which is “water.” The reader may say that this -is not debt. But it is debt, as it represents what the companies -owe to their stockholders; it draws interest; it -must pay salaries and dividends. To say that we pay -interest every year on forty-five billions is a very conservative -<span class='pageno' id='Page_392'>392</span>statement. And the debt is constantly increasing, for -the reason that there is not in circulation, of all kinds of -money, enough to pay this interest. Let us figure it out. -The average rate of interest is 6½ per cent. Let us say 6 -per cent. At this rate we pay each year $2,700,000,000—over -$40 per capita. Think of it! Forty dollars interest -for every man, woman and child! Two hundred dollars -for every family! And this exclusive of taxation, which -adds still more to the burdens of life. The most blatant -gold-bug does not claim that there is $40 of money per -capita in circulation. There can be only one result, and -that result is abject, hopeless slavery—slavery under the -guise of freedom, but still slavery—unless this burden of -debt is thrown off before the patient people succumb -entirely.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-064.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_393'>393</span> - <h3 class='c015'>VIII. <br /> THE LAWS OF PROPERTY.</h3> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div><span class='sc'>By Lyman Trumbull.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c030'>“Property, or the dominion of man over external objects, has -its origin from the Creator, as his gift to mankind.”—<span class='sc'>Blackstone</span> -(Dunlap’s Manual of the General Principles of Law).</p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>IT is chiefly the laws of property which have enabled -the few to accumulate vast wealth while the masses -live in poverty. For many generations our laws have -been framed with a view to the claims of property rather -than the rights of man. For ages the money power has -controlled legislation the world over, and, I am sorry to -say, has exercised a controlling influence in our own land -for many years. In the language of the Declaration of -Independence: “All men are created equal and endowed -by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that -among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” -If a man has an inalienable right to life, then he -has a right to the means which sustain life, and of which -he cannot be justly deprived by laws which permit one -man, or set of men, to so absorb the means of life as not -to leave sufficient to sustain the lives of all. If man has -an inalienable right to liberty, then he cannot be justly -deprived of liberty by another who assumes the right at his -mere discretion to abridge it. If man has an inalienable -right to the pursuit of happiness, then he cannot be justly -deprived of that right by laws interposed in the way of its -pursuit.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Do such laws exist, and if so, how came they into -existence?</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_394'>394</span>In Great Britain, whence we have derived most of our -laws of property, the policy is to build up great estates. -Hence, by the laws of that country, land descends to the -eldest son, to the exclusion of the other children. The -effect of this is to limit the ownership of land to a few -persons. Thirty-four persons in that country own six -million two hundred and eleven thousand acres of land. -The Duke of Sutherland is said to own one million three -hundred and fifty-eight thousand acres, and a few other -dukes and earls own a great proportion of the land of the -United Kingdom. What has brought about this wide -difference in the ownership of land? Certainly the few -who own the millions of acres, from which they derive -revenue, in some instances of more than five hundred -thousand dollars annually, in rentals, have not earned -these vast estates by their own industry, but, on the contrary, -it is by force of statutory enactments that these vast -estates have been accumulated and perpetuated in few -hands.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In this country we have abolished the law of primogeniture, -by which the eldest son inherited the landed estate -of his ancestor, but here vast estates are being rapidly -accumulated in few hands, and this is especially true -during and since the War of the Rebellion. In 1860 there -were few millionaires and few large fortunes in this country, -but since then a rich class has sprung up, so that in -1890, according to reliable statistics, ten per cent. of the -people own as much wealth as the other ninety per cent. -In 1890 there were 12,690,182 families in the United -States, and according to George K. Holmes, in the -<cite>Political Science Quarterly</cite>, 4,047 of these possessed about -seven-tenths as much as do 11,593,887 families. Just -think of it. One family possessing the wealth of 2,000 -families the country over! In the city of New York alone -<span class='pageno' id='Page_395'>395</span>there are said to be five men whose aggregate wealth -exceeds $500,000,000. How many hundred millions are -held by various wealthy corporations, coal and oil syndicates -and other trusts, I am unable to state. In the cities -of New York and Chicago hundreds of thousands of -men and women, willing to work, were out of employment -last winter, many of whom must have perished from want -but for charity’s aid. These conditions another winter -promise to be no better.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The richest corporations and persons on earth are probably -in the United States. How have they accumulated -their vast fortunes? Surely not by their own industry and -thrift, but by the aid of statutes regulating the rights of -property, generally statutes providing for the transmission -of property by descent or by will, or the creation of -monopolies.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is only by virtue of statutory law that man is permitted -to make disposition of his property by will, and it -is only by virtue of statutory law that one person is permitted -to inherit property from another, and it is by virtue -of statute law that great corporate monopolies have been -built up.</p> - -<p class='c006'>No man has a natural right to dispose of property after -death, nor has one person a natural right to inherit property -from another. As Blackstone says: “There is no -foundation in nature or in natural law why the son should -have the right to exclude his fellow creatures from a -determinate spot of land because his father did so before -him, or why the occupier of a particular field or of a jewel, -when lying on his death-bed, and no longer able to maintain -possession, should be able to tell the rest of the world -which of them should enjoy it after him.