Why Is
Your Country at War and What Happens to You after the War and Related Subjects
Charles A. Lindbergh
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH AND SON, CHARLES A., JR.
Why is Your Country at War
and
What Happens to You after the War
and
Related Subjects
Charles A. Lindbergh
Index at End of Book
Washington, D. C.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Copyrighted by
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH
To Readers: Materially connected with the conditions as they exist now, is my book bearing the title, "Banking and Currency and The Money Trust," published 1913, in which is the following prefatory statement:
The market prices of commodities vary from day to day and often several times a day. This occurs when there is no radical difference in the proportion of supply and the natural demands. This fact is conclusive proof that our system is controlled by manipulators and is fundamentally wrong. I have sought to elucidate this problem within this volume and have suggested a plan which, if adopted, would make the people themselves master of the world, instead of the present master—The Money Trust.
What I predicted in the book above referred to is now taking place. The "press" controlled by "big business" at the time of the publication of that book, attacked me savagely for predicting dire results from the "big business" system. We now have what I then said we would have. I make no claim to magic knowledge. On the contrary, any attempt to say what the future will bring, I maintain would be a folly unless it is based upon facts that inevitably lead to certain things. There are facts that do that, and it is upon such facts that I published that book, and now again publish this new book, widening the scope of consideration by taking additional subjects. The former book is cloth bound, has 318 pages, and will be sent to an address postage prepaid for \$1.00. Its contents are as important now as when written, and immensely more interesting because of the subsequent developments
Charles A. Lindbergh, P. O. Address, either Little Falls, Minnesota, or Washington, D. C.
INTRODUCTORY
All that I ask of readers of this book is that they give it hospitable consideration. We of this particular time—now—have the most important economic problems that were ever actively presented to be solved. To a greater extent than ever before, the world presents the failure in some respects of the existing civilization. Failure must be acknowledged as a fact. No one can question that the old order of things is what has run us "off the track," and that a new plan of things must be worked out.
I believe that I am as patriotic as any one. To be that implies bias in favor of my own country. I admit that I look upon the United States as the best, but that does not preclude me, a sovereign citizen from looking the truth in the face and objecting to many things that take place, if I believe them wrong. I realize also, that to depart from the ordinary practices of enthusing over some things that we have habitually enthused on, and that in addition to that failure, to state truths about certain things that are practiced by a certain "inner circle," invites unfeeling criticism to be heaped upon me by those who defend what herein I shall assail. Let that be whatever it may be, this little volume presents facts and arguments on things as they are.
It is not the war which furnishes us with the largest problems to solve, but it is the conditions and things that existed before the war and that caused us to enter the war, that we must solve. If we do not they will continue and be even worse after the war and furnish cause for later wars. Incidentally we must consider
several things, among them the following:
WHY IS YOUR COUNTRY AT WAR?
Claiming it as a fact that ours is the best of the existing governments and that the basis for the grandest opportunities exist here, in spite of those truths, do we have the advantages that our "continental conditions" make it practical for us to have?
I conclusively prove herein that we do not, and I have outlined a simpler and less expensive plan that could be made effective without delay that would give
us the advantages that its conditions justify
Why is our country at war and how does it happen that already some of the best citizens have gone and that great numbers are about to be sent to the battle-
fields in Europe to kill and be killed?
Trespass upon our rights on the high seas makes our cause just, still I do not claim that it was wise to enter the war. I believe the problem could have been settled without war or sacrifice of national honor, the same as we expect to adjust the trespass upon our rights to the high seas by other nations. Our purpose is humane, nevertheless I believe that I have proved that a certain "inner circle," without official authority and for selfish purposes, adroitly manuevered things to bring about conditions that would make it practically certain that some of the belligerents would violate our international rights and bring us to war with them.
To what extent shall we prosecute the war?
Our highest representative is Congress and the President. Whether we believe their official acts right or not in this matter, we must support them with all our power. There are two sides involved internationally, and we are for America. Whether in battle, in industry or elsewhere—everywhere and wherever really needed or required, we will respond patriotically.
Up to the time of taking official action, it is our right as sovereign citizens to direct Congress and the President and to have them act as our servants to put
into effect our demands. We should never surrender our sovereign right to petition or otherwise properly influence either Congress or the President. We should spurn as contemptible to the idea of democracy the oft-heralded statement of "Stand by the President," in the sense of its present frequent use because it is too often used as a guise to deceive.
We should stand by the President and Congress as well, in the execution of their official duties, but until their acts become law, it is our right to direct them as we believe right and to determine their authority. Even after they have officially acted, we are still at liberty to seek to have officially undone what has officially been done—that is, to change and officially amend. There is much which they have done that should be repealed or amended. Any attempt under the guise of war or otherwise to prevent this being done in the legal way is revolutionary, and invites revolution in opposition.
Is the social and business policy of our country such that it is impossible for the masses to secure their
industrial rights?
I prove herein that it is impossible.
Do the dominant political parties still serve the pur-
poses that originated them and if not why not?
This is discussed from the practical application of the relation of things that are to the relation of things that clearly would be if we had made the best of our continental opportunities.
What are the influences that prevent a fulfillment of the best purposes of our nation with the continental
advantages that we possess?
This and the previously stated and incidental problems, form the basis on which this volume was written. I have reduced the size of the book on purpose to have it suitable to be carried in the pocket to be studied at spare moments and to loan to friends and to be enlarged upon by all readers through their own experiences.
I realize, of course, that at this time it is impossible for any one to discuss impartially the facts that have grown up out of the war without being charged with being either pro-German or Pro-British according to the temperment of the critic. It is impossible according to the big press to be a true American unless you are pro-British. If you are really for America first, last and all the time, and solely for America and for the masses primarily, then you are classed as pro-German by the big press which are supported by the speculators. In the discussion of all subjects in this volume, it is my aim to impartially state the truth, whether it favors or disfavors England, Germany or even America itself for I have never been able to take the view that we should even deceive ourselves as to our own American faults in order to become true Americans. Of course I shall avoid the discussion of any subject that might give any satisfaction to our military foe.
Chapter VI is a departure from the regular—a
dialogue—to emphasize a condition
I had, before beginning this, already prepared the manuscript for another book, but before going to print, war was declared. I believe now that, under all the circumstances I prefer to print that following the establishment of peace.
Charles A. Lindbergh.
CHAPTER II
POSSESSION OF THE EARTH-WHAT FOR?
We—mankind, yes, that is it: This is our earth. There is no one else to claim it. If there was we would contest the claim. We even contest it as between each other. It is not exclusively my earth, but my rights are as great as those of any other, and their rights are equal to mine, and equal to each other. Thus we all come out in the same half bushel so far as our abstract rights are measured.
Mankind—yes, if any one else, beast or whatever it might be, made a claim to the earth we would contest the claim. Why? Because we need it and we claim it for ourselves. No other body, however, has made a claim, and as too all other kinds, mankind is in the
undisputed possession
My rights stop where your rights begin, and yours stop where mine begin. Everybody's rights stop where the other body's rights begin. Still there rages a frightful conflict—nothing so appalling in dealing death and destruction has occurred since the creation
Who is it then, that is claiming the other fellow's rights? I see—it is mixed: Some claim the other fellow's rights and are fighting to possess his advantages; some have trampled down the other fellow and already possess his belongings; some trespass; some defend—some claim the right to rule and dominate the others, and the others deny the right—all in this mighty conflict that threatens the destruction of the major portion of mankind, and if spared from that, be reduced to abject industrial slavery, unless we reason, rather than follow mere naked impulse to guide us.
How did all this hell come about? Can it be crushed, so peace, good will and universal prosperity may be restored? As to that see the subsequent chapters.
Mr. William W. Clay, of Chicago, Ill., is the author of the following, setting into poetry Chapter II above.
What For?
Alone am I here,
Bewildered, stupeded,
In deepest agony of soul;
While all about
The shouts of frenzied men
Ring out their hideous cry for war.
WHAT FOR? WHAT FOR?
I hear far off
The battle raging hot
In furious, desperate strife:
I see its flame
Dart toward me 'cross the sea,
Seething with hate and misery.
I see the dead.
Deep in the trenches strewn
Their mangled, rotting, bodies lie.
I see their souls:
They hover all around—
Dismayed; but helpless, e'en as I.
I see those left;
Widowed and orphaned,
Crippled and starving: Better dead.
I see! I hear!
I hear them cry to God:
"Almighty God! Why is this war?"
WHAT FOR? WHAT FOR?
I hear the din That drowns HIS answer out; The battle shout—The cannon's roar The howl from Hell Demanding blow for blow And cursing me who thinks not so.
I see below 'Where devils line the way From Hellespont to Hellespeak. I see them grin; I see them prance about; I see them revel in hell's heat.
Onward they come; Mephisto in the lead, Waving the skull and bones on high. Near is his hand: Close to my throat his touch; Oh God! Hold off that dreadful clutch
I see above:
I see the angels' tears:
I see them gaze in anxious fear.
I see HIM there;
I see HIS blood stained cross;
I see HIS saddened soul's despair.
I see—and yet
Betrayed and crucified,
In agony of soul HE weeps;
While all about
The shouts of frenzied men
Ring out their hideous cry for war.
WHAT FOR?
CHAPTER III
CONTINENTAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS IN AMERICA
No one can walk or march here to invade us—they must swim or fly if they come. We have surrendered neither our domestic nor our international rights, but we have slept on both of these rights too long. A few, however, were awake all the time putting the rest of us in a vice. So we find the existing order of things strangulating—menacing our hold on life. We have become extremely uncomfortable—even irritable. We Americans have an intolerable political condition to overcome.
Politics and business, we were told, should be kept separate. The wealth grabbers told us that. The rank and file of us did not mix into politics at all, except to vote occasionally, and scarcely knew why we did that. But the wealth grabbers did not keep their business out of politics. We were the only ones that tried to keep business and politics separate, and the effect was that we kept out of politics altogether, except merely to vote to give politicians power. When we get down to "brass tacks," however, we will discover that business and politics should go hand in hand, and should not be separated, and that every patriotic American should be actively interested and active in politics.
The Political
Ours was the first government to make a proper start. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and men of that class launched the ship of state, and did it on a sound political and business basis—fitted to growth and
modification as conditions should change—always open to be governed by principles of eternal justice. That was in the beginning and that was the purpose of its continuance. There was nothing demagogic or selfish in the original organizers. The colonists had built up from hard luck, and political oppression from abroad. Therefore they knew the importance of good government. These serious pioneers drafted a wonderful Constitution, though later disfigured by technical court construction that smothered in part the spirit of the greatest instrument ever drawn by the hand of man.
For a time we built to the spirit of that grand instrument, but as the virgin resources renumerated the industry of the people, and they owned more, the temptation to exploit brought into politics demagogues
and hypocrites, and crouded out statesmen.
Under the administration of demagogues, a new and fundamentally pernicious principle was injected into our governmental policy. It was the doctrine of so-called "reasonable profit" to the owners of capital, without taking into account the necessity for a reasonable compensation for the industry and production of the toilers.
Under this destructive policy—now an iron rule, those who can possess themselves of capital, irrespective of whether it is acquired by the owner as the product of his toil, or by accident, hook or crook, become proprietors of the industry of labor, and by that iniquitous rule may take toll, limited only when labor has been reduced to bare subsistence. Upon the practice of this rule, justice in the social world has been undermined, and civilization is being destroyed, properly so if we tolerate the rule, for this earth is not a suitable place for liberty loving people if we shall be subject to its operation.
15
business," thriving off our earnings, knows exactly what it wants, has abundant means, and is completely organized to act and does act in every emergency for its own selfish ends. The special interests have experts to draft their plans. Did we not see how quickly they took hold of the war, at the time it started in Europe and again when we declared war? They are always ready, because they get the earnings from our toil. They know just what they want and have always gotten our representatives to grant it to them. In the last few years they have gotten their greatest increase of wealth.
Of all the cowards, no other is so cowardly as the average politician, considering him in a political sense. That, nevertheless, many of our officials are better men morally and at heart, as well as in ability, than they get credit for. They must, however, be led by the people if we are to succeed. They dare not fight the people's battles unless the people lead them. For the public officials, to fight the people's battles is the "signal" to "big business," to deceive the people and get the latter to defeat such officials at the polls.
If we lead our public officials by showing them exactly what we want, then they will know that we know, and that "big business" will not be able to deceive us as it has done in the past. Then the officials will act in our behalf. A progressive, thinking and observing people will find among themselves men and women suited for public officials to serve the general welfare.
Who Says the People Rule?
Most politicians who face American audiences assume that they can charm with glittering generalities, provided they truckle to a vanity which they presume all persons possess of their own importance. A favorite
thing is to make the audience believe that every American citizen is his own master, and ordinarily they hit it off as follows:
"The people rule; this is a government of, by and for the people."
It was from his heart that Lincoln made such a statement. Because it came from the bottom of his heart it was honest and original with him. But he feared of the future, and his fear was well founded, for the people have not ruled. Some one must rule. It should be the people, but thus far it has not been.
(See index for Lincoln's prophecy.)
These who claim that the people have ruled slander the people, for surely no one can claim that with the enormous advantages that exist in America, that if the people have ruled they are really fit to rule, for all along they have gotten the small end of the advantages that exist, and then think of the mess we are now in. But just the same, this Government is for the people, and it is their right to rule. It is because they have the right, that I seek to show what a dismal, lamentable failure the existing rulers have made of the Government. I do so in the hope that the people themselves may soon exercise their right to rule, and thus we would secure the advantages that really belong to us all.
Our national territory affords us enormously greater advantages than we have had. Only here and there do we find a person who really takes advantage of the opportunities, and even the most of those who do, seek merely the material advantages, which when carried to excess destroy the very purpose of life if it has any
purpose at all. Surely life has a purpose.
It would be useless to show up the disadvantages, unless at the same time we explain the advantages that
CONTINENTAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONN
may be made to take their place. We must be
both in order to understand either.
We must proceed from the individual—th. No government is better than its people. On contrary, every government is less progressive than the people, for you cannot improve any thing before you know how. The intelligence must precede, and that must originate in the individual, and spread to the various units and then take effect on the state. Therefore each of us must know himself first.
Note.—"Big Business," washing the hands of their captains: In all issues of their big press and other publications, you can read about what noble patriots (?) we have in the men who profit by the war, while it is the plain, toiling people who are really supporting the entire system, including the payment of the profits to the big fellows. Here is an example, taken from page 12 of a pamphlet issued June 1, 1917, by Otto Kuhn:
"And if one may be singled out where all have done so magnificently, I am sure that I voice the sentiment of all of you in expressing the tribute of our gratitude and admiration to Mr. Frank A. Vanderlip, the Chairman of the Publicity Committee
of New York's Liberty Loan Committee.
"A more public spirited and patriotic citizen the Republic does not possess, nor the business community a more valuable or
one more worthy of honor."
Mr. Kuhn is a leading member of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., and Mr. Vanderlip is president of the National City Bank of New York City, these being two of the five firms which the committee appointed by Congress to investigate the Money Trust, found by the evidence had done more than any other to strangle all the independent business men and firms of the country; that they were the heads of the Money Trust, organized to absorb the earnings of the people, and keep them toiling for it. (See page 128, this book.) You will find quoted from a circular issued by Mr. Vanderlip's bank to the other banks, a decree to them to keep the people paying high rates of interest. Yes, these men are patriotic (?). They subscribe liberally to everything that helps them, and then charge the people for what they subscribe. The plain people who get no benefit by way of profit out of the war are the only patriotic people subscribing.
CHAPTER IV
THE EXPLOITERS
Leslie's Weekly Magazine recently published a series of articles entitled, "The Builders of America." Other magazines published similar articles. The purpose was to make the public believe that certain "big business" men, one or more of whom had his picture in and was described and eulogized in each issue, had done a great service for America.
Any one who understands the economy of things could appropriately paraphrase the title of the articles to embody the true meaning of the text but use the same personal cuts and call the title, "The Cancers in American Business," and show by the text, conforming it to the true facts, that the subjects of the sketches are the "Destroyers of America's Independence." That fact notwithstanding, we have no cause for condemning these men, but instead we should change the system that makes them and their like certain to exist. Emphatically, we should not let them make us believe that they are, "The Builders of America," but on the contrary we should make them understand that we know that they are the "Cancers in America's Business."
They Try to Justify
They say to us that we all have an equal opportunity, and that it is our fault that we do not become rich. They seek, however, in every way possible to prevent us taking the only opportunity we have to all become successful, for they know that if we did, it would end their exploits. It is our fault that we do not take the advantages, we have, for we can never all, or even any
proportionally large number of us be successful if we follow their plan, and that is what we have done. They keep in politics, on the sly, to force us to follow their plan. Under their plan but few can succeed.
As pretended proof that there is an equal chance of success for us all under their plan, they cite Rockefeller with upward of \$20,000,000 annual income upon his billion or more of capital, an income admitted by his own agents and generally supposed to be three times that; they cite the late J. P. Morgan who had nearly as much wealth; they also cite other wealth grabbers, grouping several, each of whom began as poor boys—"look at these men," they say to the public, "go, each one of you, and do likewise."
It is the "special privileged" who tell us to "go and do likewise," but they know to a certainty that it is only possible, here and there, for one of us to do it, and that it can be done only under their system, for their system takes the wealth from the rest of us. Therefore if we all "go and do likewise," we will have to find a new world with a vast population that will let
us play that "skin game" on them.
It is like as if the Government would set aside in the far West out of the public domain, a tract of a 1,000,000 acres of the best land there, and say to the poor people in New York City, "the first of you who can get there and put foot on that land may have it." Now that presents an equal opportunity for them all to begin with, but the one first in the race who puts foot upon that 1,000,000 acre tract would exclude the rest. So when Rockefeller grabs off a \$20,000,000 or \$60,000,000 block of profits annually, he takes what many thousands of others have been excluded from, and the unfortunate thing of it is that he did not earn it, while they did.
Oh no! The evidence which the wealth grabbers offer as the proof of an "equal opportunity to all," is positive proof to the contrary. It proves the success of the masses to be impossible under their plan, and, as we have seen, it is their plan that we are working under. The wealth grabbers did not produce what wealth they have. It is impossible for any one person to earn so much, or even any considerable portion of it. They simply extort it from the products of the toil of others, and the toilers secure that much less of what actually belongs to them.
The Exceptions
Some persons are inventors, and discover new methods to apply human energy that secures better result in the way of production. They are entitled to certain credit for whatever of advantage they give to humanity. Edison, Ford and other persons of genius, who devise plans for improvement come under that designation. It is not against the man or the plan, when the plan is good, that we object, but we do object to predatory wealth running our nation as it is certainly doing now—politically as well as industrially.
No one who gives it study doubts, for instance, that the manipulations of John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan & Co., Kuhn, Loeb & Co., and the others of their kind, deprive the toilers of the most of their earnings, and incidentally in running their business these big speculators are forced to employ able assistants to aid them in their schemes. Some of these assistants have also become immensely wealthy preying upon the country's business. What is true of these speculators is equally
true of most great fortune grabbers.
It is true that existing laws and business practices do give a few of us a remote chance to acquire great wealth. A few are slick enough speculators to get it; others get it by accident, but these laws and the practices under them absolutely destroy the opportunity of the masses.
Charity
There is another form of justification offered by themselves for the favored class. It is that with their fortunes they found colleges, churches, elemosynary institutions and charitable works of different kinds. Even if the beneficiaries of such institutions felt entirely free, which in many cases they do not, to regard themselves independent of obligation to their founders, and would deal with the public as free men and women should, even if this were so, are we who labor in the various fields of enterprise to consent to be deprived of our earnings—are we willing that any man or set of men, however, good and liberal they may be in giving away our earnings, shall by force of circumstances and practice, be able to take the products of our toil as they see fit, to use them for any purpose whatever? Certainly not. Those who earn in the sweat of their toil should be able to dispose of their own earnings, and not be forced to see others do it for them.
CHAPTER V
YOU-YOURSELF
$Ho\ There_You!$
Are you a farmer—a wage worker—or engaged in any of the occupations—required to be filled with industrious men and women in order to fulfil the many necessities of life?
If you are—why do you let capital—a product of your own toil, sit on the throne of human industry as the master of all—to determine your place in life and assign you to drudgery, even to war if it chooses to.
There is a reason—you should know, for it is due to you, the real toilers and producers, to sit on the throne where provisions should be made to safeguard
the rights of humanity.
Under the rule of the "dollar"—human life has fallen to its lowest value. But time heals all things. No longer will the masses accept, "Error for truth, darkness for light, wrong for right, or lust for love."
Oh No!
"The masses of humanity"—formerly—"symbolized by the stupid ox, are awakening to a realization of their rights and long withheld privileges."
'Take the war management, the financial end, who controls it? Not one of the plain toilers have anything important to say about it. Yet the expense of the war, as well as the men to fight it, falls mainly on them. But it is managed by the multion millionaires. Where do you suppose they got their millions to begin with? Not by being liberal with their employes and allowing them the proper measure of their earnings—no, sir, not that.
I do not seek to give you my opinions, but ask you to make a call upon your own. In the depths of your own soul is stored thousands of the best things in your life and that you have not yet called out to your conscious mind. When you call out your own natural talents, your country, too, will have additional splendor—a splendor which you cannot appreciate until you have discovered your own best self. Know more about yourself, for it will give you more confidence—a
Millionaires are not made in that way. Sharp and predatory practices—manipulation—make millionaires. Why then tempt these sharpers with the financial management of the war? Unless they have changed their nature and their practices both—the evidence is against it—we need not expect them to manage it free from speculation.
which fact the speculators have used as an excuse to raise the price to American consumers on the 'trust' controlled products approximately \$17,000,000,000 over the former prices, which upon the latter item alone equals \$170 on every man, woman
meculators.
In line with this disastrous export policy, and as a part of the speculators scheme to mulch the public on a gigantic scale while the war should last, they started the war propaganda preparedness campaign. They knew that the people were favorable to the Government itself making proper arrangements to meet such emergencies as might arise out of the existing chaotic conditions, so they wanted it all done in a way that would give the greatest control to speculators who are in charge of the banking system, and with the aid of their press, they succeeded in lining things up to suit them.
After many intervening things had happened in which the speculators were always active, the declaration of war by Congress was made. The first bond issue was called the "Liberty Loan Bonds," a name that suits us all. Here again, the finance speculators managed the sale. In Minneapolis,
better understanding of the world, because you do not differ from others so much as you may believe, besides you are much greater than you have yet discovered.
Dig out your innermost thoughts—the simplest of them, because they are the natural ones—and the greatest. They will help you—me and others to solve the disturbing elements in life—the things that bother us all. It is the arbitrary things—the ones that have been created by men contrary to what's natural, that makes most of our trouble.
for instance, where a Federal Reserve Bank is located, the Minneapolis Journal had the following to say:
"'An inner committee, designated by E. W. Decker as the 'the big stick' committee, is to check up contributions and call
"'What is this I hear about slackers?' Mr. Decker rose to demand. 'Well, we're preparing to use the big stick. Any business house or individual who in the opinion of the solicitor is shirking his duty should be reported to the Executive Committee.'"
Mr. Decker, referred to by the Journal, is the "big" banker of the Twin Cities. You know what it means to have the bankers use the "big stick" on a borrower at any bank and all business men are borrowers. The same thing that was done
in Minneapolis was done in the other cities.
Then again came the Red Cross campaign for funds. We want our soldier boys who may be sent across the seas to fight in Europe, to be cared for in the best way possible. The purpose is one of the most important. Here again the "big finance speculators" are the principal leaders. It is not probable that they have any design to cripple the work of the Red Cross, or to filch from the \$100,000,000 fund to which they have liberally contributed. What they want is to control the organization of the Red Cross, because it will be officered by able persons, and to control that organization will be worth billions of dollars. They will have a powerful influence in the reorganization of Europe. Out of that reorganization the "big financiers" expect to make very many billions of dollars profit. Therefore it is easy to see why J. P. Morgan, through his chief partner, H. S.
us all. We have mutual necessities unfulfilled which may be supplied if we understand each other. Every one of us can bring him or herself within the rule—high
or low, rich or poor—all may be benefitted.
I grew up on a farm. There are many of you, and but one of me. But since wherever we grew up—there are many things the same, the easiest way for me to understand you is to first know myself, and likewise, the easiest way for you to understand the public, is to first know yourself. I have already studied myself somewhat, so I will now briefly examine what you would find in yourself if you have grown up on a farm, and made a farm for yourself out of a wild tract of land. I do that because it is the best example that can be given, on a unit scale, to show how our country grew up, or perhaps better stated should have grown up. I wish to examine the simple things, because the complex ones have gotten us into bad trouble and we shall have to rely upon the simple ones to get us out. If we had watched the necessities of the farmer on his farm, we should have known the principles for the development of a nation of more successful people. Don't desert these thoughts now, simply because its the farm, for wherever you are and whatever your work, I will soon reach your case as well.
