)K 
 
 '^0^ 
 
 *v6. 0^ o ^ 
 
 
 ;^% ^> 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^AO' 
 
 9 rt-/ 
 
 
 
 * <i 
 
 .' .•>'% ^%^.' /\ ..>_. 
 
 
 
 
 >^ .. 
 
 ■a? ^ 
 V V » ' • <»- C- 
 
 . * - A^ \5^ */t:t^ a C 
 
 .0 
 
 .^ c«« J "''^t. ' "" .<i>' 
 
 6 " * - '/-I 
 
 
 <*; 
 

 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/usuryvsGashGhrisOObrow 
 
CHEMIST, 
 
 The Free Child's Jubilee 
 
 .. OR .. 
 
 Deliverance From Scriptural Bondage 
 and Creed Standards. 
 
 irj^us'i'ra.ted by scripturai, characters, such as 
 
 Serpents, Beasts and Birds, Spoken 
 
 OF BY THE Prophets. 
 
 Fifty Different Subjects Compi^ete in one VoivUme, 
 Written to Encourage Seekers of 
 Truth in Spirituai. Liberty 
 in Christ. 
 
 A Book of 335 Pages. 
 
 PRICE: Cloth Bound, _ _ _ $1.00. 
 
 Moproeo, - - - - 1.25. 
 
 USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 PRICE: $ .50 
 
 Address all orders to 
 
 a. p. BROW^N, 
 
 Ttfton, Iowa. 
 
0061 91 AVW 
 
 /V/ 
 
TWO COF^iEs RECEIVED. 
 
 library of Con^ret* 
 
 MAY161900 
 
 Beffftter of Copyfiyht«, 
 SECOND COPY, 
 
 58722 
 
 HALL & PAIGE CO. 
 Printers, 
 
 Cresxon, Iowa. 
 
Usury vs* Cash and Christ 
 
 OR 
 
 PRIVATE CREDIT SLAVERY. 
 
 Showing what it is costing the American people to 
 
 practice the private credit system of usury, 
 
 and its opposition to cash and Christ. 
 
 ^^^^ (>, ^On<-u^'yi. 
 
 L 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I have used the words usury and interest as synon- 
 
 amous terms and my aim has been to keep clear of 
 
 partisanism; neither has the book been written with 
 
 any other than the kindest of feeling to any party or 
 
 nation, but if I have spared usury wherever found, it 
 
 has been my lack of ability to expose it. 
 
 Author. 
 
 Copyrighted by G, P. Brown, May, 1900. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 First Chapter. — Defines usury and its location 
 and who suffers from its evil power, showing 
 that it is the credit ob^gation that draws usury 
 and not money. This chapter gives the amount 
 of debt the American people are paying interest 
 on, also the financial bill that became a law 
 March 14,-iQOo; including the national debt and 
 the national bank's issue and loans and the 
 amount of money in circulation, - - - i 
 
 Second Chapter. — Joseph Enslaving Egypt, - 17 
 
 Third Chapter. — Israel's Deliverance from Bond- 
 age, - 31 
 
 Fourth Chapter — Israel' Second Captivity, - ^|2 
 
 Fifth Chapter. — The Jews return to iheir native 
 land to find it in usury credit slavery, - - 58 
 
 Sixth Chapter.— Jesus preaching that all men 
 should seek the Kingdom of God instead of 
 lordship, - 61 
 
 Seventh Chapter.— Christ's apostles and angels 
 testimony of God's love for man and His desire 
 that they might be saved to live with Him here 
 on this earth, 71 
 
 Eighth Chapter. — Our present private credit 
 system and its effect on all the avocations of life 'j'] 
 
 Ninth Chapter. — All the scripture relating to 
 usury, - - 90 
 
 Tenth Chapter. — A demonstration of seven per 
 cent, interest; also some ot the opinions of min- 
 isters and statesmen, 94 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Usury is an evil at the end of ^credit systems, 
 located midway between producers and consumers, 
 collecting extortion both ways, while usury is neither 
 a producer nor consumer; but an absorber of the re- 
 ward of what others have labored for. It gathers what 
 others have strewn and reaps what others have sown; 
 it taices from him that has one dollar and gives to him 
 that has ten; it forces a promise of money from him 
 that has none, to pay him that has plenty ,'al ways being 
 secured by the valuation of property or labor. Money 
 cannot be security for its own payment, on account of 
 its being a legal tender and would of itself destroy the 
 debt; so money never draws interest. It is the obliga- 
 tion that draws usury and not the money. For money 
 can only exist by the fiat of staple government, having 
 two essential qualities; one is a government stamp, the 
 other, a legal tender quality, its fixed denomination 
 given it by law as a medium of exchange of the value 
 of labor or property. Whether the price is high or 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 low, money will make the exchange correct, but never 
 measures value or increases in its denomination by the 
 fluctuation of prices, of labor or product, and no gov- 
 ernment will allow any individual or corporation to 
 add too or take from the figures fixed upon govern- 
 ment money. And as governments develope their 
 commerce and increase in prosperity and population, 
 more money is required to do a general cash business, 
 but it is claimed, by the representatives of various pri- 
 vate credit systems, that America has all the full legal 
 tender money it needs, and that no American has any 
 reason to complain of money being scarce. 
 
 If thi<? be true, why is the producer's farms mort- 
 gaged, and one-half of the consumers living in tena- 
 ment houses? And why is the remainder of consum- 
 ers forced to pay interest on nearly every article of 
 life on account of credit systems, called trusts, being 
 formed to handle our commerce? And why does 
 bankers stock increase in value so much faster than 
 real estate; and why does the American laborer have 
 so small a pittance after paying the prices or expense 
 of their living; and why does the producer and consum- 
 er have to pay interest on 28 000,000,000 of credit? As 
 is given in the following statement, the combined cap- 
 ital stock of the railway systems is given in the 
 eleventh statistical report of the United States Com- 
 merce Commission, for 1898 and from the summaries 
 in this report the figures below are taken. 
 
 The amount of railway capital outstanding on June 
 30, i8q8, was $10,818,554,031 of credit. The amount of 
 capital which existed in the form of stocks was $5,388,- 
 268331, of which $4,269,271,714 was common stock and 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 $1,118,996,607 was prefered stock. The amount which 
 existed in the form of funded debt was $5, 430,285,710 
 comprising mortgage bonds. Then from a table care- 
 fully prepared, giving a list of 551 principal trusts in 
 this country, which figures are as nearly correct as can 
 be obtained, which makes their total amount $9,551,- 
 184,959; $7,318,844,000 of common stock;'52,282,340,95o 
 prefered stock. Then the national bank trust, accord- 
 ing to the report of the comptroller of currency, have 
 loaned $2,496,751,251; $1,063,701,130, being secured by 
 stocks and bonds; $525,940,817, being secured by two 
 name paper, the balance of the loan being secured by 
 one name paper. 
 
 The amount loaned by state banks, as near as can 
 be obtained, is $1,810,607,221; the loans of trust com- 
 panies and building and loan associations and by pri- 
 vate individuals on real estate and buildings is $3,419,- 
 280,035. All those credit systems added up makes 
 $28,096,377,488 for the American people to pay inter- 
 est on, which at 5 per cent, per annum, amounts to 
 $1,404,808,834 each year. Yet the principal remains 
 unpaid, making the per capita debt of the American 
 people $374 the yearly interest at 5 per cent, per cap- 
 ita, being $18; this not including the National debt, 
 which will be better understood by giving the finan- 
 cial bill as it became a law, March 14, 1900. 
 
 "That the dollar consisting of 25 8-10 grains of 
 gold, nine tenths fine, as established by section 3,511 
 of the revised statutes of the United States, shall be 
 the standard unit of value, and all forms of money is- 
 sued or coined by the United Stated shall be 
 maintained at a parity of value with this standard, and 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 it shall be the duty of the secretary of the treasury to 
 maintain such parity. 
 
 REDEEMED IN GOLD COIN. 
 
 ^'Section 2. That United States notes and treasury 
 notes issued under the act of July 14, 1890, when pre- 
 sented to the treasury for redemption shall be re- 
 deemed in gold coin of the standard fixed in the first 
 section of this act, and in order to secure the prompt 
 and certain redemption of such notes as herein pro- 
 vided it shall be the duty of the secretary of the 
 treasury to set apart in the treasury a reserve fund of 
 $150,000,000 in gold coin and bullion, which fund shall 
 be used for such redemption purposes only, and when- 
 ever and as often as any of said notes shall be re- 
 deemed from said fund it shall be the duty of the 
 secretary of the treasury to use said notes so redeemed 
 to restore and maintain such reserve fund in the man- 
 ner following — towit: 
 
 "i. By exchanging the notes so redeemed for any 
 gold coin in the general fund of the treasury. 
 
 "2. By accepting deposits of gold coin at the 
 treasury or at any sub-treasury in exchange for the 
 United States notes so redeemed. 
 
 "3. By procuring gold coin by the use of said 
 notes in accordance with the provisions of section 3,700 
 of the revised statutes of the United States. 
 
 TO MAINTAIN A RESERVE FUND. 
 
 "If the secretary of the treasury is unable to restore 
 and maintain the gold coin in the reserve fund by the 
 foregoing methods and the amount of such gold coin 
 and bullion in said fund shall at any time fall below 
 $100,000,000, then it shall be his duty to restore the 
 
4. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 same to the maximum sum of $150,000,000 by borrow- 
 ing money on the credit of the United States, and for 
 the debt thus incurred to issue and sell coupon or reg- 
 istered bonds of the United States in such form as he 
 may prescribe in denominations of $50 or any multiple 
 thereof, bearing interest at the rate of not exceeding 3 
 per centum per annum, payable quarterly, such 
 bonds to be payable at the pleasure of the United States 
 after one year from the date of their issue, and to be 
 payable, principal and interest, in gold coin of the pres- 
 ent standard value, and to be exempt from the pay- 
 ment of all taxes or duties of the United States, as well 
 as from taxation in any form by or under state, muni- 
 cipal or local authority; and the gold coin received 
 from the sale of said bonds shall first be covered into 
 the general fund of the treasury and then exchanged, 
 in the manner herein befoer provided, for an equal 
 amount of the notes redeemed and held for exchange, 
 
 NOTES EXCHANGED FOR GOLD. 
 
 "The secretary of the treasury may, in his discre- 
 tion, use said notes in exchange for gold, or to purchase 
 or redeem any bonds of the United States, or for any 
 other lawful purpose the public interests may require, 
 except that they shall not be used to meet any defi- 
 ciencies in the current, revenues. That United States 
 notes when redeemed in accordance with the provisions 
 of this section shall not be reissued, but shall be held in 
 the reserve fund until exchanged for gold, as herein 
 provided; and the gold coin and bullion in the reserve 
 fund, together with the redeemed notes held for use as 
 provided in this section, shall at no time exceed the 
 maximum sum of $150,000,000. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 SILVER DOLLAR NOT AFFECTED. 
 
 "Sec 3. That nothing contained in this act shall 
 be construed to affect the legal tender quality as now 
 provided by law of the silver dollar or any other money 
 coined or issued by the United States." 
 
 Section 4 provides for the keeping of the separate 
 funds in the treasury department, the division of issue 
 and the division of redemption being distinctly main- 
 tained, and no money from either being used for any 
 purpose other than that for which it is intended. Sec- 
 tion 5 is as follows: 
 
 "That it shall be the duty of the secretary of the 
 treasury as fast as standard silver dollars are coined 
 under the provisions of the acts of July 14, 1890, and 
 June 13, 1898, from bullion purchased under the acts of 
 July 14, 1890, to retire and cancel an equal amount of 
 treasury notes whenever received into the treasury, 
 either by exchange in accordance with the provisions 
 of this act or in the ordinary course of business, and 
 upon the cancellation of treasury notes silver certifi- 
 cates shall be issued against the silver dollars so coined. 
 
 DEPOSITS OF GOLD COIN. 
 
 "Sec. 6. That the secretary of the treasury is 
 hereby authorized and directed to receive deposits of 
 gold coin with the treasurer or any assistant treasurer 
 of the United States in sums of not less than $20, and 
 to issue gold certificates therefore in denominations of 
 not less than $20, and the coin so deposited shall be 
 retained in the treasury and held for the payment of 
 such certificates on demand, and used for no other pur- 
 pose. 
 
6. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 "Such certificates shall be receivable for customs, 
 taxes and all public dues, and when received may 
 be reissued, and when held by any national bank- 
 ing association may be counted as a part of its 
 lawful reserve; provided, that whenever and so long as 
 the gold coin held in the reserve fund in the treasury 
 for the redemption of United States notes and treasury 
 notes shall fall and remain below $100,000 000 the 
 authority to issue certificates as herein provided shall 
 be suspended; and provided further, that whenever 
 and so long as the aggregate amount of United States 
 notes and silver certificates in the general fund of the 
 treasury shall exceed $60,000 the secretary of the treas- 
 ury may, in his discretion suspend the issue of the cer- 
 tificates herein provided for; and provided further, that 
 of the amount of such outstanding certificates one- 
 fourth at least shall be in denominations of $50 or less; 
 and provided further that the secretary of the treasury 
 may in his discretion, issue such certificates in denom- 
 inations of $10,000, payable to order. And section 
 5193 of the revised statutes of the United States is 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 LIMITS OF SILVER CERTIFICATES. 
 
 "Sec. 7. That hereafter silver certificates shall be 
 issued only of denominations of $10 and under, except 
 that not exceeding in the aggregate 10 per centum of 
 the total volume of said certificates, in the discretion 
 of the secretary of the treasury, may be issued in de- 
 nominations of $20, $50 and $100; and silver certificates 
 of higher denomination than $10; except as herein 
 provided, shall whenever received at the treasury or 
 redeemed be retired and canceled and certificates of 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 denominations of $io or less shall be substituted there- 
 for, and after such substitution, in whole or in part, a 
 like volume of United States notes of less denomina- 
 tion than $io shall from time to time be retired and 
 canceled, and notes of denominations of $io and up- 
 ward shall be reissued in substitution therefor, with 
 like qualities and restrictions as those retired and 
 canceled. 
 
 That Section 5138 of the revised statutes is hereby 
 amended so as to read as follows: 
 
 " *No association shall be organized with a 
 less capital than $ioo,coo, except that banks with a 
 capital of not less than $50,000 may, with the approval 
 of the secretary of the treasury, be organized in any 
 place, the population of which does not exceed 6,coo 
 inhabitants, and except that banks with a capital of not 
 less than $25,000 may, with the sanction of the secre- 
 tary of the treasury, be organized in any place, the 
 population of which does not exceed 3,000 inhabitants. 
 No association shall be organized in a city, the popu- 
 lation of which exceeds 50,000 persons with a capital of 
 less than $200,000.' 
 
 RECEIVING OUTSTANDING BONDS, 
 
 Sec. II. That the secretary of the treasury is 
 hereby authorized to receive at the treasury any of 
 the outstanding bonds of the United States^ bearing 
 interest at 5 per centum per annum, payable Feb. i, 
 1904, and any bonds of the United States bearing in- 
 terest at 4 per centum per annum, payable July i, 1907, 
 and any bonds of the United States bearing interest 
 at 3 per centum per annum, payable Aug. i, 1908, and 
 to issue in exchange therefor an equal amount of 
 
8. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 coupon or registered bonds of the United States in 
 such form as he may prescribe in denominations of $50 
 or any multiple thereof, bearing interest at the rate of 
 2 per centum per annum^ payable quarterly, 
 
 "Such bonds are to be payable at the pleasure of 
 the United States after thirty years from the date of 
 their issue, and said bonds are to be payable, principal 
 and interest, in gold coin of the present standard value 
 and to be exempt from the payment of all taxes or 
 duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in 
 any form by or under state, municipal or local author- 
 ity ; provided, that such outstanding bonds may be re- 
 ceived in exchange at a valuation not greater than 
 their present worth to yield an income oi 2% per cen- 
 um per annum; and in consideration of the reduction 
 of interest effected the secretary of the treasury is 
 authorized to pay to the holders of the outstanding 
 bonds surrendered for exchange, out of any money in 
 the treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum not 
 greater than the difference between their present 
 worth, computed as aforesaid, and their par value, and 
 the payments to be made hereunder shall be held to 
 the payments on account of the sinking fund created 
 by section 3694 of the revised statutes; and, provided 
 further, that the 2 per centum bonds to be issued 
 under the provisions of this act shall be issued at not 
 less than par, and they shall be numbered consecutive- 
 ly in the order of their issue, and when payment is 
 made the last numbers issued shall be first paid, and 
 this order shall be followed until all the bonds are paid 
 and whenever any of the outstanding bonds are called 
 for payment interest thereon shall cease three months 
 
irsuRY vs. CASii a:nd christ. " ^, 
 
 after such call; and there is thereby appropriated out 
 of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropri- 
 ated, to effect the exchanges of bonds provided for in 
 this act, a sum not exceeding one-fifteenth of ~i per 
 centum of the face value of said bonds, to pay the^ex- 
 pense of preparing and issuing the same and other 
 expenses incident thereto. 
 
 MONEY FOR NATIONAL BANKS. 
 
 Sec. 12. That upon th€ deposit with the treasurer 
 of the United States, by any national batiking associa- 
 tion, of any bonds of the United States in the manner 
 provided by existing law, such association shall be en- 
 titled to receive from the comptroller of the currency 
 circulation notes in blank, registered and countersign- 
 ed as provided by law, equal in amount to the par 
 value of the bonds so deposited. 
 
 "Any national banking association nbW having 
 bonds on deposit for the security of circulating notes, 
 Sand upon which an amount of circulating notes has 
 been issued less than the par value of the bonds, shall 
 be entitled, upon due application to the comptroller of 
 the currency to receive additional circulating notes in 
 blank to an amount which will increase the circulating 
 notes held by such association to the par value of the 
 bonds deposited, such additional notes to be held and 
 treated in the same way as circulating notes of national 
 banking associations heretofore issued, and subject to 
 all the provisions of law affecting such notes: Provided 
 that nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
 modify or repeal the provisions of section 5167 of the 
 revised statutes of the United States, authorizing the 
 comptroller of the currency to require additional de- 
 
30. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 posits of bonds or of lawful money in case the market 
 value of the bonds held to secure the circulating notes 
 shall fall below the par value of the circulating notes 
 outstanding for which such bonds may be deposited as 
 security; and provided further, that the circulating 
 notes furnished to national banking associations under 
 the provisions of this act shall be of the denominations 
 prescribed by law, except that no national banking as- 
 sociation shall, aftei" the passage of this act, be entitled 
 to receive from the comptroller of the currency, or to 
 issue or reissue or place in circulation more than one- 
 hird in amount of its circulating notes of the denomin- 
 ation of $5; and provided further that the total amount 
 if such notes issued to any such association may equal 
 at any time, but shall not exceed the amount at such 
 time of its capital stock actually paid in ; and provided 
 further, that under regulations to be prescribed by the 
 secretary of the treasury any national banking associa- 
 tion may substitute the 2 per centum bonds issued 
 under the provisions of this act for any of the bonds 
 deposited with the treasurer to secure circulation or to 
 secure deposits of public money; and so much of an 
 act entitled *An act to enable national banking associa- 
 tions to extend their corporate existence, and for other 
 purposes/ approved July 12, 1882, as prohibits any 
 national bank which makes any deposit of lawful 
 money in order to withdraw its circulating notes from 
 receiving any increase of its circulation for the period 
 of six months from the time it made such deposit of 
 lawful money for the purpose aforesaid, is hereby re- 
 pealed, and all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent 
 with the provisions of this section|are hereby repealed. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST'. II. 
 
