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 S^^^^Sra^^^^^w^a^^^^W^^^ 
 
 A Live 22 Let Live 
 
 Price System 
 
 *>1 
 
 +>&*^+- 
 
 B Y 
 
 SANK THOMPSON, 
 ' ' The King Detective. ' ' 
 
 V^ 
 
 ALL RtGHTS RESERVED^ 
 
 
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 . -■• 
 
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'}l Lives Let Live Price System" 
 
 SANK THOMPSON 
 
 THE KING DETECTIVE: 
 
 
 [ ALL EIGHTS RESERVED.] 
 
 -r/ 
 
 Jj/fi d I z 
 
 Dalton, Ga.: 
 » The A. J. Sho waiter Co., Stationers, Printers and Binders, 
 
 1896. 
 

 V 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I have obtained the title of "The King Detective" but 
 not the title of the King Writer. I have devoted the most 
 of my spare time in attempting to ascertain what to write, 
 which naturally gave me the less time in which to ascertain 
 how to write the same. The intelligent reader is not sup- 
 posed to criticise upon my style of writing, but upon what I 
 have wrote. This work, is not supposed to be endorsed by 
 the public upon the merits of its scientific and artificial style, 
 but upon the merits of its natural style and intrinsic value. 
 You will find very few, if any, artificial flowers in this garden 
 (work.) I have tackled "man's chief magistrate" known as 
 "custom" with nature's sword (pen.) Wherever he crosses 
 nature's path we collide. 
 
 But I have only been able to trace him with an imagin- 
 ary chain of circumstantial evidence. 
 
 The public are supposed to take up the case and use 
 their own discretion. 
 
 Should you wish to ascertain the exact number of 
 branches, creeks and rivulets that emptied into the Mississ- 
 ippi river, between New Orleans and Memphis, you could 
 not accomplish your purpose by simply traveling up the 
 main stream from New Orleans to Memphis upon a boat. 
 You would need to "digress," quit the main channel and 
 your steamboat, take a skiff and row up each tributary and 
 ascertain each branch that emptied into each tributary. 
 The reader will find that I of ttimes break the rules of etiquette, 
 I too often "digress," quit the main channel, in order to 
 ascertain each tributary. The work may need to be read 
 the second time before all the ideas can be gathered. The 
 work was first gotten up by a routine of "digressions," 
 which naturally gave me an opportunity to advance the 
 greater number of original ideas, but at the same time it 
 deranged the work to a great extent, it still remains a routine 
 of "digressions." Sank Thompson. 
 

 
«A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.' 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Competition and Opposition. 
 
 We have been led to believe that competition and oppo- 
 sition, between our mercantile fraternity in selling the ne- 
 cessities and luxuries of life to our own people, was the life 
 of trade. 
 
 The reason why it is utterly impossible for us to labor 
 under a broader mistake, is because, a superstitious delusion, 
 worse could not possibly exist, of a temporal character, that 
 is more detrimental, dangerous and disastrous. 
 
 The community (outside the mercantile fraternity) repre- 
 sent the trade, while the mercantile fraternity represent the 
 tradesman. Should you own a railroad running from New 
 York to Oregon, and should the community wish to force 
 you to cut your rates, the community should not have oppo- 
 sition — an opponent to build a road from Maine to California — 
 in order to force you to cut your rates in competing with 
 this opposition. If the community wish to force you to cut 
 your rates, they should not have an opponent to first rob 
 you of one half your patronage. The remedy is worse than 
 the malady. It may make little or no difference how low 
 your opponent and self may cut your rates after the patron- 
 age is divided between you two ; you could have cut your 
 rates one hundred per cent, lower with all of your original 
 patronage, and have fared the same. The community should 
 force you to, cut your rates by a law and not by an opponent. 
 A law will not rob you of any of your patronage, while an 
 opponent may rob you of one half. A law will force you to 
 cut your rates, while you have all the patronage ; while an 
 opponent will force you to cut your rates, while you only 
 have one half the patronage. 
 
6 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 The time to cut rates is while you have the whole, not 
 while you have the half. Today, New York city may own 
 a greater number of street railways, dummy lines, &c. She 
 may have more competition of this character, and yet cheaper 
 rates than is found elsewhere ; but at the same time, New 
 York city has the greatest number of inhabitants. It is true 
 that this competition forces down the rates, while at the 
 same time, it is the great amount of patronage that admits 
 of these low rates. The inhabitants of New York city have 
 a natural novel way of outwitting the competition that exist 
 among the city's railways. 
 
 The elevated railways have been only able to reach the 
 second story, while the inhabitants have a chance to double 
 and treble in numbers in proportion to the number of rail- 
 ways, by dwelling in houses as high as thirteen stories, 
 besides the underground cellar. By the inhabitants being 
 able to dwell in houses thirteen stories high besides the 
 cellar, while the elevated railways only reach the second 
 story, and do not tunnel under the streets ; by New York 
 city's railways obtaining so great amount of patronage, on 
 this account, allowing and admitting of the railways cutting 
 their rates so low, while their exists so much opposition, we 
 still continue to believe, that competition and opposition, 
 between a non-productive enterprise is the life of traffic and 
 tocle. Competition between the farming fraternity causes 
 the more pork and hominy to be raised and put upon the 
 market at a lower price. This low price is the life of the 
 community, it allows the community to prosper. The com- 
 munity represent the trade. Impoverish the community, 
 then, where is your trade ? The echo answers, where ? What 
 causes these lower prices of produce ? It is the competition 
 between a productive enterprise. Competition and opposition 
 between productive enterprises will cause the prices to 
 continue to fall, till it reaches a limit, which might prove in- 
 convenient to progress further. 
 