Suppose a farmer with an average family owns 160 acres of wild land, moves on to make it a farm—he requires a house, a barn and other buildings, as well as livestock including a team, and implements and machinery to work with. He owns the land, but has no money to buy material for buildings, stock, etc. What happens in his case? I am asking about the pioneer days now. He was somewhat in the same fix that this nation was at the time of its birth. It was then mostly wild lands without farms or cities and but
few inhabitants. With rare exceptions the people then did not have ought but their hands—so the nation and the farmers, as well as the rest of us, started about alike
What did the farmer do under those conditions who could borrow no money? He had to begin with his bare hands—plus a spade, a hoe, an axe and other simple tools which in some way he managed to get, by trading his work or by borrowing. In the first settlement of northern Minnesota, where I grew up, no one farmer had implements enough to work his farm, but within a radius of 4 or 5 miles there were several farmers, and while none had the variety of even the simplest tools and implements necessary, taking all the farmers there into account they had these. Therefore they borrowed from each other to supply their most simple requirements.
With these simple implements they worked. If they owned or were near timber, which was all the same in those days, a statement which carries with it no disrespect to their honesty either, for the pioneers always were the salt of the earth, and had the courage to build a nation; so I repeat, if they owned or were near timber they quickly constructed rude log buildings, and if they lived far from timber, sods largely took the place of timber. In these buildings they took shelter, and then began preparing the land for fields. This was the primitive condition of the white race everywhere
in America.
Almost within the memory of the oldest of us now living, this continent, and all on the surface and underneath, belonged to either the State or to individual inhabitants of modest means. There were no Morgans, no Hills nor Rockefellers. What about it now? In presenting the facts as they are now, we find an in-
fluence has been at work that was strong enough to divert the value of the great natural material resources as well as the products from human energy, from the masses into the control of the Morgans, the Hills, the
Rockefellers and other speculators.
But reverting to the pioneer farmer for the present, for he is the unit furnishing the best illustration of how to deal with an important feature in the social problem. We found him with his unsubdued land and his own self—poor in all that supplies food, clothes and shelter. He had to work to secure the mastery of his surroundings in order that they might serve his needs. If he had had food, wearing apparel and a certainty that his family should neither starve nor go naked, he would have built better from the start, but of this he had no assurance. In fact he knew that the only way to provide for himself and family was to neglect in the beginning, making many permanent improvements in building, in order that he might have the time to put the land in shape to receive the seed, that the sun and rains might do their part in season.
Suppose the pioneer farmer, after he had roughly thrown together his log or sod shack which afforded him and his family shelter, had next began to build a permanent up-to-date dwelling, and had neglected the cultivation of the soil, how would he have come out? He knew better than to do that. He adjusted to his needs—economized in his labor and otherwise. He was forced to do this by his very condition. He knew that the time spent upon undertakings that supplied no actual needs, reduced by that much his time to work
for what he had to have.
It was the pioneer that builded the country and supported himself too. He did it by confining his work to the actual needs. He could not allow whims or needless fancies to take up much of his time, and he did not, so he succeeded well in producing for his own use what the farm could grow. His trouble came when he undertook to dispose of his surplus farm product in order to buy what he needed that did not grow on the farm. In this latter respect there is no difference between the farmer of today and the pioneer. The moment they try to deal with their brothers in other business, they are square up against an extravagant system, that measures nothing from the standpoint of necessity or desirability alone, but has attached to it a demand for "profit," independent of the pay for the labor in production and distribution. This profit is largely expended in riotous living and unnecessary building of some kind which we shall examine later.
The nation is neither more nor less than a gaint farm, with an almost endless number of needs the simplest of which were originally supplied direct from the farm.
The farmers did spin, weave, manufacture, mend, etc., but spinning, weaving, manufacturing, etc., or all have become specialized, so we now have manufacturers, trading houses, transportation systems and the many other means in which to supply us with every branch of service, separated from the farm, and instead we build cities in which to transact the manufacturing and business of all kinds. Those who are employed in any of these that serve the actual necessities, do the work on the same principle of development that governs the farmer, but the farther we get removed from the soil, the greater the opportunity for extravagance, and the opportunity was long ago seized, so that now millions of us are employed in ways and in work that serves neither actual necessities nor the reasonable demands. As a consequence we are all
charged with the extravagance by having it levied and
The farmer confines his work to the production of necessities; seldom indulges in extravagancies; is satisfied with comparatively few luxuries. There is a deep and significant lesson in the work of the farmer, especially the pioneer. He lived on the product of his farm and not on the "debt" that he could make. He had no debt to threaten him with destruction. He was a free man and if the nation and the people of the nation had followed in his footsteps in the practice of first working for the necessities and putting the "soil," figuratively speaking, into a productive state, instead of first creating the expense and the debt before there was anything coming in to pay with, we should have avoided the debt system and would now be universally prosperous, and find the cost of the best living within the reach of us all. The interest debts are destructive to civilization
You Pay as You Go or Never
To the intelligent reader, it is easily understood that everything produced in any given generation is paid for in the generation of the then living. After we have departed this world, we cannot pay or receive pay. Whatever we have done on earth is closed. If the generation produced more in value than it consumed, the succeeding generation inherited that much without cost to it. Of course the generations are not distinctly separated, but wedge into each other.
I may work for you now receiving merely your promise to pay me. As long as we both live I have an opportunity to be paid, but if I die I will never be paid. If you die I will be paid only in case you leave some-
thing with which to pay. If we both die everything of ours is left over for others to fuss about.
I have said that everything is paid for in the generation of the living or never. That means in a physical sense. It is the natural law, but in conflict with it mankind has created an arbitrary law by which we contract "paper debt," and agree to pay a premium (interest, dividends or profits) that never has been and never can be earned, but is simply extortion. That kind of a debt can be and has been heaped increasingly upon the people of each succeeding generation. It was heaped upon us more heavily than upon any previous generation. Unless we revoke it, we will pass it on to the next generation as a still greater burden to it, unless the people then shall possess the good sense to equitably revoke it.
Those who have not considered the subject from the side of humanity, or who value the perpetuation of property accumulation, more than the preservation of human integrity, may object to the term "revoke," as I have used it, but I use it advisedly, after the most
serious consideration.
Unhesitatingly, I declare it to be the most solemn duty of the State to establish a system to liberate mankind from
the existing industrial slavery.
The masses cannot be liberated from industrial slavery without revoking many of the existing practices. It is not meant that individuals on their own responsibility should have the power to revoke, but the State must exercise that power justly to all mankind.
It is utterly indefensible that we should go on piling up debts under an arbitrary system which it is impossible to physically comply with except by reducing the masses of mankind to a constantly lower and lower industrial state. A new system to liberate the toilers, need work no hardship to any one. The products from the industry of the toilers in a very short period measure immensely more in value than all that has been accumulated.
It is not necessarily the purpose to take from those who have to give to those who have not, for that would be no remedy. All that is necessary is to adopt a system that will enable those who produce to secure the benefit of their production, and not force them to continually remain the prey of a toll levy made by centralized wealth. Give us a system that allows us to keep what we earn. If that is done we can take care of ourselves
of ourselves.
We have an apt opportunity in the conduct of the war on which to base a true estimate, or at least a much more just one, than is now practiced. Wealth saw to it that the conditions would be created that would make it practically impossible for us to keep out of the war if the world continued to follow the old practice, and it is these old practices that wealth insists on following. Wealth was so greedy that it had to build greater fortunes, even if it took the sacrifice of millions of lives, and entailed suffering on more than nine-tenths of the world's population. What was its demand?
It was the demand of wealth that we should prepare a great Navy and a great Army in order to enforce the existing political and economic system not only upon ourselves, but upon all the world—present and future. It required that we should impress into the service of war, every available man and woman at nominal pay for their time. What did wealth offer in return? It offered to sell copper to the Government for 16 cents a pound when it costs wealth only 7 cents. It offered to loan money to the Government at $3\frac{1}{2}$ per cent provided the Government would raise the interest
if later bonds should draw more. It offered other things provided always there was a profit to wealth, and it considered itself patriotic because it did that. But it protested against the big incomes being taxed much to support the war for which its system is responsible.
Is any government justified in impressing men and women into war service at the lowest of pay for their time, if it does not also impress the surplus property of
the wealthy?
Strange, inconsistent, even lower than criminal is that practice of the governments which take the lives and the liberties of their citizens to impress into war, when at the same time they pay a premium in the form of interest or otherwise for the property of the rich to be used in carrying on the war.
No one with an ounce of brains, unless filled with injustice or a mere hireling, will defend such a practice, for when peace is restored the loans of the rich burden those who risked their lives and the families of those
killed.
When our country needs us, we should respond, but it is not to be expected hereafter we will be willing to permit the lives to be sacrificed and the hardships of war to fall almost entirely upon the plain people. We were imposed upon in the past, but with the more general intelligence of this generation, we should not be so supinely stupid now. The property of the wealthy should be taken the same as we conscript the individual. The conscript is not paid the value of his time, say nothing of the risk and exposure.
The taking of property or money to pay the costs of the war should begin with the largest of the fortunes, and as these are scaled down to equal the lesser, then conjointly they should be scaled down to take in the lesser still, and so on the process should run until all the greater fortunes pay in full the material costs of wars. Those with comparatively small means should pay nothing until those with larger means had been reduced to their equal. That is the only just rule.
If that rule had been the law these last years, there would have been no careless and reckless, and, as it was in some cases wanton, traveling upon the high sea in the danger zone by neutrals, notwithstanding that the rights of the seas should be and are of right inviolable. The rich owners of the ships would not have taken the risk to carry passengers if that had been the law. They would not then have tempted any of the belligerents to violate the international laws in defiance of America's rights.
To take the centralized fortunes to pay the costs of the wars, would in addition to the justice of compelling wealth to support wars, usually of its own making, relieve the plain people of the levy that is made upon them at all times for interest and profit on the excess wealth. Surely, it is not possible that any of us in this day are so stupid as to not understand that those who do the necessary work to sustain life and its requirements, really pay with their toil the extravagances of
the existing system.
Because of its supreme importance to be understood by every citizen, so that no one shall be longer imposed upon without his eyes open, I repeat that we pay in physical expenditure the full price of everything we produce. In order to have some of the things that we need, we are obliged in some cases to construct what will last thousands of years, and pay for it in full when the work has been performed. True, we issue bonds and have been stupid enough to think that that pays the debt. It only adds to the burden, and as President Jefferson said in his day, "Spending money to be paid by posterity, is but swindling futurity;" or perhaps you may like Ruskin's statement better, that, "National debts, paying interest are simply the purchase by the
rich of the power to tax the poor."
I like Jefferson's definition the best, because it applies not only to national debts, but to all debts. What Jefferson said applies to us. We are what was to him "futurity," and have been mightily swindled as he had foretold. Jefferson and Ruskin were both great men, but while those statements were true, they were not profound, for even the commonest of us certainly should see how we have been swindled as Jefferson said we would be, and we continue to be to this very day by the existing debt system.
Incidentally consider the two New York City depots—terminals for the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railways. They cost \$200,000,000—built to last forever. It was the physical energy of this generation that paid in full for them. Futurity can give not an hour towards payment. It can only keep them in repair. It consumed all the time of thousands of men for several years to get out the material and construct those terminals. Already, before they were built, the advantages for getting in and out of the city
were good
To build these world's most expensive terminals was like it would have been for the pioneer farmer, if immediately after completing his first shack and before he put his wild land into shape to produce crops, he had began the construction of a grand and beautiful dwelling. If he had done that he and his family would have starved, and his life would have been a failure. Surely we can understand that our nation is the giant farm, and that because of many excessive extrava-
person, yet that statement is excusable as long as we continue the existing business and political scheme. As things now are, the main thing aimed at by the wealth grabbers is to use us—to make of us mere machines to wear our in producing wealth for them. Our children are to be dragged into our useless places and we dropped into mother earth—"ashes to ashes," "dust to dust." good-bye.
If that is all we are for, then God bless the Kaiser, the late Czar, the Kings, "Big Business" and all the "Big Boys" who caused the war. It will at least be interesting while it lasts. If we are made simply to wear out in their service, the harder and the more dangerous our occupation the sooner will our ashes be scattered to the earth, and serve vegetable life better, to bud in beautiful foliage of the grasses, the trees, and the flowers.
Oh no, we have not sunk yet to mere abject passive beings, even if our occupations in many cases would, standing alone, prove that we have. We are in a big measure industrial slaves, but we are not mental imbeciles. We still have our heads filled with brains, and they act when we command them. We all know that if any particular work or employment is unnecessary, nothing could be farther from the truth than to claim that it was justified because it gave employment, yet, even in spite of our knowing the truth we do not live up to it, so as to force its importance into a realization in our concrete experience.
Did You Forget Conservation?
Only a few years since, America went wild on "Conservation," properly so. We pretend even now to be conservationists, but we practice the grossest kinds of
waste. This is discussed later. A few words here however, on that subject: In many places we have parallel railways where one could serve the traffic at less cost and equally well if properly managed; we have about 30,000 banks, but one-third that number could serve the business needs equally well and with less than one-half the cost; practically every town has too many business houses, which increases the cost of their output.
The success of a town or city does not depend on the number of inhabitants, but upon their thrift.2
If you have stores, manufactories, and other business enough to meet the demands of a community, to seek more of the same kind will often weaken the thrift of all the legitimate business I never could understand why any city should boast of the number of its inhabitants rather than of the prosperity of all of its people To seek to boom a town is a business error. Whatever is done should be specific, calculated out on a business basis. Let the town build to meet the business demand, and never build the town merely to create a hig population.
<sup>1 If the reader desires to follow the subject of lavish and extravagant expenditure as it effects the general cost of living. I have in print a pamphlet containing about one-third the volume of this book which will be mailed to anyone sending 2 cents to cover cost. It is a speech which I made in Congress, August 1, 1912, relative to the Commission on Industrial Relations. Those who have access to public libraries, will find it in the Congressional Record of that date.
<sup>2 One of the greatest mistakes any village or city can make is to seek growth in population and multiplication of business houses without taking into account the thrift and well being of the inhabitants already there. It is not the number of people in a town that is an evidence of prosperity. If that were so the people of New York City would be the most prosperous in the Union, whereas the people of that city on the general average are the most miserable. You can take the people of almost any of our little towns and those on the farms—consider them as a whole, you will find they are very much better off than the people in the large cities.
The real purpose of business is to coordinate everything. If that was done, we could support a population of five times what it is now, and with the greatest possible success.
A Sudden Reminder
You yourselves, plain American citizens, what happened to you when Europe's war dogs leaped at each others throats? The majesty of your own America sprung to your minds; your respect for its past; your confident hope in its future continued greatness, fully justified and supported by your loyalty and patriotism—filled you with just pride for your country, with its peaceful pursuits. That was what first happened to you.
The raging battles gave you no fear, but suddenly another cloud appeared. It had appeared in a thousand wars before, but you had forgotten about it; Crimes, crimes—the most terrible to report. Which were true and which were false the majority of us will never know. But we are morally certain,
1 March 10, 1916, I made a speech in Congress on the deception
"I cannot discuss so important a subject without a few preliminary observations. The general impression is that truth is free. No one seems willing to buy it, and since it costs money to compile and present it in practical form to be read not much of some kinds of truth is placed before the public so that everybody can get it. The kind of truth that it is worth while for some parties to conceal, they pay well to have it concealed.
Deception as a Fine Art
"At no period in the world's history has deceit been so bold and aggressive as now in attempting to engulf all humanity in the maelstrom of hell. The world is sizzling in the 'melting pot.' Sober men and women who measure the conditions with as we had a right to be that the very devil himself was at large as he had been in other wars, and that women and children, the old and the crippled as well, were helpless in the path of destruction. We know that mothers and daughters were made slaves to carnal brutes. Every war has produced something of that. All these things and terrible others were presented to your mind.
unselfish judgment and suggest sane action are pounced upon by those in command of the 'hell storm' in an attempt to have them labeled cowards, and to force us into war over a standard of false national honor. Many of the highest officers of Government fail to sustain their moral courage for common sense, and add to the confusion of the excited by supporting the demands
which are made by the speculators.
"Amid all this confusion the lords of 'special privilege' stand serene in their selfish glee, coining billions of profits from the rage of war, in shoving up the price of stocks and the cost of living. They coldly register every volley of artillery, every act of violent aggression, as a profit on their war stocks and war contracts, and discourage in every way possible any attempts to secure peace. They commercialize every excitement, and create excitements by false reports, in order to scalp in and out of the market alternately, taking a profit both ways on the fluctuations.
"Deception has paid a few so well that its practice has become a fine art, and is maintained by many ingenious schemes. Those who earn their living by the sweat of many hours of daily toil, have little time left after their work is done to figure out the ways in which the schemers gather in the cream of the products
The Invisible Organizers
"We have been buncoed, and a majority of us do not know how it was done. It was the 'invisible organizers' who did it. They employ many agencies for the purpose: Rockefeller Institute, Carnegie Foundation, and the like; besides most of the great city press are maintained by them for that purpose. Their work is even stealthily being introduced into the public schools, colleges and universities. They do not leave the tender minds of the children free to the unselfish tutorship of parents and With all these visions before you, you could no longer be calm. You had a right to be wroth up, and were. But have you thought of the entire world, the responsibility that rests on us as American citizens? We are at war now. The task that confronts us to win in the battlefield is small as compared with the task that confronts us to win liberty and prosperity to all in America. We stand united as against any foreign military foe. We cannot think that, in any
teachers, but use adroit methods in an attempt to warp the youthful minds in a belief in special privilege. They seek to control civic bodies. In the hopes to accomplish this they organized the United States Chamber of Commerce, not a governmental institution but given that name to make it appear that it is, and in the hopes that it would secure control of all the civic bodies to become associated with it. The articles of the United States Chamber of Commerce of course disclose no selfish purposes. On the contrary they are in their terms commendable, and therefore dangerous, because back of it all are the 'invisible organizers' who organized and make use of the organization to further selfish ends.
"The ordinary work of these civic bodies is beneficial. Most of the members are from the best citizens, acting with the best of motives. Little do they know about the 'inner circle,' or even that an 'inner circle' exists. It is the 'underground lines' that are used by the 'inner circle' only that influence village and city councils, legislatures and Congress to grant special
privilege.'
Note.—After careful investigation I came to the above-stated conclusions. Mr. H. L. Day, 1006 Lindale Avenue North Minneapolis, Minn., has undoubtedly made a more complete and impartial investigation of the purposes of the 'inner circle' organizers of the United States Chamber of Commerce than any other person. In my speech I quoted in full his letter giving evidence, from which it is impossible to escape the conclusion, that the Chamber of Commerce is in its purpose a special privilege lobbyist of the most adroit methods. Mr. Day will mail to any one asking it, free of cost, a pamphlet, of which he has a few hundred remaining, reciting the evidence in part, but sufficient to convince any impartial reader of the facts stated.
other than in a military sense, we have any foe among the plain people, for the interests of the plain people everywhere are the same when we place ourselves on a true economic basis. But there are foes within our own country far more dangerous than those without, and there is a wide difference of opinion as to how we should deal with our domestic foes.
Note.—Nothing is more childish than to place too much responsibility on one man, no matter what his position. The press, and even the President, have criticized, properly so, the Kaiser's autocratic power. But the same press as well as the President, not only demanded, but the President actually exercised as extensive autocratic power as any Old World ruler—the press, "standing by the President," only when the power exercised was in favor of the interests it represents—but wo be to it when not favorable to such interest. The following taken from the Washington Times, June 7, 1917, is typical of the "soft pedal," when the acts of the President please "big bus:"
"But it is only fair to Senator Lodge to say that he did not object to the use by President Wilson of the large power given him, but of the inevitable necessity of delegating powers to subordinates who did not and could not have the wisdom of the Executive himself. Many times during the course of debate in Congress, a knotty point has been settled by simply saying.
'Let the President decide. We can all trust him.'
Strange, is it not, that when a man is elected President, the presumption is made that he knows it all, when, as a matter of fact, he does not have as good opportunity to investigate details as he had before, because of his limited time. It is a true saying that:
"A great man surrounds himself with equally great men to aid in his work." If a man has not that qualification he is not great. So far as wisdom goes, a President is not changed by becoming President.
CHAPTER VI
THE FARMER AND WALL STREET SPECULATOR AFTER
EMERGENCY CURRENCY
Mr. Politician: Good morning, Mr. Speculator; what brought you to Washington again and at such a time as this? I thought when we gave you your Federal Reserve Banking System that that would satisfy you forever.
Mr. Speculator: Good morning, Mr. Politician. Don't twit me of the past. I wish to see you in private till we can talk over the most important business that
ever was on this earth.
Mr. Politician: You evidently think me high up in the political councils here. I pretend to no such great importance. If you have such important business, there should be more of us in conference. No man is big enough to tackle the most important business
ever, but I will listen to what you have to say.
Mr. Speculator: Of course we understand each other, but even at that it may be well for you to practice your modesty—to keep on the safe side. I know the importance of your help. We may as well be perfectly frank with each other. Even the greatest of things must begin some where and with some one. There is absolutely no time to waste. You know I am a product of Wall Street and "big business." I represent it. It is in danger this very minute—unfortunately so, for in spite of its danger, it also has its greatest opportunity. We must have help immediately from Congress, for this sudden war, no one can tell when or where it will end, or who or which nations it will involve. Our business was always on a great
Mr. Politician: Some proposition this is, that you make—too big for me this morning. We shall have to get more of us together in order to figure out a plan of action and draft some bill to be enacted to give the relief. I am not for placing the financial credit of the Government behind those whom you represent, but we must meet the emergency. We must prepare some bill that will meet it
Mr. Speculator: "Some bill!" No need to talk about "some bill." We have the plan and the bill prepared already. It is only a question of getting it
enacted into law in the least time possible.
Mr. Politician: We must to some extent prepare our constituents to understand the situation—the danger, and what might happen if we do not legislate to meet the emergency. They will not take kindly to our lending Wall Street the credit of the Government again, and it will be up to us to show good reason if we do.
Mr. Politician: Well, you seem to be prepared, so you better see the other fellows. We can all have a conference today and work something out to save the country from ruin. We can use the telephone to arrange a meeting. So good-bye till the meeting.
Mr. Citizen: Good morning, Mr. Politician. Your secretary told me to come right in when the gentleman just came out. I am a farmer, and am here on very important business, and could hardly wait till that
man had gotten through.
Mr. Politician: I am delighted to see you, Mr. Citizen. As one of my constituents, my office is yours, too, and I shall be more than glad if I may be of service to you. What is your important business?
Mr. Citizen: Well, you know what the war has done to cotton. It has busted the price to the middle—and more—for we can't get the actual cost of production. We owe for the advance we got during the planting and cultivating season, and we have no means to harvest, besides the price we can get, if we can sell at all, is below what we, or most of us already owe, and the harvesting must be done. We are simply busted wide open—can't feed our wives and children. We farmers down there got together, and concluded to send a delegation to Congress for help. I am one of that number. We want a Government loan temporarily. We have the security and are willing to pay the Government all it costs and more.
Mr. Politician: Surely, I sympathize with you most deeply. Just how to help you out, I confess I am at a loss to see. We can't provide a loan to you farmers because that would be class legislation. Let me think. I have it, you go right home, your whole committee may do so, and we will make loans to the banks. Then you can go to the banks and borrow money. In that way we can help you over the trouble.
Mr. Citizen: Oh no, Mr. Politician, we want to get the money from the Government! The Government already loans to the banks treasury funds at 2 per cent, while the banks have loaned that money at 10 per cent and more for small loans. Besides, just now the banks will make us no loans. They say they don't know what the war will bring, and offer us no encouragement. We have got to have help now, or our crops will rot in the fields.
Mr. Politician: Take my word for it, we will give you plenty of help through the banks. We will give them unlimited loans, so they will have enough for all. We will prepare the plan immediately, legislate and you can depend upon it. You go home, for help will be available. See your banks. It is their business to help you and we will see that they are able to get the funds. The Government will supply the banks with all the money they need for all purposes.
Mr. Citizen: Mr. Politician, we are entitled to it more than the banks are—we want it direct, with no rake-off to pay the banks—we need it to use, while they do not—they take it for profit—we need it for our own industry. I wish to bring the rest of the delegation to see you. We farmers want help direct
from the Government.
Mr. Politician: Oh no! Tell them it is all fixed, or will be, and to go home satisfied. I have a very important committee conference this very day, soon to begin, and won't have time to meet the others of your committee. Depend upon it, we will help you, so good-bye and good luck to you, for I must now go to the conference. My secretary, whom you talked with before you came here, will give you some tickets to admit you to the family gallery to see Congress in action, if you or your friends wish to attend.
The Conference
Mr. Speculator: Mr. Politician, you have all been advised of the purposes of this conference. We have all consulted more or less with each other, and now that a few of us are together, I wish to say that I have seen enough of the other "highups," to know that an emergency currency act can be passed without delay. It only requires slight amendments in the old Vreeland-Aldrich Act which we had Congress pass in 1908, and an extension of time to merge into our new Federal Reserve Act under which we will soon be able to work. These amendments I brought with me, and you can put them right through. Arrangements have been made with the U. S. Treasury Department to anticipate the action of Congress and a great sum of emergency money is already on its way to the Subtreasury in New York where the banks can get it as soon as the law is passed.