 Could the grold trust have accomplished a greater 
 victory for private credit than has been accomplished 
 by the majority of this present congress in passing this 
 financial bill, more faithful servants to the gold trust 
 could not have been found. Certainly the lords of 
 usury will say to them, as did the nobleman spoken 
 of in the parable of Jesus, where he said, well done, 
 thou good and faithful servant to your masters of the 
 great credit system. You shall be promoted for reap- 
 ing whit others have sown and taking what others h've 
 laid down. For you have decreed for the American 
 people to pay three times as much gold as they have 
 in circulation. We will help you to rule and reign over 
 them and as the lord of usury said of old, anvone who 
 refuses to practice usury let him be slain. So say we, 
 all who refuse to practice the private credit s\ stems we 
 will help you to destroy, for you have highly favored 
 us by making gold the standard of value and retiring 
 treasury and United States notes to the amount of four 
 hundred million dollars, that drew no interest and is- 
 suing 3 per cent, gold bonds that can not be paid in 
 any other kind of money except gold coin which will 
 give us the lords of usury $12,000,000 per annum fcr 
 interest in gold. 
 
 Then you have decreed for the government to pay 
 us in gold the funded loans, which are due 1904 and 
 1907 and 1908, which amounts to $676,018,300, the 
 funded loans drawing 2 percent, interest per annum 
 which you have agreed to extend 30 years will give us 
 $405,640,980 interes t This interest and principal 
 added to the 400,000,000, to redeem the legal tender 
 notes, will amount to $1,481,629,280 and we know if 
 
1 2. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 vou stay in power, we will get interest in gold for 
 thirty years on the 400,000,000, which was used for the 
 rc^demption of legal tender notes. This being added 
 to the principal would amount to $625,296,018, which 
 will make us a contract for $1,917,616,516 in gold, this 
 not including the funded loan of IQ25, which amounts 
 to $162,315,400 principal, which draws 4 per cent, in- 
 terest and will double the amount of principal in 
 twenty-five years, which will amount to $324 730,800. 
 
 There is yet the ten twenties, which amount; to 
 $198,678,728 at 3 percent annual interest, which was 
 contracted June 13, 1898, the interest amounting 
 at final maturing to $101,886,498, the total amount 
 being $2,542,914,578 in gola, which by your decree and 
 custom will give us, the lords of usury, and this will 
 require $60,000,000 eich year, for the next thirty years 
 in addition to the amount now in circulation, which is 
 $734716,728. Of course the minority of this congress 
 objects to our lordship and say we are an austere man 
 and hard masters, and accuse us of reaping all the 
 American people have sown. 
 
 Bjt did not the minority object to the lordship 
 of our father of u ury, of old? The hard master 
 spoken of in the scripture, but what answer made our 
 Father to them? Did he not say that unto every one 
 which hath, shall be given, and to him that hath not 
 even that he hath shall be taken away from him? 
 And did not our father of usury say to those who stood 
 by, that they should take from such as had one pound, 
 and give to him that had ten? Christ did not claim 
 this usury kingdom but simply explained to the 
 people what such a kingdom was like. We find by 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 1 3. 
 
 reading carefully the history of the lords of usury of 
 old, that their success depended upon them getting 
 two to one willing to take from him that had not, and 
 give to him that had abundance. It was also essential 
 to have the help of them that stood by, to carry out the 
 nobleman's cecree. So it yet remains to be seen what 
 the 75,000,000 of American people that are standing by 
 will do. Whether they will ref ase to enforce the decrees 
 of the gold trust or continue slaves to this hard master. 
 
 And in addition to the special fdvor conferred on the 
 great gold trust, the maj ^rity of this present congress 
 has turned the issuing of the currency over to the nation- 
 al banks according to the statement of the comptroller 
 of the currency, their Issue of bank notes amounting 
 to $242,952,701. He further states their loans amount to 
 $2,496,751,251. S 3 you can see the national banks are 
 drawing interest on $io for every one issued them by 
 the government. Yet this is not all, the government 
 has been paying them four and five percent per annum 
 on the government bonds deposited to secure the re- 
 derAption of issue, but since the bill passed, March 14, 
 IQOO. wi I pay them two per cent per annum, in gold 
 com. Can the American people depend on the national 
 banks for sufficient currency for a cash basis? Let us 
 look at their past history. In the month of November, 
 1899, the treasurer of the United States makes a state- 
 ment which I will give: 
 
 Washington, D. C, Nov. 19 — In his annual report 
 Ellis H. Roberts, treasurer of the United States, will 
 discuss in an able and interesting manner the urgent 
 calls for more money and currency of small denomina- 
 
14. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 tions that have been addressed to the treasury more 
 frequently than ever during the last year. 
 
 "These demands could not be complied with," he 
 says, "because of statutory limitations. The treasury 
 in this as in previous seasons has striven to the utmost 
 to meet the demands for currency for moving the 
 crops and for general business. It has exhausted all 
 it resources and these ought not to be increased by 
 more government issues. The national banks must 
 solve the problem of adding to the volume of currency. 
 Thus far the concentration of opinion in favor of any 
 radical change in our baiiking system has not been of 
 such force to compel legislation. The question 
 presses with a growing force and invites to serious con- 
 sideration. 
 
 "No criticism of the officers of these institutions 
 is intended," says Mr. Roberts. "The friction has 
 been due to casting a burden on the treasury 
 which does not belong there. The natural avenue of 
 relief is through the national banks. The existing 
 national banks of the United States have the right 
 under their charters to add $345,020,413 to their cir- 
 culation. Thus the need of small currency is not met. 
 If a few states and two great cities are taken for illus- 
 tration, the national banks were entitled to add to their 
 outstanding notes these vast sums: New York state, 
 $41,702,200; Illinois, $9,TQ2,68o; Ohio, $23690.020; 
 Pennsylvania, $37,682,130; New York City, $29,181,680; 
 Chicago, $15,925,700. The aggregate capital stock of 
 these banks was $209,357,413, and circulation was $81,- 
 
 164.903- 
 "In Chicago, as a great center of trade and finance, 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 1 5. 
 
 the requirement for currency is on the broadest scale; 
 yet the national banks of that city have a right under 
 their charters to put out $15,925,700 additional circula- 
 tion. For itself and its correspondents. New York has 
 very often sought for more paper, while its national 
 banks have the legal power to add $29,181,680 to their 
 circulation at once. The assertion is loud and persistent 
 that the western states are suffering by reason of the 
 lack of currency. At the same time in these states, in- 
 cluding the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, 
 Wyoming, Colorado, and the territories of New Mex- 
 ico, Oklahoma and the Indian territory, the national 
 banks could under the law issue additional notes to the 
 amount of $18,285,245." 
 
 ' The majority of this congress having these plain 
 faces before them, they have decreed that the Ameri- 
 can people shall pay the gold trust three times as 
 much gold as they have in circulation to pay it with. 
 And have decided that national banks shall dictate, in- 
 stead of congress, the amount of currency the Ameri- 
 can people shall have. The following figures give the 
 total amount and kind of money we have in circulation 
 minus United States and treasury notes that are to be 
 redeemed in gold coin. In gold coin we have in circu- 
 lation, $702,063,459; in gold certificates, $32,656,269; 
 silver coin, $63,381,751; silver certificates, $401,869,343; 
 subsidary silver, $70,675 ;692; currency certificates, 
 $20,855,000; national banknotes, $242,952,701. 
 
 Some of my readers may be flattering themselves 
 that, since they do not borrow money on a note of 
 hand, they are paying no interest. Let me undeceive 
 you. This is an agricultural country. The farmer 
 sells his wheat to the dealer and gets his money, or 
 possibly only bank notes, but in either case the deal- 
 
1 6. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 er's note is in bank for it, and he must cut the price lo 
 per cent., or he will soon go out of business. The 
 miller buys it and he must cut lo per cent,; the baker 
 buys and makes it into the five cent loaf which is made 
 small enough to pay the interest all the way round. 
 And so at last the consumer pays the interest or usury. 
 It is just the same with all the other products, till one- 
 half the price of the 5 cent calico is usury; one-half the 
 the coj:t of the farm machinery and railroad machinery 
 the rolling stock and even a part of the road bed is in- 
 terest. The consumer in the end pays the whole. All 
 classes and conditions of society are subject to its ra- 
 pacious demands. 
 
 'Usury levies tribute upon the infant in the cradle 
 and never, throughout the life of this human being, 
 does it cease to draw tribute from it each instant of 
 time, and when in old ag-^, it siclsens unto death, ihis 
 monster claims a portion of the medicine used to a'ldy 
 the pangs of dissolution. This monster demon of 
 Usury constantly gathers of labor each moment of time 
 from EVERYTHING that has value. 
 
 V^hile you in response to the demmds of tired na- 
 ture, seek rest when night comes, you cease from labor 
 one day in seven, this unholy, worse than pagan, di- 
 viding and concentrating comunist — Usury — goes on 
 and on, day and night, in fair weather and in foul, in 
 summer and winter, week-day and Sunday, in prosper- 
 ity and adversity, in health and in sickness, unceasing- 
 Iv gathering the increment of labor. The father digs 
 and delves and dies, but his earnings forever flow into 
 the usurer's coffers. The mother toils and totters to 
 the tomb in her efforts to sive her child from the 
 usurer's grasp. The usurer cares naught for the 
 troubles of others; their distress cannot move him; 
 their anguish cannot touch him, He takes delight in 
 those practices that are an abhorence to upright men. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 1 7. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Experience has proven that all the nations of the 
 earth can't pay one per cent, upon all the monetized 
 money in existence; viz: gold and silver, without it ab- 
 sorbing all the property of the earth. 
 
 Can it be that the law of custom, legalizing usury, 
 has been practiced so long it has corrupted the morals 
 of those at the head of national affairs in such a man- 
 ner that they have imbibed the credit system of slavery 
 to so great an extent it has so blinded their minds that 
 they under-rate its masterly power to subjugate and 
 force wage earners to accept slavery wages ? And to 
 dispossess all property owners, merchants and trades- 
 men of limited capital and turn them out of business 
 and house and home to suffer, wandering and tramping 
 about as gypsies? 
 
 And can it be possible that the many thousand 
 ministers of the various sects have overlooked the 
 .commandments that God gave Moses in regard to us- 
 ury? Also forbidding Isreal as a nation to borrow of 
 other nations, for they all practiced usury at that time? 
 And have they forgot reading that God strictly forbid 
 them taking usury of one another? You may have not 
 thought it worth while noticing, the laws given of God 
 to man, that nations might be free men and free holders. 
 
 Has not emperors, kings, presidents, governors, 
 members of parliament, senators arid men at the head 
 of governments came to your assemblies and listened 
 to what you had to say of that which is right for nations 
 to practice and what was not right? 
 
 Did you tell them plainly of the ruin that would 
 
1 8. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 follow if the credit system was practiced for usury? 
 Yon probably thought it was unnecessary, but by 
 neglecting to expose this great evil, it has become the 
 master of nations. Has the lords of the money credit 
 system blinded your eyes by their liberal contributions 
 so that you and your whole denomination failed to see 
 the credit ditch of slavery which the nations that re- 
 fuse to obey God have fallen into, whose fetters can't 
 be broken while the nations of the world legalize the 
 usury system of which Joseph of Egypt, the Hebrew, 
 was the first ruler who introduced national slavery and 
 credit system, which has since been practiced by all 
 nations except some of the Hebrew nations. 
 
 Joseph, in order to bind the credit system upon the 
 people, appreciated the value of Egyptian money, de- 
 preciated the value of corn and provisions, in so much 
 he was able to buy all the seven years of plenty, that 
 when the famine came he held a corner on provisions 
 which he sold at exorbitant prices. In this manner he 
 soon had the whole nation for his slaves and all their 
 property in the hands of private owners. They being 
 the king and the lords and the priests of Egypt. 
 
 Now, so much as the Hebrew race furnishes us 
 with the earliest history of national slavery and the 
 first nation that gave us a leader and ^ law giver that 
 forbid national slavery and gave a law for the protec- 
 tion of life, labor and property and made provisions for 
 the poor, that they could not be robbed of the ir homes, 
 and forbid the sale of land for private manipulation, 
 and further, so much as from the Hebrew race came 
 Jesus, the highest type of godliness ever manifested in 
 the form of man, as a teacher in righteousness and of 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. IQ. 
 
 the way of salvation of all mankind and notions from 
 sin and slavery. We will call to mind what has been the 
 history of some nations under the curse of credit slav- 
 ery from the introduction of national slavery in Egypt 
 until the present lime. In this I will try and be as 
 brief as possible that we may come direct to our pres- 
 ent condition, which only differs from the history of 
 Egypt in name as far as bondage is concerned. 
 
 In Egypt it was credit and priest craft slavery. In 
 all our nations now it is credit and creed craft slavery. 
 Who has caused this state of affairs ? The answer is, 
 we have got more credit than cash and more creeds 
 than Christ. The reason I give for saying we have 
 more credit than cash, I shall attempt to prove that 
 the credit system in America alone is no less than 
 twenty billion of dollars credit^ that the laboring classes 
 have to pay of principle, and in addition they have to 
 pay twelve hundred millions of dollars usury an- 
 nually, and not allowed more than one billion five 
 hundred million to pay it with of monetized cash. You 
 must remember all trusts or credit systems that are in- 
 corporated are expected to pay at least five per cent, 
 capital stock and a big salary to its chief officer and a 
 low price to the remainder of its common laborers, 
 after a dividend is declared in profits, all of which they 
 collect cash off of their patrons. 
 
 Now, my reason for saying we have more creed 
 craft than Christ is, we have several hundred creeds 
 and only one Christ and many creeds will no more 
 carry one's soul to Christ than a lot of debts and credits 
 will furnish a nation a system of cash. 
 
 Some one will probably say that you are opposed 
 
20. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 to capital and wanting to deepen the wound that already 
 exists between capital and labor. While that statement 
 is often made it certainly is a mistake. Labor and true 
 national capital are good friends and labor would be 
 glad if our nation would increase its capital stock in 
 legal tender money capital sufficient to go to a cash 
 basis. But this, private incorporated credit systems 
 oppose, and the real battle is between the private in- 
 corporated credit systems of usury of the whole world 
 and the entire laboring and producing class and all 
 nations. 
 
 Now, as much as Joseph was the first ruler that 
 practiced national slavery, it is necessary to use Bible 
 history and we will commence with his history at the 
 time he was sold as a slave. 
 
 While a child he was quite a favorite with his 
 father. When quite young he dreamed two dreams, 
 which he told his brethern, which made them jealous 
 and caused them to hate him in so much they watched 
 their chance when he was away from his father and 
 sold him for twenty pieces of silver, to some slave 
 merchants, who sold him again as a slave in Egypt. 
 Afterward his master's mistress conspired against him 
 and caused him to be put in prison for two years. It 
 seems this part of Joseph's liife has so touched the sym- 
 pathy of all generations that they have failed to see 
 the great evil of the rest of his life and millions of par- 
 ents have named one of their sons Joseph. Now, while 
 he was in prison some of the prisoners dreamed a 
 dream which he interpretated and his interpretations 
 proved to be true and when the prisoner who had 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 21. 
 
 dreamed the dream was liberated he was restored to 
 the stewardship by Pharaoh. 
 
 Atter which Phoraoh dreamed a dream and found 
 none of his wise men could interpret it. Then the 
 Stewart told him of Joseph's interpretation of his dream 
 and Pharaoh then sent for Joseph and told him what 
 he saw in the two dreams while standing by the river. 
 And behold, there came up out of the river seven well- 
 favored cattle and fat-fleshed, and they fed in a mea- 
 dow, and behold, seven other cattle came up after them 
 out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood 
 by the other cattle upon the brink of the river; and 
 the ill-favored and lean-fleshed cattle did eat the seven 
 well-favored and fat-fleshed cattle. And when they 
 had eaten them, it could not be known, that they had 
 eaten them, but they were still ill-favored. Then again I 
 dreamed, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, 
 full and good And behold, seven ears withered, thin 
 and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 
 
 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven good 
 ears. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, the dream is one 
 in which God has shown Paraoh what he is about to do. 
 Behold, there came seven years of great plenty 
 throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise 
 after them, seven years of famine and all the plenty 
 shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine 
 shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be 
 known in the land by reason of the famine following, 
 for it shall be grevious. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh 
 look out a man discreet and wise and set him over the 
 land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this and let him ap- 
 point officers over the land and let them gather all the 
 
22. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 food of those good years that come and lay up corn 
 under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in 
 the cities and that food shall be for store to the land 
 against the seven years of famine which shall be in 
 the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish through 
 the famine. 
 
 And Pharaoh said, as much as God hath shewed 
 thee all this, there is none so wise and discreet as 
 thou art. Thou shalt be over my bouse and according 
 unto thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only on 
 the throne bhall I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh 
 said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee over all the land 
 of Egypt, and Pharaoh took off the ring from his hand 
 and put it upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vest- 
 ures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. 
 And he made him ride in the second chariot which he 
 had. And they cried before him, bow the knee, and he 
 made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Par- 
 aoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh and without thee 
 shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of 
 Egypt. 
 
 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought 
 forth by hand-fulls, and Joseph gathered up all the 
 food of the seven years which were in the land of 
 Egypt and laid up the food in the cities. The food of 
 the field which was around about every city laid he up 
 in th,3 same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of 
 the sea — very much— until he left off numbering, for it 
 was without number. Now, after the seven good 
 years had expired, there was no bread in all the land, 
 for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt 
 and all the land Canaan fainted by reason of the fam- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 2$, 
 
 ine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was 
 found in the land of E^gypt and in the land of Canaan 
 for the corn which they bought. And Joseph brought 
 the money into Pharaoh's house and when money 
 failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan 
 all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said give us 
 bread for why should we die in thy presence, for 
 the money faileth? 
 
 And Joseph said, give your cattle and I will give 
 you bread, if money fail. And they brought their 
 cattle unto Joseph and Joseph gave them bread in ex- 
 change for horses and for flocks and for cattle of the 
 herds and for the asses and he fed them with bread for 
 ail that year. When that year was ended they came 
 unto him the third year and said unto him, we will not 
 hide it from my Lord how that our money is spent, my 
 Lord also hath our herds of cattle, there is naught left 
 in the sight of my Lord but our bodies and our lands. 
 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and 
 our land? Buy us and our land for bread and we and 
 our land will be servants unto Pharaoh and give us 
 seed that we may live and not die. That the land may 
 not be desolate. 
 