 While opposition between non-productive enterprises can 
 never reach a limit that would prove inconvenient to fall 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 7 
 
 below, but forces prices to remain bigh enough to allow the 
 opposition to subsist off of the community. All non-pro- 
 ductive enterprises are forced to subsist off of the community. 
 Merchandising is a non-productive enterprise, the same as 
 railroading, but of more vital importance. 
 
 We cannot "get up" a subject of a temporal character, 
 that is of more vital importance than our mode of merchan- 
 dise. It is our living. It is our life. 
 
 Our Religion and Liberty depend a great deal upon our 
 mode of -living, while our living is almost, wholly, depen 
 dent upon our mode of merchandise — our mode of selling 
 the necessities as well as the luxuries of life. The world is 
 6,000 years old, yet, still there, probably, has only been one 
 nation that protected their mode of merchandise — their 
 mode of living. Israel, while he was prospering in the land 
 of Canaan, protected his mode of merchandise, his mode of 
 living, through the aid of inspired men. The world is 6,000 
 years old, yet no nation has been able to protect its mode of 
 merchandise through the aid of intellect up to date, China 
 excepted. As yet it has only been protected through the 
 aid of inspiration. Merchandise is something that most all 
 are compelled to utilize ; both externally and internally day 
 and night, rain or shine, and we should be protected in pro- 
 curing the same, as long as we continue to be born "bare, bald 
 and hungry." Every man, woman and child, all enterprises, 
 both non-productive and productive, all monopolies and 
 money lenders, are supposed to patronize merchandise. The 
 margin, that our several retailers realize, is of the utmost 
 temporal, vital importance, Our liberty, life, and part of 
 our religion rest almost wholly upon the margin that our 
 retailers realize. This margin is similar to the mainspring of 
 a watch, most everything of a temporal character is governed 
 controlled and regulated by this movement. We have been 
 led to believe that competition and opposition between our 
 non-productive mercantile fraternity was the life of trade. 
 Who taught us to believe this superstitious delusion ? Why, 
 modern Europe. Who taught modern Europe to believe this 
 
8 
 
 mistaken idea? The echo answers, who? "Success does 
 not depend upon never making a mistake, but depends upon 
 not continuing to make the same mistake." The world has 
 always been considered a cheat. The modern world — modern 
 Europe, has always been considered a cheat. While we all 
 admit that Young America has been speculated (cheated) 
 to death. 
 
 As long as the modern world believes that opposition be- 
 tween the non-productive mercantile fraternity is the life of 
 trade — life of the people and country — so long may the modern 
 world continue to be a cheat. Competition between the non- 
 productive mercantile fraternity simply robs each merchant 
 out of his rightful share of patronage, and forces each mer- 
 chant to sell on the slow sale and large profit order ; this 
 large profit order impoverishes the trade — the community — 
 and opens the door the wider for the more opposition. A 
 non-productive merchant cannot sell according to his con- 
 science, and good looks, nor according to the number of his 
 customers, he is engaged in a non-productive enterprise ; he 
 cannot sell at a lower margin, on account of the long rows 
 and squares of business houses that are running in his city, 
 but only according to the cash (or as good as the cash) 
 patronage. By us being led to believe, that competition was 
 the life of trade, we seem to believe the same as a fact. So 
 instead of the community giving the non-productive mercantile 
 fraternity all of its patronage, the community goes in the 
 "business," and robs the merchants out of their rightful share 
 of patronage. Instead of the community feeding the mer- 
 chants upon its patronage it feeds the merchants upon com- 
 petition. Feeding our mercantile fraternity upon competition 
 is similar to feeding a "yaller" country school girl upon 
 arsenic, it is bound to create a bad result. The more the 
 community cheats the merchants by going in the business, 
 and robbing the merchants out of their share of patronage, 
 the more the merchants cheat the community by selling on 
 the slow sale and^ large profit order. So we are simply 
 cheating ourselves to death, while the cheating modern 
 
world rolls on as though naught had happened. If you are 
 a farmer, selling corn at one dollar and ten cents per bushel 
 should opposition in the shape of corn raisiug farmers set in, 
 you, then might be forced to sell your corn at twenty cents 
 per bushel. 
 
 But if you area merchant, selling a hat at one dollar and 
 ten cents, that cost you one dollar, opposition cannot force 
 you to sell this hat at twenty cents. You may now and then 
 sell remnants below cost, after you have sold articles at a 
 high margin. After a merchant has paid, or has promised 
 to pay, a certain price for his stock, he cannot sell below cost 
 and live. After too many cotton raisers raise too much cot- 
 ton, and over supply the demand, and after cotton falls from 
 ten cents down to four, some of the planters desist in order 
 that the price may advance. But after too many men go iii 
 the mercantile business it causes the margin to go up, instead 
 of down, which causes the community to persist in going in 
 the business. Nothing checks this persistency except the 
 impoverished poor's empty purse, and the sheriff's keys. 
 Should you wish to make an honest dollar "right slick," the 
 only suggestion we can give is that you drop one in a hot 
 skillet of grease. There may be three reasons why we con- 
 tinue to believe that opposition is the life of trade. The 
 first is, because our non-productive merchants utilize a pri- 
 vate cost mark, and we are unable to determine what our 
 several merchants tax us for handling the necessities of life. 
 We know .what per cent, the miller charges for toll ; what 
 percentage our banker charges for loans ; and what rates we 
 pay per mile for car fare. We can obtain correct quotations 
 on corn and cotton, and once could obtain the actual cost of 
 man, (the African slave) but the merchant's margin, upon 
 the necessities of life has been a "sealed book ;" probably, 
 ever since the dark waves of the dark ages swept over the 
 partially enlightened world. The second reason is, because, 
 in our largest cities, the retail merchant is generally held 
 down on the ground floor, while the inhabitants of cities can 
 double and treble in numbers (through the aid of immigra- 
 