Mr. Politician: There doesn't seem to be much for us to do except to get the Senate and House Banking
Committees each to meet and report the bill.
Mr. Speculator: That is all. The rest is arranged and there will be no trouble about passing the bill, for this is the most exciting time financially that has ever been. You can assure both Senators and Representatives that our press agents and civic leagues and the United States Chamber of Commerce will see to it that the Act of Congress will get the publicity in a form that will be satisfactory. Every man who votes for it will get unstinted praise, and any obstreperous Senator or Representative who votes against it, will be shown up in a ridiculous light to the public.
Mr. Second Politician: But, Mr. Speculator, what are you going to do with the money? What about the
regular every-day common business, what will it get? The bill, if it passes, will enable you to secure from Uncle Sam over a billion dollars with no check as to whom, for what, and at what rates of interest it will be loaned. Will it be used for speculation; will you reopen the stock exchange and when; will you let the business interest in on this or what? Give us some idea about all that, for we will be asked many questions when the bill comes up on the floor for discussion and vote.
Mr. Third Politician: I will undertake to answer. The bill will have to be brought out by special rule. We can limit the debate so no one will have a chance to make inquiries other than those we consent to. This is a time when we can force things right along. I live in New York City, and I know conditions there. If any one tries in any way to block this legislation, he can be charged with disloyalty and the press will back it up. Shut everybody off by pressing the urgency for immediate action. So far as to handling the funds, you can trust the banks. You have done so before, so why balk at that now? Even the new Federal Reserve Act places the entire financial control in the banks. We all knew that we were successful in putting that over with a long debate—surely we can this which does not give the banks even so much, for we have the
Mr. Fourth Politician: I am satisfied that the case is so urgent that we must protect the banks immediately so we may as well convene the two Banking and Currency Committees, report the bill to both houses, pass it and be ready to act on other emergency measures sure to be required. There is really nothing further for this conference. I move we adjourn.
After the Bill Was Passed
Mr. Politician: Well, hello, Mr. Citizen—you here again! Glad to see you. By the way—I hope you cotton farmers got all the help you needed to take care
of you properly. How are you anyway?
the tax money we had before paid. You let them keep it to use for a long time. They had altogether nearly \$500,000,000 from Uncle Sam, besides their other special privileges, but even that was not all, for they knew they could get three times that much more if they wanted it, so they began scalping the market on stocks, bonds and provisions, etc., and made several billion dollars. That is what you did for the banks, so their stockholders could speculate. All that our committee asks is Government aid for rural credits so we can improve our farms and raise more crops—more stock. We want to get the money as cheap—that is, at as low interest as you give to the banks. We want actual Government aid, the same as you give to the banks. What can you do for us on that?
Mr. Politician: We have a committee working on that. Some time ago we sent a committee to Europe to look up the different systems of credit—one for general credit, and the other for rural credits. A bill
is being framed.
Mr. Citizen: We don't care about these committees. We learned long ago that committees sent out in that way are simply to make delay or to deceive the public. The system that we are now tied to has us practically strangled from an industrial side. A few now are getting all the profits, and every delay gives them greater capital. These committees simply help them out in delay. That is not all. They wine and dine the committeemen, and flatter them until they become mere "dough" in the hands of the capitalists. Now don't talk to me about those committees. I am peeved since the last time I was here. We got such a dirty deal, that I shall not refrain from speaking plainly upon these matters. You are putting up your smooth talk to send us home again with nothing accomplished.
We may forgive you for your last tricks, but it will be only upon the condition that we get a good rural credit law.
Mr. Politician: You don't understand. You accuse us unjustly. These things can't be rushed through. It takes time, and investigation. There is a Banking and Currency Committee in which the bill must be framed. I can introduce you to some of the members. Your committee can probably arrange with its chair-
man so your committee may get a hearing.
A Couple of Years Later
Mr. Citizen: Mr. Politician, I am here to see you once more. Practically the same committee with which I came here before are here now. We have not come for any special bill or help this time, but merely to size up the situation to see about how long it is likely to take for the people of this country to draw the curtain aside and get a good look at the political work in the Capitol of our country. This game of politics is the smoothest thing possible, but we have gotten
pretty good organization among the farmers, and the wage and salary workers seem to be even better organized, so we are looking things up to see when will be the best time for all the people to join to make
Congress do its duty to all the people.
I suppose, Mr. Politician, that you saw that some rural credit bonds were sold and that the banks and insurance companies bought them. I suppose, too, that you noticed how slow they were in even doing that
I suppose you have noticed the difference between what they sold for and what Government bonds sold for is very large. That difference represents the rake off for special privilege collected out of the farmers and consumers. I suppose also that you have sufficient intelligence to know that even the Government bonds would not be necessary if it were not because special privilege has put its system into force even upon the Government itself. What the Government pays for interest is also a rake-off for special privilege. Yes you have helped the banks to Government aid, which means the speculators; you helped England, Russia, France and Italy to government aid; you helped various other enterprises to government aid, and while I am making no criticism now upon any or either of these, I am calling attention to the fact that the plain toilers everywhere go without government aid. They are the ones upon whom all the assessments ultimately fall to supply all the government aids whether it may sometimes in the future be to themselves, or as it is now to the specially privileged.
Good-bye, Mr. Politician, our committee did not come to be talked to, but merely to appear one by one, as if a vision, to the "top notchers" in this political game, to give the signal that the people are going to rule. There will be no revolution—don't for a minute fear that, for fundamentally we have a good government and all that is necessary is for us to act in our own behalf under the Constitution, instead of as we have done heretofore, by permitted special committees or standing committees, to run the Government in secret. We expect to elect our own representatives hereafter, and not to select representatives for special privilege. Good-bye, Mr. Politician, good-bye forever. The next time we come, you will be a "statesman" or you will not
be here.
CHAPTER VII
MEMORIAL TO THE PRESIDENTS
"Let all the ends thou aimst at be Thy Country's—Thy God's, and Truth's. Be noble, and the nobleness that Lies in other men—sleeping, but Never dead—will rise in majesty To meet thine own."
Inscription on Union Depot, Washington, D. C.
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
'Where knowledge is free;
"Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
"Where words come out from the depths of truth; "Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward
perfection;
"Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
"Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-
widening thought and action-
"Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
To the United States Presidents:
The first of you have passed and gone; three still live; one is President, and many will be. Who the latter no one knows, but all eligible should qualify, for we, the people now address memorials to the presidents officially and not personally.
Mr. Presidents, it is not wars alone that trouble us; there are other troubles even more dangerous. We are not represented. The organized government acts independent of us. We have petitioned our Senators and Representatives to secure redress from certain evils. We petitioned them as our respective local Representatives and also as the Congress. We find them unwilling, and we may add with certain reserve, unable to act upon matters that are most vital to
protect and promote our best interests.
They have made rules and adopted practices to prevent themselves from governing themselves except through leaders. These rules form the excuse given by our local Senators and Representatives for their failure to successfully initiate legislation in our favor when it is opposed by wealth. But there is a way the leaders have of "riding over" their regular rules when they wish. They have a "special privilege utility committee," which is called the Committee on Rules. This committee sets aside the regular rules whenever it wishes to bring any matter before the legislative body, the regular rules notwithstanding. Congress has tied itself up, so that it is not a representative body as it should be, and we seem never to get enough independent Senators and Representatives in Congress at any one time to cut the knot and make Congress free. Therefore, it fails to act for us. So now, Mr. Presidents, we petition you.
Mr. Presidents, somewhere, sometime, somehow, a nation will have to take a step towards civilization or the world will go down in ruin. We believe that now shows the how, that this is the time, that ours is the Nation, and that the civilization process must begin with the nation that is to lead—we have been wroth to
action. Lowell said:
"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth and falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right:
And the choice goes by forever, 'twixt the darkness and the light."
Mr. Presidents, you are the only representatives of the people, officially free from the influence of local conditions. Every other representative elected by popular vote, is a part of and elected from a section less in extent than all of the United States. Therefore, we place our cause before you as our servants, calling on you to give executive expression to our demands. You are of us—selected by us—and have our consent to lead us. But we are not blind followers, for should you attempt to lead us the wrong way we will not follow. We are the Sovereigns—Represent The Republic—in Fact, Constitute The Republic, and do not intend that the Republic shall be a hollow mockery by leaving to its Presidents the whole responsibility. Please, therefore, take notice of what we demand of our Presidents:
Mr. Presidents, we know that what you say must be carried in the press. We know that no others that can speak for us will be given space in the full press if they speak in our interest. Therefore, what you will say of what we wish, affords us the only means of communicating our desires so as to make them common knowledge and sufficiently understood to secure concerted action among us. That is the only way at present to secure our best interests. We desire you to know from us our common needs—what our reasonable demands are. We do not need you to tell us,
for we are up against them every day. But we do need you to give expression to them. We will stand by you when you speak and act for us.
Wealth and Advantages
Mr. Presidents, comparatively few have wealth and advantages now. Still who among us would not leap at a chance to double his income and increase his advantages? Do you not know that it would be easy for the rank and file of us to do it—if the conditions were made right, and that they can be made right? You know very well that every industrious toiler who depends upon his industry to provide the means that make life worth while can even quadruple his advantages under proper conditions. Certainly you know that we placed the means in your hands to bring that about.
The isolated individual "self centered interest" which has hitherto dominated the world in favor of a few—prevails because the masses have been kept in ignorance of certain false practices—and, therefore, could not act in support of their own interests. This, Mr. Presidents, you can overcome in the manner we have indicated. Ninety odd per cent of us are shackeled by industrial slavery. All that we ask of you is to communicate to us through your messages the details of the main things to be done—so that we may all have a common understanding, for we possess the power to liberate ourselves—once we secure a leader who will call our attention directly to the necessities—so that we may simultaneously co-ordinate our work.
Special Privilege
Mr. Presidents, no law names specific persons who may have "special privilege." We would not stand for such laws. But what could not be done directly—
has been done indirectly. The laws and the practices that we follow—enable some persons to secure special privileges—by getting themselves into positions to force burdens upon the rest of us. The laws do not prohibit any of us getting into a position to secure special privilege if we can. In fact it actually enables some of us to do so. All have equal right to bring themselves within the law—but the very fact that some are able to—makes it certain that the masses can not even secure all that actually belong to them. Our system is so arranged that it robs the masses of most of their rights—material as well as social. Our objection is to the system that makes special privilege possible—and not to the persons who are the beneficiaries of it—for they, or others occupying like relations, are the inevitable result of the existing system.
"Special privilege" controls three distinctively important advantages in trade: (a) finance; (b) transportation; (c) telegraph and telephone. To these we may add "publicity"—for it controls the agencies for the distribution of news—and owns or controls the most extensive publications—which to a great extent mold public opinion in conflict with truth. The "special interests" are in deadly conflict with true economic principles which are on the side of the masses—but the latter have had no practical means thus far of enforcing them—and have known little about them. We have not only been deceived, but we have been charged and made to pay the whole cost of maintaining the system with which they have done the
deceiving
The High Cost of Living
Mr. Presidents, the existing prices are higher than usual—higher than they would be except for the war—but so far as America is concerned—up to the time we
entered the war officially—the war merely formed the excuse for the speculators to boost prices above what they otherwise could have been raised to so suddenly. You must not, however, confuse the war prices with the prices at other times. War prices are both violently and artificially juggled, while in ordinary times, they
Farmers and wage workers, who occupy the most important places in the field of production—cannot fix the prices upon what they have to sell. In most other fields of activity the seller fixes the price that the buyer must pay. The farmer and the wage worker must generally accept what the buyers offer—and pay for what they buy what the sellers demand. Practically everybody else except the farmer and wage worker and the small business man; sets the price on their service. It is those of us who fix the price of neither what we buy nor sell—that the increasing cost of living affects most disastrously. It is the masses that suffer.
Everybody seeks to dodge "high prices," either by increasing his own income or by decreasing the other
fellow's—often both.
Mr. Presidents, do you say to increase wages to meet the increased cost? If we do that it—the increase is added to what the worker produces—plus the capitalist's profit on the additional investment. In the same way—if the farmer gets more for his wheat or what he offers to the market—the extra price and the capitalist's additional profit upon this are added to the bill of fare at the table. That again necessitates the wage worker getting still higher wages to pay what has been added to his bill of fare—that too, with a further profit for the capitalist—must be added to the cost of the product of labor—and so it comes back to be bought by the farmer and other consumer with the extra cost added. Thus
the endless chain runs—taking in all the industries and schemes of mankind from "a" to "z," "the devil running us around the stump," never to quit the chase as long as existing practices are followed, presenting us with:
Truth No. 1.—To increase wages also increases the cost of the product—and as every commercial necessity is a product of either wage workers or of producers for market without intervening employers—the process of raising prices, leaving out the toll for capital, would properly one offset the other—but as efficiency increased the advantages of all the toilers would equally increase.
Mr. Presidents, it is apparent, that with all the modern mechanical devices and the improved means of applied human energy—that with proper social regulation—all industrious toilers would have all the advantages that anybody could reasonably enjoy. The actual toilers do not now have such advantages. Capitalists have intervened as a profession, instead of capital serving its true purpose by simply being the product and winnings of proper energy, physical or mental—the fruits of the toilers.
Under the rule, Truth No. 1, the relations between all the toilers would be reciprocal. Their interests are quite the same. Aside from inequality in a proper employment of time and of income for their work, there would be no conflict. The more they intelligently worked—the richer all would be.. When they adjusted the relative value of their services—universal prosperity would be both natural and certain.
The toilers have never attempted to adjust the relative value of services. Each field of workers has sought to increase its income, wages or other, without considering its effect upon the toilers in other fields. They have not comprehensively realized that the
increase is added to their cotoilers' cost of living—and even if they did realize it, they are without remedy as things are now managed. The raising of wages though necessary under the existing systems of doing business, is not a remedy for the high cost of living—for the raise is added to the cost of the product plus a profit to the capitalist.
Mr. Presidents, as you can plainly see, several primary elements concern us in the study of the high cost of living. First, we have "the products of labor"—but since we cannot each economically produce—all that we individually need—we must have an "exchange system." Exchange presents a complex problem—for it involves on the part of the worker, in addition to the production—the need to find a buyer for his product—also to learn where he can buy what he wants for his own use—all of which in turn involves the carrying of products to the places for consumption.
Exchange has never been worked out economically between producers and consumers. On the contrary, long before the producers and consumers ever dreamed of what would ultimately happen—the element of "private capital crept in to exact a toll,"—and therein entered the whole extravagance of our system—evolving as it does the concomitant retinue of speculators and gamblers in human affairs—the rich man's plan and
the poor man's burden.
The most difficult complications in the social order of mankind began with the injection of capital as a means of getting an extra profit for its possessors—and giving nothing in return for it. It matters not whether this profit consists of additional capital or of other special favor—for if it is based upon a favor to capital—the principle is the same—and upsets the whole social order by destroying the equilibrium of service and prevents
an equal opportunity for all. It gives us a false rule as follows:
Truth No. 2.—The privilege of capital to exact a toll, which toll becomes additional capital and is vested with the same privilege as the original—constantly increases the capital—and the toll becomes heavier—thus giving to a mere material substance the privilege of exacting constantly increasing proportion of the products of toil. Interest, dividend, rent and profit are the "wages" capital gets—but unlike labor, it returns nothing.
Mr. Presidents, business, as you well know, is governed on the basis of Truth No. 2, which is a false and vicious rule—for it automatically makes the few successful, but forces the masses into industrial failure. The older the system grows the worse it gets. It is the cause of the rich man's wars and the poor man's
fights.
It is not those who go forward to the battle lines that bear the main hardships of war. To do that calls for a kind of heroism of which there is an excess over the need—whenever the cause appeals—appeals to patriotism for one's country. Any true citizen, and not many are otherwise than true, will willingly face the battle line—and die for his country if need be. But the real heroes and upon whom all things depend, are the ones that make it possible for battles at all under modern conditions—by sticking to drudgery and misery—toiling incessantly before, at the time, and for generations after a war, to provide and pay for even the material waste, all of which would be avoided if Truth No. 1 governed business between producers and consumers.
Mr. Presidents, under business practices, values are measured in dollars—not in labor. Labor creates the values but dollars control it. That condition deserves your deepest thoughts, for you will see the injustice of it. Only about one-third of us are occupied producing
The masses get the bulk of products when we consider the aggregate consumption, but when what they get is divided between them, the average for the individual is ridiculously small—as compared with what special privilege favorites get.
Why should we be satisfied with our lot as long as we do not enjoy the advantages we earn and that of right belonging to us? It is not a question of comparing what we have had hitherto—with what we have now. The question is—are we getting what we are entitled to?
Mr. Presidents, it is not missing the facts very far to say that the total receipts for us all fall into three divisions; one-third to the farmers and others who produce without intervening employers; one-third to the wage workers and one-third to the speculators and other supernumeraries. That expresses the principle involved at any rate. What does it prove? That only two-thirds go to those who work for a living and include all except a small per cent of the population—say 98 per cent—which is the proportion stated by the Commission on Industrial Relations. 1
The other 2 per cent consists of the "special privilege" class. They produce nothing—only consume extravagantly at that. They exact one-third of all the
¹ The reader will not overlook the importance of the fact that first of all earnings are required to pay the actual expenses, and that what the laboring people secure for their services being individually comparatively small, it is impossible for them to accumulate capital in any considerable individual amount, whereas the speculator's expense and extravagancies though individually in many cases hundreds of times greater than the expense and costs that a laborer can pay, is nevertheless small in comparison with his income, so he can accumulate capital and become a millionaire, but this the laborer can never do on the pay that he gets for his labor.
incomes—which is measured against the two-thirds income of the 98 per cent—depriving the latter of one-third of their toils product—thus increasing the cost of living in this respect alone 33½ per cent. If, however, instead of being extravagantly and lavishly wasteful—as most of them are—the 2 per cent were producing, there would be still more of the needed products to reduce the cost of living. Then everybody would be prosperous. From the foregoing, Mr. Presidents, we present you with another truth upon which to base a rule:
Truth No. 3.—Employment should be in the line of necessity—not merely to be occupied and paid for time—for unless necessity determines the occupation, the time is wasted—and these who do properly employ their time are forced to make up for the waste of the others.
Necessities, of course, include all things required for a well-ordered civilization—not merely the bare necessities for subsistence of health, vigor, etc., but also for moral and intellectual enjoyment.
If employment was governed by Truths No. 1 and No. 3, there would be vastly more of the material useful things—and also more time at the disposal of everyone—without drudgery being dragged in with it. Then it would be easy for all of us to inform ourselves, and we would experience a true and better life.
One of the strange things in human experience is—that any one should be opposed to a just and natural plan of economic action—because even those most favored by the existing system would still be able to enjoy as much, and we confidentially predict, more of the things of real value in life than they do now. Opposition to a more practical system is accountable only on the basis of ignorance—or because of a selfish desire to be exclusive.
—yet himself indicting the claim by admitting that it costs more now to live than ever before. Is that the result of a progressive administration? Deliver us
from that kind of "progress."
Mr. Presidents, we have not challenged the present incumbent of the White House to compare his administration unfavorably with any other. We are considering things as a whole—the effects—the results of miscarriage over a period covering the last fifty years. None during that time, who has had authority given him by the people has taken his duty with sufficient seriousness to deal with the fundamental economic problems in a common-sense natural way.
That is why, in the face of the most efficient mechanical devises and the best means available for applying human energy that has ever existed—instead of progressing as we should—by increasing the advantages to all mankind—we now exist in the worst state of chaos. Nearly every public official has been backed off the board of duty to the public by the influence of predatory wealth. It is always an implied exchange—unwritten understanding, nearly always fulfilled, that predatory wealth will support the campaigns of those in office who give predatory wealth the least trouble, and support it when they dare.
Reform While the World is Ablaze
Mr. Presidents, we do not know whether the war will be ended or not, when these memorials reach you, but we know that the difficulties that grow out of the war will not yet be settled, and that the people of all countries and everywhere, will be alert to discover the best means of coming to a better understanding, for as between the toilers of the world there is no difference in their rights. Their common interests are identical. Once they accept a true way to adjust, the world will be in line for correct "preparedness," as distinguished from the kind of "preparedness" which we have heard so much about since the war shattered the world's control of reason.
Mr. Presidents, we wish to show you as our Chief Executives, that we know enough about the "truth of things," so that when they are properly presented to the world, there will be no cause for war—not in any form that will bring about any material interference with the rights of a country so great as our own and situated as we are.
The Unsettled Controversy
Mr. Presidents, even should the international problems between the central powers and ourselves be settled, which is not likely, when these memorials reach you, still there will be many matters to adjust. In the first place there were two or more methods by which the wrongs done us could have been settled; one at a postponed date by the fate of war—a great sacrifice of life and property, but we trust with no sacrifice of principle or honor—the other by peaceful methods, also at a postponed date and without much if any sacrifice of life or property, and we believe with no sacrifice of principle or honor.
Mr. Presidents, if there had been no sensational, and in many cases false statements of these problems made by a large part of the press, we should have settled the difficulties with the central powers in the end by the same methods as we choose to settle our other difficulties with the other powers—which also violated many of our international rights. We ourselves would have chosen the latter, and firmly believe that it would have been
immeasurably the best method and therefore the wisest. But the constituted and the legally qualified authorities of our nation chose the first plan, and that settles it for all of us, for we are one people and the choice of action has been made. Therefore we must be united on the one purpose.
We made no demand of the central powers that of right we should not have made. It was our duty to make our rights known, and to protest against their violation. We violated no international law by going to war, nor can we be said to be wrong internationally, because we chose different methods with different nations to settle the international disputes between us and them. Many of us would have chosen the method that would have averted war, but it was the right of our country to choose, and not to be dictated to by any other nation in a matter that was our right.
Mr. Presidents, there is one thing we cannot overlook, however, in the consideration of this problem—because of its importance to avoid in the future—and that is that there should be no State tolerance or license to private American individual enterprise to deliberately bring about a condition by putting themselves in a position to invite nations at war to violate our international rights. The fact that that was done in the present controversy, should in no way change our course now, unless in the end it should influence us in the terms of peace—but we should guard against a recurrence in the future.
No one doubts that "special privilege," without authority or license from the Government, immediately when the war began, took an inventory of the conditions that surrounded the war—with a view to making all the profits possible out of it—and that in furtherance of their profit schemes, they deliberately took
great risks, figuring that the Government would support them when within their legal rights. The greed of those speculators, notwithstanding, we can tolerate no nation unchallenged to violate our rights upon the high seas. The violation of that right is the real question we have to settle with the violators. The fact that certain greedy Americans were willing to profit at the risk of forcing a war and untold sacrifices by the American people, is a problem of our own to settle in our own way.
The Patriots and the Money Sharks
Mr. Presidents, among the war-infested nations, as well as among the nations claiming to be neutral, there are two forces operating in each—for years after peace articles shall have been agreed upon, these two forces are likely to be active.
Speaking of our own country: on the one hand we have the "war for profit group," which at this epoch of the so-called world's civilization is responsible for the conditions that lead to wars. It is this "war for profit group" that has counterfeited patriotism for commercial ends, and counterfeited the flag for the same purpose—all in an attempt to perpetuate the selfish plans of that group. On the other hand there is the rank and file of the people, who have kept the flag unsullied—kept it before and above to the breezes—as the emblem of liberty and progress. These two forces have been fighting side by side in opposition to what has been termed a "common enemy," and yet the two forces—"the war for profit group," and the true patriots, aim at diametrically opposite purposes.
Mr. President, to understand these opposite purposes, it is necessary that we should understand our own conditions, and the relations that different groups hold to each other, so that in the final adjustment—the dividing line shall be wiped out and all stand on equality in the general practice to be followed, as well as in the eye of the law.
It was indeed strange that we should have proclaimed to the world that we entered the war to establish a "world's democracy," when we ourselves had not for fifty years been a democracy except on election days. Strange and inconsistent as that may seem, the proclamation nevertheless—though unwittingly on the part of him who made it—will prove true, more true, however, to ourselves—than it will to the nations against which our arms are directed. Henceforth we shall become democratic—become a true Republic —be a republic in fact, instead of as, heretofore, a mere republic in form, but without the essence.
As to the war, we selected the most costly, the most cruel and most sacrificing method to accomplish what could have been settled in a humane way. We have been almost as reckless as the other powers in the war. But with sacrifice, hardship and endurance, greatness develops to a greater extent than when things desired come with ease. The world had adopted that method, and we cannot be singled out by any of the nations engaged in the struggle for criticism because we did as the others, for our cause to keep the high seas open and free is just
It is not as to our comparative rights with the outer world that we raise any question, for no one can deny that we have kept within our rights as to our relations with other countries in the conflict, provided nations have a right to act independently at all. That being unquestioned—nevertheless, conscience free as we may feel with the outside world, we are a long way from being so with certain interests at home. We are
being imposed upon by a few of our own people most shamefully. It is in this latter respect that we shall learn more about our necessities than we have known before, and our experience shows us the way to remedy
many of the existing false practices.