 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharoah 
 for the Egyptians sold ever man his field because fam- 
 ine prevailed over them so the land became Pharaoh's. 
 And as for the people, Joseph removed them to cities 
 from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other 
 end thereof. Only the land of the priests took he 
 not, for the priests had a portion assured them 
 of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharoah 
 gave them. Wherefore they sold not their lands. 
 
24- USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Then Joseph said unto the people, behold I bought you 
 this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo! here is seed 
 and ye shall sow the land and it shall come to pass in 
 the increase, that ye sh^ll give the fifth part to Phar- 
 oah. And Joseph made it a law over the land of 
 E^vpt, unto this day that Pharaoh should have the 
 fifth part except the land of the priests, only which be- 
 came not Pharaoh's. 
 
 Now history don't state the amount Joseph paid for 
 the corn and food, yet it must have been purchased at 
 very low prices, for history doesn't speak of Joseph 
 being troubled with any scarcity of money when he 
 purchased the grain, for th's he must h ive done, for the 
 scripture plainly states that the land before the famine 
 was owned by the masses. That every man had a 
 field and farther states they were ftee men and owned 
 horses, cattle, flocks and asses. From history it seems 
 when the famine first bfgan they must have had at 
 least twice as much in money as they possessed in 
 stock. This must have been all the money paid them 
 by Joseph during the seven years of plenty, for it 
 stated Joseph fed them one year for their stock and 
 the othen- four years for their bodies for slaves and 
 their land as they said to serve as a slave forever. 
 
 Has history, either profane or christian, ever found 
 a ruler more covetous and unmerciful than was Joseph 
 to those helpless people, even those whose hands had 
 sowed, planted and tended, reaped, threshed and 
 gathered in store that which God had caused to grow 
 that all might be fed. 
 
 Joseph had been given full authority and he ad- 
 vised Pharoah to appoint a wise and discreet man 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 25. 
 
 to look after the interests of the people that they 
 might be cared for during the seven years of plenty 
 and lay up in store plenty that the land should not 
 suffer. When the famine came, the covetous nature of 
 Joseph proved to be as hard to satisfy as was the fam- 
 ine. In the first place there was no reason why he 
 should have charged such prices for grain that he got 
 all the money of the people of Egypt and all the money 
 of Canaan, his native land, and that too was of his 
 father and brothers for what grain it took to keep them 
 for only two years. He charged them as much for two 
 ephohs of grain as he paid them for seven. 
 
 He certainly was a chip off the old block. Yes, 
 even more; he must have had some of the timber of 
 the mother of the old block, or in other words, he had 
 inherited the covetous nature of his father and the de- 
 ceptive nature of his grand-mother. His father one 
 time met Joseph's uncle, Esaw, when he was tired from 
 hard labor in the field and faint with hunger, coming 
 in from the field. Jacob had a morsel of meat and 
 some hot pottage which Esaw asked him for. but young 
 Jacob refused, but offered to sell the morsel, not for 
 what it was worth, but demanded the enormous price 
 of Esaw's birthright, the birthright being equal to all 
 of their father's possessions. Now, Esaw was very faint 
 and ne^r to die and to save his life he sold his birth- 
 right. But Jacob was not satisfied with just his brother's 
 birthright, which he had bought for much less than it 
 was worth, but he and Joseph's grandmother, through 
 false pretense and deception and lying, suceeded in 
 stealing his Uncle Esaw's blessing, which crime g-^ve 
 his father such a guilty conscience he fled from the face 
 
26. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 of his brother Esaw and went to the house of Joseph's 
 great uncle and married two of his daughters, one of 
 which was Joseph's mother and Joseph's father went 
 into partnership with Joseph's grand-father in the cat- 
 tle business. 
 
 Jacob secretly discovered that by peeling hazel 
 and poplar poles and placing them in the watering 
 troughs would cause the offspring of the cattle to be 
 ring streaked and striped and spotted in color. He 
 then went to Joseph's grandfather, who had changed 
 his wages ten times. Jacob proposed to take the ring 
 streaked, striped, speckled and spotted cattle all out 
 from among the catt)e and just leave such as was with- 
 out white remain. Then from the offspring of those 
 of solid dark colors he would take the speckled, spot- 
 ted, streaked and striped for his portion, which Laban 
 agreed to; which contract soon made Jacob rich and 
 Laban poor. 
 
 So we see Joseph's ancestors were covetous and 
 desired to be lord over their brethern and to have them 
 bow down to them. Even wanted nations to bow to 
 them and people to serve them. This is brought out 
 by Joseph's grandfather's prayer when asking God to 
 bless Jacob. Joseph showed his father's love for cat- 
 tle, when he had got every penny both Egypt and 
 Canaan had in the first two years for just bread enough 
 to keep them alive and the poor, hungry people still 
 pleading for bread, yet trying to hide the fact from 
 Joseph that their money had failed. But Joseph covet- 
 ed their cattle and said, if your money has failed Iwill 
 feed you one more year for your horses, and your cat- 
 tle and your flocks and your asses. He seemed to be 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 27. 
 
 proud of the power instead of being ashamed to take 
 from all the families the last family horse and their 
 last mule and their last sheep and their last cow. 
 
 Imagine the children petting their family horse for 
 the last time, to see them led away to be traded for 
 bread, which their hands had gathered, that God had 
 caused to grow on their own. field, which they had been 
 forced to sell so cheap when Joseph bought it when 
 he made money so high. 
 
 But starvation forced the father to lead away the 
 horses though the whole family wept. He dare not 
 raise hand or foot contrary to Joseph's demands. Then 
 when the children found out that their lambs which 
 they had played with must all be taken to Joseph, then 
 they went to their flocks to caress their lambs for the 
 last time, never again to see them play. They too 
 would have to be taken to satisfy Joseph's covetous 
 nature. Then the children go with their mother the 
 last time to milk their own cows, and they too are 
 driven away at Joseph's demand to buy bread from 
 that covetous governor who cheated them out of the 
 food they had raised on their own field. But the worst 
 trial for the parents is yet to come. The children had 
 always been used to plenty of milk and for the mother 
 to hear them cry for what they have been cheated out 
 of by Hebrew covetousness. No one but a mother 
 who has heard their own children cry for milk can 
 really know how the Egyptian mothers must have felt 
 under such circumstances. 
 
 But the owners of fields soon began to see that 
 their governor was a hard master and cared nothing 
 for their welfare, but was highly, elated over getting all 
 
28. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 their money and personal property and to see them so 
 intimedated and humiliated; for that was just what 
 Joseph was glad to see, for his fine apparel and jewelry 
 and governorship seems to have made him very over- 
 bearing, proud and unmerciful to the helpless, for he 
 had now accomplished the two first steps that he deem- 
 ed necessary to rob all property owners of ever again 
 being able to till their fields, for he knew he had all 
 their money, horses, cattle, sheep, goats and asses, and 
 he knew that without them their land was worthless 
 to them. This, the most prosperous free holders must 
 have tried to hide from Joseph as long as possible. 
 But Joseph soon cut off their last hope of success in 
 this, for at the end of one year from the time they gave 
 up all personal property Joseph demanded more money 
 and stock and refused to farther give them food, and 
 gave them their choice, either to comply with his de- 
 mands or die. 
 
 It seems the people starved as long as possible, 
 trying to hide it from Joseph and hoping he would 
 finally have some mercy when they began to die right 
 in his presence. Joseph was as firm and unmerciful as 
 ever and all he would say was, give me more money or 
 stock. Finally the people were persuaded by some 
 one, I don't know who, to confess their helpless situa- 
 tion. It must have been some of Joseph's agents. It 
 might have been the priests, as they were especially 
 favored of Joseph. At last the people finally confessed 
 to Joseph that they had given him all their money and 
 everything they had on earth but their bodies and their 
 lands, and rather than die with starvation they sold 
 him their bodies for slaves and their land for bread. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 29» 
 
 One would have supposed that when they had 
 gave Joseph all they had and their bodies for slavery, 
 he, as a human being, would have been satisfied, but 
 he was so pleased to know that there was not left one 
 property owner of the thousands of prosperous free 
 holders in the once prosperous land of Egypt except 
 Pharaoh and himself and those Egyptian priests. His 
 own brothers were only sojourners in the land without 
 money, for he had took what they had and carried it 
 into Pharaoh's house. His actions were such his own 
 brothers feared him as a monster of death and for fear 
 of him when they would come in his presence they 
 would fall on their faces.but to cover up his vile covetous 
 nature he spared their live?. But he had not entirely 
 gratified his cruel nature toward the free holders of 
 Egypt, yet who he had robbed of all they had. 
 
 He seemed determined to crush out of their lives 
 all hope of being free men. He sent his officers and 
 compelled the held owners in north Egypt to be 
 taken to cities in the extreme south border of the land 
 and the field owners in the south he moved to cities in 
 the extreme north, and those of the west he moved 
 east and those in the east he moved to the extreme 
 west, Gen. 47. Then Joseph was finally satisfied when 
 heJiad taken the last comfort from the people and 
 torn them away from their homes. Severed from 
 every comfort, among strangers, having no hope ex- 
 cept eternal slavery. Was this sent upon the people 
 on account of God's displeasure with them, or that 
 God had gave life and homes and property to so many 
 people and had sent a famine on them in order to 
 
30. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 make them slaves, and have them from that time oh 
 look to some man for a living instead of God. 
 
 It seems not, for God warned the king, the head 
 of the nation, of the coming famine in a plain manner 
 and a convincing way. And then through mercy to 
 Joseph he gave him the interpretation and understand- 
 ing of just what God would do. This wisdom that God 
 gave Joseph gave him especial favor with the king and 
 raised him from the prison to the Governorship of all 
 Egypt. Then God sent enough grain and food in the 
 next seven years to feed all, both man and beast for 
 the next seven years of the famine. Pharaoh and 
 Joseph seeing an opportunity to rob the people, yielded 
 to the temptation and sowed the seed of who esale 
 slavery, that made the people of both these nations 
 slaves, which soon brought Egypt to naught. 
 
 And so far we have no account of God ever visiting 
 Joseph in a dream after he had used the wisdom God 
 had given him for robbery. But what he sowed his 
 offspring had to reap. The law he made in Egypt 
 finally made slaves of all Isreal, Joseph's children in- 
 cluded. And he cultivated the seed of covetousness and 
 lordship which he inherited from his father and grand- 
 mother to such an extent that it took such a deep root 
 in the Hebrew race it has been a curse to them and all 
 nations with whom they have had any dealings until 
 this day. While from this race there is excep- 
 tions to this rule, there having been some of the purest 
 men of God history has ever known in whose veins 
 flowed the Hebrew blood. Yet Joseph's governorship 
 and the laws of national slavery which he made fasten- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 3I. 
 
 ed all Isreal in cruel bondage at hard labor in the iron 
 furnaces of Egypt. 
 
 Yet God was merciful to Joseph and allowed him 
 to rule Egypt for eighty years and done all for the 
 poor, vain, evil, covetous man that he vas able to 
 receive, and called him away after he had run his race, 
 that He might show to the world the fruits of what this 
 vain man had done. Yet for four hundred and thirty 
 years, during the time the Children of Isreal were in 
 slavery, Joseph was the star of that dark time. The 
 Hebrews reasoned in this way: In the first place 
 Abraham had slaves. Isaac prayed to God that nat- 
 ions and people should serve Jacob, and Joseph had 
 been sold twice as a slave, which made a law of custom 
 of which Joseph was as willing to practice upon others 
 as they had been to practice on him. Which seemed 
 to be as high an idea of justice as the Hebrews were 
 able to practice. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Yet the time came that the Egyptians made the 
 labor of the Hebrews so hard and their burdens so 
 great that God gave a child borned of the tribe of 
 Levi, the spirit of liberty. 
 
 He was raised and educated by the king's daugh- 
 ter, but when he became of age he refused to be called 
 the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to 
 suffer affliction with his own people than to enjoy the 
 pleasure of sin for a season as Joseph did. One day 
 he saw one of the Egyptians abusing a Hebrew and he 
 slew him, for which he had to leave the country. For 
 forty years he resided in Midia among his relatives, 
 
32. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 they beingf descendants of Abraham by his wife, Ketura. 
 Moses found them quite different from his own people 
 who had been in bondage so long, both the scriptures 
 and profane history declaring the Midianites to have 
 been a liberty loving people 
 
 God speaking of this nation by the prophet Isiah 
 calls them his santified ones, and declared there was 
 men among them that regarded neither silver nor 
 gold. And in this nation was supposed to be the home 
 of Job. And from this nation came King Darius, the 
 liberator of Israel from the Chaldean's administration 
 and from Media came the wise men of the east who 
 saw the star when Christ was born. So among this 
 people lived Moses forty years, until God called and 
 sent him back to Egvpt to lead his own people out of 
 slavery of which the scripture gives a full history. 
 Moses was successful by the help of God in getting all 
 the children of Israel out of Egypt without either 
 money or sword, but he obeyed the word of God and 
 prayed for the liberty of all his people. Yet Moses 
 knew not what to pray for neither knew he how to 
 pray only as God directed him. 
 
 In the first place he was directed to go direct to 
 the Children of Isreal amd tell them he was sent to 
 them by the God of their fathers. And when they 
 aisked him what was the name of the God he rep- 
 resented he answered them, I Am is His name, the 
 Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the 
 God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me unto 
 you, and all the children believed. Then he went to 
 Pharaoh and said unto him, the Lord God of the 
 Hebrews has met with us and now let us go, we be- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. .33 
 
 seech thee, three days journey into the wilderness that 
 we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. And in what- 
 ever God directed Moses or Aaron to do, that they 
 done, and what they were directed to say, that they 
 said. 
 
 Now the Bible history is so familiar to every one 
 of the miracles of God in helping the children to es- 
 cape from the bondage that they had so long suffered 
 from, and of God overthrowing the host of Egyptians 
 that followed them. 
 
 Now, when they were safe from the masters who 
 had made them serve with rigor Moses told them of the 
 exceeding good land to which God was sending them, 
 which he had promised their fathers, but had gave the 
 Amorites of that land four hundred years to fulfill all 
 the time they were to possess that country in iniquity. 
 But God was now with the children of Israel in a cloud 
 by day and a pillar of fire by night. He gave them 
 daily bread to eat and good water to drink. And the 
 angel of God's presence was ever ready to guide them 
 onward to a free country. Now, as the people had per- 
 fect rest from their masters and enemies God called 
 Moses to himself in the mount and gave him nat'onal and 
 local and individual laws, such as would insure equal 
 rights to all the people and protection to both life and 
 property and protection for the poor. 
 
 Moses being absent from the people, they 
 soon became discouraged, for they had been slaves so 
 long and associated with a nation who had dispossessed 
 all its property owners and made them slaves, whom 
 they had been associated with for four hundred years, 
 with the exception of the priests who had always en- 
 
34. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 jo\ed special priveledges. Their priest craft seemed 
 to have led the people to superstition and gave them 
 more of a desire to worship idols and to be around the 
 flesh pots and to stuff themselves on leaks and to be 
 slaves, than to worship the true God and be free. 
 Now, it proved that gold was their chain more than 
 any other idol and they soon persuaded Aaron to make 
 them a god out of gold in the form of a calf. A very 
 popular form of a god among the Egyptian priests. 
 This act of Aaron's greatly pleased the poor old intimi- 
 dated, supersticious slaves, for they had been taught by 
 the priests of Egypt to reverence the golden idol. Thus 
 they were worshipping when Moses returned and broke 
 up the dance and destroyed their idol, after which 
 Moses gathered them together and read to them the 
 law that he had received of God. Saying the land 
 shall not be sold forever and in all the land of your 
 possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 
 If a brother be poor and have to sell his land, when he 
 gets able to redeem it, then let him count the years of 
 the sale thereof and the over plus to the man to whom 
 he sold it that he may redeem his possession, but if he 
 be not able to redeem it to him then that which is sold 
 shall remain in the hand of him which hath bought it 
 until the year of jubilee, it shall go "out and he shall re- 
 turn unto his possession, Levit. 26- 23 to 28. And if 
 thy brother be worn and poor and fallen in decay with 
 thee, then thou shalt relieve him, yea though he be a 
 stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with thee. 
 
 Take thou no usury of him or increase, but fear 
 thy God that thy brother may live with thee. Thou 
 shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 35- 
 
 thy victuals for increase. Then he read to them the 
 ten commandments and when they tried to look at 
 Moses when he read, his face was shining and his 
 words were more than they could bear, insomuch 
 Moses had to put a veil over his face for the people 
 were most all condemed for they were expecting to 
 practice in the new land every sin as was the custom 
 in Egypt, And such as expected to make a living in 
 the promised land by loaning money to their own 
 country men, were convicted and the one that was ex- 
 pecting toloan victuals on increase was disappointed 
 too. The speculators on provisions were greatly dis- 
 couraged for they said, are we greater than our father 
 Joseph, who made his fortune in increasing the price on 
 provisions when he had it all cornered, and they wanted 
 to go back to Egypt and from that time on was opposed 
 to going any farther with a people that would support 
 a law prohibiting gambling on victuals and drifted 
 away with the wanderers and complainers and grumb- 
 lers. Then there was another class expecting to deal 
 in chattel slavery, that was greatly discouraged by the 
 law of release ever seven years. Said they, such a law 
 will break up the slave industry, which made Joseph 
 famous in Egypt, which certainly was right for Joseph 
 himself was sold twice and he told his brothers it all 
 happened for their good. 
 
 Now, such as had the slave spirit seemed to be 
 entirely blind to liberty for all men and of course such 
 made a great deal of trouble for Moses and were 
 among the grumblers and refused to go up to the land 
 of freedom. Then there was another class who ex- 
 pected to make their fortunes out of real estate, but 
 
36. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 there was that law of Jubilee and another section in the 
 law, saying, the land is the Lord's and shall not be sold. 
 Now that was another law that gave the land grabbers 
 to understand the land was for the good of all and not 
 to be lorded over by man, but was for a permanent 
 homestead for free people; so that put the land specu- 
 lators to grumbling themselves to death, they having 
 no desire to live where they could not rob their fellow 
 men of their home. 
 
 It seemed their life in bondage working upon their 
 covetous natures inherited from their forefathers, had 
 so corrupted most all of them they were deficient in 
 honesty and moral courage. Yet God, to encourage 
 them, had Moses to send twelve chosen men to spy out 
 the land and report of what they had found. They 
 were surprised at the richness of the land and its nat- 
 ural resources, but ten out of twelve were afraid of the 
 inhabitants of the land and brought back an evil report. 
 But there were two of those spies that had another 
 spirit and the moral courage to rejoice in the law that 
 condemed every evil that had been practiced in Egypt, 
 and were thankful to God for the angel of His pres- 
 ence to guide them out of such a cursed land of slavery 
 and was anxious to be a soldier under the captian of 
 God's host. Their love was so strong for liberty that 
 they now had nothing to fear that the poor old intimi- 
 dated slaves suffered from. 
 