10 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 tion or otherwise) in proportion to the number of "ground 
 floor" merchants, by dwelling as high up as the thirteenth 
 story. This gives our merchants in large cities the more 
 patronage, who sell at a lower margin and price, than mer- 
 chants in small villages, where the '-houses" are generally of 
 two and three stories. So we continue to believe that it is 
 the competition that admits of these lower margins. The 
 third reason is, because it is only our oversold impover- 
 ished poor, who suffer the extremes on account of this super- 
 stitious delusion, that the enlightened modern world 
 borrowed from the dark ages, and have neglected to return. 
 Probably, each European country is forced to manufacture 
 and ship wares of merchandise to different couutries as 
 means of part of a livelihood. Each European country is 
 forced to compete with others in shipping manufactured 
 wares. In order that a country can manufacture cheap, it 
 must sell cheap to its own people. The country that can 
 sell the cheapest to its own people, can the better be enabled 
 to manufacture the best grade, at the least cost, and realize 
 the more profit off of its exports. This competition, that 
 naturally exists between different European countries, on 
 manufacturing and shipping wares, is the life of Europe's 
 trade, life of Europe's people, life of Europe, to a certain 
 extent, because, it naturally forces each country to sell at a 
 low margin to her own people. 
 
 Competition between different countries, in manufacturing 
 and shipping wares, is the life of trade, to a certain extent, 
 (it simply forces one country to sell her own people at as 
 low a margin as others, and they all may consolidate at most 
 any certain margin.) But competition between the mercan- 
 tile fraternity, in selling to her own people, is somewhat 
 different. All Europe may believe that competition between 
 the mercantile fraternity is the life of trade, the same as we 
 (Young America.) Yet at the same time, each European 
 country is forced to sell at as low a margin as its next door 
 neighbor. Europe may have, more or less, natural restrict- 
 ions, of different characters, that have a tendency to cause 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 11 
 
 the merchants to sell at as low a margin as they do, notwith- 
 standing the merchants of Europe are selling under a private 
 costmark, without any lawful, specified margin. Europe 
 having natural restrictions has probably been saved a great 
 deal of the hard experience that we (Young America) have 
 realized within the last thirty years. We must bear in mind 
 that modern Europe is still considered a cheat. 
 
 Her mode of selling her merchandise today, under a pri- 
 vate costmark, without any lawful margin, is probably the 
 same mode that was established one thousand years ago. 
 She today is probably tied hand and foot, by use and cus- 
 tom. Could Europe be able to establish a natural law, 
 establish a law from nature, instead of from "use and custom," 
 establish a law that was strong enough to force her merchants 
 to utilize a public costmark, and sell at low enough a margin 
 to keep off too much competition, she probably would be 
 able to "hit the nail upon the head." This one natural law 
 might be worth more than all the laws that Europe ever 
 established. This is about the only or main law that the 
 Jews utilize today among themselves ; and they don't seem 
 to require but few if any more laws. One good natural law 
 of the right character is worth a dozen borrowed ones. 
 
 Opposition, that robs the non-productive merchant out of 
 his rightful share of patronage, is the biggest thief that ever 
 went unhung. And yet our laws are too weak to control 
 this monster. We kill our merchants with kindness. We 
 have no established law that will enable our merchants to 
 protect themselves from the world's worst enemy, opposition. 
 We are unable to produce "a land flowing with milk and 
 honey," so the poorest of our poor could obtain all of the 
 necessities, if not the luxuries, of life. We cannot all prosper 
 in a flourishing manner, because we are placed in a condition 
 that we are forced to prey upon each other. 
 
 Should you find yourself in the mercantile business in 
 a small infant village, yours being the only business house 
 carrying a variety of different kinds of wares ; should oppo- 
 sition, in the shape of an opponent, open up a business house 
 
12 
 
 in opposition to you r . the community might claim that 
 this opposition, this opponent, was the life of trade This 
 opponent is supposed to protect the community from being 
 swindled or from being overcharged by you. He is supposed 
 to act as a substitute instead of a law. When the commu- 
 nity claims, that this opposition is the life of trade, it insults 
 yourself, if you knew how to appreciate this compliment. 
 If necessity required this opposition ; if the business of the 
 village actually demanded this extra business house, that 
 is a horse of another color ; but most "additions" are gener- 
 ally erected before they are required. But "where the com- 
 munity claims that this unnecessary business house, this op- 
 position, is the life of trade, it seems to doubt your fidelity. 
 