Mr. Presidents, the war appears upon its face to have been between the nations grouped upon opposing sides. So it started, but it will not end thus. It is not a war of shot and shell, fire and sword, alone; it has developed into a war of economics—and the proof of the false economic system under which we have worked for a long time, stands out in such bold prominence that the evidence of it cannot be concealed by the adroit coverings of those few who have profitted so much by it. In this latter respect the war will not be ended with the signing of peace articles, whatever the
wording of the articles may be.
The war of economics will not last long, and will not be a conflict between the nations grouped into opposing sides, as the special interest press now claims it will be, and as the "war for profit group" would have it. It will develop into a war against the old order of things—against the practices that have been to blame for all the troubles. The new system will negative the practices that are economically false, and lead directly to amicability, instead of as now to conflict. We shall look back upon our own follies in amazement at our original stupidity. So will the people of every other civilized country, look back upon their own follies, as the cause of their past troubles. Once they understand—that the existing practices—are sure breeders of war, and that the new system is a sure and certain way to permanent peace, all the ranklings and cross ranklings will cease.
No, Mr. Presidents, it will not be the peoples of the nations—divided into opposing national groups—but it will be the plain-thinking, honest people of all the civilized nations united upon one side for the establishment of a true "world economic democracy," as distinguished from a "political democracy." An economic plan will be selected that will be natural—simple—that will do justice by the self interest of everybody to follow it. The plain people will constitute the one group—while the "wealth grabbers" will constitute the other group. The latter for a short time will try by all the cunning and adroit methods of their long practiced deceptions to maintain the old order of things—by which they would continue to live in luxury and extravagance off the products produced by the sweat of others' toils.
Surprises in the Economics of the World
Mr. Presidents, as previously suggested—the economic disclosures of the war have suddenly exaggerated the old order of things—and brought out in bold evidence the fact—that it has all been the rich man's plan and the poor man's struggle to meet it—his burden. But bad as this sudden exaggeration caused by the war is, it may be that war was the very thing we needed to bring us ultimately to our senses. It will—if we open our eyes and use our heads, unshackle the toilers of the world.
Heretofore the false economy of things have been executed on a more gradual scale—each succeeding year the wealth-grabbers have dug deeper into our earnings—but it was all done in such adroit and "slick" fashion—that there were never enough of us at any one time that realized it was done to make us act simultaneously together to relieve ourselves of it.
It is perfectly apparent to us all now, that when there is so much to waste as the war has shown—that there would be wealth for us all if we managed properly.
Many of us did not before realize what vast productive power we had. When the world's greatest conflict burst upon the frightened peoples of the earth, it furnished an object lesson that forces us all to think at one time. Of course, the subsidized portion of the press—is beating the "drum" upon every conceivable imagination on other subjects, in an attempt to make the people overlook, and do no thinking on the true economic side of things. The display lines in their papers are artfully given to sidetrack us from the significant failure of the old order of things. But nothing will avail them in their adroit attempt to hide from the patriotic people the fact that at a time when the masses were being made poorer by war, the old system immediately created a few billionaires, and a new crop of millionaires. The sudden forcing of the old system to its limit, lit up its workings so that everybody could read its betrayal. It has been read by us all. It is now "the lighting bright hand on the wall."
The "war for profit group" seem to labor under the impression that it is their war, and that it shall be their material gain. That group, surely is the cause of wars, and temporarily, that is as long as we let the country be run on their plan, they have the advantage, but their days for selfish realization are numbered, for we will not allow a legal cause which we had to enter the war—whatever the purposes of those who created the conditions to excite war were—to sidetrack us from the greater duty that now confronts us; that is—to correct our economic system. It is our war to establish a true democracy in America, and that part will be accomplished through constitutional channels. The
people are loyal, they are patriotic and ready to sacrifice all that is necessary to continue our flag as the emblem of the great principles that inspired its birth.
When Money is Used to do Wrong
Mr. Presidents, we should hardly accomplish the purposes of our memorials if we did not place before you some of the serious occurrences that have taken place in the history of our country—and that relate to
what we wish accomplished.
In the last two decades we have had several bad financial jolts—called panics. Our finances have never been satisfactory. Therefore on several occasions we started campaigns to improve our currency and banking system. It is the debts of ourselves and of the world at large, that cause the most of the existing troubles, so we thought to build up a better system. No sooner had we begun to plan for that, than our oppressors took the campaign right off our hands, and ran the campaign for themselves. They executed the scheme so cleverly that we ourselves abandoned our campaign and helped them in theirs—so now we are in a worse squeeze than ever.
Mr. Presidents, if we had originally presented to you memorials for a proper financial plan, so you could have messaged the plan back to us, we could simultaneously have acted and secured its adoption. If that had been done in time, we should not have had a war on our hands now—for the first nation that adopts a true financial system for itself will lead the way for all
nations—to peace and prosperity.
Our past mistakes need not discourage us. On the contrary—they will serve as examples to steer us quite clear of them hereafter, for instead of leaving this problem for our representatives in official office to settle,
as we did heretofore—hereafter we shall direct those whom we have placed in authority to enact our plan into law. In order that there may be no misunderstanding, we will review the happenings that led us wrong before.
We gave finance problems more or less attention at different times, but never was able to get ourselves sufficiently active to secure concrete favorable legislation. Some of us concluded that an investigation of the Money Trust and an exposure of its methods would prove sufficiently exciting to spur the people to action. It certainly would, if they knew how they have been robbed by it.
A resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives to investigate the Money Trust. At first an attempt was made by those who profit from it, to laugh it out of consideration, but that attempt failed, for the people had been aroused. It was quickly discovered that we could not be sidetracked in that way—so with the usual agility and swiftness of the Money Trust group, it took the campaign for the investigation into its own hands—for if it had to be examined—it much preferred an examination by a committee whose members should be favorable to it, and at least "white wash" it in all respects where-by any distortion that could possibly be done—and at least not to do anything that would injure it in the most essential respects to its continued existence.
Once the investigating committee got to work—notwithstanding that the members of the committee were mostly disciples of the Money Trust—they made more of an exposure than was at first intended—because of being spurred by what they termed "public clamor." Much evidence was taken and several volumes printed—so voluminous and mixed, however, that no one with
much else to do would ever have time to read the evidence and but few the report—besides, only a few copies were printed. The whole thing in fact was stopped just when they got to the point where the system would have been exposed in its most secret schemes if the investigation had gone on—and of course if it had once been exposed in the true conditions of its work the whole "special privilege" system would have been wiped out—for no self-respecting people
would knowingly stand for such injustice.
The investigation began to develop some startling facts—everybody was beginning to take notice—particularly the big financiers—as they term themselves—for they came "post haste" to Washington, got down on their knees begging the authorities that then were, to "slap on the lid" lest these "now" pleading money sharks would be landed in prison. This was the very same group that have been so active in these later years creating the conditions which caused the belligerents in the European war to violate some of our international rights, and it was they, primarily, who laid all the plans to bring about a condition to excite our people into a state of war fever. Their press was worked night and day at the game, to play upon patriotism, to excite it even by false statements—statements which if they were true would have justified extraordinary action long, long ago, on the part of the people to combat.
Notwithstanding a sympathetic investigating committee, the Money Trust group, "sweat blood," for in September, 1912, the committee asked the Comptroller of Currency to supply certain data concerning the business and practices of the larger national banks controlled by the Money Trust group. Then they were about to reach the "lion in his den." but a mighty
roar came forth. Timidity was hit in several official places now by this roar. It was a roar that was limited to the hearing of only those in authority and muffled as to the public. A panic was threatened.
The Comptroller referred the request of the President for instructions, in compliance with an executive order originally issued by one of you, President Roosevelt, and reissued by another of you, President Taft, which order prohibited any head of department from furnishing any information without permission of the President.
The "lion in his den" was now lashing his tail and roaring furiously, but at the same time crouching in fear. So from September to December the matter was held in abeyance—and at the most critical period—when the point was reached where we would have been given the most startling facts possible, and a basis laid for forever ending the rule of the Money Trust—at this most important point, President Taft rendered his decision declining to allow the Comptroller to furnish the information. That left the Money Trust free to continue with its plans to further exploit us, and it has put in its most collegeal "licks" during the war
Mr. Presidents, you will recall that the National Monitary Commission had previously been created. This, of course, was a mere sham, for already the Money Trust knew what it wanted and proposed to get it, and finally did. The National Monetary Commission was a "just make believe" to deceive us. It was ridiculous to send those men at great public expense to Europe to study finance to frame a bill for Congress to pass. Europe has not been economically successful. That was not it at all. The whole scheme had been planned long before. One of the greatest of you, President Lincoln, had warned those of you who followed in succession, and warned the people as well during the Civil War, in the following language:
Yes, we may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing the close, but I see in the future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before in the midst of the war.
Yes, Mr. Presidents, the above quotation from Lincoln's letter to Mr. Elkins, of Illinois, became quite well known at the time as well as other of Lincoln's statements to the same effect. Those were the admonitions of one of the world's greatest of the great—came from the lips and the pen of the one of you who piloted us through the dark days of the Civil War. He knew whereof he spoke and wrote, for the evidences were already clear as to what the corporations sought and the means they used to deceive the people.
The corporations referred to by Lincoln have indeed grown mighty, even more so than could have been dreamed of at that time, and they now seek to commercialize patriotism, by having us look at it through their eyes. The thing that Lincoln said would happen has happened, and it is up to us now to correct it, not only in honor of the great President who made the statement, not only in honor of the heroes who then fought for and won the liberty of all, and not only in honor of the people who supported them, most of whom have passed to the great beyond; not only in their combined honor, but, as a duty of America, the one nation to which the world should look to redeem its people everywhere from industrial bondage.
Mr. Presidents, you and we as well—even the great Lincoln among you, had an earlier notice, from one of you. It was by another of the greatest of the great—Thomas Jefferson. We quote from him as well:
I hope we shall crush in its, birth the aristocracy of the moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our Government to trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.—From Jefferson's letter to George Logan, November, 1816.
Again: "Banking institutions are more dangerous than standing armies."—From Jefferson's letter to John
Tyler, one of you, 1816.
Again: "Spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."—Jefferson.
Again: "The banks have the regulation of the safety valves of our fortunes and they condense and exploit them at their will."—Jefferson's letter to John Adams,
one of you, November, 1819.
Again: "It is cruel that such revolutions in private fortunes should be at the mercy of avaricious adventurers, who instead of employing their capital, if any they have, in manufacturies, commerce, and other useful pursuits, make it an instrument to burden all the interchanges of property with their swindling profits which are the price of no useful industry of theirs."—From letter by Jefferson to Dr. Thomas Cooper, 1814.
Again: "We are completely saddled and bridled, and the bank is so firmly mounted on us that we must go where they ill guide."—From letter by Jefferson to
James Monroe, one of you.
Again: "All eyes are opening to the rights of man. The general spread of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God."—From Jefferson's writings.
Mr. Presidents, the last statement above from the great Jefferson stands out with prominence when we take into account that now, more than a century later, we have been completely "saddled" and special privilege, forever, if we permit it, "booted and spurred"
and—actually riding us—sticking the "spurs" as deep as they can into our "flanks"—not, however, by the grace of God, but by the acts of the Congresses of the United States.
The whole world has been ablaze with war as the result of the plain toilers being "saddled" with the system which we call to your attention. "By the grace of God," and the intelligence of a people getting their eyes opened, this 1917 has come as a day for a new birth to a new world democracy in fact, and not merely a democracy on paper as it has been for some time past.
Mr. Presidents, Ruskin truly said, "National debts paying interest are simply the purchase by the rich of the power to tax the poor." It was Ruskin, too, who
said:
The real thieves of Europe, the real sources of deadly war in it, are the capitalists—that is to say, people who live by percentages on the labor of others; instead of by fair wages for their own.
Mr. Presidents, the Civil War was the last of the great acts of our country for civil liberty, if we except the Spanish-American war which was of less importance, that measured up to the highest ideals for which we stand. You know that politically, even in the Civil War, "big business had its agents in the National Capitol, planning for industrial slavery to succeed chattel slavery. You saw the "Hazard Circular," issued during the Civil War by an agent of the English money loaners, which read:
Slavery is likely to be abolished by the war power and all chattel slavery abolished. This I and my European friends are in favor of, for slavery is but the owning of labor and carries with it the care of the laborers, while the European plan led by England, is that capital shall
control labor and wades.
This is a france
Mr. Presidents, civil liberty and the legal right to industrial liberty was established for all in this country—by the success of the Union armies in the Civil war. That was the greatest act of the American people after the independence from England. There is only one greater thing that we can accomplish as a government, and that is to establish practical industrial liberty. Civil liberty is only theoretical except if it is coupled with practical industrial freedom. The two go hand in hand to make liberty complete. We all have the absolute rights, but mere naked rights are of little value unless the conditions go along to make them effective. Already in our country 90 odd per cent of us are shackled, as suggested we would be, by the "Hazard Circular," but fortunately we still have the power to liberate ourselves. That liberation is close at hand.
True, the war started as that of the Kaiser's, the Czar's, the Emperor's, the King's, and other rulers—but grouped with them were the wealth-grabbers. It was the latter principally who were the real aggressors—long in advance. It was their system that had created the conditions for it. The toilers now do the drudgery to furnish the supplies; the most able-bodied of the men are made soldiers to do the fighting; but women and children do the most of the suffering. If anyone is to get any glory out of that, it will be by the establishment of industrial freedom, and that only. No humbling of any nation will do it. To secure articles of peace, with all kinds of concession, will be meaningless, if we fall back on the existing industrial system. It will all be in vain unless the world's toilers—the plain men, women and children—shall be liberated from the industrial slavery advocated by the "Hazard Circular," and now in actual realization.
Such a liberation cannot take place on the battle field. It can only be accomplished in the halls of legislation. Law will not create, but it may regulate, so that the toilers shall not be fleeced by a false eco-
nomic application of business methods.
The patriotism of our people have been tested too many times to doubt their readiness to make any sacrifice necessary to the welfare of their country. The lash of the press during registration period was an insult. Back of that insult, however, were the greedy speculators planning to control the civil government and to manage the war to destroy the value of the victories that we expect from the true and the brave upon the fields of battle. The wealth-grabbers propose to do it again, as they did before.
Will you, Mr. Presidents, permit it again? Will we permit it again? Will we do that in this age when all
of us can read, write and understand?
Do we accept of the draft, the drudgery and the burdens of war, and they expect us to leave them indefinitely in control of the civil government to perpetuate their rule of special privilege? That won't go this time Mr. Presidents. We accept all our responsibilities, give our service in every way that it is needed for the general welfare, but we shall exercise our right to govern under the Constitution as our forefathers drafted and interpreted its purposes—to secure forever—iustice and equality.
Mr. Presidents, we did not begin the war. It was not originally our choice to go to war. We were dragged in because the "war for profit group" refused to sacrifice temporarily their speculations. If they had done so they would have failed to add the several billions of profits which the war has netted to them. Rather than lose that profit, they carried on a traffic
which tempted the violation of the freedom of the seas
as public highways by all of the belligerents.
The freedom of the seas involved a sacred right to us—a principle entirely independent of the selfish designs of the speculators. We had fought to success one war with England to maintain the freedom of the seas. This right was now being violated by all the belligerents. None, but the Central Powers, however, went so far as to destroy innocent human lives, when their weapons of war were held in their immediate control. The others planted mines in the seas. The destruction of human beings in either case raised no difference in principle as applied to the uninterrupted freedom for travel and commerce on the high seas, but it immeasurably aggravated the seriousness of the violation. It added to the gravity in the minds of the people, which resulted in Congress declaring war.
Now we are in the war and must prosecute it until we have established peace. The sacrifices which we shall make, we expect to be instrumental in the establishment of a "world's democracy." But, Mr. Presidents, not for a day do we carry on the war for a world's democracy in the interests of our military enemies alone. There is no real complete democracy on the face of the earth—nothing even approaching it. We ourselves have the form of a democracy to be sure, but a form only—for we have not in the enjoyment of it—the substance. Democracy must necessarily be exercised by the people, and not proceed
from mere leaders and dictators.
Liberating Our Exchanges
Mr. Presidents, nothing is more important than a means of easy and inexpensive exchange which includes distribution so that products and advantages of all kinds may readily pass from producer to consumer to their mutual advantage. We demand that.
Money and credit on the one hand to evidence value, and transportation on the other to affect the material delivery—are the main elements in commerce, and should never be incumbered by monopoly. When unincumbered they become the commercial agency for civilization of the world by administering to the material and social necessities, but when controlled by monopoly as they are, they become elements of violent disturbance and oppression. In monopoly, they enable those in control to take advantage of all mankind by imposing burdensome charges for both services—hitting both producer and consumer—inflicting ruin and disaster.
The Group of Trust Banks
Mr. Presidents, there are a few very large banks that dominate, and probably about one hundred more of the larger city banks that designedly cooperate with the first to control the finances of America. The smaller banks are by force of circumstances co-ordinated. Together they constitute the greatest power for the control of business that exists. They are the Money Trust. Many of the smaller banks are not aware of the influence that controls them. Very few of them would voluntarily belong to the Money Trust. Most of them are much opposed to it, because they are owned by persons who come from the plain walks of life. Nevertheless the banks as now run are the principal barriers to a world's new democracy. They must be shorn of their power before justice can be established in commerce.
Before the Federal Reserve act was passed, it was possible, though not easy, for a national bank to keep from directly aiding the Money Trust. Now it is
impossible. The law makes every bank that joins the system a link to the Money Trust. The law compels national banks to join.
Mr. Presidents, at the beginning of 1917 there were 7,596 national banks. They directly control nearly one-half of all the banking resources, and indirectly they control many of the state banks and most of the trust companies. The group of speculators who control the larger banks, took it into their heads some years ago—that they must have control of all, including the state banks and trust companies, and they engineered a campaign to secure the Federal Reserve
act to be passed by Congress.
You understand, of course, that all of the banks and trust companies and some of the old line insurance companies deal mostly with other people's money and construct a debt system upon it. In fact they organize in the form of banks and trust companies on purpose to secure the control of other people's money. Including all banks, trust companies, old line insurance companies and organizations incorporated and unincorporated, for handling other people's money there are about 30,000. New ones are constantly being organized. Eventually as you well know, the Federal Reserve act, unless materially amended, will squeeze some of the smaller ones out.
The existing laws make the masses of us absolutely helpless against the impositions and exactions of the money lenders. The very circumstances that surround us force us to support a monstrous unjust system. In reorganizing for the "new world's democracy" suggested by one of you, we shall require a new plan for financing business.
The smaller banks supply the Money Trust banks with a part of the people's deposits. That is how the
No one would dare propose such an absurdity as the existing banking system, as a first proposition in the formation of a true and honest Government. The Constitution which our forefathers, the heroes of the American Revolution against English rule of taxation without representation, etc., expressly reserved the power of control of finances to the people—that is to its Congress. Congress in violation of that trust has delegated the power to the bankers. Strange, is it not, under that condition, the people are wondering what is the matter with things?
No people can be industrially free with any important element in the commerce of the country in monopoly control, unless it is the Government itself that exercises the monolopy. If the monstrosity of the existing banking and currency system had been presented to the people in a single "dose" it would have been rejected as the most unjust and ridiculous thing possible. By insidious manipulation—gradual callousing of the conscience of the public servants, and slow "par boiling" of the masses we became "paralyzed" and our sensibility deadened to its monstrous injustice.
Mr. Presidents, we shall burden you with comparatively few of the details of the iniquities of this banking system. The Constitution, as you know lodges in Congress the power to act. Therefore we ask a few pointed questions:
What do you think of Congress delegating to the banks—organized by their stockholders for private profit—the power that they now possess? Some of you approved the laws which did it.
What do you think of the Government supported by taxes collected from the people, issuing money and handing it over exclusively to the banks, organized for private gain, to exploit us with their high rates of interest and in other ways as well?
What do you think of the Government refusing to loan money to the people upon terms as favorable as it does to the banks—refusing absolutely to loan to the people upon any terms—thereby making the monopoly of the banks complete?
What do you think of the Government issuing money by authority of the Constitution at the expense of the people—handing it out to these same banks, and then this same Government borrowing the same money and paying interest upon it?
Mr. Presidents, what are your answers to the above
four questions?
Some of you have signed bills passed by Congress making the banks the absolute dictators of our financial affairs—these same banks, everyone of them organized to make as much money for their stockholders as they can. One of you urged Congress to pass—and signed the bill creating twelve Federal Reserve Banks that are owned exclusively by other banks.
None of us individually nor our Government owns a cent of stock in the Federal Reserve banks. They were named "Federal Reserve" in order to give us the impression that they are Government banks. Our Government issues money to them, but prohibits their loaning it to us—allows them to loan it to their owner banks only. In connection with their owner banks they may expand and contract the currency in order to enable their owners to exploit us in speculation, and compel us to pay outrageous rates of interest.
<sup>1 There is not a congressional district in the United States—and no persons—outside of the bankers and professional speculators and capitalists—who do not in the aggregate pay vastly more interest, or its equivalent, than they collect. They need not be
Why are we compelled to go a round-about way to secure the money issued by our own government, when properly we should be able to go direct and secure it as cheaply as the banks do, and at less than half what we are now forced to pay?
What do you think of the Government making these same private banks the exclusive custodians of the deposits of the people, and then using the deposits to
exploit us with
What do you think of the postal savings bank system—the Government taking deposits from us at 2 per cent, and then loaning it to the same private banks at 2½, while the banks loan it to us and charge us several times that rate? Some of you signed the laws that do that.
Mr. Presidents, we might continue this series of questions indefinitely to the disadvantage of Congress and several of you—but it is not our desire to embarrass either you or Congress—for you both belong to us—and we love you both—as we love our own children—for their good and for all of their errors. We understand things better than we used to, and realize that this Government of ours has not been a democracy in fact, but merely so in form—that we have had the form and not the substance of a democ-
Truths Nos. 1, 2 and 3, explains fully the facts about interest
See index herein of same.
borrowers to pay interest. When they buy the necessaries of life—sell their products—earn their salaries—pay their taxes—and respond in cash or toil to secure any of the things they must have the interest account is against them. It was this persistent levy of profit for the few that drove Europe to war. Let the United States beware lest it meet the same misfortune. The day of fearful reckoning will surely come unless we remove the cause. Human nature has a limit to the burden which it will bear and will resist when it is reached.
racy. For this we are largely to blame ourselves, for not having observed things as we should have done, and have forced a correction.
Now, however, that we are about to start a new world's democracy, we will see to it that we are equal to the importance of the occasion, and to the extent of directing the administration or our own country we shall succeed—for we shall not hereafter leave you to grope about by yourselves as you have hitherto, without thoughtful assistance from us. We will indicate to you our desires and ask you to see that they are followed—for otherwise it will be no democracy. The naked privilege of walking up to a ballot box and voting for this candidate or that candidate to become a public official does not complete a democracy.
Why, when there was an attempt to create a rural credit system to give direct Government aid to the farmers, did not Congress pass and you sign an act that would give as direct aid upon equally good security—as continuous and at equally low cost to the farmers, as the act which was put through Congress for the
benefit of the bankers?
We petitioners are not exclusively farmers. We constitute the people from all the useful lines of enterprise—farmers, wage workers, merchants, instructors, traveling men and all the others of us who are required to make a civilization complete. We do not ask, nor do we or any of us need special favors, provided that no one else has any. We want to cut all special favors out, but as long as some are granted special favors we want you to be impartial, and grant it to the rest of us as well.
Your rural credit plan depends upon the bankers to get the money. How can you claim otherwise when you force even the Government itself to go to the bankers to get the very money that the Government alone under the Constitution has the power to issue? You sell bonds to get the money to loan the farmers, and the rates of interest on the bonds are practically
agreed upon by the banks.
No one should pay more than the actual expenses the expenses that are really necessary—for the maintenance of a system to finance commerce in all the fields of enterprise. When the financing of all enterprises is, or shall be, placed upon a sound basis, instead of upon manipulation for a rake off on the financial part there will be no conflict, and practically nothing in a
commercial sense to fight about
Our Government is loaning to foreign governments billions of dollars at 3½ per cent. Under the rural credit plan, farmers—our own—will be required to pay 5½ and probably more, and not secure the full amount they mortgage for. What sort of short-sighted policy is it that governs our public servants, when they know that food, more than men, are needed by those whom we have made our allies. There is no explanation except that the Money Trust has secured an influence over the actions of Congress—not that the public officials have been bribed or even intend to wrong the people—but that they cannot separate themselves from these unhappy conditions, and insist upon following the precedents that are rooted in special privilege. The farmers' security is infinitely better than the foreign loan security and carries with it no possible dangerous complications.