 Yet it was hard for those two brave men to con- 
 vince men that loved their evil habits better than the 
 God of liberty. It seems that the children were teach- 
 able, or more so than the older ones in which seemed to 
 be victims of most every vice for when some heard the 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 37. 
 
 law thou shalt not kill,they could no longer look at Moses 
 for if they was to be deprived of killing some one they 
 hated and would have to live in a land where they 
 would not be allowed to kill a servant and it would be a 
 disgrace to kill, it would be to much for them to have 
 to bear and they said away with such a land and such 
 laws. Let us return to Egypt where might is right. 
 Then there was another class that could not look at 
 Moses when he said, thou shalt not bear false witness 
 against thy neighbor, for they were always a ready 
 false witness for reward, and to think of going to a 
 country where one would be in disgrace for lying and 
 would be condemed publicly before the judges and 
 even punished if found guilty. Just the thought was 
 very offensive to them. Such, gathered together and 
 complained to Moses and claimed with their lying 
 tongues they were not afraid for themselves but were 
 afraid their children would starve to death in a land 
 where there were so many strange nations. 
 
 But now the people of all Isreal are in their prom- 
 ised land. They escaped from their masters and 
 crossed the Red Sea without a ship and the river of 
 Jordan without a bridge; without the use of money, 
 without the sword, without coin bonds, without making 
 a popular loan, and without a public debt, and without 
 usury. And the people were a successful nation as 
 long as they observed the law God gave them to gov- 
 ern their nation, but when they got them a king like 
 the Egyptians, Solomon led them back into adultery 
 and idolatry ; yet he had all the twelve tribes as his 
 subjects, from whose labor he accumilated great quan- 
 tities of gold and built and dedicated a very costly 
 
38. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 house to the God of Isreal. And of the flocks and 
 herds of his subjects he caused to be slain and offered 
 great numbers of both sheep and cattle. In fact, he 
 made the g^reatest public display of his royal worship 
 of any of the kings of Israel. 
 
 But he soon began to act as God said a man as a 
 king would act when he got all the power, as is spoken 
 of in Samuel 8-1 1 to 17. Wherefore, said the Lord, 
 the king would take what he liked for his own self 
 from that for which the people had labored and will 
 take your fields and your vineyards and your olive-yards 
 and he will take the tenth of your seeds and of your 
 vineyards to give to his officers and to his servants. 
 
 Now, the scriptures say that King Solomon's indi- 
 vidual wealth was the greatest of all the kings of Israel 
 and the people put up with his covetous and lustful 
 way of living and his idolatrous habits. Yet he con- 
 fesses himself that his efforts to gratify his lustful 
 passions resulted in nothing but vanity and vexation of 
 spirit. Also he had great possessions of great and 
 small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before 
 him. And he gathered to him silver and gold and the 
 peculiar treasurers of kings and of his provinces; and 
 he got him men singers and women singers and the 
 delights of the sons of man of musical instruments and 
 that of all sorts; and he was greater than any other in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Then Solomon looked on all his works and saw 
 how vain he was. Then he began to see how near his 
 time was at an end and the time was at hand that he 
 could not longer reign in his glory. Said he, life was 
 of him hated, for now he saw he could take nothing 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 39- 
 
 with him, neither could he stay with his earthly glory, 
 and would have to leave all his money and wealth for 
 another man, and it seemed to be a question in his 
 judgment whether it would be left to a wise man or a 
 fool. Then went about this old man in despair, for he 
 said, to leave all his wealth to one who had not labored 
 for it, to him was vain and a great evil and he con- 
 fesed that his heart had no rest at night for it is said 
 he gave his heart to know wisdom. He must have 
 known something of domestic affairs, but in this he 
 seems to have learned to say but little, yet he claims 
 his great wealth is a vexation of the spirit, 
 
 He is not the only one who was tired of his un- 
 godly life here on earth. When Solomon was dead 
 the old men of the nation told his son that his father 
 had made the yoke of bondage grevious to them and 
 asked him if he would not make them lighter; and he 
 said unto them, depart ye for three days and then come 
 again, and they departed. And King Roehaboam con- 
 sulted with the old men who stood before Solomon 
 his father while he yet lived, and they advised him, 
 saying, if thou will be a servant unto this people and 
 will serve them and speak good words unto them, then 
 they will be thy servants forever. But he forsook the 
 council of the old men which they had given him, and 
 he consulted the younger men who had grown up with 
 him and which stood up before him, and said unto 
 them: What council give ye that we may answer these 
 people who have spoken to me, saying, make the yoke 
 which thy father did put upon us lighter. 
 
 And the young men that were grown up with him 
 said, this shalt thou speak unto this people that speak 
 
40. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 unto thee, saying, thy father made our yoke heavy, 
 but make thou it lighter unto us. Thus shalt thou say 
 unto them, my little finger shall be thicker than my 
 father's hand and whereas my father did load you with 
 a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father hath 
 chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 
 scorpions. So when the people came back the third 
 day to hear what Rehaboam's answer was, they heard 
 this reply spoken in a rough manner, after the manner 
 of the young men's council. So Isreal saw there was 
 no part left for them. 
 
 Here we have one of the many object lessons of 
 the cruelty of the wealthy to the poor, showing the 
 fruits of Solomon's marrying into a nation whose god 
 was an idol without mercy. This young king, whose 
 mother was one of the "Ites" of the land, and her son 
 made a great mistake when he took the advice of man 
 instead of asking God to direct him. His father dream* 
 ed he asked God to give him wisdom to go in and out 
 before the people instead of God. So when he had 
 become great in the eyes of men and loved so many 
 women of other nations contrary to the command- 
 ments of God, he had his reward. In this he done 
 wrong and willingly, for God had told him if he went 
 in the way of other nations and served their gods, 
 He would leave them and the city and the house he bad 
 built desolate and the wicked of Israel a laughing 
 stock to other nations. Now it was not the house he 
 had built, for God or the necessary public improve- 
 ments he had made, that God was displeased with, but 
 it was the way he abused his servants and married 
 many women who were worshippers of idols and for 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 4I. 
 
 them he built houses of worship of idols and in so doings 
 he set a wicked example and dug a pit into which his 
 own children and servants fell. 
 
 Now as we see Rehaboam was still worse than his 
 father to his subjects, the people thought they must 
 have a king and they took one of Solomon's servants, 
 Jeraboam by name, who was a worshiper of gold and a 
 man unacquainted with God in spirit and the one 
 Solomon sought to kill, who fled into Egypt, for a pro- 
 phet had said God would take the kingdom from Solo- 
 mon and give it to his servant. That was what made 
 Solomon say he hated to have to leave his wealth 
 which he had accumulated to his servant. Now this 
 Jereboam made for himself out of the gold for which 
 he had not labored a god of gpld in the form of a calf 
 which he placed in Bethel and another in Dan and 
 then to perfect his apostacy Jereboam declared to the 
 ten tribes of Isreal that this God of gold was the power 
 that had delivered them out from bondage, but God 
 sent prophets warning the different rulers, kings and 
 priests to refrain from worshipping gold and from 
 taking of fields and vineyards from the laboring classes 
 
 Now • there was Naboth's vineyard which Ahob 
 took by force and slew an industrious and innocent 
 man whom God avenged. Then to show God's care 
 for the widow and his dislike for slavery when the 
 widows creditors were going to take her home and 
 her two sons for slaves to satisfy the debt, God in- 
 creased the oil until they were able to meet their obli- 
 gations. Kings 2-4. Now this widow was the widow 
 of one of God's prophets. 
 
42. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Then all Judea and Jerusalem were given over to 
 bondage for a time of about seventy-five _ years on the 
 account of their idolitry and their king and many of 
 the children of Israel were slain by the Chaldeans, 
 whose king was Newchadnezzar, whose soldiers des- 
 troyed the temple at Jerusalem and carried away their 
 gold god and all other valuable metals and everything 
 of value, with thousands of Israel as captives, and des- 
 troyed every form of their government. For which 
 they claimed to be justified in doing.on account of their 
 form of government not being up to the standard of 
 scientific principles and lacking in commercial tact, 
 which the kingdom of the Chaldeans claimed to possess. 
 Yet the king condescended to have a few of the most 
 intelligent young men of the Hebrew race to be edu- 
 cated and taught the languages and learning of the 
 Chaldeans. 
 
 While God permitted the subjugation of the He- 
 brews on account of their refusing to obey Him as a 
 nation and after warning them and entreating by the 
 mouth of inspired men, yet God was with all of them 
 who were innocent and such individuals as were some 
 of these captives, God especially favored, as God 
 always does; as God always comforts His people who 
 are true to Him. Now the Jews soon found their 
 masters somewhat different from those the Egyptians 
 had to serve. 
 
 The Chaldeans differ from the Egytians, Chal- 
 deans being farther advanced as a commercial nation, 
 having a different system of slavery and were more for 
 subjugation of all other weaker nations by force of 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST, 43- 
 
 • 
 
 arms to their form of government. Yet not to chattel 
 slavery but to credit slavery. And was the first nation 
 history speal<s of that adopted the gold standard, v hich 
 was worshiped by them as their most powerful god, for 
 by its scarcity and the power it had gained in the es- 
 teem of all nations. The Chaldeans had learned what 
 power it possessed on account of its scarcity and it gave 
 them a chance to practice usury. So when they cor quered 
 the Jews they took by force all the gold that could be 
 found and levied a big tax on their fields, vineyards and 
 olive yards and houses. Then to get all the reward of 
 the labor of that conquered country, money was loaned 
 and mortgages taken on all property. 
 
 But let us return to the captives who were taken 
 to Babylon, among whom are four whose history I will 
 give in part. Their names were Daniel, Shadrach, 
 Mesbach and Abednego. 
 
 These men were placed among the wise men as 
 they were called in Babylon and were of those that 
 stood before the king. And as it was in Egypt that 
 the king dreamed dreams, so it was with the king of 
 Babylon. But it differed in so much that the king of 
 Babylon forgot his dream, but it in some manner 
 troubled him fo much he called magicians and the 
 astrologers and the sorcerers and Chaldeans and they 
 came and stood before the king. And the king said 
 unto them, I have dreamed a dream and my spirit was 
 troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chal- 
 deans to the king. Oh king, live forever, tell thy ser- 
 vants the dream and we will show the interpretation. 
 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the 
 thing is gone from me. If ye will not make known 
 
44. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 unto me the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye 
 shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made a 
 dung hill, but if ye show the dream and the interpreta- 
 tion thereof, ye shall receive of me great gifts and re- 
 wards and great honor. Therefore shew me the dream 
 and the interpretation thereof. 
 
 They answered again and said, let the king tell his 
 servants the dream and we will shew the interpretation 
 of it. The king answered and said, I know of a cer- 
 tainty that ye would, gain the time, because ye see the 
 thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known 
 unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you for 
 ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak be- 
 fore me until the time be changed. The Chaldeans 
 answered before the king there is not a man upon the 
 earth that can shew the kings matter, therefore there 
 is no king, lord nor ruler that asks such things of any 
 magicians or astrologers or chaldeans and it is a rare 
 thing that the king requireth, and there is none other 
 that can shew it before the king except the gods whose 
 dealings are not with the flesh. 
 
 For this cause the king was very angry and furious 
 and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Baby- 
 lon. And the decree went forth that the wise men 
 shoud be slain and they sought Daniel and his fellows 
 to be slain. Then Daniel answered with council and 
 wisdom to Arioch, the captian of the king's guard, 
 which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. 
 He answered and said to Arioch,the king's captian,why 
 is the decree so hasty from the king, then the captian 
 made known the thing to Daniel? Then Daniel went in 
 and desired of the king that he would give him time and 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHPIST. 45- 
 
 he would show the interpretation. Then Daniel went to 
 the house and made the thing known to his three com- 
 panions, Shadrach, Mesbach and Abednago, that they 
 would desire the mercies of the God of Heaven con- 
 cerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should 
 not perish with the wise men of Babylon. 
 
 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a 
 night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven. 
 Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God 
 forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His and 
 He changeth the time and the seasons; He removeth 
 kings and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom unto the 
 wise and knowledge to them that have unc'erstanding. 
 He revealeth the deep and hidden things; He knoweth 
 what is in the darkness and the light dealeth with him 
 I thank Thee and praise Thee, O Thou God of my 
 fathers. Who has given me wisdom and might and 
 hath made known unto me what we desired of Thee, 
 for Thou has made known unto us the king's matter. 
 
 Therefore, Daniel went in unto Atioch whom the 
 king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. 
 He went and said, destroy not the wise men of Baby- 
 lon. Bring me in before the king and I will show unto 
 the kit g the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in 
 Daniel before the king in haste and said this unto him: 
 I have found a man of the captives of Judah that will 
 make known unto the king the interpretation. The. 
 king answered and said unto Daniel: art thou able to 
 make known unto me the dream which I have seen 
 and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in 
 the presence of the king and said: the secret which the 
 king hath demanded, can not the wise men, the as- 
 
46. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 trologers, the magicians, the sooth sayers, show unto 
 the king, but there is a God in Heaven that revealeth 
 secrets and maketh known unto the king what shall be 
 in the latter days. 
 
 The dream and the visions upon thy bed are these 
 As for thee Oh king, thy thoughts came into thy mind 
 upon thy bed what should ccme to pass hearafter, and 
 he that revealeth secrets maketh known unto thee 
 what shall come to pass. But as for me, thy secret is 
 not revealed unto me for any wisdom that I have more 
 than any living, but for their sakes shall make known 
 the interpretation to the king and that thou mightest 
 know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, Oh king, 
 sawest and behold a great image. The great image 
 whose brightness was excellent stood before thee and 
 the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was 
 of hne gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and 
 his thighs of brass; his legs part of iron and part of 
 clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without 
 hands which smote the image upon his feet that were 
 of iron and clay and break them in pieces. Then was 
 the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold 
 broken in pieces together and became like the chaff of 
 the summer thrashing flour and the wind carried them 
 away that no place was found for them and the image 
 became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 
 
 This'is the dream and we will tell the interpreta- 
 tion thereof before the king. Thou, Oh king, art king 
 of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a king- 
 dom, power and strength and glory. And whereso- 
 ever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the fields 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 47. 
 
 and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thy 
 hand and hath made thee ruler over them all. 
 
 Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall 
 rise another kingdom inferior to thee and another 
 third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over the whole 
 earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, 
 for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth 
 all things, and as iron that breaketh, all these shall it 
 break in pieces and bruise, and where as thou sawest 
 the feet and toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, 
 the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it 
 the strength of iron. For, so much as thou sawest the 
 iron mixed with miry clay, and as the toes of the feet 
 were part of iron and part of clay, as the kingdom shall 
 be partly strong and partly broken. And where as 
 thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay they shall 
 mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall 
 not cleave one to another even as iron is not mixed 
 with clay. 
 
 And in the days of these kings shall the God of 
 Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be des- 
 troyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other peo- 
 ple, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these 
 kingdoms and it shall stand forever. For so much as 
 sawest the stone was cut out of the mountain without 
 hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the 
 clay, the silver and the gold, the great God hath made 
 known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter, 
 and the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof 
 is sure. Then the king worshiped Daniel and also 
 said unto him, of a truth it is, that your God is a God 
 
48. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 of Gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, 
 seeing thou couldst reveal the secret. 
 
 The king made Daniel a great man and gave him 
 many gifts and made him ruler over the whole pro- 
 vince of Babylon. And Daniel requested of the king 
 and he set Shadrack, Nesbach and Abednego over the 
 affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel sat in 
 the gate of the king. Then the king of Babylon made 
 an image of gold. Then the king sent and gathered 
 together the princes, the ' governors and the captains 
 and judges, the treasurers, the councilors, the sheriffs 
 and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedi- 
 cation of the image, which the king had set up. Then 
 when all were assembled, then an herald cried 
 aloud: To you it is commanded, O people, 
 nations and languages. That what time ye 
 hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack but 
 psaltery, dulcimer and all kinds of music, ye fall down 
 and worship the golden image that the king hath set 
 up. And who so falleth not down and worshipeth 
 shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning 
 fiery furnace. 
 
 Then, when the music started, all of that great 
 host of people fell down and worshipped the golden 
 god of the Chaldeans with the exception of three of 
 the captive Jews, Shadrach, Mesbach and Abednego, 
 who carelessly stood as they were protected by ten 
 million well armed soldiers; yet they were unarmed 
 with carnal weapons. But they would rather be 
 burned than to worship a false god and a god who 
 always hid in time of war. A god without a conscience, 
 without mercy, without wisdom, without understand- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 49* 
 
 ing; only worshiped by idolaters, yet of itself was 
 blameless, yet had been made thq standard of money 
 by Babylon, a heathen nation from which the king 
 bound all contracts of usury on his subjects to fasten 
 upon them the credit system, of which their own 
 native country was at that very time suffering; the 
 curse of gold monetary slavery. 
 
 No wondej they faced the king and all his mighty 
 men of war and the fiery furnace, yet some would have 
 advised them to have submitted to the kings as much 
 as they were so much in the minority and their nation 
 and city were in a desolate condition any way and as 
 much as Daniel was not making any kick and as 
 Daniel is careful as the writer of this not to tell what 
 his views were. It might have been his office kept him 
 from committing himself, as did his companions, yet 
 all three of those rebels against the king were holding 
 offices of trust at the time of the rebellion. 
 
 But God said, by the mouth of one of His pro- 
 phets, He would make man more precious than gold, 
 and this seemed to be one of the tests that the world 
 should have a precendent where, if a man was a true 
 man of godly principles, he would be true to principle 
 rather than worship a gold god for the sake of an of- 
 fice at a big salary, when they knew it would enslave a 
 nation or the world to the credit system. So these 
 three men fully made up their minds to obey God 
 rather than man and trust Him with their lives, and 
 when they were called before the king to answer, then 
 the king spoke and said: O Shadrach, Mesbach and 
 Abednego, do not ye serve my gods and worship the 
 goldon image which I have set up ? Now he offered 
 
50* USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 them one more chance to fall down and worship the 
 gold god, but if not, to be cast into the fiery furnace; 
 and who is that God that can deliver you out of my 
 hands? 
 
 Then Shedrach, Mesbach and Abednego an- 
 swered, we are not careful to answer thee in this mat- 
 ter. If it be so our God whom we serve is able to 
 deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will 
 deliver us out of thine hand O king. But if not be it 
 known unto thee O king, that we will not serve thy 
 gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast 
 set up. Then was the king full of fury and the form of 
 his visage was changed against Shedrach, Mesbach 
 and Abednego. He commanded the furnace to be 
 heated and commanded his most mighty men of his 
 army to bind Shedrach, Mesbach and Abednego and 
 to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. The 
 furnace was so hot when they cast them in bound it 
 slew the mighty men of the kings army. 
 