 If it wishes you to sell at a low or lower margin, it is 
 going in the exact opposite direction to accomplish this result 
 by having one of its number to go into the business, and rab 
 you of one half your original share of trade. It might prove 
 much better for the community and yourself, for all concerned, 
 to do away with this superstitious delusion, your nation es- 
 tablish a given lawful margin, while you sell at this margin, 
 under a public costmark. This opponent will rob you of 
 one half your patronage, force you to cut your margin, 
 after you have been robbed out of one-half your original amount 
 of patronage. It will make no difference at how low a margin 
 your opponent and self sell at, after the patronage is divided 
 up between the -'two of you;" you could have sold at one 
 hundred per cent, less the margin, with all your original share 
 of patronage, and fared the same. This lower margin would 
 have allowed the community to have prospered the more, 
 and given you the more patronage each succeeding year. 
 Your margin should be so low that it would be inconvenient 
 for you to go below it. This low margin would protect your 
 trade, prove the life of your trade, while it would keep off 
 the modern world's worst enemy, opposition, till necessity 
 required the erection of this second business house, the same 
 as it required the first. Where a non-productive business 
 house is required, and where the non-productive merchant 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 13 
 
 sells at as low a margin as conscience will admit of, it is 
 one of the greatest temporal blessings that can benefit man- 
 kind. But where there are too great a number of necessary 
 business houses established, a portion of them will prove to 
 be unnecessary necessities. An unnecesary necessity of the 
 business house character is one of the worst temporal curses 
 that mankind is subjected to, because the community is 
 forced to sustain these non-productive unnecessary necessities. 
 If you were forced to wear a thick, heavy, woolen overcoat, 
 "all buttoned down before," on the fourth day of July, then 
 you would be forced to patronize an unnecessary necessity. 
 You would be "as hot as love in August." Somewhat similar 
 to a hen in a wool basket, you could sweat if you could (or 
 did) not swear. 
 
 Whenever a moneyed gentleman comes to your village, 
 you all rush up to him, shake him by the hand up to the 
 elbow, put him on the near shoulder and tell him that he is the 
 very man that you all have been looking for, that he is the 
 right man in the right place ; you know he has got "sense 
 like a mule," and will go into the mercantile business in your 
 village, so as to help your little city which already has too 
 many merchants, to rob each other out of his rightful share 
 of patronage. But this is a mistaken idea. 
 
 The safest way to act toward a dead rank stranger, is 
 to treat him as a perfect gentleman, and should he turn out 
 to be a grand rascal, don't allow him to surprise you in the 
 least. The next moneyed man that comes to your village, 
 and speaks of going into the "business" endeavor to tackle 
 him in a "single handed game" of talk. Tell him that the 
 "business" has been overdone ever since New York was a 
 territory. That your village needed "buyers," not "sellers," 
 that the community is already sold to death. 
 
 Beg of him not to go into the mercantile business, but 
 if he has capital and rich relations, try and pursuade him to 
 send for his rich relations, so he and his rich relations may 
 dwell in your community, and help your community to pat- 
 ronize your city's too great a number of non-productive busi- 
 
14 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE 
 
 ness houses. He may claim that he cannot make a livelihood 
 simply by patronizing a non productive enterprise. But he 
 will have just as good a chance to make a livelihood as the 
 rest of the "dry cattle." He can try his hand at farming, 
 raising pork and hominy. He may imagine that too much 
 meat and bread stuffs are raised, but this probably is a mistake 
 A hungry tramp will eat just as much as a dyspeptic million- 
 aire. 
 
 Millions of our poor go to bed hungry and barefooted. 
 The demand for meat and bread stuffs may have slackened on 
 account of the want of means, and not on account of the 
 want of an appetite. Sixty-five millions of people will eat up a 
 great quantity of "grub" in a twelve-month time, if they 
 can get at it ; besides, what they would not waste. Probably, 
 the modern world has never raised enough meat and bread 
 stuff, since she has been considered a cheat. Has the modern 
 world's poor ever had enough meat and bread stuff ? After 
 you imbibe too much "red licquer," you naturally imagine 
 the world is "full," while it is only yourself that is a little 
 too full. Under the same principle after we eat a hearty 
 meal we imagine that no one else is "hongry." Millions of 
 the enlightened world's poor simply exist a living death, 
 exist upon one half rashions. "Lay on McDuff and d — n he 
 who first cries enough." It may not be that too great amount 
 of literature is published, that our country is overstocked 
 with the same, but it is the small amount that is read. Sixty- 
 five millions of people will read up a great deal of good, bad or 
 indifferent literature, where they get proper protection. 
 Literature, somewhat like your nose, it may be red (read). 
 
 Millions of our poor are unable to purchase a dime novel, 
 a great number of our poor are unable to read one if they 
 could purchase the same. The cheaper we can sell the 
 necessities and luxuries of life, the cheaper we can raise and 
 manufacture the same. The cheaper the necessities and lux- 
 uries of life can be put upon the market, the better our trade, 
 the better our people can prosper. What is cheap rates, low 
 margins and cheap prices ? Poe says : "We can only recog- 
 
15 
 
 nize good and ill, by comparison." It used to cost twenty- 
 five cents to send a letter one hundred miles; today, you 
 can send a letter "across the continent," for two cents. After 
 postage had fallen from twenty-five cents to ten the people 
 then may have imagined that postage was cheap, because 
 they then had not had a fair chance to make a comparison. 
 
 We should not pay all our attention to the price of wares, 
 but should know what margin our several merchants were 
 charging us for handling the necessities of life. A merchant 
 may imagine he is selling cheap, while he is realizing too 
 much profit on account of the little amount of patronage he 
 is able to obtain. Procuring the necessities of life, when the 
 merchant is utilizing a private costmark, is too much like 
 going against "the blind tiger." It is simply a borrowed 
 idea. Where a merchant is utilizing a private costmark, he 
 is not got any the best but the worst of the bargain ; he is 
 unable to protect himself against opposition, the world's 
 worst thief, who is probably "a son of a gun" (on his 
 "daddy's side." We restrict the miller because our laws are 
 superior to the miller's toll limit. But we cannot restrict 
 and protect the merchant, till after our laws are superior to 
 the merchant's margin. 
 
