108 THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE 



in farmers' gatherings, in agricultural weeklies, 

 even in city dailies, and ultimately in legislative 

 chambers. Investigations demonstrated that, even 

 when reduced to a minimum, the legitimate grounds 

 for complaint were extensive; and the resultant re- 

 ports suggested a variety of remedies. Generally, 

 however, popular sentiment swung around again to 

 the tack it had taken in the late seventies: the real 

 cure for all the evils was more money. Wall Street 

 and the national banks could suck the blood from 

 the western community because of their monopoly 

 of the money supply. According to one irate edi- 

 tor, "Few people are aware of the boundless ad- 

 vantages that the national banks have under our 

 present accursed system. They have usurped the 

 credit of the people and are fattening a thousand- 

 fold annually from the unlimited resources at their 

 command." Another editor wrote: 



We find the following printed card on our desk: 

 "The last report of the Secretary of the Treasury 

 shows the banks as loaning $1,970,022,687"! Four 

 times the amount of money there is to loan. Four in- 

 terests in every dollar! They are drawing from the 

 people enough to run the National Government. How 

 long will it take them to gather in all the money of the 

 nation? This does not include the amounts loaned by 

 state, private, and savings banks. Add to this the 