 Now the king was looking in and was sure he 
 saw all three of the captives fall down in the furnace 
 bound hand and foot, but was surprised and rose 
 up in haste and spake unto l\is councilor, did we not 
 cast three men bound into the.midst of the fire? They 
 answered and said unto the king, true O king! He 
 answered and said, lo, I see four men loose, walking in 
 the midst of the fire and they have no hurt and the 
 form of the fourth is like the son of God. Then 
 Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth of the burning 
 fiery furnace and spake and said, Shedrach, Mesbach 
 and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, 
 come forth and come hither. Then the three came 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 5I. 
 
 forth out of the midst of the fire. And then the 
 princes and governors and captains and the king's 
 councilors being gathered together saw those upon 
 whose body the fire had no power. Nor was a hair 
 of their head singed, neither were their coats changed 
 nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 
 
 Then this king of idolatry spoke and said: blessed 
 be the God of Shadrach, Mesbach and Abednego who 
 hath sent His angel and deliverded His servants that 
 trust in Him, that they might not serve nor worship 
 any god except their own God, For there is no other 
 god that can deliver after this sort. Then the king 
 promoted these three Godly men in the province of 
 Babylon. Then after this king Nebuchadnezzar dreamed 
 he was a great tree, whose heighth reached into Hea- 
 ven and the breadth unto the end of the earth. Then 
 be seen a holy one come down from Heaven and com- 
 manded that he should be cut down and all his branches 
 should be scattered; and the holy one commanded that 
 his heart should be changed from a man's and a 
 beast's heart given him. This was demanded by the 
 holy one. 
 
 Npw Daniel interpretated the dream to the king to 
 this effect; that if he did not break off from his sins by 
 righteousness and his iniquites by showing mercies to 
 the poor, least the God of Heaven should take away 
 from him all the manly spirit from his heart and he 
 would only enjoy himself with men of beastly natures. 
 But the king headed not the warning, but continued in 
 his boastful, beast-like manner until a voice from 
 Heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is 
 spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. And as 
 
52. Usury vs. cash and christ. 
 
 it was spoken his reason all left him and he was with- 
 out man's understanding, and his councilors left him 
 as they would a wild beast, and he was humbled far 
 below the millions he had subjugated; but there was 
 none among the poor so low as the position God 
 humbled him to. 
 
 His nature was so completely changed, his appetite 
 was for grass, which he ate like an ox. His hair grew 
 coarse like an eagle's feathers and in that condition he 
 roved about in the rain and dew all wet, not knowing 
 enough to seek shelter from the rain. And his nails 
 grew long and slim like birds* claws. Then reason 
 came to him and he realized vhat had happened 
 him of the evil life he formerly lived. Then 
 he called all his councilors to return and he was 
 again established in his kingdom with excellent majes- 
 ty. Then he acknowledged the God of Heaven as 
 being just in all His works and ways and judgements 
 and he declared that all that walk in pride He is able 
 to abase. 
 
 Now the Jews found the Chaldeans very proud of 
 their form of government, and as a rule worshipers of 
 science and all mental development leaving and neg- 
 lecting the natural man without spiritual development 
 and without God, war-like covetous, especial wor- 
 shipers of specialists in any and all science or wisdom 
 to such was given gifts and was honored one of an- 
 other. Such as owned gold were the lords of gold, 
 such as owned silver were the lords of silver; success- 
 ful dealers in brass were worshiped as the gods of 
 brass; such as were successful dealers in iron were 
 honored as lords or gods of iron; such as were wealthy 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 53. 
 
 dealers in wool were the lords of wool, and in fact 
 every specialist in merchandise was honored bv the 
 kingr, and other lords, such as extensive landlords, 
 dealers in cattle, horses, sheep and fine wheat and 
 flour. All who were successful were especially honored 
 by the king, but the poor were neglected and taxed so 
 high it was by the hardest kind of labor that they 
 could live. Yet their city was one of the finest that 
 has ever been built on earth. Her palaces were large 
 and handsomely furnished. 
 
 There was a high wall which was thick and strong- 
 ly constructed. The gates were of sufficient strength 
 to withstand any armed force of ancient instruments 
 of war and through its center ran the river Euphrates, 
 whose depth was sufficient to make it impossible for an 
 army to enter the city by it in sufficient force to en- 
 danger the city, yet the enemy who finally took the 
 city turned the river from its natural course and affect- 
 ed an entrance to the city by way of the river for his 
 army and took the city. But, as it was with Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, who was king of kings and was a great 
 natural man, yet in him was weak places. He helped 
 the strong instead of the weak and gave to him that 
 had abundance instead of him that had need, and wor- 
 shiped that which is good that is gave to man instead 
 of God who gave it. And most all the vain man's life 
 he gloried in his own wisdom instead of God, yet God 
 was patient with him, yet he refused to take warning. 
 
 But the time came when God taught him He had 
 all the power and made the proud old monarch humble 
 himself as low as man has ever been known to have to 
 sink, till he was willing to leave a testimony on this 
 
54. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 earth to all proud kings that God has all power to bring 
 kings to judgment and can overthrow proud nations at 
 His will, and by whom He will. 
 
 Then after his death his son, Belshazzar, took the 
 kingdom, but heeded not the warning that God had 
 gave his father. But honored the wealthy and op- 
 pressed his subjects without mercy, with his power, 
 that the providence of the Media rebelled against this 
 young king, and unexpected to the lords of Babylon 
 and the king and the wealthy merchants of Babylon. 
 The Meades were unreconcilable and when they offered 
 their gold and silver at usury they wouldn't regard it. 
 They had been imposed upon by the Chaldean admin- 
 istration as long as they could bear it and their leader 
 could not be bought at any price with gold and silver 
 to sell the poor of their nation; and Belshazzar's 
 army returned to the city of Babylon with tidings 
 to the young king that the ultimation of the 
 Meadian officers was the unconditional surrender of 
 the Chaldean kingdom and the city of Babylon. 
 
 Then Belshazzar gathered all his lords and rulers 
 of Babylon into the city and strengthend his army to 
 make a strong defense inside its high walls. But as 
 old Nebuchadnezzer was a strong king, yet had his 
 weak places, so was the great wall around the city of 
 Babylon. When the Meadian army arrived at Babylon 
 they laid siege against its walls to draw the attention 
 of Belshazzar's soldiers, yet secretly they dug a large 
 ditch to intersect the one that had been made in digging 
 to make the wall by the Chaldeans in the days of its 
 construction. Yet they managed to keep this secret 
 from the king of Babylon inside the walls. So King 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 55. 
 
 Belshazzar, to keep his people blinded to any thought 
 of fear, on the part of him and his lords he made a 
 grand feast for a thousand of his commercial lords and 
 drank wine before the thousand. Then Belshazzar 
 called for the golden and silver cups which his father 
 had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem, that the king 
 and his princes, his wives and concubines might drink 
 therein. Then out of them they drank wine and 
 praised the gods of gold and of silver and of brass, of 
 wood, of iron and of stone. 
 
 And in the same hour came forth a man's hand 
 and wrote over against the candle stick upon the 
 plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king 
 saw the part of the hand that wrote. And the king's 
 countenance changed and his thoughts troubled him 
 so the joints of his loyns were loosed and his knees 
 smote against one another. Then the king cried aloud 
 to bring m the Chaldean sooth sayers and he said unto 
 those whom he called wise: whosoever shall read this 
 writing and show me the interpretation thereof shall 
 be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about 
 his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 
 Then' came in all the wise men but they could not read 
 the writing nor give the interpretation. 
 
 Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled and 
 his countanence was changed in him, and his lords 
 were astounded. And the queen spoke unto the king 
 and said, let not thy thoughts trouble thee nor let thy 
 countanence be changed. There is a man in thy king- 
 dom in whom is the spirit of the Holy Gods and in the 
 days of thy father light and understanding was found 
 in him, for so much as an excellent spirit was found in 
 
56. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 him and age and understanding interpretations of 
 dreams and showing of hard sentences, and the disolv- 
 ing of doubts was found in Daniel, Now let him be 
 called and he will show the interpretation. Then was 
 Daniel brought in before the king. Then spoke the 
 king to Daniel and said: I have heard of thee in that 
 the spirit of the Gods dwell in thee and that light and 
 understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 
 And now the wise men and astrologers have been 
 brought in before me that they should read this writ- 
 ing and make known unto me the interpretation there- 
 of, but they could not show the interpretation of the 
 thing. Now if thou canst read the writing and make 
 known unto me the interpretation thereof thou shalt 
 be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about 
 thy neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 
 
 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, let 
 thy gifts be to thyself and give thy rewards to another. 
 Yet I will read this writing unto the king and make 
 known unto him the interpretation. O thou king, the 
 most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, a 
 kingdom and majesty and glory and honor, and for the 
 majesty that He gave him all people, nations and lan- 
 guages trembled and feared before him. Whom he 
 would he slew and whom he would he kept alive, and 
 whom he would he set up and whom he would he put 
 down. But when his heart was lifted up and his mind 
 hardened in pride he lost all his mercy and reason and 
 God took his glory from him and he was driven from 
 the sons of men; and his heart was made like the 
 beasts' and his dwelling was with wild asses. They fed 
 him with grass like the oxen till he knew that the most 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 57. 
 
 high God ruled in the kingdom of men. And thou, 
 his son, O Belshazzar, has not humbled thine heart 
 though thou knewestall this, but hast lifted up thy self 
 against the Lord of Heaven. And they have brought 
 the vessels of His house before thee and thou and thy 
 lords, thy wives and thy concubines have drank wine in 
 them, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and of 
 gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which see not nor 
 hear nor know, and the God in whose hands thy breath 
 is — whom thou hast not glorified — from whom this 
 hand was sent and this writing was writen. And this is 
 the interpretation of the thing: 
 
 God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it. 
 Thou art weighed in the balance and art found want- 
 ing. Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Meads 
 ians and Persians. 
 
 And that same night was Belshazzar slain and 
 Daris, of Media, was crowned king of Babylon. For 
 all Babylon was and is yet a golden cup in the hand of 
 the Lord. Yet it is found wanting as a kingdom, God 
 having something better for His people which we will 
 speak of later. And the kingdom of the old city was 
 of light weight, whose standard of law and righteous- 
 ness which only protected property and the life and 
 safety of the popular and rich. It was and yet is the 
 enemy of the laboring class and the kingdom of God. 
 While the old city changed locations and was destroy- 
 ed, and a seat of government of might makes right was 
 for a time made as strong as iron mixed with miry clay 
 located at Rome, and Caesar's kingdom was strong for 
 a time as iron. Even for centuries Babylon, from its 
 new name, Rome,^held the supremacy of the Babylon- 
 
58. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 ish power of might is right until it mixed priest craft 
 with its Babylonish laws, as did Egypt, which, spoken 
 in other words, is mixing iron with miry clay, of which 
 I want to speak more fully hereafter. 
 
 But let us return to the Children of Israel, who we 
 find partly carried captives to Babylon and all Canaan 
 forced to except Babylonish laws and customs. This 
 state of affairs brought grief and desolation and pov- 
 erty to the once free and happy descendants of Abra- 
 ham. Now among the twelve tribes history only gives 
 the account of the tribes of Levi and Judah that re- 
 turned to their own country to rebuild their city, Jeru- 
 salem. And the covenant and laws given them of 
 Mount Sinai. They were favored by the Media and 
 Persian administration of Babylon to return and were 
 allowed a protectorate form of government under the 
 guardianship of Babylonish government, they not being 
 thought competent of self-government, according to the 
 judgment of the wise men of Babylon. Yet they were 
 allowed to discard the laws and customs of Babylon in 
 their internal affairs according to their own law if they 
 so chose to do. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Now we find when Nehemiah returned to Jerusa- 
 lem he found the people in a state of internal slavery, 
 and that to the Jews, by practicing usury, a custom of 
 Babylon. For they disregarded their own laws and 
 such as had money gave therrselves up to the Joseph 
 covetous nature and took advantage of their brethern 
 during the years of drouth, and of such as were scarce 
 of money to pay the Babylonish tax, and were com- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 59. 
 
 pelled to practice the credit system, and were forced to 
 mortgage their land and houses and vineyards and 
 olive groves, and their sons and daughters to buy bread 
 and victuals and pay their taxes; not knowing the 
 power of usury until it was too late, when they found 
 interest concentrated wealth so fast they were soon 
 plunged into credit slavery. 
 
 Nehemiah rebuked the nobles and the rulers and 
 said unto them, ye exact usury every one of his 
 brother and he set a great assembly against them and 
 said unto them, we, after our ability, have redeemed 
 our brethern, the Jews, which were sold unto the hea- 
 then and will ye even sell your brethern, or shall they 
 be sold unto us. Then said Nehemiah, I like wise and 
 my brethern and my servants might exact of them 
 money and corn. Then said he, let us leave off this 
 usury and then he prayed to restore unto them even 
 that day their lands, their vineyards, their olive yards 
 and their houses and sons and daughters; also the 
 hundredth part of. the money and of the corn, the wine 
 and the oil, that ye exact of them. Then said they we 
 will restore their'sand will require nothing of them, so 
 will we do as thou sayest. Then Nehemiah called the 
 priests and took an oath of them that they would do 
 according to this promise. Then Nehemiah shook his 
 lap and said, so God shake out every man from 
 Israel that performeth not this promise; and all the 
 congregation said amen andpraised the Lord.— Neh. 5. 
 
 I will write a few words of their prayerful confes- 
 sion to God. Now therefore our God, the great and 
 mighty and the terrible God, who keepeth covenant 
 and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before 
 
60. USURY VS. GASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Thee that hath come upon us and our kings and our 
 princes and our priests and on our prophets and on 
 our fathers and on all Thy people since the time of 
 kings of Syria took the city, howbeit Thou art just in 
 all that is brought upon us for Thou hast done right, 
 but we have done wicked 
 
 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests 
 nor our fathers kept Thy law nor barkened unto Thy 
 commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou 
 didst testify against them, for they have not served 
 Thee in Thy kingdom and in Thy great goodness 
 that Thou gavest them and in the large and fat land 
 which Thou gavest them; neither turned they from 
 their wicked works. Behold we are servants this day 
 and the land Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the 
 fruit thereof and the good thereof. Behold we are ser- 
 vants in it yet it yieldeth much increase unto the kings 
 which Thou hast set over us because of our sins. Also 
 they have dominion over our bodies and over our cat- 
 tle at their pleasure and we are in great distress. And 
 because of all this we make a sure covenant and write 
 it, and our princes, Levites and priests seal unto it. — 
 Neh. 9, 32-38. 
 
 Now this confession makes plain the condition of 
 the people in the land of Canaan and the patience and 
 long-suffering of God with a people who had so long 
 disobeyed Him. Yet He had compassion on them for 
 several centuries, though they soon turned away from 
 the covenant they made with Nehemiah. Then God 
 sent them prophets, by whose mouths He admonished 
 every generation to cease to do wicked and learn to do 
 well that they might be a blessing in their generation 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 6t. 
 
 instead of a curse, but their ways were wicked and in- 
 stead of listening for their good, they stoned the pro- 
 phets and some they killed. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Then He sent them this son who healed 
 their sick, opened the eyes of the blind and 
 caused the deaf to hear and healed them so they 
 could walk and cleansed the lepers and raised the 
 dead and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God 
 to the poor and drove the money changers out of the 
 temple and rebuked them for making the house of God 
 a den of thieves. He taught the people not to exer- 
 cise lordship over one another, nor to lay up for them- 
 selves treasures on earth, where thieves could break 
 through and steal and where rust would corrupt; but to 
 lay up treasures in heaven where thieves could not 
 break through and steal, neither could rust corrupt 
 heavenly wealth; but he found most all coveting some 
 earthly treasure and excused themselves on the ac- 
 count their heart was occupied in the land speculation, 
 others in merchandise, some in cattle and some were 
 married to a wife. 
 
 Then there were others whose hearts were entire- 
 ly occupied with their sect, whose doctrines were to 
 them a treasure highly esteemed, some to the Phari- 
 sees and some to the Sodducees. Now there were 
 several other sects Christ found to be a treasure to 
 many people. Now among those He found His worst 
 persecutors. Yet they taught that a part of Moses* 
 law ought to be observed and demanded tithes of all 
 the people; had even mint and rue and they bound 
 
52. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 heavy and grevious burdens to be borne of the people, 
 but they would not move them with one of their fingers. 
 Yet they omitted the weightier matters of mercy and 
 judgment. They honored the prophets their fathers 
 stoned to death and garnished their sepulchers, yet 
 they killed every prophet of their generation that re- 
 proved coveteousness and usury and all evil practices. 
 
 There was a wealthy young man came to Christ 
 and asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal 
 life, and Christ told him to sell all he had and give it 
 to the poor and come and follow Him. Christ thought 
 it nothing but right for him to give it to the poor, for 
 wealth is only obtained by labor and for the poor to 
 get their just dues by the rich doing the right 
 thing; would be a good object lesson to all future gen- 
 erations. Now this young man had not committed 
 adultery, neither had he killed, neither had he stolen, 
 neither had he borne false witness, neither had h'e 
 failed to honor his father and mother. Yet he had 
 wrongfully got possession of vast wealth, which no 
 man could do, according to the law of Moses, by man- 
 nal labor. While he could make for himself a good 
 living, there could no one man get rich without other 
 men of Israel suffering the loss of his gain. 
 
 Christ simply knowing his vast possessions had 
 been wrested away from honest labor by him or his 
 ancestors, which had robbed many poor in his genera- 
 tion. Then, on the other hand. He could find none of 
 the wealthy willing to leave their treasure in the tem- 
 poral, although they knew it was the one thing they 
 lacked of having eternal life. And as much as He was 
 compelled, while it might have been his choice, to seek 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 63. 
 
 His disciples and apostles among the poor, who wil- 
 ling left all and followed Him. For Him to have» one 
 desciple whose heart was upon a perishable treasure 
 would have caused division, for they would have been 
 ot different minds and could not have walked together 
 unless they were agreed. 
 
 Yet the masses would have been glad for Jesus to 
 have accepted the kingdom and have ruled over the 
 Jews as did David over Israel, but Christ saw that was 
 not eternal life and though He could have en- 
 joyed eternal life Himself and they in the state found 
 them who were yet under bondage and paid a heavy 
 tribute to Caesar and victims of individual pride also of 
 covetousness and of a desire to be the greatest among 
 themselves and wanted to exercise lordship over one 
 another so He saw He would have been alone, for 
 their vain corruptible temporal life in slavery would 
 have been repulsive to Him, and on the other hand, His 
 way of eternal life, of liberty, of peace and good will to 
 all people and an easy yoke and a light burden for all 
 labor and every one who was heavy laden and perfect 
 rest for the soul of all, and a free tuition to all to at- 
 tend His school, being altogether on the free line there 
 would have been no respect of persons, the poor would 
 share equally with the rich, the layman would be hon- 
 ored ar much as the priest, pope, elder or bishop and 
 the servant would share equal with his master and the 
 maid would be equal with her mistress: so with the 
 buyer, so with the seller, so with the lender, so with the 
 borrower, so with the taker of usury and so with the 
 giver of usury. 
 