 In some of our States, a miller is allowed one eighth, 
 (twelve and one-half per cent) toll for grinding corn. This 
 lawful toll limit protects the community from being over- 
 charged for toll, while it protects the miller against too much 
 opposition. Too much opposition cannot overcrowd the 
 miller, because his limit cannot be raised without breaking 
 our law. The miller may own his mill, why restrict him? 
 This is a free country. If the miller overcharges go to some 
 other mill. We restrict the miller, because Europe taught 
 us. Had Europe taught us to have restricted the merchant, 
 we could have sold cheap, then, we could have learned to have 
 manufactured different kinds of wares as cheap as Europe and 
 cut off billions of exports to this country. 
 
 Europe may not have introduced the private costmark 
 with any evil intent. She probably is perfectly harmless, 
 
16 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 if not handsome. She utilizes the private costmark where it 
 is detrimental to her own interest, but "evil is wrought 
 through want of thought, the same as through want of heart." 
 We restrict the miller because Christ commanded : "thou 
 shalt not steal," and because, the miller is engaged in a non- 
 productive enterprise. Only a few of the necessities of life 
 pass through the hands of the miller, while most all the ne- 
 cessities of life pass through the hands of the merchant. 
 "There is but one God." If it is a sin for the miller to over- 
 charge, over speculate, is it not a sin for the merchant to over 
 speculate? The miller is not generally robbed out of his 
 share of patronage, while the merchant is. The public toll 
 dish is the miller's best friend, while the private costmark is 
 the merchant's worst enemy. Christ commanded : "Thou 
 shalt not steal," this includes all cheats. All cheats are thefts ; 
 and all thefts are cheats. A cheat is simply a theft shielded 
 under a form. Christ commanded: "Thou shalt not steal," 
 in order that we might protect ourselves from ourselves, so 
 that we might prosper, and enjoy the temporal blessings 
 of this life in full. When we utilize opposition, to con- 
 trol the rates and prices of non-productive enterprises, 
 we ignore the commandment, and utilize opposition as a 
 snbstitute. Modern Europe probably, borrowed this idea 
 one thousand years ago from her great grand forefathers. 
 Should you borrow a twenty dollar gold piece, you should 
 pay it back, but should you borrow a counterfeited twenty 
 dollar bill, you should be sure and return the same because 
 you might die, and your own descendents might suffer 
 through handling counterfeit money. Today we may be 
 laboring under opinions and sentiment that have been bor- 
 rowed from the remote dark ages. 
 
 After our communities are impoverished, it is natural 
 to see a passenger train pull up to the end of her division, 
 wiih about a dozen tramps obtaining a free ride upon the 
 cow catcher in front, while one or more professionals are ob- 
 taining a free ride upon a complimentary ticket in the sleepers 
 behind. The passenger coaches being empty and void, 
 
17 
 
 except about two salesmen, drumming for some New York 
 snide jewelry house, who now may be drunk, or asleep, or 
 probably, both, while riding on a half rate commercial ticket. 
 
 The railway company may be forced to entertain a 
 ''receiver" at tea and between meals at this end of the division, 
 the employes striking for higher wages at both, while, the 
 community all up and down the line is "kicking'' on account 
 of high rates. The thief competition, alias opposition, is 
 the true cause of all the trouble. Who is the hardest thief 
 to run down and convict, that ever roamed at large ? 
 
 We may not have too great a number of non-productive 
 enterprises in proportion to the size of our country ; but too 
 great a number in proportion to our pocket book. It re- 
 quires more or less gold (and silver) to sustain non-produc- 
 tive enterprises. We have about four non-productive busi- 
 ness houses, where one might prove all sufficient. Should 
 we happen to "freeze" in this condition, we would show up 
 according to Mark Twain's phrase, "perfectly ridiculous." 
 
 Chapter II. — Imitations. 
 
 A nation should ascertain the vital necessity of protect- 
 ing herself and her people from counterfeited, imitated, cut 
 and adulterated wares of merchandise. She should use the 
 same precaution in this as she would to protect them and the 
 treasury from counterfeited money. 
 
 Counterfeited wares of merchandise may prove more 
 dangerous and disastrous to a nation than counterfeited money. 
 
 2* 
 
18 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 Counterfeited wares of merchandise emit no smoke or flames 
 but feed and prey principally upon the poor and otherwise 
 ignorant classes who look to the rich and otherwise intelli- 
 gent classes of controlling influence for protection. Most 
 all counterfeited, imitated, cut and adulterated wares of mer- 
 chandise, are manufactured for the accommodation of our 
 poor. We all admit that it is cheaper to buy a good article 
 (in this country) at an advanced price, than to purchase a 
 cheap article at a cheap price. This probably is because we 
 manufacture imitations and wares of too inferior a quality to 
 pay for the time, means and labor it requires to manufacture 
 the same. 
 