We have already explained that the mere fact of some of us not being borrowers—does not exempt even those from the payment of interest. But even if it did, we would not wish to visit an unjust burden upon those who are borrowers. Among us we often hear
farmers owning small farms—urban dwellers owning modest homes, and others of moderate property means—complain because taxes upon these are too high. Again, we occasionally hear tenants say they have no concern in how much taxes their landlord pays.
In the case of ownership, these go directly into their pockets to pay their tax, while the tenant has it added to his rent. But these tax additions to the cost of living are small in comparison with the indirect toll that is levied upon them through the operation of the banking and currency system. It is seldom that we hear a kick about the bank charge, except by the borrower, but we do kick about the prices of the things we buy. If we stop to think, we will realize that, included in the charge for these, is the extortion of the banks from their borrowers.
We would not have you understand that we complain of the bankers or resent them personally for their oppression. Some of them are among us now petitioning you, and a majority of them would be if they did not fear the action of the big banks with which it is necessary for them to do business. They know that they have advantages over the people that, are not right, but they are not in a position to correct the evil alone. It is our own fight. We are to blame for permitting special privilege to continue. It is not within the power of the banks alone to change the condition now, unless they would all get together for the purpose, which we do not expect.
If any of us should go into the banking business, we would be forced, by the very environments that would surround us and the laws, to do the same as those
already in the business.
It is not the item of a \$1,000,000,000 or more of annual profits that the banks collect from us that
causes the main mischief. It is the high financiers, who borrow from the deposits in the banks to exploit us with, that adds several additional billions of profits to their capital annually, which, of course, is added to the
cost of living for the rest of us to pay.
For every billion dollars of profits scalped by speculation from operating the country's business, it adds to the cost of living an average equal to \$10 for every man, woman and child, and thus it increases annually because of compound interest. Practically, in the end, it all falls upon the toilers. Therefore, we insist upon the importance of putting into operation a better system for our new world democracy.
Mr. Presidents, our memory is still fresh with the advertisements carried at great expense by the railways in 1916—in the public press, as well as in posters in the most frequented public places. Their purpose was to teach us that, if the hours of toil for the train operators were reduced, the cost of operating would be increased, and that this difference, plus a profit upon it in the cost of operating the roads, would be charged to the passenger and freight service and we made to pay for it. They wanted us to object to any reduction in the hours of work for these men.
Their challenge to raise the cost on travel and freight service was by no means an idle threat. The hours for train operators to work were, by an act of Congress, properly reduced. Already the freight charges and charges for travel on trains have been increased in many sections of the country and will soon take general effect. The people were entitled to a reduction in charges for both passenger and freight transportation, but the railways by keeping up a constant fight
o increase rates manage to ward off decreases.
notruduced
So far as any of us can now recall, these advertisements by the railways were the first expressions that ever came directly from special privilege that, in its own admission, indicted its own system, and, if properly studied and followed out by us—to its legitimate conclusion—would reveal the fallacy of private ownership
A Master Stroke of the Money Trust
Mr. Presidents, you will bear with us, when we press this proposition with force and persistance, because all our economic troubles are caused by the Money Trust group. We must clearly define how it rules and positively rely upon you to help us destroy its rule. After spending \$287,259 tax money collected from us to pay the expenses of the National Monetary Commission, the membership of which was mostly made up of Money Trust disciples, and, in addition, the expenditure by special privilege of more than \$2,000,000, all with the view to divert the attention of the people from their true purpose, we had saddled on our backs the greatest special privilege scheme the world has in all time witnessed. It consists of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks—to which your attention has already been called. Then and now—here and there—in addition to what we had originally, we get sidelight flashes of how this scheme was put across.
Leslies' Weekly, and several other publications that are supporters of special privilege, have for a year or more been running articles to extoll and eulogize some of the principal wealth-grabbers and manipulators. In an article written for the October 19, 1916, issue of Leslie's Weekly, by B. C. Forbs, Vice-Chairman of the
Railways Investors' League, the article begins:
Picture a party of the nation's greatest bankers stealing out of New York on a private railroad car, under the cover of darkness, stealthily hying hundreds of miles south, embarking in a mysterious launch, sneaking onto an an island deserted by all but a few servants, living there a full week under such rigid secrecy that the name of not one of them was once mentioned lest the servants learn their identity and disclose to the world this strangest, most secret episode in the history of American finance. I am not mincing. I give the world the real story of how the famous Aldrich-Vreeland Currency report—the foundation to the new currency system—was written.
Following the above, the article goes on to describe how this band of "high financiers" worked to saddle the toilers with their currency scheme, and names the following as among the secret band: Nelson A. Aldrich, then a United States Senator and who had been boss in the Senate for twenty years; A. Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury; Paul M. Warburg, now the leading member of the Federal Reserve Board that holds the financial destinies of the country in its grasp; Henry P. Davidson, a leading partner in the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co., the greatest of the Money Trust group; Frand A. Vanderlip, President of the National City Bank, one of the greatest of the Money Trust banks.
The above group constituted the strongest of the high financiers and represented the largest business speculators on earth, and that have made two billionaires and a new crop of millionaires in America out of
speculation on war business.1
Mr. Warburg's appointment to the Federal Reserve Board was contested for a while by the Senate, because he refused to appear before a Senate Committee and give evidence as to his financial connections with the Money Trust group. The Senate, however, would not yield its privilege, but it was so important to the Money Trust group of financiers that Mr. Warburg should be on the Board, that he finally yielded and appeared for examination. The report on these hearings was printed, but it showed that Mr. Warburg's connections with the "high financiers" were such that the public—if it knew the facts—would object to his service on the Board, so the report was suppressed. A few copies of the report got into the hands of certain Senators who did not approve of the suppression, and these are sufficient to prove, out of his own mouth, Mr. Warburg's
<sup>1It will be noted that some of these same persons and their intimate associates have taken a hand in handling the finance end of the war.
History for 6,000 years verifies the fact that human nature is selfish—so we must accept that as a fundamental fact—and must presume that it continues so and give it proper weight and protect ourselves against ourselves—assume that persons will, if the opportunity affords, do those things that give them individual advantage when they know how. Human nature is all that we have to deal with. It is ourselves—it is our battle and our life—all that there is in us for us to follow through to the end. That is why we discuss and hold out the promise:
That if you, Mr. Presidents, will message back to us all the facts that we present to you, so that we shall all understand them at one time, we will then act at once in the common interests of all—if that is done everybody will succeed. We gave you the power to do this, and we ask you to do it in the interests of all America, and in the interests of all the world.
Mr. Presidents, the future success of the masses—which means all of us, rich and poor, high and low in estate—all—all, supplies the motive for collective consistency and cooperation. All that it requires is to organize. The only organization that exists now that is in every way coordinated, is the speculators; big business, organized to get richer and richer off the fruits of the toiler's toil.
In view of the selfish interest that has dominated the world, it is not possible that the masses, if properly advised of the conditions and informed how to proceed, will allow the sure means that they can adopt to secure universal success—to remain inoperative, simply to have the existing gamblers' chance—luck—that can come only now and then—here and there—to one of them under the existing practices. This presents to
you, Mr. Presidents, the key with which to open the door for a universal brotherhood. You can depend upon it as fundamental, and once it is put in operation it will become universal and eternal
Mr. Presidents, returning again to finance, which at present rules everything and, therefore, justifies more detail—having shown that there are twelve Federal Reserve Banks and a Federal Reserve Board that makes the Rules for their government, it is important to mention the Advisory Council which under the law meets in Washington to plan the ways to control the finances of the people. This Council has great influence with the Federal Reserve Board.
Every member in the Advisory Council is a believer in special privilege. Conspicuous upon that Council is J. P. Morgan, the leading member of J. P. Morgan & Co., and son of the late J. P. Morgan. This firm is at the head of the Money Trust—King of it so to speak. Every one of the twelve members of the Advisory Council, as you will know, was educated in the atmos-
phere of special privilege.
The Federal Reserve Act is not only a special privilege act, but special privileged persons have been placed in control—are the advisers in its administration.
The Federal Reserve Board and the Advisory Council administer the Federal Reserve System as its head authority, and no one of the lesser officials, even if they wished, would dare to cross swords with them.
Mr. Presidents, of course so cleverly arranged a scheme as the Federal Reserve Act for enslaving us, could not be put through without almost infinite care to secure able assistance and a means provided to pay off the obligations of the original designers and main beneficiaries of the act—to their subordinate lieuten-
ants who aided in pushing the scheme through. As this is a common practice, in anticipation of putting all selfish great schemes through, it is well enough to observe their tactics in this case before proceeding further. The campaign to educate the public to accept such a monstrous evil was, of course, secretly
arranged.
To disguise the scheme, a parent organization, named the "Citizens League," was created in Chicago, and from there State organizations and campaigns were directed. Of course, you know that the plan for the act itself was already in existence when these organizations were formed, and the literature that was put out did not propose any specific provisions for the act. On the contrary, they kept their secret, and merely advocated a "reform," and when the time came, instead of a proper reform measure being prescribed, the Money Trust Group adroitly slipped in the Federal Reserve Act, its own plan, and got it enacted substantially as it wanted.
The act, of course, provided many lucrative offices and these were parceled out to the lieutenants of the Money Trust group who had helped organize the so-called "Citizens Leagues," as the reward for their help. Any scheme that supports such lucrative offices as the Federal Reserve act provides for, when considered from a purely selfish personal standpoint, is well worth working for by those who would get the offices, and, of course, forever after they would be at their wits ends to make the people, whom they had knowingly deceived, believe that it was a good thing, and it would take the people at least a trial to find out
the trick.
The twelve Federal Reserve Banks are now at the head of the national banking system. Next we have
the banks in the system that own the stock of the twelve including a few State banks that have joined, there are (July, 1917) approximately 7,700, and more
joining.
It is the smaller banks scattered into all sections of the country that gather in and control the people's money and credits. These banks are in turn controlled by the Money Trust group—not designedly so, so far as the stockholders in the small banks are concerned, but inevitably forced by the system to be.
It is not because the banks scalp \$1,000,000,000 and over annually for the managers and owners, that the banking system is the most objectionable, for we all know about that, and, since we have been so foolish as to permit it, let us not now complain of the fact so far as it relates to what they already have gotten out of us. The wrong of which we complain, and an evil which we insist on being corrected, was in turning over to the banks the unrestricted control of the entire finances of the country, thus enabling the "inner circle" of speculators to use the deposits to fleece us out of several billions of dollars annually.
Mr. Presidents, the Money Trust, in its revised
organization, is made up as follows:
First: The national banks arranged into three groups—(a) the country banks; the small banks in the cities, and a few large city banks; (b) the larger banks in the "reserve cities;" (c) the largest banks in the "central reserve" cities.
Second: Government postal savings banks which have thus far turned most of the deposits over to the privately owned banks.
Third: State banks and trust companies.
Fourth: The old line insurance companies and unincor-
porated private bankers.
All these four divisions gather in the funds from every section of the country. Then comes the fifth which deals with banks only.
Fifth: The twelve Federal Reserve Banks.
The Federal Farm Loan Act, for the present, at least, is not a part of the Money Trust. Unfortunately, though, it depends upon the Money Trust to secure funds with which to make loans. The rates of interest, therefore, will be mainly under its control.
As already stated, these agencies are all active, inducing the people to dump whatever funds they have into the banks. As further noted, the twelve Federal Reserve Banks are exclusive. Only the member banks and the Government itself are allowed to patro-
nize them. Every other body is excluded.
From the very beginning, it was the purpose of the Money Trust group, to force the State banks to join the Federal Reserve system, but not many of them have—so of late a new scheme has been devised to get them in, if possible—it is, the privilege of having their checks cleared without being members, provided they carry deposits in the Federal Reserve Banks. If that fails, other schemes will be devised for the same purpose.
The State banks are not essential to the Money Trust from a financial standpoint, but the purpose of the Money Trust is to solidify the banking power, and, to still further solidify it, they are letting in small property owners to get small holdings of stock in the banks of bonds and every other financial enterprise—but not enough to give them control, of course. But the Money Trust group know that once we all understand that the existing banking game is one to exploit us, their merry "jig" would all be over. So they seek to get in as many small stock and bond holders as possible in the hopes that these will aid in their campaigns to retain their exclusive control. There is an advantage in the people taking these stocks and
people—toilers principally. The "big" fellows—that is, the rich, do not keep on deposit many funds, because they use their own funds and as much of the people's deposits as they can borrow from the banks to use in speculation, to exploit the plain people with. In this way, by the use of their own funds and what they borrow of the banks from the deposits, they build larger and larger fortunes at our expense. That is why the subsidized press, in the interest of special privilege, adroitly attempts to make it appear that the plain people are rich, and that the rich do not possess so much after all, because in the aggregate the plain people own most of the deposits. In that way they try to satisfy us with our condition, and discourage us from going after what really belongs to us.
The big banks get deposits out of the small banks to loan to the speculators, who use it to exploit the plain people—among which are fully 99 per cent of every one hundred depositors. The banking system was
built up with that very purpose in view.
Of course the "big" fellows know the necessity of keeping the plain people (a majority of whom own no deposit) at work most of the time, or there would be no "fleece" for the speculators to "shear" from the "goats," so the banks must loan to the plain borrowers who are able to work and do the small business of the country, enough of the funds on deposit to enable the "goats" to do the work and to supply the workers at times with the bare necessities of life, and upon such loans the highest rates of interest is charged.
Yes, Mr. Presidents, a part of the deposits are loaned to small business, farmers and wage workers, who have credit or security, in sufficient sums to keep themselves to work, but they are forced to pay exorbitant rates of interest. The borrower may have the blessings of
God, in the gift of good health, physical and mental activity, and judgment to strengthen his credit, or the weight of physical and mental misfortune may bear it down—in both cases he will carry the banker upon his back. The poorer he is the higher rate of interest he must pay.
To those whom this system has forced into bankruptcy (and they are the majority of us) the bank doors are absolutely closed. We do not, however, blame the banker for closing the door on the bankrupt. The banker must do that or he would be forced to close it on the depositor. It is the banking system that creates
the bankrupt and not the banker.
Mr. Presidents, unfortunately the banks do not do as much loaning as there is a demand for, in the respective communities from which they receive their deposits and which support the banks. They do not loan nearly as much as they reasonably could and should. For the loans they make there, they charge higher interest, as a rule, than they get anywhere else. They prefer to loan at lower rates away from home and to speculators, than to loan more extensively at home and lower the rates there.
The result of that practice is, that after they have loaned at home all they can, at the highest rates of interest, they still refuse to reduce the rates of interest to home borrowers who would borrow more money if
they could secure it at lower rates.
After loaning a part of their deposits, as already indicated, the remaining deposits of the banks not required for their tills and for the Federal Reserve Banks, they employ to buy notes from loan brokers in the large cities, drawing a lower rate of interest, and they redeposit any balance they have to spare in the big city banks and receive 2 per cent interest.
Mr. Presidents, no reports are made anywhere from which it can be learned how much the banks loan away from home. They should be required to state the amount, and have it appear in their published reports, for it is important that the public should know. We are informed how much of their deposits are redeposited in the Reserve Banks.
The Money Trust has seen to it that no reports are required to show how much of the deposits in the banks are loaned to borrowers in other sections of the country than they receive their deposits from.
Mr. Presidents, on December 27, 1916, the Comptroller of Currency made the following report for
publication:
The growth and development which has taken place in the national banks of the country, as expressed by their increase in reserves since the inaugural of the Federal Reserve System two years ago, has been three times as great as has ever before been shown in a two-year period in the history of our national banks.
The compilation just completed in the returns of all national banks for the last call, November 17, 1916, disclose a condition of strength, of progress and of growth
beyond precedent.
On November 17, 1916, the resources of all our national banks aggregated \$15,520,000,000, an increase of \$4,028,000,000, or over 35 per cent, in just two years and
ten days.
The prodigious growth and development of the national banking system may be better appreciated when we realize that the resources have doubled since the spring of 1906—ten years.
Capital stock \$1,071,000,000, an increase, as compared
with September 12, 1916, of three millions.
Surplus and undivided profits \$1,071,000,000, an increase as compared with September 12, 1916, of twenty-three millions.
Mr. Presidents, it should be very apparent to you, (for it is so to us) that the Comptroller of Currency,
though a good and capable man in his way—he, too, has been educated to believe in the special privilege system, for the tenor of his report indicates that the report is a source of pride to him when he uses the following language requoted:
The compilation just completed discloses a condition of strength, of progress, and of growth beyond all precedent.
Mr. Presidents, if the Comptroller, instead of looking upon that condition as progress, had gone beneath the surface, he would have seen that the growth of which he boasted, is in fact the growth of a cancer in our social and economic system, and that the faster it grows the more rapidly our present disasters will increase, and unless we destroy it, it will destroy us. Let us all understand how that is:
Let us all understand how that is: In addition to the national b
In addition to the national banks' great growth, made by absorbing our earnings, we have the state banks and the trust companies performing a like feat. They also absorb the people's earnings with terrible effectiveness. Consider the four additional billions in the national banks first, and multiply by two, which will give us the proximate growth of both national and state banks, and give us a part of the evidence to prove that the system is gnawing at the foundation of our social fabric to break it down.
In two years alone, since the Federal Reserve act took effect, the banks have increased the national bank credit over four billions—just that much more for them to exploit us with. On the \$4,028,000,000 they pay an average of less than 2 per cent interest and collect from the people an average of over 6 per cent. Their net profits on this alone exceeds \$160,000,000. Double that, to include the state banks, and we find the bankers' increased profits are \$320,000,000—equal-
ing \$3.20 for every man, woman, and child. That is merely the beginning of the new era under the new "Federal Reserve" System. Each succeeding year it will be increased. Already, under the old plan, the banks cost the people for direct contribution to their support of over a billion dollars annually. When you add the vastly increased new charges, you can see what we are coming to.
Mr. Presidents, that additional charge upon the people is the first "progress" and "growth beyond all precedent," as the Comptroller well states it—of this cancer "gnawing at the vitals of human economic existence." Add that to what the speculators have exploited us with (the use of these additional sums placed largely at their disposal) and it runs into billions of additional expense to the people.
Mr. Presidents, we must not be confused by the statement made by the advocates of the system, that interest is lower on the dollar than it was at any previous time—for it matters not so much what the interest on the dollar is, when we are accounting for the increasing cost of living, as it is to show what the grand total of all the interest paid by all of the people amounts to, for that is what boosts the price.
The aggregate of dividends, interest, rents, and profits, that we must now pay upon centralized capital and to manipulators, enormously exceeds what it has in any previous period of our history, and since we have seen that neither interest, dividends, rents nor profits return a single service, the burden they impose falls upon the toilers principally.
This new inflation by the Federal Reserve Act benefits Wall Street principally. The direct profits of the banks, though very large, is small as compared with the profits the speculators make on the accommoda-
tions they get from the banks. Most of these speculators, of course, have stock in the banks, and get their inside information largely through the business of the banks. They own the greatest of the banks, and, through the coordination of the system of banks, they know what goes on in all sections of the country.
For every billion of dollars that is added to the speculators' holdings, it adds to the average expense of the toilers \$30 each—assuming that approximately one-third of us are toilers. Therefore, the importance of stopping the speculation schemes of every character.
Mr. Presidents, when the European war burst upon the world, Wall Street saw an opportunity to reap a harvest of profits such as had never been witnessed before, and it went to it with a vim characteristic of Wall Street. Immediately they closed the stock exchange, for now with this new and extraordinary condition more credit was required to manipulate the tremendous outburst in speculation that was sure to follow in this most extraordinary military operations in the world's history.
Immediately on closing the Stock Exchange, the gamblers (that is, speculators) came to Washington with a threat to Congress and to one of you, that, unless immediate provision was made for emergency currency in unlimited amount and placed in the banks where they could control it, a panic would forthwith be precipitated upon the country that would drag it down in ruin—and, of course, that they intended to do
it was well understood.
Instantly Congress, and one of you, took action obeyed the request, and, even in anticipation of completion of legislation to that end, shipped on fast express to the sub-treasury in New York, emergency currency where the Wall Street speculators could get it when the bill which had been introduced could be enacted into law.
Mr. Presidents, as you well know, the speculators received from Uncle Sam \$369,558,040 of the emergency currency. The help they received with this sum, though large in itself, was a mere bagatelle compared with the help it was to them to have the Government of the United States reinforce their credit so they could carry on their speculations in billions of dollars in commerce dealings. They had been assured that if they wanted a billion dollars or more additional, that they could get it, so they went on with their speculations as if they had it. They knew that in a pinch Uncle Sam would furnish it, and they profited many billions of dollars speculating in bonds, stocks, and war commerce, which billions, of course, was charged to the people to increase the cost of living, and with full knowledge of the same people, who still do not know what increased the cost of living so suddenly. They think it was the war. The war, to be sure, was made the excuse, but was not the real cause.
The Federal Reserve Act "A" Further Surrender To Special Privilege
Mr. Presidents, as the finance system is at the bottom of all our trouble, you will pardon us for going still
deeper into the subject.
Wittingly, or unwittingly, Congress has served the Money Trust in two ways: one, by giving it practically the legislation it wanted, and the other by refusing to legislate in the public interest. It has now reached a point where the Money Trust group needs no action by Congress to continue its exploitations. It can do practically anything it wishes to, and it is by
no means backward in doing the most selfish things. The public, on the other hand, requires some very important legislation in order to release it of the strangling hold of the Money Tust. But here, again, the Money Trust has anticipated—knew that the time would come when there would be a demand for such legislation. Far in advance, its influence had secured the adoption of certain rules by Congress itself to block its own way and prevent it from legislating when the leaders could be persuaded otherwise, which they have usually been.
We require new acts of Congress now to prevent our being further exploited. The failure of Congress to act with expedition plays directly into the hands of special
privilege.
Related to the subject, we must add, that it is desirable that our relations with foreign countries should be such that whatever commerce we have with them, we should have an easy means for settlement of balances. This should not be in control of the Money Trust group, as the Federal Reserve Act provides.
At the time the Act was passed, it was well known that a great war in Europe would come. Of course the particular time was not known. Immediately when the war broke out and we became a commercial party to it, American speculators engaged in trade to make money out of the war. Several times their greed went so far as to nearly force us into the war on account of their selfish acts. From the very beginning the speculators sought in every way possible to work up a public sentiment that in itself should by them be converted into commercial profit, and even to the extent of bringing us into the war, if it should serve their ends best to have it done. When the big loans were made to some of the belligerents it was very clear
that, if the ultimate payment of those loans became endangered because of their defeat by the other belligerents, the Money Trust would seek to have us enter the war to collect their loans.
Mr. Presidents, we have stated to you certain facts about the trade entered into by the American speculators in war commodities. We regret that these facts exist, because many believe that they are the actual cause for our entering the war. Whatever one's belief may be upon that is not so material now, except that we should not be blind to the facts. At this time they are mere incidents, and merged in the greatest of all causes, and that is, to solve in this conflict the economic principles for the future government of all peoples, not that we expect to dictate them, but that they will in themselves prove their own necessity as a rule of universal government.
From an economic point of consideration the speculators made us a party to the war from the very beginning, and they still believe that it is their war, and that the victory will be their victory. They are the ones who have mainly been put in the management. If we had entered the war from their selfish standpoint, it would be most unjust, as well as certain to be disastrous, irrespective of who wins the war, from a military standpoint. Even if it were to be admitted in the end (though it will not be admitted even if believed), that it was the manipulations of the Money Trust group that caused our entry into the war-repeating, even if that was admitted, the people themselves do not accept that as the cause and will not use that excuse to fight for victory.
Bold as the manipulators have been to commercialize everyone of the finer, higher and exhaulting sentiments of the people in their sympathy with the hundreds of millions of suffering people, the people themselves have not been influenced by selfishness. Even with the Money Trust group placed in command of the financial management—however strong that group may now seem—its days are numbered, and it will come out of this conflict dethroned. It will be the people's victory this time. In the final adjustment—particularly when the readjustment at the close of war takes place—the people will be in power under the Constitution. The war has boosted the Money Trust to its highest power, and it is due to have its farthest fall. This has now become a war for freedom—the liberty of all peoples. The Money Trust is a slave-maker and not a liberator.
We are not going to create a democracy in Germany, England, or anywhere else except in America. A real democracy in America is absolutely certain as a result of our entering the war—much as the evidence appears now to the contrary. It is a contradictory thing to democracy to attempt by force of arms, or by any kind of force, to make the peoples of other nations become democracies. Democracy can exist only by internal or domestic choice.
Aside from any purpose we have of doing all we can to better the world conditions, we have at least one cause that is internationally sound, so far as our entry is concerned, and that is to keep the high seas free and unincumbered. We have the absolute right to free and unincumbered travel, and the carrying of our commerce upon the high seas. Differences of opinion may be entertained as to whether we should have gone to war or not to enforce the right to the present exercise of it, or to have waited to exercise the right at the end of the war. No one can doubt our right to the high seas, and that, we may, if we like, choose to go to war to enforce the exercise of the right.
it is merely the building of ships, sea, and air craft, forts, and all the other material war preparedness, and soldiers exclusively for their operation—when it is for those things alone, it opens wide the opportunities for the speculators to saddle the country with economic wrongs that work thousands of times greater injustice to the people, than the trespass upon our rights by foreign nations. That is not all, for to allow any false economic practice, such as has been practiced in our country as well as in every other, materially weakens us. If we had been operating under a true economic system, the present necessity of food laws, food management, and all that, would not have existed at all. Everything in that respect would run just as smoothly with war as without war, unless the war was in our own territory.