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Under Illinois laws, the owner of real estate is permitted -to lease it for an indefinite period, and compel future -<span class='pageno' id='Page_396'>396</span>generations who occupy the premises to pay rent to unborn -generations. Leases for ninety-nine years are quite common -in Chicago. It is by no divine law that the occupant -of land to-day is allowed to compel its occupant one -hundred years hence to pay tribute for its use. The statutes -of Illinois have given to the owner of property the -right to dispose of it by will, not wholly, but to a certain -extent. If married, neither the husband nor wife can give -away the homestead or dower rights of the other, nor can -creditors, heirs or devisees take from the widow her -allowance.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The money power has governed legislation in all civilized -countries for generations. It matters not what party is in -power in the national or State governments of our own -country, the money power has exercised a controlling influence -in many instances in the shaping and administration -of our laws.</p> - -<p class='c006'>If the accumulation of vast fortunes goes on another -generation with the same accelerated rapidity as during the -present, the wealth of this country will soon be consolidated -in the hands of a few corporations and individuals -to as great an extent as the landed interests of Great Britain -now are.</p> - -<p class='c006'>What is the remedy for this state of things, which, if -permitted to continue, will make the masses of the people -dependent upon the generosity of the few for the means to -live? So far as concerns corporations of a public or quasi-public -character—and none others should exist—the remedy -is simple. They are completely under the control of -the legislatures, whence they derive all their powers.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It is entirely competent for a legislature to provide the -manner <a id='corr396.32'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='iu'>in</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_396.32'><ins class='correction' title='iu'>in</ins></a></span> which the business of a corporation shall be -conducted. It may provide that the directors shall consist -of few or many persons, that a portion of them shall be taken -<span class='pageno' id='Page_397'>397</span>from the employes of the corporation, selected by them, -another part from the stockholders who furnish the capital -for carrying on its business. It may provide that the -employes shall first be paid from the revenues of the company -a certain fixed sum, graduated according to the <a id='corr397.5'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='charater'>character</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_397.5'><ins class='correction' title='charater'>character</ins></a></span> -of the work performed by each; that a fair rate of -interest shall then be paid upon the capital invested, and -the balance be distributed upon some equitable principle -between the employes and the stockholders. In case of -loss the stockholders would have to suffer, since the -employe, having a right to live, must in all cases receive -his daily wages when dependent upon them for subsistence. -This principle receives judicial sanction from United States -Circuit Judge Caldwell, in his order entered in case -of the Santa Fe Railroad, as follows:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“Ordered that the men employed by the receivers in the -operation of the road and the conduct of its business shall -be paid their monthly wages not later than the 15th of the -month following their accrual. If the earnings of the road -are not sufficient to pay the wages of the men as herein -directed, the receivers are hereby authorized and required -to borrow from time to time, as occasion may require, a -sufficient sum of money for that purpose. The obligations -of the receivers for money borrowed for this purpose -specified in this order shall constitute a lien on the property -of the trust prior and superior to all other liens -thereon.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Under the powers inherent in every sovereignty, government -may regulate the conduct of its citizens toward each -other, and, when <a id='corr397.30'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='nececsary'>necessary</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_397.30'><ins class='correction' title='nececsary'>necessary</ins></a></span> for the public good, the manner -in which each shall use his own property.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Formerly, corporations having special privileges were -created by special acts, which the courts construed to be -contracts between the granting power and the corporators -which, once granted, could not be repealed or varied by the -granting power. This granting of charters to favored individuals, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_398'>398</span>conferring upon them privileges not possessed by -the general public, became obnoxious to public sentiment, -and, as a consequence, general laws have been passed in -this and many other States, under which any three persons -may become incorporated for any private purpose. This -has become a worse evil than the old system of granting -special charters. Under the general law enacted in this -State twenty years ago. I am informed, 27,200 corporations -have been created.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Irresponsible persons are often induced, for a small consideration, -to form corporations with a proposed capital of -millions; to subscribe for the whole stock except a share -or two, and, for a fancied, imaginary or worthless consideration, -to issue to themselves fully paid up stock, which is -subsequently transferred to the real parties in interest, who -expect thereby to escape personal liability if the concern is -a failure, and to pocket the profits if a success. Business -of all sorts is now to a great extent carried on in the name -of corporations, in order that the proprietors may escape -personal responsibility. How can the individual, who is -personally responsible for his contracts, successfully compete -with a corporation run by persons who incur no such -responsibility? Doing business in a corporate name not -only paralyzes individual effort, but leads to a concentration -of capital—the great evil of our time. The remedy -for this growing state of things would be to restrict the -formation of corporations to such as are formed for public -purposes, or such as the public have an interest in. -Seventy-eight per cent. of the great fortunes of the United -States are said to be derived from permanent monopoly -privileges which ought never to have been granted.