 And the haughty people of the earth would be no 
 
64. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 more in his eyes than the poor. So Jesus saw eternal 
 life was for all who were willing to receive it as a free 
 gift from God and would not be given to any to be con- 
 sumed upon their own lusts, but it was a higher life 
 than servitude and one receiving this life made them 
 children of God's free family and would not exercise 
 lordship over his brethern, neither could they practice 
 usury nor be covetous and hold in ones possession the 
 temporal gifts of God which he caused the earth to 
 to bring forth for all and thereby rob some of their 
 portion just to make a few wealthy lords. 
 
 In the first place Jesus received of God eternal life, 
 which He had in himself, that no enemy, either of in- 
 ternal influence or external, was able to overcome. He 
 was given this kingdom of the Father; neither was 
 there any devil He ever met subtle enough to tempt 
 Him to lay aside His crown as king of the Jews. 
 Yet His kingdom was not as David's was, whose do- 
 minion was temporal and carnal; whose warfare was 
 with flesh and blood, and he exercised lordship over 
 temporal things while he himself was a servant of lust 
 and of vain pride. His evil passions were his master and 
 he died a slave to corruption. But in the king of the 
 Jews, His kingdom was not outwardly, but was inward- 
 ly. He had power over all disease and power over all 
 devils. He stood alone the sole representative of 
 God's Kingdom, of which John asked the people to 
 behold. 
 
 He came here in the form of a servant and over- 
 come every death by sin; and said unto the coveteous: 
 birds have nests and foxes have holes but the Son 
 of Man hath not where to lay His head. As it had 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 65. 
 
 been written, they had sold themselves for naught 
 and God sent His son to redeem 'man without money, 
 but He bore all the sins of the people patiently. He 
 felt sorry to see the young man who had great pos- 
 sessions turn away from His advice to abide in a rich 
 death. Then there were other reasons why Jesus felt 
 sorry for the rich when He told them that a man's 
 life didn't consist in what they had in their possess- 
 ions, for He knew the word of God by the mouth of 
 the prophets, and where He had told King Solomon 
 he would destroy their city and leave their land a deso- 
 lation, would be fulfiled in that generation. He knew 
 it would soon be taken from them, but he gave them 
 warning yet they were so slow to hear, he was so dis- 
 couraged about there being any rich man entering the 
 kingdom, he said it would be easier for a camel to go 
 through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter 
 the kingdom of heaven. This statement almost 
 wrecked the faith of his disciples and they asked him 
 who could be saved, for they supposed the rich had a 
 much better chance to please God than the poor. 
 
 Jesus answered them, what was impossible with 
 man was possible with God. While Christ knew the 
 rich would have to give up the evil riches and become 
 as poor as the poorest and would have to except eter- 
 nal life as a free gift from God, or forever remai n a 
 slave to covetousness and toil as did Solomon, 
 who died a rich slave to his own passion. And crying 
 out m his dotage; All what I have in possession is 
 vanity aud vexes the spirit. 
 
 Yet Jesus loved the rich and sympathized with 
 them, yet He loved liberty for all people far more. Yet 
 
66. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 with love and patience He preached publicly the way of 
 life to all alike. Yet the priests and rulers treated 
 Him with contempt and scorn. But Christ, knowing 
 their temple would be destroyed and their city burned 
 and their country would be left desolate and there 
 would be wars and rumors of wars, yet He loved them 
 and tried hard to make them hear in time. But when 
 they rejected Him entirely He looked upon their city 
 and wept for them and said: How oft would God have 
 gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
 her wings and ye would not. He tried as best He could 
 to explain to His disciples the sin of one person want- 
 ing to be greater in any temporal way than his fellow 
 creatures unless it was to be willing. To be more pat- 
 ient and kind to the afflicted and poor, that they might 
 be won to the Kingdom of God, for it was God's good 
 will to give them the Kingdom and the rich, if they 
 would have been willing to have been saved from their 
 domineering ways. 
 
 So the one that was willing to be the least and a 
 true servant of righteousness was the greatest in His 
 sight; and the one that wanted to be greater than his 
 fellows that they would have to obey his commands, 
 was in His sight very small. But to sihow all men that 
 He was Lord of lords and King of kings and One far 
 greater than earthly kings who ruled by force instead 
 of love, mercy and liberty and good will to all. He 
 made Himself the servant to His disciples. He washed 
 their feet and provided them fish to eat. Instead of 
 being served He served them His good will to all 
 men and His unselfishness caused Him to be loved by 
 many, although He made of Himself no reputation but 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 67. 
 
 was meek and lowly, yet so much the more were the 
 great acts and mercies which God did, using Him as 
 His servant through which He spoke, in so much He 
 outshone all others that had been before Him. For 
 He was like a bright and shining star that grew bright- 
 er and brighter, and it was hoped by many that this 
 star would remain in the flesh of one man and that His 
 light would shine forth on the throne of David and that 
 He would gather the twelve tribes of Israel in the little 
 strip of mountainous country which at one time was 
 subject to David's power. But in such a desire they 
 must be disappointed, although He knew He was the 
 brightest star the world had ever seen. 
 
 Yet He had no desire to shine in a world whose 
 sun and moon were less bright than His star. For 
 Moses was the light which was as Jacob called, 
 the sun; and Jerusalem was, as Rachel, Joseph's 
 mother, called, the moon, prophetically speaking. 
 While there was the promise unto Abraham, many 
 of his seed shone as stars, but when this star of 
 Bethlehem arose the sun, moon and stars of that 
 world refused to shine; for He revealed love in heighth 
 and depth and length and breadth in a pure and simple 
 way that none of the former lights had ever been able 
 to enjoy; while He had the company of those who had 
 left all to follow Him and the wealthy and such as 
 were rulers came to Him for council and fair maidens 
 left serving to sit at His feet to learn of pure love. 
 Even one maid who loved Him much washed His feet 
 with tears and wiped them with her hair. 
 
 While there is no doubt He dearly loved them as 
 the children of God and it would have been lawful for 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Him to have chose for Him a wife, yet there was a 
 good reason why He decided different. In the first 
 place His heart was too large and pure to be contented 
 with domestic life, for He saw, as did the prophet, that 
 the days of distress were upon that generation and it 
 would be far better for those whom He loved to be 
 filled with the spirit and freed from sin and in the; joy 
 and service of the Lord in His harvest bringing in 
 precious sheaves, than to be giving suck. So He saw 
 no earthly inducements that had any power to swerve 
 Him from His Father's purpose. So He saw it was 
 His Father's will for Him, though a perfect star, al- 
 though not of that world, to fall to the earth a grain 
 of corn, that, through the power of God He might re- 
 appear in the hearts of all the fallen and the lost of this 
 dark world that they would receive God — might shine 
 as clear as He had shone, so He would not abide alone. 
 
 Though His star fell and refused to longer shine 
 alone in the flesh, it was a glorious fall, a fall for love 
 a fall for the liberty of the oppressed slaves of sin; but 
 as He fell through the old heaven He sent out such 
 bright rays of love to His enemies, who looked on Him 
 through envy out of their little heavens of the old 
 heaven. Tho' He met his fall like a lamb in innocency. 
 And the stars of the little sect heavens of the Phara- 
 sees' and Saducees' heavens and quite a number of 
 other little heavens in which they could only shine, 
 but before His death in the flesh He was careful to ex- 
 plain to His disciples as best He could to them the 
 nature and manner of His second coming to establish 
 His kingdom and told all people to seek first the king- 
 dom of God and His righteousness and all else neces- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 sary would be added unto them. For God knew what 
 they needed and He told His disciples to pray God's 
 kingdom to come and to pray for His will to be done 
 here in earth as it is in heaven. 
 
 And in another place He told His disciples to not 
 fear for it was God's good will to give them the king- 
 dom. And in another place He told them there be 
 some standing here which shall not taste death till they 
 see the son of man coming in His kingdom and in an- 
 other place they were standing by Him and He told 
 them His kingdom came not by observation, but it 
 would be in them. Trying to get them to understand 
 it would come in power in the spirit to give mankind 
 a better understanding of righteousness than could be 
 taught them by the ways of riian or the letter of what 
 they read. 
 
 And after trying for three years to make them 
 understand the nature of His coming kingdom before 
 he was crucified He still saw they were so weak and 
 intimidated by the influence of credit, creed, craft, 
 slavery and the wrong impression made upon their 
 minds by the superstitious priest craft of their gener- 
 ation, He told them just before His death He had 
 many things to tell them, but they could not bear them 
 now, but after He was taken away the spirit would re- 
 veal to them all that was necessary for them to 
 know. 
 
 Yet after He was resurrected He still taught them 
 some new things according to the scriptures. He 
 opened up their understanding so they could under- 
 stand the scriptures of all written of the prophets, but 
 told them they must not think just because they under- 
 
70. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Stood the scriptures they had it all yet but must wait 
 till they received spiritual power. But just before He 
 left as a servant and in the form of man they asked 
 Him when He was going to return to restore his king- 
 dom. He told them that John baptised with water but 
 they should be baptised with the spirit. And He told 
 them it was not given to those who had just received 
 John's baptism and only understood the scriptures to 
 know the times and the seasons which the Father hath 
 put in His own power, but they should receive power 
 to possess the kingdom after the holy spirit came upon 
 them and then they could be His witnesses and preach 
 His gospel of the kingdom to all nations as a witness, 
 then would the end come. Some have believed that 
 the end of the Aaronic priesthood as an Ecclesiastical 
 body was the end referred to in this prophecy. And 
 the throne of God's Son would be established forever 
 and ever, in which all can enter by the sceptre of God's 
 revealed righteousness into His kingdom. But the 
 scriptures say the unrighteous cannot inherit the king- 
 dom of God. Neither fornicators nor idolators nor 
 extortioners nor murders shall inherit the Kingdom, 
 and such were some who are now in the Kingdom. 
 
 Bat they were washed — but they were justified by 
 the spirit of God and their evil spirits were cast out by 
 the power of Christ's kingdom which has power to cast 
 out of His kingdom every power that offended, and 
 such as would inherit and possess and be possessed of 
 His power must have everything taken from their 
 heart that is evil. But in the early history of Christ's 
 kingdom it suffered great violence and the violence 
 took it by force. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 7l. 
 
 In the first place, Jesus was the first and only rep- 
 resentative that was entirely subject to the dominion 
 of the spirit and plainly told those who He met that 
 His God was a spirit. But as it had been with all the 
 Spiritual, servants of God that spake as the Spirit gave 
 utterance which met with great opposition and even 
 violent death at the hand of the precept priestcraft, 
 so it was with God's own son. Then as soon as others 
 were given power to possess the kingdom and went 
 forth preaching the kingdom as a witness to prove to 
 all men that all unrighteousness was wrong. It offend- 
 ed the kingdom of Babylon at Rome and all those who 
 preached against idolatry and the usury credit system, 
 extortion and adultery were put to death, so the king- 
 dom suffered violence and violence took it by force. 
 Yet before some of Christ's kingdom were slain they 
 left written testimonies of Christ's unselfish love as a 
 King of kings and Lord of lords and governors, and of 
 His desire that His ministers and the subjects of His 
 kingdom might make intercessions and prayers to all 
 those in authority that they might be saved. For Christ 
 would have all men to be saved and come to the 
 knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ, which Paul 
 said, was the only mediator between man and God, to 
 be testified of in due time. This testimony we get out 
 of one of his epistles to Timothy written shortly before 
 he was put to death in Rome and just a few years be- 
 fore the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 But we find St. John escaped the violence which 
 many of Christ's ministers of His kingdom had to 
 
72. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 suffer and still preached Christ; but after fhe overthrow 
 of the city of Jerusalem and the Levitical priesthood as 
 an Ecclesiastical power, it seems there were some who 
 tried to continae Ecclesiastical church authority in Asia 
 and claimed that Christ had not come to His people in 
 His kingdom. Bat St.John wrote a letter to those in Asia 
 who had escaped death at the hands of the Romans 
 and in the epistle he said^ Beloved believe not every 
 spirit, but try the spirits whether th ^y are of God. 
 Because many false spirits are gone out into the world. 
 Hereby know ye the spirit of God; every spirit that 
 confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of 
 God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus 
 Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this that 
 spirit of anti-Christ that ye have heard that it is should 
 come and even now it is already in the world. 
 
 And he wrote to them he knew the Son of God 
 had come and had gave him an understanding that he 
 might know Him that was true and he was in Him that 
 was true, and farther said: He that had the doctrine he 
 Christ, had both the Father and the Son, for they 
 themselves are the only doctrine they have got. And 
 he told them if there came any unto them and bring 
 not that doctrine ask them not in your house, or in 
 other words, if any came unto them without the Father 
 and the Son, ask them not into your house. Now this 
 offended the desolate Ecclesiasticism that had been set 
 up in Asia and they had St. John banished, for there 
 were some like Diotrephes, who loved to have the pre- 
 eminence, who prated against St. John and the elect of 
 God with malicious words. 
 
 Yet he was not content therewith but he would not 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 73. 
 
 receive the brethern and forbid them that would, and 
 cast them out of the church. So when St. John was 
 banished to the Isle of Patmos he was visited by the 
 Lord and his angels which revealed to him the sinful 
 condition of the seven churches of Asia and of what 
 was to come to pass hereafter. At that time five out 
 of seven needed repentance; some had fallen from their 
 first love. Others had a seat for Satan and taught the 
 doctrine cf Balaam and eat things sacrificed unto idols, 
 others had a name to live and was dead. Then there 
 were others who were neither hot nor cold. Of this 
 class were the rich and increased in goods, and though 
 they had need of nothing, yet in his sight they were 
 poor, miserable, blind, wretched and naked, but in all 
 these conditions he asks them to repent and each one 
 of them that would overcome he would give the morn- 
 ing star and to some he promised to give to eat of the 
 tree of life, others a white stone and in the stone a new 
 name that no one could know except him that received 
 it; then to others he promised to give hidden manna, 
 others he promised to save from the second death. 
 
 Then there were those who he set before them 
 an open door that no man could shut and to make 
 them a pillar in the temple of his God and write upon 
 them his new name of the New Jerusalem, which com- 
 eth down from God out of heaven. Now this promise 
 was made and worded in such a manner that one 
 could except the promise independent of any fallen 
 church, for he gave them to understand he would 
 remove their candle stick if they did not comply 
 with his will for he knew what they would do. For 
 that reason he did not want the righteous to have to 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 suffer for the sins of the wicked, yet he knew their 
 seven heavens would have to be rend that some 
 might be saved and that all stars would have to fall 
 before the Lord's day would fully come and he knew 
 it was natural to worship angels. Even John himself 
 had to be reproved for that offense and told to wor- 
 ship God, yet Christ is patient and merciful even to his 
 enemies, yet for the good of all men that all might 
 come to God and enjoy His presence, he had to remove 
 all seven candlesticks for the city unto which he in- 
 vited all the twelve tribes of Israel, to which he opened 
 to each tribe a gate which was well lighted and had no 
 need of a candle and of course would no longer need a 
 candle stick and as the angels of God showed St. John 
 Christ's kingdom of heaven is like a beautiful city 
 which came down to this earth and makes it new and 
 comes down to man and God himself is man's God 
 and He and His Son, who is as innocent as a Iamb, are 
 the light of his kingdom and it has no need of a 
 temple which has to either be lighted by a candle or the 
 moon or the sun to shine in it. 
 
 And it was farther revealed to St. John that if 
 nations were saved, that God, Himself would be light 
 for them to walk by. Then the angels told John the 
 only class of people and nations that would be 
 deprived of God as their light. Such as are fearful 
 and unbelieving and abominable and murders, 
 whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and liars; 
 for such the angel said were the victims of the second 
 death. 
 
 But he farther showed St. John that Christ is able 
 to save the people from this second death and resur- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 7^, 
 
 rect them to a life that these sins, which is unto death 
 would no longer have power over them. The angels 
 showed John that Christ's first resurrection of man- 
 kind was from the second death and not from the first 
 death of the natural body, which is a firstt law of God, 
 and all men, both rich and poor, both saint and sinner, 
 have to succumb to it alike. Yet one of the Apostles 
 says there is a spiritual body and Christ Himself said^ 
 God is a spirit. 
 
 Not that I care to give my views on the doctrines 
 of men nor in any way argue with my brother or 
 neighbor, and I hope all can see there is nothing in 
 the second death to hold to and agree with the angel 
 when he said to St. John, blessed are they who have 
 part in the first resurrection, upon whom the second 
 death hath no power. It seems St. Paul believed God 
 wanted to be with His people but especially opposed 
 idolatry. I will first quote from his writings where he 
 said: What agreement hath the temple of God with 
 idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as 
 God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them 
 and I will be their God and they shall be My peo- 
 ple. — 2nd Cor. 16-16. And in another epistle Paul 
 calles the attention of those to whom he is writing and 
 speaks to them thus: Know ye not that ye are the 
 temple of God and the spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
 
 Now some gel the temple of God built by man, 
 that has to have temporal light mixed or confused with 
 the living people of God whose light is God's spirit; 
 for James says the body is dead without the spirit. 
 Then I read that God hath no pleasure in the death 
 of him that is dead ^wji^biliHJplvMid; wherefore turn all 
 
76. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 and live ye for Christ is come. But the gods of creed 
 craft and the lords of credit have blinded the minds of 
 mankind lest they would see ihe true light and gain 
 their liberty. So the seven Ecclesiastical churches or 
 seven candle sticks of Asia soon came to naught after 
 St. John testified to them what had been revealed to 
 him on the Isle of Patmos. 
 
 Some years afterward Ecclesiasticism was allowed 
 in Rome as a substitute for Christ and His kingdom 
 under restriction, but at any rate the compromise was 
 made and the poor were neglected and labor soon suf- 
 fered from the curse of usury or credit system. Al- 
 though it is denounced by the scriptures and is classed 
 among the sins of the second death by the prophets of 
 God, the church was silent, with but few exceptions, 
 and leaned in whatever direction the nation in which 
 it happens to be located is a mind to direct. Just so 
 the nation will favor their priest craft and build them 
 costly synagogues and name and dedicate them in 
 honor to the name of their craft. They have nothing 
 to say against usury. 
 
 Centuries have passed by and priest craft is yet in 
 sympathy with credit slavery and usurers are invited 
 to the churches of all, or most all, Ecclesiastical assem- 
 blies to partake of what they claim to be the Holy 
 communion of their churches. And there you meet 
 the extortioners at Sunday service, the day set apart 
 by Constantine claiming it to be the day ot God, there- 
 by making Christ, the light and the true Sabbath and 
 rest of God's people, of non-eifect to those whose eyes 
 are blinded by creed craft. 
 