We cannot allow ourselves to fall back on the same old system, after the war is closed. We must consider these economic problems in our homes, in our public assemblies, in camp, and in the trenches, if we enter them, and everywhere—right while the war is in progress, for we would not have the flower of our manhood bear the brunt of the battles, nor those of the men and women who bear the burdens of providing, make the sacrifice, and when it was all over find ourselves running in the same old ruts that had steered us into the war.
There will be no glory in the military conflict if, when it is over, we still are to be ruled and burdened with the same old system that we find has reduced the masses to industrial slavery. As a nation, we did not do justice to our Civil War Veterans and those who bore the burdens of that war, for we let the management of the Government slip into the hands of the exploiters, and our natural material resources were monopolized by these.
Have We Forgotten Conservation?
Mr. Presidents, during your Roosevelt administration, particularly, and extended through Taft's, and into the beginning of the Wilson administration, the demands were loud and continuous for "conservation" conservation of timber—conservation of minerals conservation of water powers—conservation of all resources—that was the demand everywhere in this
glorious land of ours.
The European war threw conservation to the four winds. A new brag was started. The American press began to boast of an enormous "favorable balance of trade"—"favorable," they claimed, because we sent away more goods in value than we got back. The press seemed to think if we disposed of our products to foreign lands in excess of products brought from foreign lands to our own country, that it was a favorable balance of trade. It was indeed very favorable to certain interests, as we shall see, but the increase in price to American consumers over what the prices were before that "favorable" (?) balance of trade occurred was approximately \$17,000,000,000—and some of us are squeeling about the cost of living. Suppose we look into it?
For a given twelve months in 1915 and 1916, our domestic consumption of petroleum, for instance, was 211,933,000 barrels. In addition to supplying that, the Oil Trust exported in the same period 55,466,088 barrels. Prior to the export demand the price was 75 cents per barrel for western products and \$1,54 for the eastern products. The demand for export, however, the Oil Trust made an excuse to raise the price on the western oils to \$1.55, and the eastern to \$2.60—an increase of 80 cents and \$1.06 respectively. About one-
fifth of the home consumption was of the eastern product and the four-fifths of the western. That manipulation cost the American consumers for twelve months alone \$180,000,0000 over what they had to pay before the export began, a sum far in excess of all that the Oil Trust realized out of the 55,466,088 exported.
Mr. Presidents, we have just cited you that one concrete case so that you might fully understand our point. The loss to American consumers on petroleum for a single twelve-month period is a mere bagatelle compared with what it amounts in a period of years, yet in even twelve months it runs to \$180,000,000. The American supply of petroleum is forever reduced, and the American consumer will always have to pay more than he would if we had true conservation. Petroleum is only one item. We just mention that as a concrete example of the way the system works. Even through, in the end of the years our total loss upon petroleum by reason of the false practice will run into the billions, even that is a mere bagatelle compared with the loss we sustain upon all the commerce carried on under the same business practices.
Every commodity controlled by the trusts, where a part of it was exported, the price on the like product was increased to American consumers greatly in excess of the total collections realized from the export. Copper increased about three times its former cost. The domestic consumption of copper is greater than the export. So we might continue to name item after item, and show like results. It was by that process we exported, since the war began, \$6,000,000,000 in value of American goods, in excess of goods we got back, and increased the price on the like goods to Americans consumers, approximately, \$17,000,000,000
Mr. Presidents, "what fools we Americans are," and how ridiculous our late action seems, or else how riduculous it was to think about conservation, when we not only part with a portion of our real material resources to send them to other countries for speculation, but in addition permit ourselves to be charged for what remains for us to consume, over the former prices, more than twice all the sums realized for what is sold abroad. It is, indeed, a good scheme for the trusts to do business that way, because they not only get a good price for what they export, but they collect in addition that increased price, \$17,000,000,000, thus far, from what they sell in America, and God only knows how much it will be in the future, if we permit such practices.
We do not object to exports when it is done to meet the needs of legitimate exchanges. But you must admit that to increase the price on a reduced quantity, to exceed by an enormous amount, or even by any amount at all, the aggregate value of a greater quantity is conclusive proof of a falsely juggled system.
Mr. Presidents, this is too important to drop without still further analysis. Let us consider the subject in
its broadest sense—our commerce as a whole.
From July 1, 1913, to June 30, 1914, we exported \$470,653,491 in value of domestic products in excess of imports. That was before the war.
Now, let us see what happened after the war. Here
we have it:
From July 1, 1914, to June 30, 1915, we exported \$1,094,419 in value of domestic products in excess of imports; from July 1, 1915, to June 30, 1916, we exported \$2,135,775,355 in value of domestic products in excess of what we imported; from July 1, 1916, to September 30, 1916, a period of only three months,
we exported \$924,726,579 in value of domestic products in excess on imports. Since that time our exports in excess of imports have run at approximately \$4,000,000,000 per annum. From the beginning of the war up to the time that we became a military party to it, we exported, approximately, \$6,000,000,000 in value of American products in excess of what we imported.
Since the war became our military war too, the exports have been still more out of proportion with imports, but now that it is our war it is a different question, and what we have to say regarding the false system in dealing with exports and imports applies to the time when we were not a party to the war. We are preparing to forever correct the system, but recognize the fact that not everything can be done while the
war goes on.
Now, let us see what happened to domestic prices during the period between the beginning of the war and our military entry into it: The export trade was used as an excuse to increase the cost to American consumers of American products, approximately, \$17,000,000,000 over what they would have cost if they had remained the same price as they were before the heavy export began. The total exports during that period were, approximately, \$8,000,000,000, which sum the exporters were paid, and this was far in excess of former prices, but that, notwithstanding, the trusts in addition collected from American consumers an additional sum of \$17,000,000,000 on what they consumed over the former prices. Who got the \$8,000,000,000 and, who got the \$17,000,000,000,000? It went into the hands of the trusts, and they scalped more than two-thirds of the amount in profits, for it must be remembered that the \$17,000,000,000 was in excess of former prices. Now, it was this kind of manipula-
tion, that could be and was carried on as the financial schemes under our financial system—so, all you have to do to know what caused the extraordinary high
cost of living, is to read the facts.
Mr. Presidents, if the trick that was played ended it, we might put on our hats and forget it, even with all its injustice. But the vast fortunes made out of it have become what you term vested property, with the privilege of assessing an annual toll, not only upon us but upon future generations also, whenever it becomes a part of the capital for running the affairs of the country. It was extorted from the people in the manner we have indicated, and should not become a future additional charge against us.
What kind of conservation is it that justifies the export of domestic products to make it an excuse to increase the cost to American consumers, on what remains, more than twice over the total value of all realized out of the export? No one can defend such a practice, but, until the war caused it to increase enormously, the speculators were able to conceal from the most of us its injustice. Now that it became suddenly exaggerated, even the least expert of us can see
the wrong of it.
To maintain the existing economic system and support it by the Government, is worse than war, because it is continuous and is the cause of recurring wars. From that false system we shall free ourselves in the readjustment. Of course when the group of inner speculators framed up a plan to get us into the war, if they believed it necessary to be done in order to make their claims good against the foreign nations they were dealing with, they did not have in mind the reform that is sure to take place. They did not realize that the war would expose their system to
public condemnation. They knew that the European nations would all be bankrupt, and that, indirectly,
they would need aid.
We, that is the people generally, have not entered the war to collect debts for exporters, or for anyone. This war, so far as we are concerned, is for no half-way cause. Now that we are in the war, we must make it for the greatest cause possible. It will be. We shall be benefited beyond anything that has ever occurred before. The benefit to us will be in the adoption of a safe and sane system of both politics and business—differing very materially from what we have now. Politics, when properly conducted, is business—and good business leads not to war but to prosperity.
The speculator group, have believed for some time that there was danger, from its viewpoint, of strikes and even revolution as a result of the greedy operations that have taken place. They thought to head off their danger from that direction by exciting a war fever, and to even bring about a war if they could in that way prevent trouble for themselves, and with that idea in view they went the limit of their capacity
in speculation.
The speculators had some ground to base their views on, when they surveyed history, because it had been largely true of past wars. It will not, however, be true of the existing war. This has become our war, our fight, and we will do justice, which means, of course, that the speculators must be eliminated from our economic system.
We do not hate the men in the armies, nor the people back of them who are pitted against us. They are governed by a false system also. They have wronged us, but it is their system that is the cause, and of course we must hold them responsible for their
system. We are also, opposed to a part of the system that we are governed by. Some extraordinary occurrence, it seems, was necessary to bring us to our senses in regard to our own affairs. In no other way was it practical to secure the effective attention of the people generally that was required to effect a true reform.
Mr. President, as already stated, American consumers, by reason of the war speculation, have already been arbitrarily fleeced, over and above what they were formerly fleeced, of approximately, \$17,000,000,000—equal to \$170 for every man, woman, and child in America. To promote that kind of trade the Federal Reserve Board appointed, through the Federal Reserve bank of New York City, the so-called Bank of England as its agent—in effect, putting the credit of the United States back of this foreign corporation, also organized for private gain. The bank of England, is no longer able to make payments in gold and fails to make a statement of its true condition.
The Federal Reserve Board was also seeking to make other foreign alliances with foreign banking instructions, with a view to promote further trade of the kind that we have described which has been so injurious to the American people. Suddenly Congress declared war, and of course during the war different rules govern. But before the war Congress had tied us to foreign nations by authorizing the credit of this country to be used to exploit foreign peoples as well as our own.
After war was declared, Congress voted direct aid to foreign nations, but that is an entirely different thing from authorizing speculators to use the credit of the people in this country to speculate in other countries. We must not confuse the acts of Congress, with reference to war measures, with its acts prior to the war. Our comments at this juncture are based upon the conduct
of things not officially or governmentally connected with our entry into the war.
Foreign Loans
Mr. Presidents, in the same way that the group of speculators, jack up the price to American consumers by turning the so-called "favorable (?) balance of trade" to us but which we consider is against us, they also jack up the interest rates to American borrowers. Here, too, we must separate the period prior to our military entry into the war from that since, because our war measures are not governed by the same conditions.
Before we were made a military party to the war, American speculators, the Money Trust group, loaned in foreign countries approximately \$3,000,000,000 supported in the operation by our Government. That is our Government was practically back of this credit, because it supports the credit of the banks. By doing that the speculators were able to keep up the interest rates to the plain American borrowers, forcing the latter to pay in excess of what they otherwise would have had to pay, more than all the interest that will ever be collected on the foreign loans.
Now that our Government has loaned to the foreign governments large sums, these governments will be able to pay the \$3,000,000,000 that they had already borrowed privately. Of course all who have examined into the conditions, know that the foreign governments are bankrupt and can never pay their debts. They may pay what they owe to our Government, but whether they will or not, if we were to be in the war under any condition, it was best to make the loans to them, since we had made them our allies.
As long as our banking system is based on Government support, and the banks are used by the people for their depositories, no private individuals or group of individuals should be permitted to use the credit of the banks in any form whatever to effect loans in
foreign countries.
The National City Bank of New York, which next to J. P. Morgan & Co., private bankers, is the greatest of the Money Trust group. It is the leading bank that has a membership in the Federal Reserve system. It publishes a monthly review it sends to its correspondents. In its February, 1917, issue, after first reviewing the fact that there was a plethora of money and credit available, it commented upon the fact as follows:
Under the circumstances money promises to be in abundant supply, but if the banks have a proper regard for their responsibilities it will not be correspondingly cheap. Compensatory rates for money and ample reserve should constantly be maintained.
Mr. Presidents, a word to the wise is sufficient. The bankers are financially wise and see a point quickly. The National City Bank issued the above statement to the bankers and knew it would be heeded. That fact is additional emphasis to you of the arbitrary power possessed by the banks to tax people without reason except to swell their own profits, and of their intention to continue to exercise that power, as they have done heretofore.
Following in line with the decree of the National City Bank, Mr. W. D. Dicky, a Chicago banker and one of the greatest in the country, stated at a meeting of the Bankers Association, in St. Paul, Minn., June,
"Interest rates may stiffen, but that will be a good thing."
The big city monopoly bankers, you can see, are coaching the smaller bankers to raise the rates of
interest
Mr. Presidents, it used to be, that in order to divert attention from themselves, the millionaires would influence action to catch the smaller robbers. Now we have a couple of billionaires and several near billionaires, who in order to divert attention from themselves, influence action to catch the ordinary millionaire robbers. The public press in the June Days, 1917, began their head line diversion of the public from investigation of the greatest robberies to the ordinary millionaire robbers. Their most common head line was:
"Hoover Bares \$250,000,000 Food Loot"
Mr. Hoover did his duty to bare that "food loot." It had been exposed before, but until there got to be bigger thieves, the press did not publish to expose. But again those who do not know the ways of politics, will think it a strange thing that not an official in all the departments of Government, who is in a position to force publicity of the fact, has breathed or whispered of "the loot" that equals more than sixty-four times the \$250,000,000 "food loot." This \$250,000,000 food loot is only an incident of the bigger loot to which the National City Bank subscribes when it says, "Compensatory rates for money should constantly be maintained." "Compensatory" means "punitive" to any one who dares to cross swords with the Money Trust designs.
It is these people—these trusts—who have maneuvered to export \$6,000,000,000 of American products in excess of all the products we have gotten in return,
nation's wealth, in a very short time from \$125,000,000,000 to very nearly twice that sum, and yet there is no increase, but in fact a very great decrease, in our resources, except what the labor of the toilers has added, but has not retained control of. This increase in the number of dollars measure, but not in property, is centralized largely in few hands, so that now they levy a toll upon the American people of between \$11,000,000,000 and \$15,000,000,000 per annum—and constantly increasing. It means an annual average of more than \$100 upon all men, women and children in our land, and falls as a burden principally upon the toilers. That is our system. That is the system of all the civilized nations. That is the system that produces wars. If democracy can do no better than to build up that kind of a system we should not fight for democracy.
Democracy, however, as we have already observed has not existed in fact, but in theory only, and the wicked system which we have described and which governs us now, is not the result of democracy, but the result of plutocracy. We are just, getting ready for democracy and it will work out a just system. The public officials, however, both high and low, with but few exceptions do not stand for a true democracy—it must
be forced by the people.
War to Permanent Peace
Mr. Presidents, we were plunged into war with the monstrous Money Trust speculators saddled upon our backs; side by side with us they are enlisted in the fields of industry; in the military programme, and elsewhere for the purpose of exploiting us in each.
Along with us are those who stand for the monstrous injustice of the Money Trust system, we all aid to
secure the military defeat of a military enemy. If we allow the Money Trust group, with which we are associated in this conflict, to continue their speculative plan, even with a most complete victory for us in battle, the end will be disastrous to all the world.
The Money Trust group struggle for one purpose—we for another. They would have us continue their plan and force all nations to maintain it—while our true purpose is—that the world conflict shall unsaddle all intelligent peoples from every selfish domination, and leave each nation, and leave us too, to work out the respective internal policies and problems that relate to the people respectively, according to democratic principles, thus enabling us all to handle in a natural way, not only our own domestic commerce, but the commerce of the world also.
Now that we, that is the rank and file of the people, have come together for a common purpose, let us not for the sake of vainglory—for simple winning of battles which alone is all that our speculators wish—withdraw from this maelstrom of hell till we have unsaddled from our backs the system of capitalism that now dominates the world in conflict with human rights, and instead put into operation a simple natural system which by its very justice and easy operation will attract all the intelligent peoples of the world to a peaceful practice rather than to merely formulate treaties for the world's peace.
Treaties alone count for little—have little force—often no force at all, when the interests of those affected are in conflict. If we establish rules of commerce and business relations among ourselves—based on the rules expressed in the early recitals of our memorials; that is, in the rules as stated in Truth No. 1 and Truth No. 3, and avoid following the false rule expressed in Truth
selves master of our own economic conditions, and had proved to the struggling nations that we were masters of our economic conditions, the peoples in that conflict, each of them, would now be in peace, and beginning the new prosperity, which we propose to you, Mr. Presidents. Why?
Because it is not hard to persuade people to do what to them seems clearly in their own interest. That is why. In fact it needs no persuasion, once they know.
You could not stop it if you wished.
Our trouble was that there was no concert of action among us to overthrow our false economic system and adopt in its stead a just and economic system. It required a war or some terrible thing to make us all sit up to take notice at one time. Congress declared the war as our method. Now it is up to us to be patriotic enough to not make it a mere military affair, for that would be a farcical waste of patriotism. If we adopt the right course the war need be no sacrifice to us, except for the loss of life and the injured. Neither need it be a loss to the other nations in the conflict, in the sense stated nor to neutrals, if we set the example that our patriotism justifies. In itself it has been the utmost fool thing in all the history of the world—criminal to the extremest—but the very extremes seem to be the hope for awakening humanity to a sense of appreciation of its own absurdity.
In the last century the special privilege granted to capital over humanity has added over 300 per cent to the cost of human necessities, and the practices which we now follow are wanton waste that absorbs three-fourths of the earnings of the toilers. That would be saved under any honest system. Without confiscating a single dollar of the capitalists holdings, it can be done. All that is necessary is to take from capital the special
privilege of unrestricted accumulation accomplished by gross abuse of profit charges. The cost of living can be reduced to one-fourth of what it is now, and no one be injured by the operation, unless it would be called an injury to those who would be deprived of the privilege to exploit the rest of us, which it is not their right to do.
Mr. Presidents, in the early stages of the additional excitement added by our military entey into the war, we will be imposed upon by the old system, and more burdens will be heaped upon our backs. We made our entry to the war by \$7,000,000,000, plus the annual interest, and will multiply that several times if the war lasts three years. It was quite a beginning, but it need not discourage us, for it will be the weight of the burdens that will bring us to our senses, and make us adopt a new and better method of doing business.
The only nation which we fear may precede us in adopting, a really economic system, is the nation, whichever it may be, that shall be the most completely exhausted in a military way. Under the awful destruction that has appalled the world; the sacrifice of the fruits of past industry, and a possible penalty that may be imposed by the victors upon the defeated—grim necessity may compel the latter to plan and put in operation the new system of economic action that we Americans should adopt immediately. This would be true especially so far as their domestic industry and commerce would permit. Whoever does that, the rest of the intelligent nations will follow, not to their own misfortune, however, but to their everlasting benefit.
How would we look to ourselves, if another nation should be first? We entered the conflict on the pretense that we are the instrument of greater civilization, so if we are going to get out of the conflict with
credit and glory, and justify our entry, we should be the nation to first establish the economic plan that would succeed.
Mr. President, it was a great mistake when we entered the conflict that we did not set the terms upon which we would make peace and have those with whom we became allies accept of them so far as we were involved. We should have made it a condition precedent that we would be ally to none, except upon terms of disarmament when peace would be established, of course provided the other nations in the end joined. Because of our failure to do so, and settle certain other things in the beginning, we shall not find it so easy to settle things in our way in the end. But our failure in that respect does not prevent us moving right along to inaugurate a better economic plan in the United States. In fact it makes it all the more important that we should do so immediately.
Three of All the Important Changes Required
Mr. Presidents, in the previous part of our memorials, we have reviewed only a few of the miscarriages of the existing system—merely a few, because even these few were sufficient to show why so many things go wrong.
We can put into operation three reforms, which would change the whole economic system, and bring the rest in by natural evolution. The three would bring easy adjustment of numerous other existing economic miscarriages that are incident to the three that we would remedy first:
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The Federal Government must establish a financial system that is independent of private monopoly control.
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The Federal Government must own and operate the main lines in the telegraph and telephone systems.
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The Federal Government must own and operate all
he transportation systems.
Mr. Presidents, we consider each of the above in the order stated:
Finances
Having presented the main faults of the existing finance system, and shown that it is the greatest of all the burdens that we are forced to bear, and mainly responsible for our economic miscarriages, we offer it first as the most important to be changed. We do not now present the bill, but merely the plan. In the near future we will present the bill, which is already drawn and in the hands of one of the great industrial forces of our country, and will be considered by all of us before presenting, so that it shall be strictly adapted to the needs of all the poeple and no special favor to any.
We are not like the so-called Citizens League that was, nor like the United States Chamber of Commerce, that is, both of which were organized by the Money Trust group, to make Congress and the Presidents see false, if these organizations when inspired by special privilege can do so. We memorialists are the plain people acting in our own sovereign capacity as citizens of the Government that we intend shall be the best
possible for all.
Our bill provides that the Government shall become the financial head, as the Constitution provides. It will take from the banks the monopoly which they have had, and which, though it existed before in practice, was elevated by the Federal Reserve Act to a legal monopoly, so that now, the banks hold a dictatorship over the people by the power they have to contract and expand credits at their will, which they exercise in the interest of selfish gain for their owners.
Under our bill the Government will take up the control in the interest of the people, instead of doing as it does now—issue money to the banks and give them
the monopoly of its use. Under our bill the Government will begin by reducing the interest to about 3 per cent, and from that gradually bring it down to where it will be sufficient merely to cover cost of operating the system. If there was any excess it would be applied by the Government to reduce by that much the taxes, instead of as now allowing the banks to charge several times the cost of operating their expensive system, in order to create and centralize still more capital to be used by the owners to exploit us with.
In the end it is the purpose to charge on the financial operations sufficient only to pay the expenses, so that it will be as free to the use of all of us as the postoffice service is now. That is the only way to make trade and commerce natural, and cut out the Money Trust group and other speculators who are the worst of
parasites and serve no useful purpose whatever.
The Government control of the important agencies which we have named will steady prices and standardize things that are in general use so that all the industries will have a sure means of success and no gamble. The existing system is good for comparatively few and bad
for all the rest of us.
It must not be taken that our bill will provide for unlimited issue of money with no thought to its redemption. It will be issued for actual use and come back for redemption by natural means in the adjustment of balances, in practically the same way that the checking and drafting system goes on in the banks now.1
Readers who have not had time to study the issue and redemption of money, can get some valuable ideas by a study of the manner of giving notes at banks, issuing checks upon accounts, and all that kind of business. This volume does not afford space for detailed discussion of everything that is suggested
Telegraph and Telephone
Mr. Presidents, these are instruments for conveying information, and naturally belong to the Postoffice Department. They should be in control of the Government as completely as the mail system, and as well equipped and adapted to the use of the public at charges to cover the cost of maintenance only, in the same way that our postal system is intended.
The Government should maintain bulletins at places frequented by us, giving the important occurrences, something in the order of the existing weather bureau reports, but at more places, so that the facts thus obtained would enable them to keep a check on the
numerous false reports that appear in the press.
The telegraph and telephone service is now used by special agencies with special cut rates, and these agencies are controlled by the Money Trust group, and information is suppressed or falsified to meet the demands of those who control the agencies in order to keep us ignorant. The public gets only such facts and in such form as these agencies believe will not injure special privilege when by any device they can be so given out.
Transportation
Mr. Presidents, no agency is more important than transportation, though it has not the controlling influence of commerce that finances have as finance is
in the text. Therefore in the last pages, I have given several references to books suitable for more detailed study than space here permits. The references are not paid advertisements, but put there because I have examined them, and know that they are the works of honest, diligent, experienced and capable writers. To save anyone thinking that they be committed to my writings, I inform the reader that they have no knowledge of the contents of this book.
now regulated. The free interchange of commodities between the people is of the utmost importance, and travel as well. Therefore all transportation should be as near to actual cost as it is possible to have it. That being the case the Government alone could handle it, and should do so.
Suggestions of Government Ownership of Public Utilities
Mr. Presidents, it must be apparent to any intelligent person, that there should be no arbitrary interference in the conveyance of information, whether by mail, telegraph, telephone or other means; also that there should be no arbitrary interference to express and exchange in financial terms, with the evidences, that is money, dealings involving the trade and commerce of the people with each other, which further necessitates the free travel from place to place, and the transportation of commodities as well. Each and all of these agencies should be conducted at as near actual cost—no profit—as it is practical to ascertain, and to be paid for by those receiving the service.
Mr. Presidents, it has been through these three agencies that the Money Trust group and other speculators have been able to carry on their exploiting. Let us all—everyone of us—individually and collectively, exercise our own reason and analyze things as we find them, instead of stupidly saying, "Stand by the President;" "follow this Senator;" "follow that Representative," or "follow our leader," whoever he may be or even to blindly follow a political party governed by bosses, and all that sort of thing for shifting the responsibility from ourselves to a selected few, who are too often tempted and do the wrong
thing.
Yes, let everyone, instead of shifting the responsibility, do at least some investigation for himself. If we all do, we shall see that the agencies to convey information, and also those to express and represent values, and to facilitate travel, and to convey commodities from the producer to the consumer, lie at the very foundation of civilization. To place an incumbrance upon either of them in the nature of a change in excess of the cost is, to the extent of the excess, that much obstruction and incumbrance to the advance of civilization.