</p> - -<p class='c006'>As before stated, the power to dispose of property after -death by will is conferred by statute, under certain limitations. -Why should this privilege be given to dispose of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_399'>399</span>more than a fixed amount of property to any one -individual? Say property to the value of not over five -hundred thousand dollars to the wife, of not more than -one hundred thousand dollars to each child, and of not -more than fifty thousand dollars to any other relative, -extending to the third or fourth degree, and that the -balance of the estate should escheat to the State, to be -used by it for the support of schools, charitable institutions, -the employment of laborers in making roads, and -other good purposes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The law now provides for the escheat of estates of persons -dying without heirs. The same limitation might be -put upon inheritances where there is no will, and in this -way the accumulation of vast estates by inheritance or -devise would be checked, and property, especially landed -estates, which by nature belong to all, would be more -equally distributed. It should not be forgotten that the -method of transmitting property from the dead to the -living is entirely derived from the state. If public policy -requires that the state should give to the dying possessor, -no longer able to control or take with him his possessions, -the privilege of disposing of so much as may be conducive -to the comfort and happiness of his surviving kindred, -does it require that this privilege should be extended to -his disposition of millions to the injury of the rest of -mankind?</p> - -<p class='c006'>If it be said that to limit the privilege of disposing of -exceeding a million dollars of property by devise or descent -would check enterprise and industry, as no man would -struggle to acquire property which he could not leave to -his surviving kindred, my reply is, that man by his own -thrift and industry is seldom able to acquire more than a -million dollars’ worth of property. Fortunes exceeding -that amount are usually acquired by speculation, trickery, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_400'>400</span>or some device by which one man takes advantage of his -fellow-man, and which, if not illegal, is immoral; or by -members of privileged monopolies, trusts and syndicates.</p> - -<p class='c006'>I don’t mean to say that all great fortunes exceeding a -million have been acquired by immoral means, but such -as have not are the exception, and to limit the privilege of -disposing of more than a million by devise or descent -would not affect one in ten thousand of the people. In -short, such limitation would tend to discourage, not -honest enterprise and industry, but stock-jobbing, trickery -and other questionable methods of acquiring vast fortunes.</p> - -<p class='c006'>We have already abolished primogeniture, by which the -eldest son, to the exclusion of all other children, inherits -the entire landed estate of his ancestor, and no one in this -country at this day would think of restoring that right, -although it still obtains in England. If limitations should -be put upon the disposition of vast estates by will or -descent, future generations would doubtless look upon our -present laws, which allow such estates to be perpetuated -in certain families, with the same disfavor with which we -now look upon the laws of primogeniture.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Evasions of laws limiting the amount of property to be -devised or inherited, by conveyance during life, could be -prohibited in like manner as conveyances in fraud of -creditors are now prohibited.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i-068.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_401'>401</span> - <h3 class='c015'>IX. <br /> DIRECT LEGISLATION.</h3> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div>THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c030'>“No people can be self-governing who are denied the right to -vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on every law by which they are to be governed.”—<span class='sc'>Eltweed -Pomeroy.</span></p> - -<p class='drop-capa0_3_0_4 c018'>THE <em>Initiative</em> gives the people the power to compel -the legislature to put in form all such laws as they -may initiate or demand by a preliminary vote.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Referendum</em> gives the people the power to reject or -ratify any legislation enacted by the legislature. All legislative -enactments to be referred to the people for their -ratification by vote before they become laws.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>The Imperative Mandate</em> gives the people the right to -vote out of office at any time men who fail to serve the -public or who are untrue to their pledges.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Proportional Representation</em> secures the representation of -all parties in proportion to their numerical strength.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Representative Government</em> means government by representatives -elected by the people, but independent of the -people after election and empowered to ignore or overrule -the people’s will.</p> - -<p class='c006'><em>Popular Government</em>, or democracy, means government of, -for and by the people. It will be possible only when all -officeholders are honest or when the people’s representatives -are made subject to the people’s will by the adoption -of the referendum. History proves that permanent popular -government without direct legislation is impossible.</p> - -<p class='c006'>There is a radical difference between a democracy and a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_402'>402</span>representative government. Whenever a people are qualified -for self-government no power on earth can prevent -them from exercising that right. The American people -have been too busy “making money” to study their real -economic needs, and the result is that irresponsible demagogues -have made laws which have plunged the nation into -almost hopeless debt, paralyzed its business and impoverished -most of the people. The voters have several times -of late risen in their wrath and “turned the rascals out,” -but it was only to elect another set of rascals, of different -political complexion, perhaps, but equally dishonest and -equally irresponsible. The so-called “landslides” in -recent elections, while they have resulted in no real -reform, indicate that the people have begun to think. -Soon they will realize that they can control their own -government only by keeping the legislation in their own -hands—that they must not delegate their sovereignty to -representatives or servants, by whatever name they may -be known. It is only by means of the <em>initiative</em> and -the <em>referendum</em> that the people can maintain their supremacy. -The general adoption of this system is the next step -in the world’s progress.