People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1894 — THE MONEY POWER. [ARTICLE]

THE MONEY POWER.

Tyrannical Demands of Wall Street Upon People of the Country. Oil. Oates, of Alabama, says that Mr. Cleveland told him personally that the money power of Wall street could drain the treasury of its gold in fortyeight hours. This being so, the fact makes the banks the controlling power in legislation—more influential than congress and more powerful than the people. When any measure meets the disapproval of the money power of Wall street the banks have only to menace the treasury. On the other hand, whenever they desire to push a measure tnrough they have only to resort to the satne process of menace. If this does not follow then their power to drain the treasury of its resources is of no significance whatever. Taking it for granted, then, that the banks of Wall street can drain the treasury in forty-eight hours, it is of the utmost importance that the people should know the legislative policy which these banks have in view, and which they are preparing to carry through under the leadership of the eastern democrats and republicans. They have already established the single gold standard by refusing to permit substitute legislation for the Sherman act, and they have compelled an issue of bonds. What, then, is to oc the next scheme of the banks of (Vail street? We need not go far to

find out The organized nwraey power* is neither modest nor tim'd in y resent' ing its views, nor backward in f srther- ■ ing its purposes. In Rhodes’ Jonrnal of Banking far March we find an oatline of the desire* of thA banks with respect to the currency. The Journal of Banking, after 1 calling attention to the fact that the?e is now outstanding more than 8800.000,000 in paper redeemable in gold, declares that the banks cannot be expected to come to the aid of the treasury with any degree of eagerness so long as there is so much papier currency afloat. We are told, in effect, that this papier currency represents a eonstaotnnd pressing danger; that while there is such a disproportion between the amount of paper and the stock of gold we ennnot really have “sound" money. Of course, gold can be got from the sale of more bonds, bnt the Journal of Banking says that “jnst ns long as bonds are offered for sale the gold to purchase them will be drawn from the treasury itself.” But the same periodical makes it perfectly clear that the banks of \\ all street —the organized money power—are not at all satisfied with the bond issue scheme There is money in it for them, of course, but the profit is too small in comparison to the power and influence they wield. A bond issue is “a mere pialliative.” The banks can “easily accommodate the treasury by urnishing gold for export or for payment on bonds when they have it in their power to demand it back at any time or make the government go to protest.” But even this situation is not satisfactory. The presence in the circulation of so much piaper currency “requires a remedy more radical than any of these devices.” Yes, indeed! “It requires that a large portion of the $:«»&,- 01)1,438 of government paper should b« retired.” There you are in great shape, and there is the scheme of contraction which the organized money power have set themselves to engineer through congress. Here are the people on one side clamoring for enough money to carry on business and give employment to labor, and, on the other side, the organized money power clamoring for the retirement of “a large part" of the small stock of currency the people now have. Which will win—the people or the organized money power?—Atlanta Constitution.