The obstruction of information, transportation, commerce, etc., by artificial barriers, such as we have described to be controlled and operated by the Money Trust, have become so great that it is the cause of the breaking down of our civilization, a thing that is taking place now and can only be arrested by enough men and women regaining the equilibrium of their mind sufficiently, not to be impulsively patriotic, but instead be patriotic in a broad and comprehensive sense—of justice to all men—not by merely teaching "good will unto man," but by fixing the agencies through which men and women must operate their business and social affairs, so these agencies shall not be converted into instruments of extortion for a few to control and thereby to destroy the equilibrium.
Control Finances First
Mr. Presidents, there would be no sense in Government ownership of the railways, except to first have Government control of the finances. In order to make a success of plan outlined, all three agencies: the postal system, to include telegraph and telephone; the finance system and the transportation system, all of these must be absoultely controlled and operated by
the Government. Neither one of these agencies can be economically and properly handled without the others. The postal system is already operated by the Government, but is incumbered by the other agencies being under private monopoly control. Even being deprived of these, no one dares to suggest that the mail service should be turned back to private control.
The Opposition to Government Control
Mr. Presidents, the opponents of Government ownership present certain statements to prop up their opposition. They say, for instance, that it would give neither as good nor as cheap service. They cite the freight and passenger charges, on Government owned systems, as evidence that they are more expensive.
We will not now take time to prove the difference in the conditions where they make the comparisons, and which accounts for the difference in costs in most cases, for we call on you to note the fact, that no case exists where any government now does or ever has operated all the services which we have designated as
necessary to make either fully successful.
The postal system, to be sure, is successful when compared with privately owned business of any kind, but it would be preeminently more successful, if the other services we designate, were also operated by the Government. It requires them all to make the success of either such as it should be.
The one claim which the opponents of Government ownership present, which they pretend is sufficient to settle the problem, is that it costs more for the service.
We deny the truth of that statement. For the sake of the point they claim to make, but not otherwise, we might admit that the direct charge for passenger and
these. This arbitrary condition is expressed in "Truth No. 2," (see index) is increasing all the time. That is what constitutes the indirect charge, which the opponents of Government ownership either are ignorant of or seek to conceal the fact, and keep us from finding it out. In Government ownership we would escape the trusts, providing we governed the three main agencies yet to be taken over.
Conclusion of Memorials
Mr. Presidents, the above are our standing memorials. We petition you for the action on your part as stated in them that we desire. We pledge you our support—with all the vigor of our manhood and womanhood, and the power of our numbers, over 100,000,000 including our children, and in whose interests and the future generations, we especially dedicate our most loyal and continuous support. We repeat as we began:
You, Mr. Presidents, are of us—selected by and from us, and have our consent to lead us, but we are not blind followers, for should you attempt to lead us in the wrong way, we will not follow. We are the sovereigns—represent the republic—in fact we are the republic, and do not intend that the republic shall be a hollow mockery by leaving to its presidents or to any other officials or associations, the whole responsibility. Now please take notice of what we have demanded in these memorials, and lead us so we may secure the results that we have indicated to be fair and right, and that are in the interests of all mankind.
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Too many of us have been asleep. Those, however, who excited us to war may not yet realize what they did, for nothing could be more effective than war to wake us up. That was not what they wanted. But possibly what we needed to
bring us to a full realization of our responsibility to make our nation a republic in fact, as well as in theory.
Mr. Presidents, as our final words, we say to you, that a majority of us agree that the individual initiative developed to its highest is the ideal, but the work of attainment must be under circumstances to afford equality of opportunity so far as just rules effectively enforced can make it. The avenues of development must be thrown wide open, by placing the communication, the finance and the transportation agencies everywhere at the service of all at cost with no profit to either individuals or government for the service.
Note.—The peoples of Europe's war nations had to sell their holdings of American stocks and bonds to aid in carrying on Europe's war. Wall Street conceived the scheme of getting these stocks and bonds, but make the American consumers pay for them while the Wall Streeters should own them. The first step was to close the New York Stock Exchange; their second step was to make Congress give them hundreds of millions of emergency currency; their third step was to export \$6,000,000,000 in value of American products in excess of what we got back; their fourth step was to raise the price on like products to American consumers approximately \$17,000,000,000 over the former prices, and as a consequence the Wall Streeters now own the stocks and bonds that the peoples of the European war nations had to sell, while the people of America were forced to pay for them, and in addition many billions to finance the campaign of deception that has oeen carried on, as well as to aid paying the expenses of the war, and several of these same Wall Streeters are on the finance committees to manage our own war finances. What is the answer to that, patriotic Americans?
CHAPTER VIII
THE POLITICAL PARTIES
We are willing to listen to all kinds of praise of our own political party, but many of us will neither reason nor analyze when a criticism is made upon the political party to which we individually belong. We stand for any attack of the others for their mistakes. But we wish to fight for our own, almost as we would fight against an insinuation reflecting upon the honor of our mother, wife, daughter, sister or lady friends. There is a difference, however—a wide difference in dealing with politics. There is an appeal from a party. The party is not the supreme power. It is less than the State. The State is over all. A political party is merely incident to the program of the State and is not even recognized by the Constitution. The political parties are unofficial, but legally recognized bodies of individuals associated, who believe, or think they believe, in their respective party principles.
There is an individual prejudice on party problems—much less now, however, than hitherto. One can get a hearing now even before the most prejudiced, who in the early stages of party organization would not reason upon this subject. My discussion is entirely nonpartisan, but may arouse in some readers partisan resentment, because I shall have no hesitation in showing how utterly ridiculous the party rule for the
last fifty years has been.
In the early proceedings of any political party—that is, before it begins to deal with the State, and in its first efforts when it acquires State power, it is practically
free from blemish in dealing with the principles on which its birth was founded. To begin with, it has nothing to offer but pure principles, except a "bit" of empty honor to its organizing officers. So it offers a set of principles, the best that its organizers know how to produce. Until it can give something more substantial, that is, something that gives material results, there is no selfish reason for betrayal of its principles.
In this discussion I take sides with no political party. It is impossible for any political party to successfully administer the Government for any considerable length of time, unless the people themselves shall know more about the work of the leaders than they have known heretofore. Something had to occur to wake the people up on this subject. I believe that the war is the thing which already has or soon will do it.
We have been dragged into the war by the intrigue of the speculators. The people already understand that, and all that remains is for them to experience the terrible sacrifice, and realize that if things had been done right in the first place, it would have never happened, and further realize that it would have been easier and simpler to have done the right thing for the American people than it was to do the wrong thing.
The sacrifice that the people will be forced to stand for will teach us that the most profitable thing we can do is to give some time to the study of politics. It is the best of business to do so. If we had begun six years ago, we would now be more prosperous and would have had no war. If we had begun twelve years ago, so that the world could have seen the advantages of our experience under a true economic system, there would have been no war in Europe.
Shift of Property from the Plain People to the Speculator which the Two Old Political Parties held the Rains.
In plain view of the fact that fifty years ago 98 per cent of the people owned more than 95 per cent of the wealth of our nation, and the other 2 per cent, who individually were the most wealthy, then owned less than 5 per cent of the wealth, and that now 2 per cent of the people own more than 60 per cent of the wealth, and the 98 per cent own less than 40 per cent—in view of that shift of wealth from the toilers to the speculators, during which time the leaders of the two old political parties were in power, I do not see how we can longer look upon them as worthy of blind support. They had opportunity in the beginning to make for permanent good, still did not. They have allowed us to be unmercifully exploited.
I do not understand how so many of us can be blind to the failure of the Republican and Democratic parties Many of us stick to our party because we think that eventually it may serve the people in the spirit of its first and original purpose, which was good. But if that is to be accomplished it must be done through the voters. It can never be done through the politicans
or office holders.
The Socialists have a full and workable plan so far as it relates to leaving the people in control. But I do not doubt that bosses even under the plan of the Socialists would often become a fact, still it has a fairly rapid means of ridding itself of bosses, whereas the other parties have no practical means of speedy application to get rid of them. The Socialist party offers a remedy for existing evils, whereas the Republican and Democratic parties stand upon the old system and offer no remedy—merely undertaking to work out in a better
way a system that it is impossible to work out well in any way. If the voters themselves would take over the direction of these old parties, they could build them to a program that would make success of the masses possible. No such step has been taken by the voters.
There can be no doubt that the rank and file of the membership of all the political parties seek merely to promote the general welfare. That is the only interest they have in belonging to a party at all. The only trouble is that neither of the dominant parties follow a procedure that can keep them in the straight track. They have became powerful enough to be worth going after for "special privileges," and were beset by
"special privilege" organizations.
These parties were controlled by leaders instead of by the rank and file. The leaders were tempted and committed wrongs. Wrongs beget wrongs. One wrong gives birth to other wrongs. The wrongs that have been committed heretofore led up to the wrongs that are taking place now, and if we keep doing the same old things in the same old ways, things will continue wrong. Yes, the leaders were tempted, and sacrificed the original principles of the parties—simply the result of human nature when very important matters are left entirely to the individual.
Both of the dominant political parties for a long time have been and still are directed by "big business." That is why no one can point to any existing material issue between the two, except that each wants the official "jobs." "Jobs" are their only material existing issue, and they play the political game for
jobs.
For "special privilege" to own a half-dozen Senators of ability who at the same time are sharp enough to make the voters believe that they are independent, is worth billions of dollars annually to special privilege
and is a corresponding loss to the people.
With a few of the "grand old men" of ability secretly serving special privilege, and one or more Senators of ordinary caliber from most of the States to "kowtow" to the leaders, special privilege is enthroned. For that privilege it can frequently well afford to spend a half-million dollars or more to elect a single Senator, and do so in as many States as they think necessary to keep control of the Senate, and for "full measure" to its safety, special privilege also takes the precaution to have a strong following in the House of Representatives.
Here and there, now and then, an individual appears who stands solid and straight on principle—who directs his course on that basis, even when put in high authority, temptations otherwise notwithstanding. Senator La Folette has been conspicuous as such. There are some others in both the Senate and the House, but there are not many who have dared to boldly fight for
all the rights of the masses.
It is a fact, of which history is conclusive proof, that in every case where honesty and ability both have been required to administer a cause running through generations and in which temptations were many, that the individuals possessing it who were placed in authority, have not been sufficient in number and succession to
continue the cause permanently successful.
It is because of the failure to successfully find individuals in sufficient number to accomplish that, that the political parties have failed. If they had been more democratic and been directed by the voters, they would have been successful. For the same reason that makes the political parties fail, the nation, too, has not made the best of the continental advantages.
All that is because the people themselves have not given sufficient thought to politics, but instead have left it to leaders alone to manage, that we find ourselves saddled with burdensome special privilege. The vast natural resources and the products of the people's daily toil furnished temptations to speculators. They required certain laws to secure special privilege. These they sought and secured by tempting those in political power. The laws were made to suit the tempters, which accounts for the shift of the wealth from the producers to the speculators.
What conclusion must we come to in view of the facts stated? Inevitably it is that we cannot trust leaders with all the power. He who says, "Stand by the President," and discourages a fair investigation of what the President does, is either ignorant or a fake American—the same is true of any statement made of any leader. The people must retain and also exercise their control. To have the power merely for becoming a democracy merely is a naked privilege of
little value if we do not exercise it.
The trouble with our Government has been, that the "high ups" in politics, those who got the political plums and those for whom they used their office to give business advantage and special favor, have by the law of selfish interest become one and the same politically. That would occur to a large extent even without organization, because their selfish interests have coordinated their operations.
Those who have special privilege do not have to be told to support those officials who have given special privilege to them, and vice versa, the officials who are supported by special privilege do not have to ask for its support. They know that they will get it, because it is profitable for special interest to give it. There is,
nevertheless, a thorough organization of both independently, and they are linked practically by selfish ties
If the people were organized independently and not partisanly, in support of their own interests, the political interest of the "high ups" in office would be to support the people instead of special privilege. Their life in office would depend upon it, as in the past it has depended upon supporting special privilege, for the people did not know one from the other and simply voted for the party nominees. If the people had actively directed the parties this would not have occurred, but instead of doing that they left the activity and the direction to leaders.
Nonpartisan Organization
As before stated, the people are waking up to the fact that to follow blindly the lead of anyone is not wise. They are organizing to overcome the false operations that have grown up politically and economically. The wage workers in their separate crafts are pretty well organized, and there is already considerable strength
in some of their federated organizations.
The farmers formed a few granges many years ago but there was no widespread coordination, and when the first efforts were made, too many of the farmer were still partisanship blind, the same as the wage workers were at first. All people were so except the office seekers, office holders and speculators, and they pretended to be very partisan, because it was to their selfish interest. In the last few years the farmers have become more active and their organizations are growing strong.
THE POLITICAL PARTIES
Special privilege and the old-line politicians have become frightened of the Nonpartisan League, an association first organized in North Dakota to protect the people of that section against the greed and theft of certain big business organizations which they had been forced to clear their business through. The old-line politicians of North Dakota and the public press as well, to a large extent, were tied to the big business organizations that were robbing the North Dakota farmers. The Nonpartisan League swept North Dakota clear of many of the old-line political grafters and showed what could be done by the people organizing in the interest of the public. They were joined by
The encouragement derived from the work of the Non-partisan League success in North Dakota resulted in the extension of the field of their work and the formation of the National Nonpartisan League, with headquarters in the city of St. Paul, Minn. At first—that is, before the political bosses and big business realized the strength of the Nonpartisan League—they gave little thought or attention to it. But the moment they learned of its strength they became alarmed, for they knew their own weaknesses if the people once understood the facts about them. They knew that any organization of strength could make the facts known, if it wished, and this the Nonpartisan League was doing, so the press which big business controlled was immediately pressed into service in the attempt to crush the Nonpartisan League.
The attempt has been made by the press to make the farmers believe that the officers of the Nonpartisan League were selfish, and later that they were not loyal
Americans, also that they were Socialists, as if Socialists were criminals. Not many of those who criticise Socialists know the first principles of socialism. Socialism and Socialists are libeled and slandered by the false and by the ignorant only, for no one who has studied socialism can for a single moment question that it has a program that, if it could be followed out and put into execution, this world would be cleared of much of its misery and degradation.
But even if the leaders are Socialists, which I do not know, and even if the socialist party is not our individual choice of the parties—yes, even if it was true that the organizers were selfish, as we all are more or less—and even if the Nonpartisan League were to disband soon, which it certainly will not do; all that notwithstanding, the Nonpartisan League has already rendered a service to the country in exposing the rotten condition imposed upon farmers and others, and for
forcing new reforms.
Even if these leaders had been as selfish as the big business press seek to make us believe, they would have expiated by the work they did in their assistance in organizing a great body of honest cooperators in fighting for the general welfare. The mere fact of organization and further education is worth many times the cost. The Nonpartisan League has nothing to fear unless it itself becomes partisan, so much so that the membership would become prejudiced. This is not likely to occur when its work is thrown wide open for inspection.
The Nonpartisan League and other leagues formed and being formed by the farmers in all sections of the country can coordinate their work, just as well as the politicians and big business have coordinated their operations to assist each other. These farmer
organizations, together with the wage workers' organizations, all can, should and likely will federate, for their interests are mutual. By a careful study of rules, stated as Truths Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (see index), so as to follow the principles stated in 1 and 3, and prevent the operation of those stated in 2, our whole system would become natural and everybody would have an opportunity to make good.
What I have stated as facts of the political parties has been apparent to all who have impartially examined the conditions. One trouble now, speaking of things in general, is that there is too much to learn for any one person to learn it, and there is getting to be more all the time. Of course there never was a time when one person could know it all, but there was a time when the individual could have a wider knowledge of the things known within his field of operation than he can have of what is known now. There are yet things, however, that we should all learn, and the ordinary politics that has us within control is one of the things we should all—every one of us—understand.
I have given the closest attention to the subject of the existing political control, and had the best possible opportunity to make my studies effective so far as finding out things were concerned. For ten successive years I gave the closest study to the political, legislative and executive work in the capital of the greatest of the nations—our own. I was a Member of Congress, and all I had to do to find out things was to keep my eyes open, my head clear, and work. I am certain that I kept my eyes open and that I worked. I made speeches in the House of Representatives, the dates of some of which are furnished in a back page of this volume and may be examined in the Congressional Record by those who wish. In those I forecast, far in
advance, the general occurrences which have taken place since. I mention this not as a boast, but as an inducement to my readers to examine for themselves the existing social conditions, for if they do they will find that the existing social administration leads to certain positive things that are opposed to human welfare. They are the cause of our troubles, and must be changed unless we are willing to have even worse troubles.
I shall now quote the main important parts of my speech of July 5, 1916—in the Congressional Record of that date. I do so because in the speeches that I made from 1908 to the early months in 1917, in each I pointed to some wrongs that the future inevitably would bring—conclusions that were irresistible, because certain things had previously been done that would bring them on. I use this speech because it will serve me as well as anything new that I might offer here. I am adding some interpolations. In quoting, I omit the mere formal parts:
"No matter what individual professions and party claims may be to the contrary, it is apparent to anyone who has been a Member of Congress, and to anyone else who examines, that the will of the people in regard to legislation is seldom consulted. The price of leadership here is exactly the opposite of carrying out, in good faith, the will of those we are elected to serve.
"Wholesale deception of the voters has been, and is now, the means used most successfully to secure office and remain in public life. Committees that meet in secret and party caucuses held behind closed doors, or whose action was previously privately agreed upon, restrict legislation to such measures as 'special privilege' desires, or manipulate and emasculate what was intended to conform to public demand, so that the "title close" only shall seem to respond to that demand.
"The leaders know how, and they use their knowledge when all other means fail, to so manipulate a disagreement between this body and the Senate, as to completely avoid in the conference committee of the two bodies a compliance with the public demand, and in that way benefit "big business," thus insuring the support of the latter in election campaigns.
"Every one here knows that these things are true. But the public gets no information from the press about it, but anyone who dares to uncover the system and expose the schemes for deceiving the public finds that a certain part of the press will attack him and call him a radical and obstructionist, and excoriate him in every way possible. If to tell the truth about things makes one a radical, then radicals ought to be at a premium. But they have not been so far politically.
"Go back, Mr. Speaker, in your own recollection, to those stormy days on this floor when your predecessor occupied that chair and you were the leader of the minority. Recall how a few of us on this side of the House led in that fight, refusing to bow to the party lash. We were joined by you and your followers in a demand which was backed by a vast majority of the American people, that this House should in fact and deed become a representative body with rules that would make it responsive to the will of a majority of its own Members.
"Does it not often recur to you in your meditations concerning your long service here, how the reforms then demanded were defeated by the desertion of twenty-three members of your own party, and who occasion for any church to attempt to take part as a church or through the influence of the church for the advantage of the church, with the political affairs of the Government.
I have been criticised by some of the high dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church for a resolution which I introduced to have the controversy between these high dignitaries and the Free Press Defense League investigated. The criticism has no justification, for I have not created the issue between these high dignitaries and the Free Press Defense League and other leagues. Many of my best friends are Catholics, and I introduced the resolution in the interests of all the people, Catholics as well as Protestants, for it has been my aim to aid in bringing the people generally to a common understanding of their political and economic rights, and to have them act upon those rights for their common welfare
In my work along this line I found that there was an issue between the Free Press Defense League and other like organizations, on the one side and the high dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church on the other, and that this controversy had split the common people into factions, a thing which special privilege gloats over. In dealing with economics I could not look upon that situation with indifference, for whether there is truth in the allegations of the Free Press Defense League and the others or not, politically and economically the controversy, as long as it lasts, materially aids special privilege, because it diverts the plain people from joining all their forces to take up and solve the problems that must be solved before we can all prosper.
I deal simply with the effect of human conduct upon our economic operations for the purpose of showing that it is wise for the people to understand and protect "The mind that harnessed steam and made it work for all men; the mind that sent kites to the sky to play with electricity and plan its harness; the mind that arranged wires to send long-distance messages and to carry even the voice in a whisper across a continent; the mind that contrived the apparatus by which to transmit and receive human messages through trackless space on the air waves; the mind that devised the machines with which men fly; yes, the minds that devised political and social reforms, and more than a thousand other discoveries that serve this generation, were first criticized as the visionary and impractical dreams of persons supposed to have unbalanced brains.
"Sad, is it not, that those who seek to build for the good of all men should be stamped by the unthinking as calamity howlers and dreamers, radicals and undesirable citizens. And now, after all the examples that history has furnished, we still denounce as visionary the work of those who discover new scientific facts, give the world new inventions, and inaugurate new
methods and systems for the common welfare.
"But hold for a minute lest we enthuse too greatly over the higher civilization. What has it all resulted in?
"The great discoveries have constantly amazed and electrified the world. People have advanced more than a hundredfold in economic effectiveness; their mental realization has immensely increased and possible social opportunities enormously enlarged; still there has been no correspondingly equitable individual benefit.
"As a result of the new order there are a few multimillionaires, but the most of us are striving with difficulty to obtain the bare necessaries of life; and yet, notwithstanding this great difference in the control of the material agencies, there is, perhaps, no difference in
We should no longer be herded by the political bosses within so-called party lines, in order that they may manage the Government. No statesman with the interest of the people at heart, and who has observed in the last few years the traducing of expressed party principles as well as the subversion by party bosses of the machinery of Government to the interests of the few, will say that this is rightly a Government by parties. Those who do state this are either wittingly or unwittingly the spokesmen for the special interests.
"The political parties in these last years have divided the people. The bosses have controlled the machinery of the parties and regulated them by the caucus system. Further, the caucuses have been divided into factions each in turn controlled by bosses, so that practically a Government by party proves to be a Government by the special interests. The special interests court the party in control. It matters not to them which party. All they want is that the people should be divided into parties, the parties divided into caucuses, and the caucuses into factions. The strongest faction is generally controlled by the bosses, for the interests always deal with the bosses. As a result he who fights to keep the Government within party control usually fights for the special interests.
"Right now is the time for the single voter to begin to exert his undeniable rights. He has seen that party government redounds to the interests of the few. The voter, when he votes in accordance with his own interests, votes in accordance with the interests of the majority of his fellow citizens and against government
by bosses.
"If we would have a Government by and for the people, then it must be essentially a Government by the direction of the voters instead of by political
WHY IS YOUR COUNTRY AT WAR?
parties, who are in turn governed by the factions and the latter by the bosses. Legislation should never be determined by a political party as such in a separate body from that which has under the laws the responsibility.
"Political parties may serve most useful purposes through which people may organize for the promotion of reforms, but they do not belong in the halls of legislation as a means of dividing the people's representatives into factions, so that a minority instead of a majority of all the people's representatives enact laws."
TO VOTE IS A DUTY OF ALL CITIZENS
Any citizen who takes so little interest in the plan and welfare of his country's administration as to neglect to inform himself the best he can, how he should vote and to actually vote, cannot be considered a fully equipped American citizen—patriotism cannot be considered complete without the exercise of the franchise on the part of those who are permitted, and the franchise is worthless—and the Republic fails—unless the voter makes it a matter of the most important business.
Unfortunately women are excluded in most of the States from the ballot. The exclusion is a wrong that has no justification, and is founded on arbitrary power blindly administered. There are as many reasons why women should vote as there are why men should. For man to set himself up as arbitrary dictator to exclude one-half of the population, having rights equal to his own, is not a debatable question with anyone who looks to fundamentals—it is simply a wrong. I have never been able to consider the question debatable, any more than it would be debatable to claim that the citizens of the State of New York
may vote on the question of election of President, but that citizens of the State of Pennsylvania should be excluded from such vote.
It is not a question of whether women would exercise the franchise wisely or not, though no one can successfully contradict that they would, but it is an absolute right—fundamental. For the reasons stated, I have never taken the trouble to either debate or write upon the problem of the practical exercise of the franchise by women, though I have investigated it as a matter for my own information, and even from the standpoint of practicability every legitimate consideration favors it.
My daughter Lillian, who recently crossed the line that divides this world from the next, and whose picture with her little daughter I have taken the liberty of inserting, wrote a short article on the right of women to vote, which I publish herewith. My daughter was to have written three more articles on different phases of the same subject, but was removed from us before she had the time.
MRS. LILLIAN LINDBERGH ROBERTS AND DAUGHTER
YOUR VOTE FOR SUFFRAGE
By Mrs. LILLIAN LINDBERGH ROBERTS Minneapolis, Minn.
Since the country woman indulges in the same activities as her husband, father or brother, as the case may be, in addition to her own particular work, is she not justified in expecting the same rights and privileges in helping determine the laws that govern their joint activities? Here, at least, we do not need to argue that the woman's work is equal in importance to the man's. It is the same.
If the men of your family are of the opinion that you should vote, here is their chance to express their opinion. Help them by knowing these candidates and their platforms. Many of them think the women do not care particularly to vote. In no way can you impress them more effectively, with your earnestness in the matter, than by your interest in, and knowledge of, local, State and national politics.