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The initiative and referendum will take the element of -partisanship out of the settlement of economic questions, -and this alone is sufficient reason why it should be adopted. -Suppose the question of tariff were submitted to the people -to vote on. Members of all parties would vote for it and -against it, and the majority would decide. It would -become a question of economics, not a partisan issue, and -would be settled on its merits. The same with the free -coinage of silver, paper money, public ownership of railroads, -prohibition, and every other great question which -the old political parties have straddled or evaded.</p> - -<p class='c006'>But the principal advantage of the referendum is that it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_403'>403</span>would do away entirely with the lobby—“the third house.” -There would be no inducement for any one to bribe the -lawmakers. They might sell their individual votes, but -these would be worthless, as only the people could -“deliver the goods.” The people would be quick to see -the value of the franchises and privileges which are now -being practically given away, to be used by corporations -to still further enslave the masses.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Switzerland is the home of the referendum. It is commonly -believed that that republic has existed for six hundred -years. The fact, however, is that it is the youngest -of republics. The characteristic features of the government, -those which make it a republic in fact as well as in -name, were instituted by the present generation. It is the -only country in the world to-day which has overthrown its -plutocracy and which has made it impossible for corrupt -politicians to rule the people through the representative -system. To the principle of direct legislation, as carried -out by the initiative and referendum must be ascribed the -happy conditions which surround its politics. Mr. W. D. -McCrackan, author of “The Rise of the Swiss Republic,” -who has made a special study of the subject, has published -in the <cite>Arena</cite> his observations of Swiss politics. He finds -that, as a result of the referendum, jobbery and extravagance -are unknown, and that politics, as there is no money -in it, has ceased to be a trade. Officeholders are taken -from the ranks of citizenship and are invariably chosen -because of their fitness for the work. The people take an -intelligent interest in the legislation, local and federal, and -are fully imbued with a sense of their political responsibilities. -The <cite>Westminster Review</cite>, speaking of the referendum, -expresses this opinion:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“The bulk of the people move more slowly than their -representatives, are more cautious in adopting new and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_404'>404</span>trying legislative experiments and have a tendency to -reject propositions submitted to them for the first time.... -The issue which is presented to the sovereign people is -invariably and necessarily reduced to its simplest expression -and so placed before them as to be capable of an -affirmative or negative answer. In practice, therefore, the -discussion of details is left to the representative assemblies, -while the public express approval or disapproval of -the general principle or policy embraced in the proposed -measure. Public attention being confined to the issue, -leaders are nothing. Collective wisdom judges of merits.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>In some of the cantons of Switzerland the referendum -has been in practice since the sixteenth century. As it is -now employed it was adopted by the canton of St. Gallen -in 1830, and in 1848 it was incorporated in the Swiss federal -constitution. It has been so extended since then that -it is now in operation in all the Swiss cantons except -Freiburg.</p> - -<p class='c006'>According to the Swiss constitution all amendments -thereto must be ratified by the Swiss electors before they -become effective. Other measures, like ordinary enactments, -must be submitted to a popular vote if a demand is -made for such submission, written ninety days after their -publication. This demand must be made by 30,000 voters -or by the government of eight of the nineteen entire and -six half cantons. In Switzerland the referendum has -proved to be entirely satisfactory as a check upon hasty or -class legislation.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In his valuable book, “Direct Legislation,” J. W. Sullivan -thus recounts what the Swiss have done by direct -legislation:</p> - -<div class='quote'> - -<p class='c006'>“They have made it easy at any time to alter their cantonal -or federal constitutions—that is, to change, even -radically, the organization of society, the social contract, -and thus to permit a peaceful revolution at the will of the -majority. They have as well cleared from the way of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_405'>405</span>majority rule every obstacle—privilege of ruler, fetter of -ancient law, power of legislator. They have simplified -the structure of government, held their officials as servants, -rendered bureaucracy impossible, converted their representatives -to simple committeemen, and shown the parliamentary -system not essential to law-making. They have -written their laws in language so plain that a layman may -be judge in the highest court. They have forestalled -monopolies, improved and reduced taxation, avoided -incurring heavy public debts, and made a better distribution -of their land than any other European country. They -have practically given home rule in local affairs to every -community. They have calmed disturbing political elements; -the press is purified, the politician disarmed, the -civil service well regulated. Hurtful partisanship is passing -away. Since the people as a whole will never willingly surrender -their sovereignty, reactionary movement is possible -only in case the nation should go backward. But the way -is open forward. Social ideals may be realized in act and -institution. Even now the liberty-loving Swiss citizen can -discern in the future a freedom in which every individual—independent, -possessed of rights in nature’s resources -and in command of the fruits of his toil—may, at his will, -on the sole condition that he respect the like aim of other -men, pursue his happiness.”</p> - -</div> - -<h4 class='c029'>Proportional Representation.</h4> - -<p class='c023'>The term proportional representation has come to be -generally applied to a method of electing representatives -whereby the representation shall be in proportion to the -votes polled by the several parties, or groups of voters, -as against the present method of electing them from single -districts by a plurality vote. To effect this end numerous -plans have been put forth.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <em>cumulative vote</em> allows the voter as many votes as -there are representatives to be elected and permits him to -distribute them as he pleases among the candidates. This -method is applied in a limited degree to the choice of -members of the lower house of the Illinois legislature. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_406'>406</span>Each district elects three members, and the voter can cast -three votes for one candidate, one and a half votes for two, -or one vote each for three.</p> - -<p class='c006'>With the <em>limited or restricted vote</em> the voter has a less -number of votes than the number of representatives to be -elected. Thus in the city of Boston the new law allows -the voter to vote for only seven aldermen on one ticket, -and declares the twelve candidates receiving the highest -vote elected.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <em>preferential</em>, or, as it is commonly known, <em>the Hare -vote</em>, allows the voter to cast one ballot upon which he has -named as many candidates as he sees fit, the candidates -named being understood to represent the first, second, -third, etc., choice. The whole number of ballots cast is -divided by the number of representatives to be chosen, -and the quotient is the quota, or number of votes required -to elect one candidate. In counting the ballots the first -choices are read first; the candidate who receives a quota -is declared elected, and the remaining votes cast for him -are counted for the next name on the ballot who is the -second choice of the voter.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <em>free list, or Swiss vote</em>, allows the voter to vote for a -list or ticket, as we do in this country, and to designate -preferences on the list. The total vote is divided as in the -Hare system to get the quota, and the several parties are -apportioned representatives according to the number of -quotas they have. The successful candidates are those -standing highest on their respective lists. This method is -now in use in Switzerland for the election of representatives.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <em>Gove system</em> is a modified form of the Hare method. -Instead of the voter naming the candidates whom he prefers, -the candidates themselves before election announce -to whom they will give their surplus vote.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The <em>proxy vote</em> is simply an introduction of the corporation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_407'>407</span>vote into legislative bodies. The candidates who are -elected in the legislative assembly cast, not their individual -votes, as at present, but the number of proxies they hold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>It will be seen that there are three principles involved -in these several methods, the election by cumulation of -votes, the election by quotas, and the vote by proxies. -The cumulative vote was the first to be put into actual -service, being used in England for the election of members -of school boards, etc., and in this country in the -so-called three-cornered districts for the election of members -of the legislature. It still has the support of quite a -number of persons, but its limitations are now coming to -be recognized. John Stuart Mill, who was an advocate of -the cumulative vote, declared it to be merely a makeshift in -comparison with the quota system of Hare. The objection -to the cumulative vote lies in the fact that if the districts -are small only two parties can obtain representation, -and these in an arbitrary way, while if the districts be -larger, that is, if the number of representatives in the district -be made greater, the waste and uncertainty is apparent. -A party may decide to vote for four candidates when -it has votes enough to elect six; or it may try for six when -it has votes for only four. In either case it is deprived of -a part of its just share in the representation. The proxy -system contains some theoretical merits, but it is feared -that in practice it would not work well at present. The -tendency to hero-worship would prompt so many voters to -give their proxies to a few favorites that the real voting -strength of the assembly would be in the hands of two or -three men, thus destroying its value as a deliberative body.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The real strength of proportional representation lies in -some form of the quota principle, and the tendency in this -<a id='corr497.33'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='county'>country</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_497.33'><ins class='correction' title='county'>country</ins></a></span>, as in Switzerland and Belgium, is toward the -free list.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_a1'>a1</span><span class='large'>IMPORTANT BOOKS, MOSTLY WITH A PURPOSE,</span></div> - <div>Published and Sold by</div> - <div class='c000'>THE SCHULTE PUBLISHING COMPANY.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id028'> -<img src='images/leaves.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c036'><b>The Railroad Question.</b></p> - -<p class='c037'>By <span class='sc'>William Larrabee</span> (late Governor of Iowa). 12mo, cloth -extra, gilt top (488 pages), $1.50; paper, 50 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A historical and practical treatise on railroads and remedies -for their abuses. The standard on this important subject.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No work has ever before told so completely and clearly -what the public want to know.”—<cite>Western Rural.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“While radical in its treatment of the question, no side has -been overlooked.”—<cite>Banker’s Magazine.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“A thorough treatise by an able mind. The authorities -quoted are the best in print.”—<cite>Coming Nation.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>The Little Statesman.</b></p> - -<p class='c037'>By <span class='sc'>K. L. Armstrong</span> (F. J. Schulte). Large 12mo, paper, -25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A manual for American voters. A complete political -encyclopedia from the Reform standpoint. Contains: A Short -History of American Politics. Steps in the Growth of American -Liberty: Magna Charta—The Mecklenburg Declaration—The -Declaration of Independence. The Constitution of the -United States. The New Declaration of Independence. A -New Study of Political Economy. Sectionalism in American -Politics. The Laws of Property. Interest and Usury. Debt -and Slavery. The Land Question. An Exposition of the Single -Tax. Co-operation. Direct Legislation: The Initiative and -Referendum—Proportional Representation. The Philosophy -of Money. A Bird’s-Eye View of American Financial -History. Eight Money Conspiracies. The Transportation -Problem, etc., etc.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_a2'>a2</span>Hon. Lyman Trumbull says of <span class='sc'>The Little Statesman</span>: -“I know of no other publication embodying in the same compass -so much valuable information for the student of the -political history of this country.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hon. Ignatius Donnelly: “The best compendium of political -information that I have seen.”