THE POPULIST MOVEMENT 689 



their demands are those who have nothing to lose and everything 

 to gain. In 1728, persons of large obligations and decayed for- 

 tunes found that the greater the depreciation of the currency the 

 more easily debts were discharged. Men of this class, having a 

 personal and selfish object in view, were more persevering than 

 those who opposed them on public grounds. The people of 1896 

 have made the same discovery. Money is in all these cases con- 

 founded with capital : an ample and cheap currency will mean 

 capital easily secured, this is their hope. Depreciation sets in, 

 however, because the money has no substantial base and is too 

 freely issued. There is a flow of wealth from the creditor to 

 the debtor. The latter pays his bills in a constantly decreasing 

 money value, and thus property passes from the industrious to 

 the speculator and gambler. The larger the debt the greater the 

 gain. Under these circumstances the more a man owes for value 

 received, the better off he is. The capitalist suspends active 

 operations, stops the plants in which he is interested, while those 

 who live on salaries and annuities find themselves in a distressed 

 condition. Then comes the reduction of redundant currency. 

 Property shrinks in proportion to the old prices ; goods bought 

 must be sold at a sacrifice. Prices go down ; confidence is de- 

 stroyed, and a financial crisis crowns the inflation. Such has 

 been the experience of the past ; such will be that of the future, 

 if we resort to such expedient as the sub-treasury plan, or to a 

 currency like the one proposed by the new party. 



V 

 GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF RAILROADS 



Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the gov- 

 ernment should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people. 



The telegraph and telephone like the postofnce system, being a necessity 

 for the transmission of news, should be owned and operated by the govern- 

 ment in the interest of the people. Omaha Platform 



The rapid growth of the railroad immediately after the war, 

 and the Granger agitation and legislation of the seventies, brought 