CONCLUDING CHAPTER
I apologize for prefacing this chapter with a few words about myself, but there is a reason why I do. I wish the reader to know that I have had an opportunity to study human nature in operation. I have not failed to do so. I have been in every possible place for me to get where I thought I could broaden my understanding of things. I wish merely to offer it as an aid to readers, if it can be, in connection with
their own experiences.
ran across two certain verses which I quote below, I understood the humor, as well as the pathos, in them. They are true to life, however, but the experiences of my life convince me that the first of the two has the advantage. I do not know their author:
"The toiler in the city,
Admits the country's charm;
He toils away and hopes some day
To buy a little farm.
'The farmer, too, is busy,
He salts his profits down;
The prospect cheers, ere many years
He hopes to move to town."
I have experienced both sides of the proposition, but I never deserted the farm as the ultimate goal for my return—and there is my home when I am home, for the farm unquestionably is the best of all places to live, and it affords the most independence.
Those who have taken sufficient interest in this book to have reached this, the concluding chapter, know that the object of the book is to emphasize independence. The preceding chapters have been more or less specific in their purpose. This chapter is general in its scope—almost to the extent of taking a "bird's-eye" view
of the world in its social sphere.
In a more or less general sense, and especially so with reference to the study of economics, statements should depend little upon their author for their force. Their influence should be cleared through the reader, he analyzing them in the light of his own experiences. If he does not do this he will find the study dry, and, what is worse, he will find it useless and confusing. On the other hand, if the reader analyzes everything so far as it can be done, in the light of his own practical ex-
periences, he will find the study of economics extremely interesting; and, what is better, if the public generally would take the study up earnestly, it would be seen what a terrible and ridiculous folly we are committed to in some of the existing practices. Then there would be no long delay in applying a remoder
Every natural person stops occasionally to take a general survey of things in order to balance himself. There are times when one wonders what this busy world is quite so busy about certain things for, and why it should not be more busy about certain other things. Then again, aside from what appears to be necessary for our real needs and our healthy pleasures, we wonder what relation it all has with the sweep of
the Universe—the Everlasting.
We have come to a state where our business—the work we do for pay, is what we seem to live for, instead of making the business—the work, incident to our living—to live well. Becauss of that state we find that work has become a drudgery instead of a pleasure. A few only have the advantages and the rest of us are driven. Many of us are forced by our environments, and are helpless to change them unless we, with the others similarly situated, can arrive at a better understanding of things as they actually are, and then create for ourselves better environments.
From a material sense, nothing seems so stupid on the part of people generally as to permit the waste that takes place. Surely, at least three-fourths of our energies are exhausted in waste, and we are forced to use the other one-fourth to eke out a bare existence. Therefore the purpose of mankind to advance steadily to a higher and higher goal has been arrested.
It is unfortunate, but it is nevertheless true, that as science has progressed, that as mechanical devices
have been invented, that as new ways have been discovered and applied to multiply the products of human energy, that while all these have taken place to make this period the most scientific as well as the most productive in all the history of the world, the masses nevertheless have become more and more dependent, and exist now as industrial slaves.
There is a reason, of course, for this as there is for all things. If the reader will refer to the index for "Truth No. 2," in that truth the reason is stated. To briefly restate it here, it is the wrongful appropriation and capitalization of the inventions and the new ways of application, and the toll charged upon capital, that make the trouble.
Most of us have a soul. In some the hardships forced upon them buries the soul very deep. In others the greater the hardship the more the soul is in evidence. Those who look into and understand the real trials of life are not harshly critical of the individual, but look beyond to see the ground work out of which the individual has arisen or fallen as the case may be. We take pride in those who arise in spite of adversity, without lowering our charitable consideration for those who fall even if the fallen were surrounded by advantages. Those who are forced to work—or compelled to find a way or make it, that very fact gives them the application, while under different circumstances, those surrounded by advantages—free from the necessity of strenuous action, too often fail to learn how to apply themselves, and because of that fact alone lose out.
It is sometimes hard to account for those who have soul for one thing or one condition, who have no soul for another thing or other condition where both are equally important, and where there is nothing in the remoteness or the proximity to distinguish them. It is still harder to account for overlooking those that are proximate, leaving them minus the soul consideration, to leap to the distant and remote with a view to better them, while the proximate is forgotten, or at least
neglected.
<sup>1 The following is an extract from a report made by the American Committee on War Finance, 60 Broadway, New York City, which committee will furnish free fuller details to anyone writing for same:
"In some industries they (wages) have risen in a spectacular manner, yet the average wage increase since 1912 has been small,
vanity—false personal egotism, and a false so-called "patriotism," that would destroy millions to avenge wrong to an individual when to avenge that wrong by war begets thousands of other wrongs, and secures no
times, may suggest the answers to the above questions. They may also indicate the economic conditions which lie below the fact, reported by Professor King, of the University of Wisconsin, that 2 per cent of the people of the United States own 65 per cent of the country's total wealth.
"NET PROFITS OF AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL CORPORATIONS
"Figures shown are the net profits earned for the stockholders after deducting cost of materials, labor, depreciation, overhead interest and all other charges. All figures are official, having been taken from the companies' annual reports.
| 1916 | 1915 | 1914 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Can Co | \$7,962,982 | \$5,029,273 | \$2,916,339 |
| Am. Smltg. & Rfg | 23, 252, 248 | 14,402,732 | 9,271,565 |
| Am. Hide & Leather | 1,643,266 | 959,974 | 107,205 |
| Am. Beet Sugar Co | 2,445,189 | 1,424,654 | 452,074 |
| Am. Locomotive Co | 10,769,429 | *1,491,980 | 2,076,127 |
| Am. Steel Foundries | 3,418,057 | *219,574 | *231,481 |
| Am. Woolen Co | 5,863,819 | 4,080,865 | 2,788,602 |
| Am. Writing Paper Co. | 2,524 ,378 | *126,956 | *108,310 |
| Armour & Co | 20,100,000 | 11,000,000 | 7,509,908 |
| Atlas Powder Co | 2,939,790 | 1,671,762 | 294,150 |
| Baldwin Locomotive | . 5,982,517 | 2,827,816 | 350,230 |
| Bethlehem Steel Corp | 43,593,968 | 17,762,813 | 5,590,020 |
| Barrett Co. (Amer. Coal | |||
| Products Co.) | 4,247,858 | 2,482,236 | 1,280,476 |
| Brown Shoe Co | 1,467,757 | 240,322 | 495,890 |
| Central Leather Co | 15,489,201 | 5,626,897 | 4,876,924 |
| Colorado Fuel & Iron | 2,201,171 | *334,611 | *905,968 |
| Crucible Steel Co | 13,223,655 | 3,073,750 | 1,015,039 |
| Cuban-Am. Sugar Co | 8,235,113 | 5,594,048 | 2,705,723 |
| E. I. duPont de Nemours | |||
| Powder Co | 82,107,693 | 57,257,308 | 4,831,793 |
| General Chemical Co | 12,286,826 | 5,958,746 | 2,857,898 |
| Hercules Powder Co | 16,658,873 | 4,886,102 | 1,247,255 |
| Intl. Agric'l Corp | 1,279,832 | *160,022 | 84,908 |
| 1916 | 1915 | 1914 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intl. Nickel | \$11,748,279 | \$5,598,072 | \$4,792,665 |
| Lackawanna Steel Co | 12,218,234 | 2,409,108 | *1,652,444 |
| Morris & Co. (packers) | 3,832,213 | 2,321,415 | 2,205,672 |
| National Enameling & | |||
| Stamping Co | 2,417,803 | 913,742 | 548,756 |
| New York Air Brake Co. | 8,214,962 | 1,343,285 | 641,046 |
| Phelps Dodge Corp | 21,974,263 | 9,720,475 | 6,664,839 |
| Pittsburgh Steel Co | 4,564,068 | 858,160 | 416,551 |
| Railway Steel Spring Co. | 3,710,805 | 1,363,229 | 374,454 |
| Republic Iron & Steel | |||
| Ĉo | 14,789,163 | 3,515,819 | 1,028,748 |
| Sloss-Sheffield Iron & | |||
| Steel Co | 1,912,624 | 522,388 | 490,139 |
| Swift & Co | 20,465,000 | 14,087,500 | 9,450,000 |
| Texas (Oil) Co | 13,898,861 | 6,393,327 | 6, 185, 794 |
| U. S. Steel Corp | 271,531,730 | 75,833,833 | 23,496,768 |
| II & Cost Inon Ding Co | 1 900 841 | ∫19 months | *=0.000 |
| U. S. Cast Iron Fipe Co. | 1,300,041 | 381,387 | 08,000 |
| United Fruit Co | 11,943,151 | 5,900,522 | 2,264,911 |
| U. S. Industrial Alcohol | 4,884,587 | 2,172,013 | 653,264 |
| U. S. Smelting, Refining | |||
| and Mining Co | 8,898,464 | 6,592,324 | 2,265,641 |
| WestinghouseAir-Brake | 9,396,103 | 1,575,839 | 3,482,994 |
| Co | |||
| Westinghouse Electric | |||
| & Manufacturing Co. | 9,666,789 | 2,009,744 | 4,058,809 |
| Wilson & Co (nackara) | 4 0 19 979 | 9 469 799 | $\int$ 15 months |
| white of Co. (packers) | 3,010,010 | 2,200,102 | 1,511,528 |
| Total | \$799 983 935 | 8999.588 355 | \$194.949.776 |
do it. It is not natural that they should want war, because the cost falls on them. It is much easier and more desirable from a mere personal selfish standpoint to be a soldier in the battles, than it is to drudge in
expected to continue. For instance, the steel corporation's last quarter's earnings, just published, would indicate that; for, if the percentage is maintained for the whole year, the net sum applicable to dividends for 1917 should be about \$450,000,000.
"Comparing the increased earnings and the increased stock values of two of these corporations, we get a still more concrete idea of the increased wealth which offers the country a ready
source of war taxation:
"UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION
| Net earnings 1914 | \$23,496,768 271,531,730 |
|---|---|
| Increase | \$248,034,962 |
| outstanding stock in 1914 | \$682,648,282 961,181, 37 8 |
| Increase | \$278,533,096 |
| "BETHLEHEM STEEL CORPORATI | ON |
| "BETHLEHEM STEEL CORPORATI Net earnings 1914 Net earnings 1916 | ON \$5,590,020 43,593,968 |
| "BETHLEHEM STEEL CORPORATI Net earnings 1914 | ON \$5,590,020 43,593,968 \$58,003,948 |
"RAILROADS
"Shareholders of railroads have also improved their position as investors since the war began.
"In 1913 the net operating revenue ran approximately from \$275 a mile in January to \$300 a mile in December. In 1916 the net
useless toil, for it is useless toil to labor for the support of war, when by a proper reorganization of our economic system we should make war impossible. True, until such reorganization takes place, now that we are in a war, it is our duty, whether in the field of industry for production of the necessities or in the battle line for their destruction, to work on and on incessantly to supply the means required. It is our patriotic duty to do that. But the very fact that it is so, and that we now must do it, should all the more impress us with the importance to never again let such a condition arise as to make us a party to such a condition. Now when we are so impressed is the time to work for the economic reform that will end wars.
In the meantime we should not have the false pride of wishing to make the war last longer, merely to show how terrific we can punish a military foe. The world has never gotten reform through militarism. On the contrary, the hardships have been visited upon mankind through the recurring wars. Mankind is not reformed by punishment, and very seldom by force. Force does not count "1, 2, 3," as compared with a solid, sound and just economic system. It is the latter by which we can conquer the world and win the respect of all mankind.
Just at present we are in a complicated condition. The speculative interests, having resorted to greed as their type of patriotic manifestation, invited the violation of our unquestioned right to the free and uninter-
operating revenue ran approximately from \$337 a mile in January to \$550 in October.
"The net revenue for railroads earning over a million dollars annually for the six months ending January 1, 1917, was practically \$700,000,000, which is the largest profit in the history of American railroading.
rupted use of the high seas, and caused those rights to be violated, so that now we are at war. We can't get out of it by simply quitting. We have got to have ar agreement to get out, so we must fight to the limit of our capacity until we get an agreement that does not put us at a disadvantage.
As a matter precedent to the war, those patriotic speculators whose greed was the moving cause to invite the violation of our international rights, they, knowing full well that if they persisted in their greed and having full intention to persist, that our rights would be violated, prepared a campaign for great "preparedness" of the kind that they hoped would give them still greater opportunity for their speculative enterprises. They made it their campaign—conducted through their press, their speakers and their writers, and by the use of unlimited sums of money simply swamped the country with false literature, and practically swept the people off their feet, as to the details of preparedness. Everybody, of course, wanted to be prepared for possible emergencies, but the best means of preparedness were not followed out, so we went on the propositions of the great so-called "industrial captains" and "finance heads," which put us in more debt all the time.
Well, the consequences. After the speculators had created the sentiment for the kind of preparedness that they wanted, they wished to use that preparedness in a measure, to carry or help guard their commerce ships filled with munitions of war and products of various kinds to the belligerent nations to aid in war, particularly to those whom they had become financially interested in. So these ships were armed, which of course caused more trouble with the belligerents who believed that commerce to be to their disadvantage.
Then our international rights were further violated, and without consulting the people to secure a vote as to whether under the circumstances we should declare war against certain nations which were violating our rights, Congress on the advice of the President did declare war. The next step was to resort to conscription of men. In some of the States even women are forced to register. The conscription is intended to raise, by force if necessary, armies to cross the seas to fight in foreign lands.
There is a difference of opinion among the people as to whether or not we should conscript men to send across the seas to wage war under the existing circumstances. So the part of the press controlled by special privilege, realizing this and knowing full well that no conscription would be necessary to get men to serve to defend the nation as against any prospective invading foe, but doubting it for securing a great American army to invade foreign countries, did not dare to submit conscription to a vote of the people, so Congress on the pressure of the press and on the advice of the
Already we have many men across the seas and they are our soldiers, and more are on their way, and still more are certain to be sent. There is a move now being made to repeal the conscription law, but it is quite a different proposition now from what it was before our soldier boys were sent across. Special privilege knew full well that it would be a different problem when our men got over there. We have, in law at least, forced them to go, and hundreds of thousands are expected to go under that condition. These boys, or men as they are, have responded nobly, patriotically, to their country. We now owe to
them our deepest, most sincere and patriotic consideration. We are in the position that special privilege wants us to be. It knows we have our boys over there, and that not a man or woman in all the land of America would fail to reinforce these, our true soldier and sailor boys, with all the strength of the nation in order that they may so far as possible be brought back to the land of their flag. We cannot repeal conscription now, without in every way taking into consideration these soldiers of America stationed and soon to be in battles, on foreign lands. Whatever we do we must protect them, but we should repeal the conscription law as soon as it can be done with protection to these who have been conscripted and sent abroad. Our democracy is indeed weak when we resort to conscription, which is an entirely different problem than universal training.
The war hysteria has so unbalanced the world that it is even considered traitorous to suggest terms of peace, or to plan for conditions upon which to propose peace. Take up the newspapers of the days immediately following the first days of the war; they all advocated an agreement for an early peace. Contrast that with the later and the existing publications of the press—do that and you will find to what lengths this war hysteria has carried things. Any person who will analyze the different editorials in the big press—or in any one of those newspapers or magazines—will see that they prove their own inconsistency.
We have a military enemy in the Central Powers; we have allies in the other powers to the conflict. Is there any reason why we should suspend the truth as to either? Will falsehood assist us in humbling our military foes? It may be that at times it is or will be a military necessity to suspend for a time statements
of the truth. But it never will be or can be necessary
to promulgate falsehoods
We know that it is customary in political campaigns for the press to publish falsehoods of the candidates which they oppose. While there is no justification for even that kind of falsehood, certainly in a case involving the lives and the destinies of millions of people and of nations, falsehood and hatred should be the farthest from the practice of any truly patriotic citizen of any civilized nation, and most of all that should be so of patriotic citizens of the United States of America.
I see in the windows of business houses in the National Capital, together the portraits of Generals Grant and Lee, wrapped in the Stars and Stripes. That is as it should be now, but if you will go back to the press of thirty years following the Civil War, you would find expressions of the narrow hatred, and unforgiving editorials, that stamped General Lee as not fit to receive such honors as those now bestowed upon him. We know that the spirit of this day, regarding that unhappy conflict between our own people, is the spirit for us to court. Why should we not be more liberal with the spirit that comes out of the same souls, and seek the right spirit out of which to quell the mightiest of all the conflicts that this earth of ours has produced?
Oh, no! It is not traitorous to plan the terms upon which peace can be negotiated in this war. On the contrary, it is idiotic hysteria to withhold the work of encouraging and securing peace, and at the same time put forth every effort to prosecute the war to an end successful to our true national purposes. It is not inconsistent to prosecute both at the same time.
The real problem is not so much how to end the war and fix the terms of peace that shall be in our honor,
What would such a plan and victory mean?
It would mean that information upon facts of interest to the public should be free and universal, and paid for out of the public treasury; that persons should be able to communicate by mail, telegraph and telephone with each other at the actual cost for service—no profit to anyone.
It would mean that transportation of goods and of persons should be free, except the payment of actual goes of the service by those receiving it—but no profit
It would mean that the finances of the country and of the people would be conducted free except the actual cost to be paid by those served
It would mean that each person would pay, for the service he received, the actual cost with profit to no one.
What would be the result?
It would result in an equal opportunity to all and special privilege to none. Then commerce would be natural—adjusted to the needs—and not for speculation and exploitation; nations would not be competing with each other as antagonists and competitors, but would be merely exchanging for mutual advantages—leading to friendship and amity.
The one example alone of our country exporting, between the time the war began and our entry into it, \$6,000,000,000 in excess of what we got back in return for it, and allowing the exploiters who carried on this trade to use it as an excuse to raise the price on like commodities to the American consumers in excess of the regular former prices, nearly three times that amount, should in itself be sufficient to convince any intelligent American that the greatest of all victories to be won is to get out from under that system.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The public realizes more than it ever has before, that it has not gotten a square deal in the administration of the Government; that the masses are filling the bags for the benefit of a favored few; that "equality of opportunity" does not exist. Because of this condition earnest inquiry is being made into the causes, and information sought with reference thereto. To those who wish additional information upon these problems the following references may be considered:
(a) Report of the late "Commission on Industrial Relations." Congress ordered 100,000 copies to be printed for distribution, and should order 10,000,000 instead of printing a lot of worthless junk as is being done. Big business opposes the publication of this report, but a few copies have gone into every Congressional District, and can likely be found in most public libraries. Every
American citizen should read this report.
(b) The "National Voters' League," Woodward Building, Washington, D. C., has published a few books on Congress, and also issues a monthly publication, called The Searchlight on Congress which tells the truth about it. It is worth while to have all its publications. It makes a charge of \$1 per annum for the Searchlight. The League is supported and made up from a membership of progressive citizens from all parts of the United
States
·(c) A group of intelligent, able and progressive students of social conditions are associated with Amos R. E. Pinchot, 60 Broadway, New York City. By addressing to Mr. Pinchot a letter asking it, literature will be sent free on the subject of how the war should be financed, and on related matters. See index herein for "American Committee on Finance." In this group with Mr. Pinchot, fortunately are a few wealthy Americans who recognize the rights of mankind, and who do not seek to disguise the fact that the founders of our Government were right when they sought to create a government that would guarantee to every American citizen, "Equality of Opportunity." These gentlemen are doing all in their power to make that right effective More and more of the wealthy are constantly joining in this great work. The rich are by nature no different than the poor, except that their environments have made many of them so, but those who have taken the time to investigate conditions
realize the condition of things as they are in fact, and they are doing great work, and if it would bring the necessary reform,
almost any of them would gladly donate his fortune.
(d) The Monetary Educational Bureau, Washington, D. C., publishes very valuable literature upon the banking and currency system and the high cost of living. It is not done as a profit business, but so far as practical the actual costs of operation are sought to be recovered, so they make a small charge for literature—literature, however, worth many times the charge. The books are: "Daniel on Real Money," \$1; "High Cost of Living," 75 cents; "Federal Reserve and Rural Credits," 25 cents.
(e) Lafollet's Magazine, Madison, Wis., \$1 per annum, should be in every household. It is fearless in telling the truth
about things.
(f) H. L. Day, 1006 Lindale Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn., has about 1,500 pamphlets which he will send free as long as they last. Mr. Day is probably the best informed man in the country on the operations of "special privilege" as it has developed its schemes through certain organizations.
(g) Hon. Ernest Lundeen, Member of Congress from Minneapolis, Minn., made a speech in the House of Representatives, in which is an appendix containing valuable tables of information. These will be sent free to anyone writing, as long as he has any of them
remaining.
(h) The undersigned, whose home address is Little Falls, Minn., has a few thousand pamphlets relating to a Commission of Industrial Relations. They contain about one-third as much printed matter as this book. Send 2 cents in postage stamps to cover cost, if convenient. They will be sent as long as they last, however, on request even without the stamp. The undersigned has had printed several of his speeches on other subjects, and if the writer will mention what he is particularly interested in, and such literature is on hand, it will be sent free.
Note.—The cost of book and pamphlet literature is mostly in packing and distributing, including the incidental correspondence. Therefore parties wishing a number of copies of any book or pamphlet sent to the same person can nearly always get from any publisher a very liberal discount by writing how many are wanted. This is especially true of literature that is published
for educational purposes, and not for profit.
The list which I have given above is, of course, far from complete. There are many publications issued that are not under the control of special privilege. Some of these are fraternal
or association papers. But whatever one gets in the shape of books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers and literature of any kind, or from any source, must be subject to the reader's unbiased judgment, for everything is written by some person, and whenever the writings become generally read, then the temptation to the writer is extended, by special privilege, to modify and by artful literary skill to give meanings that will educate the readers of it, to believe as special privilege wants them to believe. Millions upon millions of dollars are now being poured out by special privilege for that very purpose. Expert writers who are willing to sell their skill at the sacrifice of their soul can make fortunes. Newspapers which are willing to fall to the same purpose can and do thrive, while the honest and conscientious ones must plod on in poverty. About the only dividend left for the unbiased writer is a clear conscience and an empty stomach.
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, Little Falls, Minn.
INDEX
| America, when is a citizen a true American, 8 some nation must begin reform 58 rights of Americans when in America 185 | Exports, based largely on fake to increase cost to American consumer, 26 Example of development from unit, 26 Freedom of the seas, 34, 87 |
|---|---|
| Autocratic power, see note to page 42 | Foreign loans, to tax American |
| and 42 to 56 | people, 127 |
| note. 204–209 | Government, well founded, 12, 13 |
| British pro-British & | not better than the people 17 |
| Business and politics should so hand | ownership of public utilities 136 |
| in hand, 12 | never leave management to |
| Big business, took to the war manage- | leaders, 147, 148, 149 |
| ment, 15 | High cost of living, 61 |
| claiming the alleged glory, note | regular and the war costs |
| 17 | separated, 69 |
| on the job, 181 | rieroes and patriots 05, 00, 88 |
| baiting the leaders, 182 | "Hazard circular and English money |
| claiming the people with them, | loaners and slavery, 84 |
| note to page 22 | interest, who pays, note page 92- |
| Dankruptcy of the world, 124, 125, | see text also 92 |
| Banks missing interest rates for | Jenerson, I nomas, opinion on the |
| neonie to new 128 | Tincoln's prophecy of what "hig |
| group of trust banks 88 80 | business" result do 82 |
| denocite Of | Money Touch 2 |
| Boom of your town at expense | defined 105 |
| of residents note to name 38 | moster etroke of 08 |
| Constitution spirit of distorted by | sweat blood in 1012 80 |
| the courts. 13 | secrets to put through Federal |
| vicious property rule read into, 13 | Reserve Act. 99 |
| Cancers in American business, see | Federal Reserve Board, 100 to |
| note, 18 | who counsels Federal Reserve |
| Congress tied up, 58 | Board, 103 |
| Conservation, 37, 120, 121, 122, 123 | people prohibit to do business |
| Conscription, of men, 32 | with Federal Reserve Board |
| of property, 33 | 106 |
| not merely of income, 33 | how the deposits are used, 107 |
| Charity, of rich taxed to toilers, 21 | how it seeks to mislead, 110 |
| Democracy, what is, 7, 74, 93 | people pay more interest than |
| wno creates in Germany, 117 | ever in the aggregate, 112 |
| Destaurant of Association in Association | the tollers pay it, 113 |
| Destroyers of America's independ- | rederal Reserve Act lurther |
| Dabt increasing severing 31 | surrender to special privilege, |
| Describe has become a fine art to | Own development in construction of |
| fool public. 39 | certain ways 35 36, 37 |
| Devil, chasing us around the stump | Contain ways, ou, ou, or |
| 63 | Upposition to Government control of |
| Exploiters, 18 | public utilities, 141, 142, 143, |
| Equal opportunity to all, no such | 144 |
| thing, 18, 19, 20 | Other publications, 216. |