 But through this means our poor are unable to obtain 
 value received in procuring the necessities of life. We should 
 manufacture strong substantial wares for the accommodation 
 of our people — our poor. Should you attempt to manufacture 
 imitations, you first must expend about the same amount of 
 means in erecting a factory for this purpose, as to erect a 
 factory to manufacture geuuine articles. It requires more 
 time, labor and means to work up an article out of too inferior 
 a material, than to shape and work up an article out of a bet- 
 ter material. After an article is manufactured out of too in- 
 ferior a material, it requires more time, means and labor to 
 make an article resemble what it really is not. It requires 
 so many more extra strokes and finishing touches, that when 
 an imitated article is placed beside a genuine one according 
 to real worth and value, it is bound to "fall short" and come 
 under the heading "too much sugar for a dime." Besides 
 the counterfeits that we manufacture, we manufacture too in- 
 ferior articles out of too inferior material, which are too awfully 
 worthless to be placed upon an intelligent Christian's market. 
 Christ commanded : "Thou shalt not steal." This includes 
 every cheat of every character. It is impossible to cheat 
 your fellow man in any shape, form or fashion, without break- 
 ing this commandment. 
 
 "Thou shalt not steal" is a commandment for temporal 
 use. After we are convinced that all cheats are thefts, and 
 
"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 19 
 
 that all thefts are cheats, then we are supposed to determine 
 what is cheating. It is a wise man that knows when and 
 where he cheats. Anything that has a tendency to impover- 
 ish is a cheat. Cheating cannot continue to thrive, not only 
 because it is a sin ("it will rain upon the unjust, the same 
 as upon the just") but because it has a tendency to impover- 
 ish. The golden rule will enable us to determine when we 
 are cheating Europe, probably, manufactures few or no 
 counterfeited, imitated, cut and adulterated wares of mer- 
 chandise, but manufactures straight, coarse, substantial wares 
 for the accommodation of her people — her poor. Still the 
 modern world — modern Europe — was considered a cheat cen- 
 turies before Columbus discovered America. Instead of Eu- 
 rope restricting her merchants by forcing them to utilize a 
 a public cost mark, and selling at a specified margin, the 
 same as the miller who utilizes a public toll-dish and grinds 
 at a specified limit on toll, Europe allows competition to rob 
 her merchants of their rightful share of patronage, then the 
 non-productive mercantile fraternity of Europe falls back upon 
 her communities for support. Modern Europe is considered 
 a cheat because she sells genuine articles at too high a mar- 
 gin and not because she sells imitations at too high a margin. 
 Europe may cheat her people for genuine articles, while we 
 (young America) cheat our people with a cheat. 
 
 "A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping 
 rain that leaveth no food." (Proverbs 28 chapter, 3 verse.) 
 Cheating a fellow man with a cheat is, probably, something 
 that the enlightened Christian world was never guilty of till 
 after we (young America) commenced manufacturing imita- 
 tions. Cheating your fellow man with a cheat is similar to 
 stabbing a blind man in the back with a poisoned dagger 
 during the gloomy shade of night. u Evil is wrought through 
 want of thought, the same as through want of heart." When 
 I am buying goods from a merchant who handles imitations 
 and utilizes a private cost mark at the same time, I realize 
 about the same sensation that I realize while I am attempt- 
 ing to milk a kicking cow by moonshine. I cannot well de- 
 
20 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 termine when I may get the worst of the bargain, and have 
 a poor chance at best to protect myself. "Self preservation 
 is the first law of nature." 
 
 Counterfeited wares of merchandise are somewhat like 
 counterfeited money where none is manufactured, none is 
 used. A man that is intelligent enough to manufacture a 
 ten dollar counterfeit bill is wise enough to know that it is 
 a sin. A nation that is intelligent enough to manufacture 
 counterfeited wares of merchandise should be wise enough to 
 know that it is a sin. The hardest life to live outside of jail 
 is to exist in a living death — realize all the known and un- 
 known stings of poverty caused through being cheated for a 
 cheat from the cradle to the grave. Probably, easier realized 
 than explained. One of the almost humiliating deaths to 
 experience outside of being hung is, probably, to have death 
 hastened, life cut off, by impoverishment through being cheated 
 for a cheat, from the cradle to the grave. Probably, much 
 easier realized than explained. You must realize the sting 
 of a wasp before you can know how much pain it can inflict. 
 You cannot defraud your fellow man out of the value of a 
 brass pin without laying yourself liable for murder. Because 
 defrauding will impoverish, and impoverishment will hasten 
 death, cut off life. The last straw that is laid upon the 
 camel's back may be none the less guilty than its predeces- 
 sors. All cheats are thefts and all thefts are cheats. Show 
 me a cheat and nine times out of ten I will show you a mur- 
 derer. We probably, manufacture and utilize more snide 
 jewelry and whiskey than the remainder of the whole uni- 
 verse. Our New York milk men once attempted to adulter- 
 ate their milk and might have made a success at the business 
 but they sold their adulterated milk to some of the rich and 
 otherwise intelligent classes of controlling influence. So our 
 milk, somewhat like our tea (that was thrown overboard) 
 was inquired into. 
 
 You may sell adulterated whiskey ; our men, of control- 
 ling influence, don't drink whiskey (that is adulterated), and 
 never inquire into the matter. 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 21 
 
 At the close of the Revolutionary war, we were one 
 nation of people ; at the close of the late rebellion, we were 
 two nations combined into one. Before the rebellion, while 
 we were one nation, we had too much respect for each other 
 to manufacture and sell each other counterfeited wares of 
 merchandise. Before the rebellion we manufactured few or 
 no imitations ; before the rebellion the whole Union flourished 
 and prospered. As long as we continued to manufacture 
 nothing but genuine articles, so long did a rich flowing 
 immigration continue to immigrate to the New World. Just 
 after the late rebellion some of us commenced to manufacture 
 imitations, to accommodate our poorer classes, instead of 
 straight, coarse, substantial wares. Today we have thous- 
 ands of factory hands employed in manufacturing imitations. 
 Our factory hands are forced to utilize imitations, and of ttimes 
 "strike" for higher wages to offset the cheat that they are 
 subjected to. We know how to sympathize with "strikers," 
 who are engaged in manufacturing genuine articles, but to 
 sympathize and weep for ''strikers'' who are engaged in 
 manufacturing cheats, it is liable to make us so awfully cross- 
 eyed as to cause our tears to flow down our backs instead of 
 our cheeks. Ofttimes, hands employed in manufacturing 
 cheats "strike" harder than hands do who are engaged in 
 manufacturing genuine articles. 
 
