Excerpt from The Little Statesman
The people should own and operate the railroads, the telegraph, the telephone, etc., as they already do the post-office. The people should also own and operate street railroads, waterworks, gas-works, electric light plants, etc. The notorious corruption of our law-making bodies is due almost wholly to their power to grant special privileges and to sell public franchises to private individuals or corporations. Legislative reform that ignores the cause of corruption is never remedial and seldom even palliative. Public ownership of natural monopolies will abolish the bribe-taker by making impossible the bribe-giver.
Complaint will be made of "The Little Statesman" because, while it touches nearly every other question, no mention is made of the customs tariff. The tariff is largely a local issue upon which the plutocrats of the Republican party and the plutocrats of the Democratic party have agreed to disagree in order to prevent the discussion of vital questions.
One of these vital questions, and the one which presents itself just now for immediate solution, is that of Money. The attitude of the two leading parties on this subject furnishes a most glaring instance of political dishonesty. In spite of the efforts of the politicians, however, the money question will not down, and that phase of it which appeals most strongly at this time to the people is the proposition to again open the mints to the free coinage of silver.
Money is the public credit, stamped or imprinted upon, or represented by, metal, paper, or any other convenient substance recognized by law or usage, and employed as a medium of exchange and a measure of values. Money is money only so long and in so far as it represents the public credit. Moses, as well as the early fathers of the Christian Church, undoubtedly adopted this view of money when they denounced usury, which is the device whereby the drones in humanity's bee-hive, monopolizing the public credit, have in all ages exacted tribute from the workers.
The right to issue money is a sovereign right and should be jealously guarded by a sovereign people.
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