USURY VS. €ASH AND CHRIST. 77. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 But as Joseph was the first to enforce national credit 
 slavery, Moses was the first to denounce it in one 
 nation and Christ was the first to offer to save all na- 
 tions from it. Yet God used Moses to denounce the 
 credit system, but the law of custom of legalized usury 
 has been so long practiced upon the nations of the 
 earth most all have become used to it. Many honest 
 people have never given it proper thought. Even those 
 at the head of the nations have never understood the 
 curse of the credit system and the way it wrongfully 
 enslaves the masses of mankind. And while they are 
 intelligent and up to date in many ways in public and 
 national and individual affairs, yet in this onepartiaular 
 they have only looked at it in a local way and many 
 have thought the legal rate of interest some too high, 
 but would call to mind where some one had made a 
 loan, even at high interest, and then was so successful 
 in the investment that they were soon able to pay it 
 and had a handsome profit left for their trouble. Then 
 on the other hand, there were many others who bor- 
 rowed money and obtained credit by mortgaging pro- 
 perty, who seemed to be industrious and made every 
 possible effort to meet the obligation, yet were unsuc- 
 cessful and lost all their time and labor and part of the 
 property mortgaged to secure the loan. 
 
 Now the common way to look at usury and some 
 loosing their property in that way, is that they are 
 among those that are born unlucky, and, on the other 
 hand, some are born lucky and can naturally gather 
 money if they lived on a rock. The majority of men 
 have not taken time to study the power of usury where 
 
78. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 the credit system can be forced upon mankind by some 
 unjust law,"legalized by dishonest government officials. 
 Of course, even they are excusable when forced to 
 adopt such laws by a stronger nation. But usury has 
 generally been understood to mean a greater per cent, 
 than is provided for by national laws; but the word 
 usury certainly means increase if it is not more than 
 one per cent. 
 
 As much as that amount can't be paid without its 
 absorbing all the property of the earth under any law 
 that has so far been discovered to regulate the credit 
 system. Now let us see if all the nations of the earth 
 could afford one per cent, simple annual interest. We 
 will just illustrate this by saying there are some rich 
 Hebrew bankers located in the largest city on earth and 
 were favorably located to receive the commerce of the 
 world. These bankers owned a controlling interest in 
 all the gold mines of the world, also a controling in- 
 terest in all the merchant ships of the great and small 
 seas and also a controling interest in all railroad 
 systems and they had finally cornered all the money of 
 the earth. In so much all nations would agree to bor- 
 row all of it at one per cent and all that might be 
 coined from their rich goM mines and all that they had 
 accumulated from their ships and railroad systems. 
 
 In the first place, we will just say the entire 
 amount of monetized money of all nations, 
 all told to start with is twenty billion dollars, 
 being equally divided, viz: gold and silver, 
 and those Hebrews would loan the entire amount 
 to the nations of the world at one per cent, 
 annual interest, the notes being drawn for one hun- 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 79. 
 
 dred years, interest payable annually and the nations 
 agreeing to borrow it at the same rate of interest and 
 on the first day of January of each year to borrow of 
 the Hebrews what they had accumulated by their in- 
 vestments at the same per cent, and every note drawn, 
 principle to be paid one hundred years from date. 
 Now the interest the first year would be two hundred 
 million and one hundred times two hundred millions is 
 twenty billion, which would equal the principle, amount- 
 ing in all, less the interest on the interest, forty billion 
 instead of the twenty billion, which was the first 
 amount borrowed. 
 
 Now if it has taken all the nations of the earth 
 since Joseph introduced national slavery, which is 
 thirty six hundred years to gather twenty billion dol- 
 lars, how can the people of our century gather twenty 
 billion dollars in one century, let alone the 
 amount of one per cent simple annual interest which 
 would begin doubling itself in the third year of the 
 second century, from the time the first loan was made 
 which would be a nice income to the Hebrews each 
 New Year's morning, which would amount to over one- 
 hundred and twenty billion in two-hundred and four 
 years, which would be one-hundred billion usury, not 
 speaking of the interest of the money gathered from 
 the mines, the ships and the railroad systems. 
 
 Now if one per cent, usury is a greater amount 
 than can be paid without it absorbing all the property 
 on earth and in earth and on the water and in the 
 water, and it being a less per cent, than the nations 
 are paying, is it any wonder that there are millions of 
 homeless, hungry slaves, and that all nations are poor 
 
So. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 as nations and all credit systems are rich. It seems, 
 according to the incorporated capital stocky or rather 
 credit stock, of the credit systems af America, incor- 
 porated under the different state laws, each credit 
 system claiming to have a certain amount of capital 
 stock, this, including! the railroad credit systems^ in all 
 being above twenty-eight billion dollars. And Great 
 Britian elaimesto be a greater creditor nation than 
 America, and it is claimed a great deal is loaned to 
 American credit systems. England and her colonies, 
 over which she has dominion, the capital stock on 
 credit systems must be at least thirty billion. 
 
 Then there is Germany, Russia, Austria, France, 
 Spain, China, Japan ancl a number of other countries, 
 besidesMexico and South America, all told, it is safe 
 to say would amount to one hundred billion, and at no 
 less than four per cent., which would be four billion per 
 year and would cost the nations ten million nine hundred 
 thousand nine hundred and four dollars per day, four 
 hundred and fifty-six thousand six hundred and twenty 
 dollars per hour; seven thousand six hundred and ten 
 dollars per minute, and one hundred and twenty-six 
 dollars per second, to practice the credit system. 
 
 After the credit system has swallowed up all the 
 money allowed as a medium of exchange, this monster 
 is still unsatisfied. Like a famine it devours all before 
 it. It requiring as one year's rations thousands of 
 cattle, and sheep and hogs, inumerable bushels of 
 wheat and corn and vegetables and fruits, and tons of 
 iron and steel, and miscellaneous merchandise and 
 deeds to lands and railroad stock, and interest-bearing 
 b(?ads on municipalities. And after this monster has 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 8l. 
 
 feasted sumpteously for one whole year it is just like 
 the seven ill-favored cattle Pharaoh saw in his dream 
 that were still ill-favored after eating the other cat- 
 tle larger than themselves, but being ill-favored and 
 bad formed as ever. 
 
 The lords of usury in making out reports on the 
 import and export trade, have continually deceived 
 us, saying that exports exceed our imports to the 
 extent of several hundred million dollars annually in 
 our favor, while the reverse is true. For exports and 
 imports have three clasificatioris; first gold, second 
 silver, and third merchandise, which includes all other 
 articles of trade. Now if we have exported, say 
 three hundred million dollars per year more than has 
 been imported, for thirty years the exports would 
 amount to nine billion dollars in excess of imports. 
 
 When will they ever send us this other nine billion 
 or how are the books balanced each year? Could it 
 be there is actually Hebrew bankers over in London 
 who just credit American borrowers with three hun- 
 dred million, the amount of interest we have to pay 
 them and while the credit systems of usury live, the cash 
 systems can't be practiced as it should be. And to far- 
 ther legalize usury let it be nations or individuals is to 
 fight against the commandments of God; the teaching 
 of the bible. They must fight against the true princi- 
 ples of business and as yet it has enslaved every nation 
 that has adopted its systems. 
 
 America's resources for every need of man are 
 unsurpassed on earth, yet our country has less than 
 two billion dollars of money as a medium of exchange, 
 but is paying usury on twenty-eight billion at an average 
 
82. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 of five per cent. The annual interest being three-fourths 
 the amount of money allowed us for exchange. Yet the 
 money trust is trying to cut the money medium down 
 one-half to strengthen private credit and get a higher 
 profit on our labor, and to cut off all hope of our sons 
 and daughters going into business in any line of industry 
 with a small capital. There is a trust of credit formed 
 on every article of life and our sons and daughters are 
 compelled to either work as the trusts direct and at 
 their wages or starve. Then the trusts issue usury 
 bonds and sell the profits of our labor to the stock 
 gamblers; so we are slaves in our own country. 
 
 But our greatest usury is forced upon us by the 
 trusts of credit. There is the incorporation bonds 
 bearing usury as soon as the corporation is formed 
 and will continue to breed usury bonds as long as the 
 corporation lives. It makes no difference how high its 
 stock sells or how low it will collect usury, while on 
 earth it exists. Then this is not all. The one sideness 
 of this class of usury, especially transportation incor- 
 poration usury. They are not in any way restricted 
 in the number of bonds they issue. It is often twice 
 the amount of the value of all their property. 
 
 Yet they are the worst opposers to the govern- 
 ment in which they exist, being delivered from the 
 credit system. Yet they exact cash in hand of all 
 their patrons. If they carry a passenger they must 
 buy a ticket, paying the cash for the full distance in ad- 
 vance, they expect to travel; and all local freight must 
 be paid for before it leaves their depot. So must car 
 load lots. While most all merchants and manufactur- 
 ers and farmers, in fact all producers and consumers. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 83. 
 
 excepting credit and creed, would like to go to the 
 cash basis instead of credit and Christ instead of creed. 
 But as it is, the railroad credit systems hive no less 
 than ten billion credit bonds and stocks in the credit 
 market of which they pay at least five per cent, usury, 
 which they collect of their patrons, which amounts to 
 five hundred million dollars annually. Then high sal- 
 aries to railroad officials. Many of the presidents of 
 the different companies receive as high a salary as the 
 president of the United States and some even higher. 
 Then, in addition to this, a handsome dividend to stock 
 holders after all other expenses are paid. So you see 
 they practice the credit system with the lords of credit 
 and the cash system with their helpless patrons, which 
 drains the nation of what little money is allowed us 
 as a medium of exchange; robbing both producer and 
 consumer. 
 
 The railway being the greatest private credit 
 system in existence and the most dangerous to the cash 
 system, for at the present time its bonds exceed the 
 cash of the nation not less than eight billion, and 
 each year declares a large dividend above all expenses 
 including their interest or usury; while poor old Uncle 
 Sam can only report what he and his children are in 
 debt to this great power of private credit. 
 
 While Great Britian as a nation is just as poor as 
 America, being subjugated by her own private credit 
 systems. While they have favored the queen and her 
 royal family with great wealth, yet the masses of Brit- 
 ian and her many colonies are tenants and wage earn- 
 ers, being allowed a small amount of money as a 
 medium of exchange; thereby forcing its labor to slave 
 
84. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 wages. Many have wondered how so small a country 
 can support so many people, even if they can force 
 them to labor at such low prices. In addition to this 
 thay have to maintain the largest standing army in the 
 world and the strongest and most costly navy to hold 
 all her colonies. 
 
 The fact is, the colonies are forced to pay the 
 private credit systems of Great Britian high usury, 
 amounting to many millions yearly. The masses of 
 North America contribute vast sums of money and 
 merchandise to support and enrich England's credit- 
 ors; for since i860 America has made heavy 
 usury payments to support the great credit systems of 
 England. And at the time most of the obligations 
 were contracted it was to be paid in the monetized 
 money of America; namely silver and gold at a ratio of 
 about fifteen to one. So it was with most of the obli- 
 gations of England's colonies and millions of dollars 
 was loaned to India of silver at about the same ratio. 
 
 The agents of the great credit systems of England 
 secured help from the credit systems of America to in- 
 duce congress to suspend any further coinage of silver 
 in America, in 1873, which soon depreciated silver in 
 America and appreciated gold. Yet all merchandise 
 we exported to England, being the leading market of 
 the world, depreciated one-half in value, which so op- 
 pressed the producers of America for the next five 
 years, silver was again allowed to be coined in limited 
 quantities and was again raised a few million per year 
 in 1890, but entirely suspended in 1893. So it was in 
 India, which causes all merchandise provisions 
 to fall in value to a less price than prior to 1873; 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 85. 
 
 England bcin^ the greatest consumer of provisions 
 their income being just the same as it was when the 
 standard money was silver as well as gold. 
 
 Under this new condition they could now buy of 
 those who had to pay their usury interest just twice 
 the amount of provisions as they could under the 
 double standard, for America and the other nations 
 that b orrowed of England's credit systems and her 
 colonies and India had to still pay their usury on their 
 old silver loans. The English credit systems having 
 made themselves safe by exchanging all their silver 
 for first class notes, which would bring them as much 
 usury as would paper bought with gold, all the loss 
 falling on the debtors. These creditors are yet receiv- 
 ing millions of dollars of usury on their old silver loans 
 but refuse to take silver for more than half what they 
 sold it for. 
 
 It seems the English credit systems are so well 
 satisfied with North American investments of credit 
 that they are greatly interested in fastening the sy- 
 stem upon us, as they have upon England, for we clear 
 them a greater amount of money to the amount invest- 
 ed than they can make off Englishmen, for we are not 
 aware of our conditions yet. Not suspecting the final 
 outcome, we are industrious, ingenious, inventive, 
 quick to accept a chance to speculate, very percevering 
 we will run great risks, hard to discourage, full of self 
 reliance, and after we see we are getting the worst of 
 it we are to proud to own it. We have been taught to 
 respect our political masters and they have taught us 
 we should trust in them more than in a sober thought 
 and a just government guided by the spirit of God. 
 
S6. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 For that reason, we are greatly desired for credit 
 slaves. So we, with all other nations that have been 
 foolish enough to adapt the English credit systems 
 are as much her credit slaves as her colonies. A yoke 
 of bondage we and our children will have to bear as 
 long as credit is practiced instead of cash. 
 
 For by whom a nation is overcome it is the ser- 
 vant of that power to obey. Why then claim to be 
 christianized if we practice the same customs that were 
 practiced by Egypt thirty-five hundred years ago? Is 
 it possible that the love of lordship credit is more to be 
 desired by the rulers of our nations than eternal life and 
 liberty for all their people? For whatsoever ruler that 
 leads his nation into captivity shall go into captivity, 
 for by whatsoever a ruler is overcome and into which 
 he leads his nation, he and his nation are slaves to that 
 master. So when Pharaoh made Joseph governor over 
 all Egypt and gave him liberty to teach his senators 
 and bind his princes at his will, Joseph soon led all 
 Egypt into slavery. While he enjoyed the pleasure of 
 lordship for a short time it dug a pit of slavery for his 
 own nation and his own children with them. 
 
 Now it seems the Josephs are not all dead, but the 
 modern Josephs are cunning enough to lead captive the 
 rulers of most all nations into servitude. In so 
 much they have induced the law makers to 
 legalize high usury and to carry national loans 
 for so long the principle in many cases has been 
 paid in usury several times, yet the debt is often 
 funded to favor the great gold trust. But the national 
 debt is only a drop in the bucket, so to speak, where 
 the credit system can obtain a foot-hold on a nation's 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 87. 
 
 industrious, hard-laboring people. They go right into 
 the congress or senate and to the president, if he will 
 tolerate it — which some will if it is not made public — 
 and there make some law maker rich in a short time 
 and get all they can find of the Joseph nature to stop 
 minting the silver, the product even of the country. 
 Then they send agents into every productive part of 
 the nation and secure as many loans on all real estate 
 at as high usury as possible. 
 
 Then they organize the Joseph bankers as they 
 did in Egypt to make the money scarce when the yield 
 of grain is plenteous, so as to force them to put the 
 grain on the market at low prices, which the gamblers 
 hold till they hear of some other nation that has had a 
 famine, then they sell it to them at a high price, often 
 causing the famined nation to make a popular loan at 
 high usury which increases the labor burden still 
 harder. Then they buy up all the mines of gold, silver, 
 lead, zinc, iron, coal, gas wells and petroleum supplies, 
 and then take charge of what God gave for one as 
 much as the other. And these Josephs get the law 
 makers of nations or states to legalize this wholesale 
 usurpation and full control of every God-given benefit 
 to man. 
 
 Where they get entire control of some country 
 and shut off all competition of the country, they con- 
 tract the amount of money and get a heavy tax on real 
 estate with excessive usury for delinquent tax. Soon 
 the money is so scarce that all farm products are very 
 low. Then agents of the credit systems of the money 
 trust open up an office in every county to sell their 
 money for real estate paper and town property. They 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 soon have millions of mortgage paper in every county ; 
 then they soon double their money. Yet the poor 
 land-tillers are greatly discouraged. Many have given 
 up their homesteads and become tenants. Then it is 
 lords and tenants, or in other words, masters and 
 slaves. 
 
 When labor says anything about the treachery of 
 usury, they are told it was bad management, Now 
 many of the victims of usury worked harder than any 
 chattel slave, trying to pay out and save their home- 
 stead, but after years of the hardest kind of labor and 
 many nights studying every honest plan to meet their 
 obligations; but when all farther efforts are useless 
 then he and his family are turned out of house and 
 home, without money and without property and all of 
 a lifetime's work unrewarded. Yet others are in dan- 
 ger of loosing their homes in town by legal usury, when 
 the city paves a street or makes other public improve- 
 ments, the property along either side is taxed for the 
 cost thereof, which sometimes reaches up to thousands 
 of dollars, some having no surplus money they are ob- 
 liged to defer payment and pay a high usury 
 and often robs the house of all comforts and their 
 children of their schooling and put the whole family 
 in credit slavery. 
 
 Now is this usury a benefit even to the takers of 
 usury, after he ha^ got his neighbor's house and farm 
 and money? Does it bring happiness to the usurer, or 
 does it bring additional care and vexations? Can the 
 usurer live in many houses at the same time? No. 
 Can he eat, drink, wear and enjoy more of the natural 
 blessings of life, than they who have wholesome food 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 8q. 
 
 and comfortable raiment? Mo. Can he be a man of 
 mercy to himself, to toil and worry his body and vex 
 his brain for something he don't need? Can he pos- 
 sibly enj ^y more of his wealth than bis board and 
 clothes; which if men would be contented with the 
 abundance God supplies for all, than all would enjoy 
 it together. 
 
 Bat those who are in favor of division, which is al- 
 ways the result of usury, whose lords always secure f jr 
 themselves a membership m the most popular 
 churches and have got thousands of their ministers to 
 blin i the people as did the priests of Egypt. All they 
 ever did to amount to anything was to attend funerals 
 and hold the corpse for forty days until the relatives 
 paid all his or her debts, for they practiced th?^ credit 
 system, as the priests told them they must pay their 
 debts or their bodies would never be resurrected. 
 Those Egyptian priests were so covetous they would 
 dun a debtor indirectly through their living relatives 
 forty days after he was dead. So by usury and priest 
 craft Egypt was made the least of all nations, which 
 was once the niost powerful. And it does not take 
 one long to see that a nation is on its road to Egypt 
 where usury and priest craft are the controling powers. 
 And such nations are mott opposed to cash and Christ 
 and eqaal rights to all and full reward for labor. Yet 
 they defend usury, that which has robbed the tilled 
 fields of all their yield and he who reaped them of all 
 his wages; the vineyards of all their fruit and the 
 dresser of it of his reward; the rich pastures of their 
 fat cattle and sheep and horses, and the herdsmen and 
 shepherd of his reward; the mountains of their miner- 
 
90. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 als and the earth of its oil wells, and all of the miners 
 of their reward. 
 