 Should you find yourself employed in manufacturing 
 cheats, don't "strike." We would dislike to be found dead, 
 and would be ashamed to be found drunk, with your imitated 
 wares upon our person. 
 
 Never "strike" while you are employed in manufacturing 
 cheats, but go to your employer aud demand a rightful share 
 of interest ; force your employer to acknowledge that "there 
 is honesty among thieves." 
 
 The cheaper a nation can manufacture and sell a gen- 
 uine article the greater the blessing, but the dearer they 
 manufacture and sell an imitation the greater the curse. 
 "A city set upon a hill cannot be hid." It may be bad 
 enough to be overcharged for genuine articles, but to be 
 
22 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 cheated for a cheat, it is "perfectly ridiculous." Modern 
 Europe has always been considered a cheat, although she 
 may have manufactured few or no imitations, (cheats.) 
 Europe may be cutting off the lives of thousands of her 
 people — her poor — annually, by overcharging them for the 
 necessities of life, overcharging them for genuine articles ; 
 cheating them for straight substantial wares. Europe may 
 be hastening the death of her poor and at the same time 
 ignorant of the fact. "Ignorance is sin." Europe might 
 continue to hasten death, cut off life for centuries to come, 
 and still might continue to be ignorant of this fact. But by 
 young America cheating her people, her poor, for a cheat ; 
 we easily discover the sin and folly of all cheats, of all char- 
 acters, that are shielded under different forms, in the short 
 space of thirty years time. 
 
 Europe may have been cheating her people — her poor — "to 
 the death," by selling genuine articles at too high a margin, 
 while Young America, probably, is the first Christian nation 
 that ever overcharged for imitations, that ever cheated for a 
 cheat. If you are cheated for a cheat on so large and grand 
 a scale since the world was created for thirty years without 
 cessation you will be enabled to ascertain a great deal hard, 
 common heel sense ; provided, you are not too careless an ob- 
 server. "Experience, " hard experience, "is our best teacher," 
 because we ignore temporal truths, to too, great an extent to 
 be taught otherwise. 
 
 "Criticism is the life of wisdom." Kill out our critics, 
 then we might degenerate down to the savage. The critics 
 licks should be as light and soft as snow falling in mid ocean. 
 The modern, enlightened, gentile, Christian world has ignored 
 temporal truths to such a great extent, that when we now 
 attempt to criticise, in the least, it may seem that we criticise 
 too severely ; because we naturally collide, so abruptly, with 
 items of vital importance that have been totally ignored. 
 What is criticism ? Some criticise with the pen, some with 
 the sword and some with a club. When the North freed our 
 slaves and burned our property, and killed some of our best 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 23 
 
 men, (it is generally the best who die first : that probably 
 accounts for the great number of our mean men and for so 
 small a number of our good men today ;) this was criticism 
 in its strongest terms. Since the North criticised so severely 
 upon us Rebels with the sword, we have been itching for the 
 longest to retaliate with oar pencil. We have been watching 
 Mr. Yankee with the tail of our eye for the last thirty years. 
 The Yankee bears the credit of first making wooden nutmegs, 
 horn flints and oak leaf cigars. He first commenced manu- 
 facturing "imitations" just for fun, but later on he got in 
 earnest. After the Yankee beat us Rebels with the sword he 
 was so much elated that it seems that he attempted to beat 
 the whole world in manufacturing imitations. And to our 
 sorrow he has succeeded wonderfully. During the four 
 years of the rebellion the darkies could afford to allow the 
 Yankee to shoot over their woolly heads at us Rebels, the 
 darkies could dodge behind a tree or rock, but since the 
 Yankee has been shooting imitations for thirty years without 
 cessation, the poor darkies have "surrendered," thrown up 
 their black ebony hands, and "'clared, 'fo goodness," they 
 "hab 'nuff" and are willing to go to Mexico, Liberia or most 
 any place in order to get out of range of the minnie ball. 
 The further a minnie ball travels the less the danger ; the 
 further an imitation travels the more dangerous it becomes. 
 The Yankee claimed that some of our slave owners hastened 
 the death of some of the slaves by over abuse. This may be 
 all too true; we acknowledge the corn. But how many 
 darkies lives have been cut off since the rebellion through 
 being impoverished from utilizing imitations ? Not counting 
 in the poor white trash. The darkies that have had death 
 hastened from utilizing imitations are just as dead as those 
 that died from over abuse. "Their graves are green, they 
 may be seen." 
 
 The poor twice abused slaves, it so happened that when 
 they gained their liberty, they lost their living. Before the 
 rebellion we utilized few or no imitations, but it so happened 
 that as soon as the darkies were freed, imitations became the 
 
24 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 folly and fashion of the day. We may ofttimes imagine that 
 the darkies fared better while they were in bondage before 
 they were freed, than they have fared since. 
 
 Our poor "white trash" fared better before the rebellion 
 than since ; because, before the rebellion we then were not 
 cheated for a cheat. The Yankee has beaten the world on 
 imitations, now we are dead stuck to have him try his hand 
 upon a genuine article, probably he may be able to beat the 
 world on manufacturing genuine articles also. 
 