</p> - -<p class='c036'><b>Our Money Wars.</b></p> - -<p class='c037'>By <span class='sc'>Samuel Leavitt</span>. Cloth, $1.25: paper, 50 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This is without doubt one of the most important of recent -publications. It is the most complete and comprehensive -history of American finance ever published. The book is the -result of a lifetime of study and work, and will be indispensable -to all who wish to keep posted on the money question.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Henry Carey Baird, of Philadelphia, a prominent citizen and -still running the publishing house run by his grandfather and -uncle since 1785, is generally considered by reformers the most -accurate and reliable writer upon money reform in the world. -He has read the work and says: “It is a source of amazement -to me how you have gotten together so much information. It -is just the book we have been wanting for twenty-five years, -and should have an immense sale.”</p> - -<p class='c036'><b>The Battle of the Standards.</b></p> - -<p class='c037'>By <span class='sc'>Henry M. Teller</span> and <span class='sc'>James H. Teller</span>. Large 12mo -Paper, 25 cents. (English or German.)</p> - -<p class='c006'>This is, without a doubt, <em>the</em> book on the Silver side of the -greatest question which is now before the American people. It -is a masterly presentation, and answers systematically and -effectively all the arguments of the gold standard advocates. -“The latest and the best.”</p> - -<p class='c006'><b>The Condition of the American Farmer.</b></p> - -<p class='c006'>Large 12mo, 64 pages, 10 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>In this compact and convincing work the author reviews the -farmer’s income, the depreciation of farm property, increase of -tenant farmers, decadence of home ownership, etc., and shows -that owing to the demonetization of silver and the contraction -of our currency the average farmer of the United States is -compelled to live on an income below that provided for paupers -by public charity and receives less for his labor than the State -of Illinois receives for the labor of convicts.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_a3'>a3</span>George E. Bowen, Assistant Secretary American Bimetallic -Union writes: “Although we are handling a great many -books, I may safely say that this one, for the farmer or country -merchant, is the best vote-maker we have seen.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><b>The Science of Legal Robbery.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>Miscalled the Science of Finance. By <span class='sc'>Percy Kinnaird</span>. -12mo, 150 pages. Paper, 25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This book reviews the innovations upon the financial system -inaugurated by the Constitutional fathers—some of them -vicious innovations, and others unavoidable through the legacy -of economical errors left by the financial pioneers of the infant -republic. It shows logically and conclusively that the legal-tender -greenback money which took the place of banished -silver and gold money during the civil war (and of which some -$346,000,000 are still in existence) was not a “debt,” but a privileged -circulating medium, as much money as the metals which -preceded, and not any more essentially to be redeemed in anything -than gold itself. With the laborious research and close -analysis of the trained lawyer, the author has followed the -financial legislation of America from the Colonial fathers -down. The subject of money is discussed in the cold, calm light -of pure science. Congressmen, irrespective of party, may -study its pages with profit. There is in it a world of enlightenment -to our lawmakers who are unbought and conscientious. -To the people of the United States, whether borrowers or -lenders of money, it is instructive; to the high school lad, studying -political economy and currency, it is a liberal education. -No more timely or useful contribution to the financial literature -of the times has yet appeared.</p> - -<p class='c005'><b>Ten Men of Money Island.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>A Primer of Finance. By <span class='sc'>S. F. Norton</span>. 12mo, 142 pages, -enameled paper cover, 25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Over half a million copies of this wonderful book have been -sold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“It gives the principles of money in the form of a story so -interesting and in such simple language that even a child can -read it with understanding. This is undoubtedly the simplest -book that has ever been written on the principles of money.”—<span class='sc'>John -B. Gill</span>, Secretary American Economic Reform Society.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_a4'>a4</span>“No man or woman born will, after reading ‘Ten Men of -Money Island,’ deny that the money it cost was well invested.”—<cite>New -York World.</cite></p> - -<p class='c005'><b>The Voter’s X-Rays.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>By <span class='sc'>Clarence T. Atkinson</span>. 12mo, 132 pages. Cloth, 75 -cents; paper, 25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“This book intelligently sets forth the condition of national -affairs as they exist to-day, and its whole tendency is toward -the instruction of the great mass of voters who have not the -time to personally study the many intricate details of American -politics.”—<cite>Burlington Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>A Tramp in Society.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>By <span class='sc'>Robert H. Cowdrey</span>. 12mo, 242 pages; paper cover, -25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Thrilling and fascinating. 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A century ago its author -would have been ostracised for profanity: two centuries ago he -would have been imprisoned as a heretic, and when Columbus -lived he would have been burned at the stake for his risible -attack on the old belief.”—<cite>Kansas City Star.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>Old ’Kaskia Days.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>An American Historical Novel. By <span class='sc'>Elizabeth Holbrook</span>. -Large 12mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.50. Paper, 25 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“A delightful picture of one of the oldest settlements west -of the Alleghenies. There is a pleasant quaintness in the style -of this novel, which is interesting as a story and as a record, -and the local illustrations are important.”—<cite>Review of Reviews.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>In Sunflower Land.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>Stories of God’s Own Country. By <span class='sc'>Roswell Martin Field</span>. -12mo, cloth, gilt top, $1.25.