 Men and women toil all their lives in a land of 
 plentv, yet often hungry; and have need of better 
 clothing^. When asked why this is, they say there must 
 be something wrong, but what is wrong, we can't tell, 
 never suspecting usury. Yet they struggle and toil on 
 each year, Gad sending the early and the latter fains 
 and abundant crops; yet they get nothing for their 
 labor after their interest is paid. When they ask why 
 times are so hard for the laboring people, there stands 
 the agent of credit ready to say this is the most pros- 
 perous year for commerce the nation has ever known. 
 Well, says the laboring man, it seems money must be 
 scarce. The credit agent says the banks are well sup- 
 plied and if a man has anything to get money with he 
 can get plenty. Well, answers the laborer, our hands 
 are strong, and ready to work, but you count that 
 no hing, in commerce, I suppose. Oh well, answers 
 the credit agent, over production causes that. 
 
 Well, how does a plentiful year reduce wages for the 
 laborer, and cause him to suffer right in the midst of 
 plenty, and on the other hand, give great profit to the 
 credit systems? Well, says one, every man who wants 
 a job can get one. That is true, but did not all Israel 
 get a job of Pharaoh? Did not all the slaves in the 
 days of chattel slavery get a job? Who got the profits? 
 Where, if money was plenty to exchange values on 
 a cash basis, all could have shared alike; all would 
 have done wall enough; none wjuld have done too 
 well, and none would hive done bad, for cash acts alike 
 for all. 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. QI. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some may. think the scriptures jusnfv the taking of 
 usury. For that reason we will give, with all the con- 
 necting circumstances, every passage relating to usury 
 which is mentioned in the old testament and in the new 
 scriptures. First, Exodus 22-25. Among crimes pro- 
 hibited we find the following: If thou lend money to 
 any of my people that is poor, by thee, thou shalt not 
 be to him as an usurer neither shalt thou lay upon him 
 usury. Second, Levitus 25-37. This passage recom- 
 mends compassion on the poor referring to both the 
 poverty stricken Jew and the stranger as a sojourner. 
 Take thou no usury of him nor increase. Thou shalt 
 not give him thy money upon usury nor lend him thy 
 victuals for increase. Third, Deut. 23, 19 20. Thou 
 shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of 
 money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent 
 upon usury. Unto a stranger thou miyest lend upon 
 usury, but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon 
 usury, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that 
 thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou 
 goest to possess it. This last verse has often been 
 quoted to justify usury, yet it is limited to a stranger 
 for he must be one not a sojourner. So Moses finally 
 advised it as a war measure upon hostile nations which 
 would be a sure way to subjugate them. In this way 
 the inhabitants of Canaan, were m ide hewers of wood, 
 and drawers of water for the Hebrews. Fourth, Neh. 
 5-7. In the fifth chapter of Neh. we find that great 
 distress prevailed among the Jews. Some were not 
 able to redeem their children which were sold for usury 
 debt. Some had mortgaged their farms and others 
 
Q2. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 their vineyards to pay their taxes, and that to the 
 Jews. When Nehemiah came back from Babylonish 
 captivity, he found this state of affairs and rebuked the 
 nobles and rulers, and said unto them, you exact usury, 
 every one of his brother and he set a great assembly 
 against them. Then the nobles restored all they had 
 taken by usury, even their vineyards and lands and 
 money and their sons and daughters. Fifth, Psalms 
 15, 5. This passage of scripture is David's description 
 of an upright man. He that putteth not out his money 
 to usurv, nor taketh reward against the innocent. 
 Sixth, Prov. 28, 8. He that by usury and unjust gain 
 increaseih his substance, he shall gather it for him that 
 will pity the poor. This does not seem to convey the 
 idea that this unjust usurer will give it to the poor or 
 pity them, but will gather it tcge-ther to fall into the 
 hands of someone that will. Seventh, Isa. 24, 2. We find 
 the prophet speaks of a time when the taker of usury 
 will be as the giver of usury. Eighth, Jer. 15,10. The 
 prophet says, I have neither lent on usury, nor have 
 men lent to me on usury, yet every one of them doth 
 curse me. Ninth, tenth and ele^^enth, Ezekial eigh- 
 teenth chapter contains an enumeration of crimes and 
 among them is usury, which if practiced, would subject 
 a man to the death penalty and the avoidance of which 
 would make him eligible to life. Twelfth, Ez. 22, 12. 
 Usury and extortion are among the crimes charged 
 against Jerusalem. This concludes the twelve passages 
 that refers to usury in the old testament. Next we find 
 in the new scriptures. Matt. 25, 27. We find these 
 words, thououghtest therefore to have put my money 
 to the exchangers and then at my coming I should 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 93- 
 
 have received mine own with usury. This scriptvre 
 has often been quoted in defense of usury. Why 
 should it be used? It was the word of the rich usury 
 lord spoken of by Jesus in a parable, who reaped what 
 others had sown and gathered what others had strewn, 
 and takes from him that has one talent, and gives to 
 him that has ten and takes from him that hath not, and 
 gives to him that haih abundance and when his ser- 
 vant refused to practice usury, he was angry with him 
 because he had not turned the money over to the ex- 
 changers that he might from them have gotten his 
 own with usury at his coming. I suppose the money 
 changers at Jerusalem that Jesus drove out of the 
 temple would have given him two talents for one for 
 the use of it, for that was what he received from his 
 other servants. The next and last reference is found 
 in Luke 19. 23. Wherefore then gavest not thou 
 my money into the bank? that at my coming I 
 might have required mine own with usury. This pass- 
 age, is similar to the one in Matthew, only these are 
 the words of a nobleman that took a kingdom by usury 
 and was hated by the cit'zens of his government, but 
 had finally gotten dominion, and was around reckon- 
 ing with his usury takers. We notice one of his ser- 
 vants had gained one thousand per cent, on the money 
 that was left him, which so pleased his master that he 
 gave him authority over ten cities and another servant 
 had gained five hundred per cen'-. and was appointed 
 ruler over five cities, but the third brought a serious 
 charge against his master, which the king admitted 
 was trae, it being the same as the charge preferred 
 against the lord of usury in the preceeding parable in 
 
94- USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Matthew. Then this servant brought back the pound 
 that had been left with him, and gave it to the unmer- 
 ciful, and covetous king. This vexed the king and he 
 upbraided him and asked him why, after he had made up 
 his mind that usury was wrong that he did not deposit 
 his money in the bank that he might have received his 
 own with usury at his coming. So we see banks paid 
 a per cent on time deposits in that day, the same as 
 they do now. I have given all the scripture showing 
 the evils of usury. 
 
 I have now proved from the Bible itself that it con- 
 tains no warrant for the odious practice, but generally 
 where it is spoken of it is classed with heinous crimes. 
 
 7 PER CENT. BETTER THAN FOUR MEN. 
 
 I shall now ask your careful attention to a demon- 
 stration that seven per cent, compounded semi-annu- 
 ally will gather wealth faster than four men can earn 
 it, and this is in a single lifetime. 
 
 I find this computation in Kellogg's New Mone- 
 tary System. 
 
 Two mechanics, just come of age, are desirous of 
 accumulating large fortunes. They are good work- 
 men, and each is able to earn a dollar a day over 
 and above his expenses. Every six months they 
 loan the money thus earned at seven per cent, in- 
 terest, the interest payable half yearly. They set 
 their affections upon being rich, and therefore do 
 not burden themselves with a house and family. 
 These men earn an average of a dollar a day, be- 
 sides their expenses, three hundred days in each 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 95. 
 
 year, during forty years and four months. Their 
 age is then sivty-one years and four months. Each 
 earns by labor $300 per year for forty years, or for 
 the whole period, $12,100 — together $24,200. The 
 interest on their earnings, loaned half yearly, for a 
 period of forty years and four months, accumulates 
 an amount which will be seen by reference to the 
 following table. Interest at seven per cent, per an- 
 num, paid and re-loaned half-yearly, accumulates a 
 sum equal to the principal in ten years and one month. 
 
 TABLE. 
 
 INTEREST AT SEVEN PER CENT. ON $300. 
 1st half year they earn 
 
 1300 00 
 
 by their labor - 
 
 6 moaths' interest at 7 
 
 per cent - - - - - 
 
 2nd half year'a labor - 
 
 6 months' interest - - 
 
 3rd half year's labor - 
 
 6 month's interest - - 
 
 4th half year's labor - 
 
 6 month's interest - - 
 
 Sth half year's labor - 
 
 6 month's interest - - 
 
 6th half year's labor - 
 
 6 month's interest - - 
 
 10 50 
 
 310 50 
 300 00 
 
 610 50 
 
 21 37 
 
 631 87 
 300 00 
 
 931 87 
 25 61 
 
 964 48 
 300 00 
 
 1264 48 
 44 26 
 
 1308 74 
 300 00 
 
 1608 74 
 56 30 
 
 1665 04 
 300 00 
 
 1965 04 
 68 78 
 
 Amount broug-ht up 
 7th half year's labor 
 
 2033 82 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 8th half year's labor - 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 9th half year's labor 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 10th half year's labor 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 11th half year's labor 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 12th half year's labor 
 
 6 month's interest - 
 
 2033 82 
 - 300 00 
 
 2333 82 
 81 68 
 
 2415 50 
 • 300 00 
 
 2715 50 
 95 04 
 
 2810 54 
 - 300 00 
 
 3110 54 
 
 - 108 87 
 
 3219 41 
 - 300 00 
 
 3519 4I 
 ■ 123 18 
 
 3642 59 
 - 300 00 
 
 3942 59 
 137 99 
 
 4080 58 
 - 300 00 
 
 4380 58 
 153 32 
 
 4533 90 
 
q6 
 
 USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 Amount brought up - 4589 90 
 13th half year's labor - 300 00 
 
 6 tnonth's interest 
 
 4833 90 
 169 18 
 
 5003 08 
 14th half year's labor - 300 00 
 
 5303 08 
 185 61 
 
 6 month's interest 
 
 5488 69 
 15th half year's labor - 300 00 
 
 5788 69 
 6 month's interest - - 202 60 
 
 5991 29 
 16th half year's labor - 300 00 
 
 6 tnonth's interest 
 
 6291 29 
 220 20 
 
 6511 49 
 17th half year's labor - 300 00 
 
 6811 49 
 
 Amount brought up 
 6 month's interest - 
 
 18th half year's labor 
 6 month's interest - - 
 19th half year's labor 
 6 month's interest - - 
 20th half year's labor 
 6 month's interest - - 
 Add one month's labor 
 
 6811 
 
 238 
 
 49 
 40 
 
 7049 89 
 300 00 
 
 7349 89 
 257 25 
 
 7607 14 
 300 00 
 
 7907 14 
 276 75 
 
 8183 89 
 300 00 
 
 8483 
 49 
 
 89 
 49 
 
 8533 
 - 50 
 
 38 
 00 
 
 $3583 38 
 
 In the first ten years and one month, the two men earn by 
 
 their labor .-..._i.- 
 Interest thereon during this period . . . - - 
 
 In the 2nd ten years and one month, the interest on this 
 sum equals the principal - . - - 
 
 2d 10 years and 1 month's lobor and interest thereon 
 
 3rd 
 3rd 
 
 4th 
 4th 
 
 interest 
 
 labor and interest thereon 
 
 interest - ' - 
 
 labor and interest thereon 
 
 $6050 00 
 2533 38 
 
 ,8583 38 
 8583 38 
 
 17166 
 
 8583 
 
 76 
 
 38 
 
 25750 
 25750 
 
 14 
 14 
 
 51500 
 8583 
 
 28 
 38 
 
 60083 
 60,083 
 
 66 
 66 
 
 1201^^' 
 
 32 
 38 
 
 128750 
 
 70 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 97. 
 
 Arnount brought over .... 128,750 70 
 
 In 40 years and 4 months the men earn by their labor - 24,200 00 
 
 Remainder accumulated by interest - - - $104,550 70 
 
 The interest on the sum $24,200, earned by their labor is $104,550 70— 
 over four and a quarter times more than they have earned by their 
 labor. Suppose the two men to live twenty years and two months 
 longer — that is, to the age of eighty-one years and six months — and 
 continue to loan their money. During this period it would double twice. 
 
 Thus - - - $128,750 70 
 
 10 years and 1 month's interest .... 128,750 70 
 
 257,501 40 
 2d 10 years and one month's interest - - - 257,501 40 
 
 Total accumulation in 60 years and 6 months - - $515,002 80 
 
 The two men do not labor during the last 20 years and 2 
 
 months, and expend for their living during that period 15,002 80 
 
 500,000 00 
 
 In 40 years and 4 months, they earn by their labor $24,000 
 and live twenty years and 2 months on their money with- 
 out labor. 
 
 Subtract money earned by labor . - - . . 24,200 00 
 
 Remainder accumulated by interest on $24,200 - $475,800 00 
 
 Every dollar of the $475,800 is earned by the labor of others and 
 given to the two men, as the legal interest upon $24,000. These men 
 live laboriously, and work for a very moderate compensation. They 
 take only the legal rate of interest, and do not demand the principal 
 of the money as long as the interest is paid. Neither do they enter 
 into any speculations. It is, therefore, said that labor earns their 
 large fortunes. Cases similar to this are often broue^ht to prove that 
 an industrious man may, by his labor, accumulate a large property. 
 That this conclusion is erroneous, is manifest from the .foregoing 
 table, by which it appears that more than nineteen out of twenty parts 
 of the large fortunes of these men are earned by others, and paid to 
 them to satisfy the legal interest on their loans of money. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I will now now present you some of the opinions of 
 ministers and of statesmen and philosophers. 
 
98. USURY vs. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 The catechism of the Council of Trent says that 
 "Whatever is received above the principal lent, or the 
 capital that was given, whether it be money or any- 
 thing else that may be purchased or estimated in money 
 — is usury." 
 
 Bishop Jewell, in 1560 A. D. wrote upon the crime of 
 
 / usury as follows: "It is filthy gains and a work of 
 
 ' darkness; it is a monster in nature, the overthrow of 
 
 ( mighty kingdoms, the destruction of flourishing states. 
 
 the decay of wealthy cities, the plagues of the world 
 
 and the misery of the people. This is usury. By these 
 
 signs and tokens ye shall know it, for wherever it 
 
 reigneth all these mischiefs ensue.' 
 
 Again he says: 
 
 "Oar fathers so much abhored this trade that they 
 thought an usurer unworthy to live in company with 
 Christian men. They suffered not an usurer to be a 
 witness in matters of law; they suffered him not to 
 make a testament nor to bestow his goods by will. 
 When a usurer died, they would not suffer him to be 
 buried in the place appointed for the burial of Chris- 
 tians." 
 
 Of the fathers the bishop says: 
 
 "There never was any religion, nor sect, nor state, 
 nor degree, nor profession of men, but they have dis- 
 liked it. Philosophers, Greeks, Lawyers, Divines, 
 Catholics, heretics, all tongues and nations have ever 
 thought an usurer as dangerous as a thief. The very 
 sense of nature proves it to be so. If the stones could 
 speak, they would say as much." 
 
 Tacitus says: "The existence of usury for the use of 
 money is one of the greatest evils of the Roman com- 
 monwealth." 
 
USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 99. 
 
 Aristotle says: (Book II, Chap. I.) "The practice of 
 receiving usury on money is detestable." 
 
 St. Chrysostrum says: "Nothing exceeds in barbar- 
 ity the modern system of usury. Indeed, these usurers 
 traffic in other people's misfortunes, seeking gain 
 through their adversity; under pretense of compassion, 
 they dig for the oppressed pit of misery; under pre- 
 tense of giving aid they grind the indigent, extending 
 the hand to receive them into the harbor from the 
 storm, they allure them only to be ship-wrecked upon 
 the shoals and sands of an unseen whirlpool. ' 
 
 John Ruskin's name is familiar to everyone who 
 prizes the beauties of English literature. After a care- 
 ful study of human nature and the inflaences at work 
 in society, he says: 
 
 'There is nothing really more monstrous in any re- 
 corded savagery or absurdity of mankind than that 
 governments should be able to get money for any 
 folly they may choo>e to commit by selling to capital- 
 ists the right of taxing future generations to the end 
 of time. All the crudest wars inflicted, all the basest 
 luxuries grasped by the idle classes, are thus paid for 
 by the poor a hundred times over." 
 
 Perhaps no tongue in the world was better able to 
 characterize interest than that of the late Rev. H. W. 
 Beecher, who said: "No blister draws sharper than 
 interest does. Of all industries, none is comparable to 
 interest. It works all day and night. It makes no 
 noise, but travels fast. It binds industry with its film, 
 as a fly is bound in a spider's web. Debts roll a man 
 over and over, binding him hand and foot, letting him 
 hang upon the fatal mesh till the long-legged interest 
 
 Lore. 
 
lOO. USURY VS. CASH AND CHRIST. 
 
 devours him. There is but one thing on the arm like 
 it, and that is the Canada thistle, which swarms new 
 plants every time you break its roots, whose blossoms 
 are prolific and every flower the father of a million 
 seeds; every leaf is an awl, every branch a spear, every 
 plant a platoon of bayonets, and a field of them an 
 armed host. The whole plant is a torment and a vege- 
 table curse, and yet a man had better make his bed of 
 Canada thistles than try to be at ease upon interest. 
 
 I will introduce but one more witness, and that the 
 greatest of England's jurists and one of her ablest 
 thinkers. Sir Wm. Blackstone. His testimony is touch- 
 ing the position of the church upon this question. 
 "The school divines have branded the practice to tak- 
 ing interest as contrary to divine law, both natural and 
 revealed, and the canon law proscribes the taking even 
 the least increase for the loan of money as mortal sin." 
 
 But some may possibly persist in declaring that 
 "usury" in its bible sense is illegal interest. If 
 this idea is followed out, it amounts to placing the law 
 of usury above divine law. 
 
 I will now leave the subject with you to ponder over 
 in your own minds that you may, in th^ presence of a 
 just God, decide whether you and your children are 
 willing to be the slaves of the lords of usury, or 
 whether you, as free men will demand of our con- 
 gress sufficient money to exchange values on a cash 
 basis without usury. 
 
80 
 
> 
 
 V .. '^' 
 
 
 
 ^^0^ 
 
 <b^ O, - o « o 
 
 ^'•^.. '«' 
 
 
 
 
 
 r . < • 
 
 6^ . 
 
 
 
 
 
 * <r 
 
 ,^^ o. 
 
 
 
 
 
 V. 
 
 C° .' 
 
 / 'S.. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 A r. » " " 
 
 
 A. 
 
 .0 ^<^ *,,,• ^^>^ 
 
 %/ ' !*jfe\ ■%>/' ••^&". %/ ''i 
 
 
 
 
 I »^ . t • o '^' 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,..,^.^ N. MANCHESTER, 
 ^^^' INDIANA 46962 
 
 :* -3.^ "^^ ^mm'.^ j^ 'h. <^ 
 
 
 
 C^ * 
 
 0* 
 
 <6 9^