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doubted the propriety and expedion-
cit of our going to war with the central
powers, yet who would dive their lives
to protect American liberty from
fofign invasion any would not o anything which aid those who
are our enemies were unjustly branded
as traitors, and seneral of them cuf-
fered violence at the hands of senselies mobs.
The writer is one of those who
doubted and still doubts the expediency of our going to war af the time we did. Te believes that our own liberties would have been
better saleguarded by remaning out of the world conflist. The does not believe that the cause of demorra-
ey will trumph as a result of this war. He believes that a just God
has allowed us to becom involved in
this smadal war as all of the other
nations have been allowed to become in
volved in it - in punishment for our crimes and aggressions as 152392
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a nation The ancient Romans
you know, had an adage thom
the gods wish to destroy; they first eake mad’ yes; this wal is all
madness of all of the nations engaged in it and its outcome will doubt-
less be the rum of all; for even victory for us would leave us a debt so Clarge as to enslave us under our present linancial system; and it
is for the purpose of pointing out
an expedient which will longer ctave off the mevitable misery to the toilers
of our nation that I address you.
The government is now spending
much money to procure subscriptions to so-called liberty loans, the ultimate
result of which twill be a stringency
of curreicy, and rendering the govern ment liable for a large discomt on
the face of the bonds. Now all of this chuld not be and would not be it all of our
people were anmated with the proper spirit - with the spirit of Christianity and also of true finanaal Ense.
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Dy relerence to the history of our civil war you well see that the gon
ernment was hard pressed for
money with which to prosecute the ward for the Union to a successfal conclusion, when Secretary Chase
hit upon the expedient of issued
legal tender notes See Loans of the
Uiited States from 1776 to 1888). and
this expedient although emasculated by the suflicence of the money
pharks of Wall street and Chat
ham square thereby placing an
unnecessary burden on the Coldurs and cailors and the common people.
which the bill as drafted would not have done, undoubtedly had the
eflect of winning the war. Had the government one year ago issued full legal tender notes for
say 20,000, 000 see the vast amount
of mony it would have caved in inter-
est and the expense of prouring loans.
I am inloeing a little booklet I have written which will shor you what I think about
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interest which I hope will convince you that I am right in my cinclusions on the
rights and wrongs of mankind, and that you with your vast influence may do much
good for the cande of right
Arguments in favor of legal tender money.
Onpage 80 of the government publin tim to which I have referred you will on the arge ment of Secretary Chase in favor of a legltender and what he says about putting all citizens, in this respect, on the came level of rights and duties
appears to me to be partieu-
larly applicable at this time. No person who
is a friend of Amorican liberty will refuce to take legal-tender money of the government. Peruse subsequent prages and you will see the argument of Hon. Thaddens Stenens, and the amomnt of notes issued encluding reissned, shanld remember the arguments advanced by friends of
the govenment that all the wealth of the seation was back of those notes.
I know full well that the finannal charks
of the world scont the idea of anything but the gold and cilver being the baard of currenay but this is an assumed fallacy. They deum
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better but advance this epocious proposi-
tim to forward their cellish ends.
To rightly understand the functions
of civil gvemment, we must consider what civil government really is: Avil govermment
is a lederation - or contederation - of indiriduas
and communities for the mutual protection of
the rights of all. It exists not by divine’ right, but by human will. Unlike the Churhs
which was instituted by Christ and is a
spiritual institution, it is but a temporal or-
ganization. What the law of God allows to be done by a temporal orgainiz atim it can of
right do, and nothing more It has also cme
to be understood that it may perform acts which
are beneficial to the people under its away.
Another of its functions is to provide an
adequate currendy for its people; and the real
vasis of this currency is as already intimated
the aggregate wealth of the nation: and all
a stable government like that of the United
States hal to do to make its money accepta-
ble to all patriotic people is to agree to accept it in payment of all duer to itself
and to make of it by law a fulllegd-
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