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“A delightful volume. The title of the book refers to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_a6'>a6</span>typical flower of Missouri and Kansas, of which two States Mr. -Field is the prose laureate.”—<cite>Chicago Tribune.</cite></p> - -<p class='c005'><b>Francis Bacon and His Secret Society.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>An Attempt to Collect and Unite the Lost Links of a Long -and Strong Chain. By <span class='sc'>Mrs. Henry Pott</span>, editor of -“Bacon’s Promus.” Illustrated with twenty-seven full-page -plates. Post 8vo, 421 pages, cloth extra, gilt -top. Price, $2.00.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Perhaps the most exhaustive study of Bacon and his works -possible to any writer of the present, or, indeed, any future -age.”—<cite>Minneapolis Times.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>Memoirs of the International Congress of Anthropology.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>Edited by <span class='sc'>C. Staniland Wake</span>. Illustrated. Imperial 8vo, -deckled edges, gilt top. Price, $10 net. Edition limited, -and only a few copies still unsold.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“No public or private library which is designed to present to -its readers the attainments of our age, at the highwater mark -of its development, should be without this remarkable series of -reports.”—<cite>Critic.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“One of the most substantial contributions to knowledge -that have resulted from the Chicago Congresses of 1893 is this -magnificent volume.”—<cite>Dial.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>The White Ribbon Cook Book.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>Economy and Wealth, Temperance and Health in the Household. -A Collection of Original and Revised Recipes in -Cookery and Housekeeping. Edited by <span class='sc'>Kathryn Armstrong</span>. -16mo, 275 pages, cloth extra, 75 cents.</p> - -<p class='c006'>A first-class book, prepared by a practical housekeeper. -While it is not claimed that it is in all respects superior to all -other books, we do claim that any housekeeper, even if she have -a dozen other cook books, will find this one worth to her more -than the price, and that the author has fully carried out her -purpose: “To prove that wine, brandy and spirituous liquors -of any kind may be dispensed with, and that no culinary -requirement necessitates the introduction of these poisons into -any household.”</p> - -<p class='c036'><b>Sex and Life.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>The Physiology and Hygiene of the Sexual Organization. By -<span class='sc'>Eli F. Brown</span>, M. S., M. D. Illustrated. 16mo, cloth -extra, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_a7'>a7</span>“A very sensible book. After describing the common sex -principle in plants and animals the author enters upon the -discussion of conjugal love, heredity, the use and abuse of the -sexual passion, and other topics which seldom find a place in -a volume of general reading.”—<cite>San Francisco Chronicle.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“A modest, compact, scientific exposition.”—<cite>Chicago Times.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“How to teach such truths has been the study of many a -teacher and many a parent. There is but one proper way, and -that is by plain facts which, while teaching the truths of -science, impress upon the mind the grandeur of right living. -Dr. Brown strikes these chords admirably.”—<cite>Inter Ocean.</cite></p> - -<p class='c036'><b>The Little Giant Cyclopedia</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>And Treasury of Ready Reference. By <span class='sc'>K. L. Armstrong</span>. -16mo, 512 pages. Flexible morocco, red edges, $1.00. A -million and one facts and figures. 84 colored maps and -charts. 2,500 useful tables, recipes, trade secrets, etc. -Over 300,000 copies sold. Each new edition revised up -to date. <span class='small'>Sold by subscription.</span></p> - -<p class='c006'>“One of the marvels of the day. It should be on every -writer’s table, and the familiar book in every household.”—<cite>Chicago -Leader.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“This wonderful book will add a year to any man’s lifetime, -if it may be said that time saved is time snatched from the -grave. The merchant, the mechanic, the lawyer, the doctor, -the teacher and the scholar will all find, in this compact -volume, much information pertaining to all the various interests -of life.”—<cite>Tribune.</cite></p> - -<p class='c006'>“I have added ‘<span class='sc'>The Little Giant</span>’ to my library, where it -has a most desirable front seat.”—<span class='sc'>John A. Cockerill</span>, late -Editor-in-chief <cite>New York World</cite>.</p> - -<p class='c036'><b>Armstrong’s Giant Cyclopedia</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>And Treasury of Practical Knowledge. By <span class='sc'>K. L. Armstrong</span>. -Quarto, 512 double-column pages, cloth, red -edges, $2.50; half morocco, marbled edges, $3.50; full -morocco, gilt edges, $4.50. Illustrated with colored -charts and diagrams.</p> - -<p class='c006'>This book answers more of the questions of everyday life -than all the cyclopedias combined, whether published in one or -twenty-six volumes. <span class='small'>Sold by subscription.</span></p> - -<p class='c036'><span class='pageno' id='Page_a8'>a8</span><b>Memorial to Brian Boroimhe.</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>A Genealogical History of the Milesian Families of Ireland, -with a Chart of their Armorial Bearings. Price, $5.00. -<span class='small'>Sold by subscription.</span></p> - -<p class='c021'><b>Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat).</b></p> - -<p class='c038'>By <span class='sc'>W. I. Hood</span>. With 120 illustrations by <span class='sc'>C. B. Falls</span>, and -an appendix edited by <span class='sc'>K. L. Armstrong</span>. Post 8vo, -over 400 pages.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'>Sold by subscription only.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>This wonderful book is the sensation of the last decade of the -nineteenth century, and is exerting a powerful influence in the -battle of the people against the money power. It is the most -timely and most original book which has ever come from the pen -and brain of an American author. It will make you laugh. It -will make you cry. It will make you think. It will sweep the -cobwebs out of your brain.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id029'> -<img src='images/decorative_line.