556 THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



taxed to furnish, is lying in the overloaded treasury vaults, 

 and they deprived of its use, while interest is running 

 against them on the bonds that can be, and ought to be 

 paid." 



This is perhaps the first time in the history of the 

 world that a government has had a "surplus" of money 

 that it did not know what to do with. It is now being 

 used to "boost" the so-called campaign issue. It is 

 claimed that this surplus is the result of a high tariff. It 

 is a lie. We have had, practically speaking, the same tariff 

 since 1867. A "surplus" was never heard of until after 

 the bonds were funded and payment delayed until 1892 

 and 1897. If this money had been paid out in the dis- 

 charge of the public debt it would have been put in active 

 circulation and times would have been better. "The sec- 

 retary who holds this money in the treasury is worse than 

 a thief who would steal it and put it in circulation." The 

 Congress who by their enactment of laws, makes it possible 

 to do so is kparticeps criminis in the matter. 



All the enactments of law in favor of the bondhold- 

 ers, together with the combined efforts of a well paid press, 

 have boomed the bonds until they command a premium in 

 the market, and the bondholders are now reaping a rich 

 harvest in the way of selling their bonds at a high premium. 

 It is financial suicide; it is worse than folly; it is legalized 

 robbery. It is the old story of the cats, a piece of cheese 

 and the monkey. The cats had found a piece of cheese 

 which they could not divide agreeably between themselves. 

 They decided to appeal to a monkey as judge. The 

 monkey proceeded to divide the cheese in such a manner 

 that one piece was larger than the other. In order, as he 

 said, to make them equal, he took an enormous bite off the 

 larger piece. This reduced its size to such an extent that 

 it gave him a pretext to take a bite off the other piece, the 

 result of which was that it was now the smallest, and 