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>IT is an easy matter to “float with the tide,” but it takes courage, -ability and unceasing industry to pull against the stream. In these -degenerate times, when the book-stands and the publishing-houses are -jammed with a class of literature that can only be characterized as abominable -“rot,” it is refreshing to find one man who has the courage to -publish reform works. The man thus alluded to is F. J. Schulte, of the -Schulte Publishing Company, Chicago. At the risk of being ostracised by -the aristocrats of the business world (for there is an aristocracy in business -as well as in society) he has made a specialty of publishing what are known -as reform works. Contrary, however, to the general rule in such cases, -Mr. Schulte has made a remarkable success of his business venture. He has -published some of the best-selling books ever put upon the market. We -congratulate him and congratulate the reform movement on his good work, -and hope it will continue.—<span class='sc'>S. F. Norton</span> (1891).</p> - -<div class='figcenter id029'> -<img src='images/decorative_line.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c006'><b>Any book on this list will be sent postpaid, or delivered by our -representatives, to any address on receipt of price.... Special -discounts in quantities to Agents, Speakers, Campaign Committees -and Reform Workers generally....</b></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><b><span class='xlarge'>THE SCHULTE PUBLISHING COMPANY</span></b></div> - <div><b>323-325 Dearborn Street</b> <b>CHICAGO</b></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<p class='c006'><a id='endnote'></a></p> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>Transcriber’s Note</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and -are noted here. Inconsistencies in the punctuation in the list of -illustration captions have been resolved, without any annotation -here. In that sequentially numbered list, number 126 had been -misprinted as 216, and has been corrected.</p> - -<p class='c006'>On p. <a href='#Page_368'>368</a>, the paragraph derived from <em>William Jocob</em> refers -to <em>William Jacob’s</em> <cite>An historical inquiry into the production -and consumption of precious metals, Vol. I.</cite>, 1831. The statistics -given are extracted from multiple pages, which makes the mis-matched -closing quotation mark misleading at best.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Lapses in punctuation in the advertising pages have also been -silently addressed.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Hyphenation is not always consistent. Where the hyphen appeared at -the end of a line, it was retained or removed based on the usage -elsewhere in the text.</p> - -<p class='c006'>The references are to the page and line in the original. -The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.</p> - -<table class='table4' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='69%' /> -<col width='18%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_66.20'></a><a href='#corr66.20'>66.20</a></td> - <td class='c011'>In this he dident do his dooty[,/.]</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_75.30'></a><a href='#corr75.30'>75.30</a></td> - <td class='c011'>Tur[n]in to the lot of high-toned cattle</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_86.22'></a><a href='#corr86.22'>86.22</a></td> - <td class='c011'>“Why, Jobe,” says[,] I,</td> - <td class='c039'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_118.17'></a><a href='#corr118.17'>118.17</a></td> - <td class='c011'>and as a differe[u/n]ce of $400</td> - <td class='c039'>Transposed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_288.7'></a><a href='#corr288.7'>288.7</a></td> - <td class='c011'>Since the world-wide demonetization of silver[,] gold only</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_294.1'></a><a href='#corr294.1'>294.1</a></td> - <td class='c011'>gold and silver are ho[a]rded or exported</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_309.5'></a><a href='#corr309.5'>309.5</a></td> - <td class='c011'>which resulted in clearing Massachu[s]etts of debt</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_313.2'></a><a href='#corr313.2'>313.2</a></td> - <td class='c011'>so [plenty] here.</td> - <td class='c039'><em>sic</em> plentiful?</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_320.25'></a><a href='#corr320.25'>320.25</a></td> - <td class='c011'>or duties on imports, supp[p]osing that</td> - <td class='c039'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_324.32'></a><a href='#corr324.32'>324.32</a></td> - <td class='c011'>The Dem[o]crats</td> - <td class='c039'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_325.18'></a><a href='#corr325.18'>325.18</a></td> - <td class='c011'><cite>The Act of December 17, 1860 (Statutes [11/12])</cite></td> - <td class='c039'>Wrong volume.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_330.36'></a><a href='#corr330.36'>330.36</a></td> - <td class='c011'>whose motto was[./,] “Act in the living present.”</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_331.32'></a><a href='#corr331.32'>331.32</a></td> - <td class='c011'>the amount of indem[n]ity due Germany</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_342.26'></a><a href='#corr342.26'>342.26</a></td> - <td class='c011'>such money to[ to] be kept</td> - <td class='c039'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_346.4'></a><a href='#corr346.4'>346.4</a></td> - <td class='c011'>when c[a/o]mpared with gold</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_348.16'></a><a href='#corr348.16'>348.16</a></td> - <td class='c011'>put public obligatio[n/u]s into stocks</td> - <td class='c039'>Inverted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_348.23'></a><a href='#corr348.23'>348.23</a></td> - <td class='c011'>is villainy unnamed and unnam[e]able.</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_349.24'></a><a href='#corr349.24'>349.24</a></td> - <td class='c011'>s[i/u]bmit to the gold standard</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_357.7'></a><a href='#corr357.7'>357.7</a></td> - <td class='c011'>and of Threadneedle St[r]eet in London</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_368.8'></a><a href='#corr368.8'>368.8</a></td> - <td class='c011'><em>William J[o/a]cob, F. R. S.</em></td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_384.28'></a><a href='#corr384.28'>384.28</a></td> - <td class='c011'>1[9/8]90 to more than all the assessed value</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_396.32'></a><a href='#corr396.32'>396.32</a></td> - <td class='c011'>manner i[u/n] which the business</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_397.5'></a><a href='#corr397.5'>397.5</a></td> - <td class='c011'>according to the chara[c]ter</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_397.30'></a><a href='#corr397.30'>397.30</a></td> - <td class='c011'>when nece[c/s]sary for the public good</td> - <td class='c039'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c011'><a id='c_497.33'></a><a href='#corr497.33'>497.33</a></td> - <td class='c011'>count[r]y>, as in Switzerland and Belgium,</td> - <td class='c039'>Inserted.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe -Gaskins (Republican), by W. 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