 Of late years, the South may manufacture more or less 
 goods, bad and indifferent wares of merchandise. She may 
 manufacture imitations the same as our brother Yankee. But 
 who taught the South to manufacture a cheat ? Why, the 
 Yankee, of course. It may be true that the South "took to 
 the water" rather easily, but Mr. Yankee may bear the credit 
 of teaching the South just the same. Our dear brother 
 Yankee, "with all his faults, we love him still." Should 
 another Boston massacre occur, we today' would drop our 
 "claw-hammers" as readily as our forefathers dropped their 
 plow handles in days of yore, and go to the rescue. How 
 the blood tingles in our veins the moment the patriotic in- 
 fluence is felt. Some of us fought, bled and almost died for 
 the Southern Confederacy. But there is not one true patriot 
 in the South but what would jeopardize and risk his life for 
 our dear little Yankee brother today. Bless our ingenious 
 Yankee brother, he is sewed onto us with a golden thread. 
 The Yankee, with the aid of his ingenuity, has taught not 
 only the Squth, but has taught the whole enlightened Chris- 
 tian world, the extreme folly of recognizing a cheat of any 
 character that is shielded under any kind of a form. He has 
 actually made a "farce" of cheating. Had our Yankee 
 brother never manufactured a cheat, but had only manu- 
 factured genuine articles, he might have continued to have 
 cheated our people with genuine articles for ages to come, 
 without being any the wiser ; but by our brother Yankee keep- 
 ing the Union flooded with imitations for thirty years, it 
 shows the extreme folly of cheating the plainer upon the 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 25 
 
 top surface. So now, we can see the folly of cheating as 
 "plain as the nose on your face." Our Yankee brother has 
 brought the act of cheating down to a crisis, so that we can 
 see the folly of the same the plainer. We have been living 
 in a leaky house for ages past ; but our Yankee brother 
 within the last thirty years has torn off the roof, so that we 
 would not only get a good drenching, but have a little "light" 
 upon the subject. Heretofore, too great a per cent, of us 
 have been making an honest living in a dishonest way. "An 
 honest man is the noblest work of God." Too great a per 
 cent, of us, should we wait till we made an honest dollar be- 
 fore we bought a rope and hung ourselves, might live to a 
 ripe old age, then die a natural death. Too great a per cent, 
 of us are somewhat like a wood-chuck, forced to make a 
 livelihood with our head instead of our claws. 
 
 "When we can see our imperfections, we are learning 
 wisdom." "None are so blind as those that will not see." 
 "The North and the South are branches of the same parent 
 tree, and the lightning bolt that shivers the one must scortch 
 and wither the other." 
 
 Chapter III.— The "Sunny, Sandy South." 
 
 In good old "slavery time," prior to the late rebellion, 
 selling merchandise in the South was somewhat different to 
 what it has been "since the war." 
 
 Before the late rebellion, a slave owner would buy forty, 
 more or less, pairs of shoes at one time for his slaves. 
 Straight, coarse, good, substantial shoes, manufactured of 
 
26 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 straight, substantial leather. The slave owner would pay- 
 about 11.25 per pair. He would buy molasses by the barrel, 
 instead of by the quart or gallon, at about forty cents per 
 gallon ; cloth by the bolt, and not by the yard. The slave 
 owner would buy all the merchandise that his slaves utilized, 
 as well as all the merchandise that his family and self re- 
 quired, in large quantities at a time, on the quick sale and 
 small profit order. The southern merchant would charge a 
 "poor white man" fifteen cents lor one quart of molasses, in- 
 stead of ten ; because, said poor white man bought in so 
 small a quantity at one time. The poor were charged fifty 
 per cent, more than the rich slave owner, simply because he 
 only bought one quart at a time. The poor may have been 
 overcharged in nearly like manner for all purchasers bought 
 in too small quantities at a time. The poor, they were over- 
 charged for straight goods, we had not yet learned how to 
 manufacture imitations. The rich slave owners bought all 
 the merchandise that the southern darkies utilized. It is 
 about as easy to persuade a rich New Yorker to drink 
 adulterated milk, as it would have been to have persuaded a 
 rich slave owner to have bought imitations for his slaves. 
 The slave owners clothed their own slaves while the slaves 
 were in bondage. Then, there was no southern market for 
 imitations. The few southern poor white people did not buy 
 any new clothes, but wore their old ones. The southern 
 merchant would sell to forty customers through the rich slave 
 owner, on the quick sale and small profit order, to one 
 customer on the slow sale and large profit order. As the 
 merchant only overcharged one of his customers out of forty* 
 and only overcharged said one customer for straight goods, 
 it did not amount to much. He still could protect himself 
 against too much opposition to a certain extent, because he 
 was selling to the main bulk of his patrons on the quick sale 
 and small profit order ; selling the lowest while the demand 
 was the greatest. By the southern mercantile fraternity, 
 selling the lowest while the demand was the greatest, selling 
 on the small profit order to the main bulk of the South, the 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 27 
 
 whole "Sunny, Sandy South" flourished and prospered. But 
 "after the war was over, after the darkies were freed," sell- 
 ing straight goods on the small profit order almost went out 
 of fashion. 
 
 Directly after the surrender the whole South was a 
 complete mass of impoverished widows and orphans, freed 
 without-a-dime darkies, and a few (somewhat like the author) 
 financially broken up white men. Most of the community 
 could only 
 
 Buy their molasses by the quart, 
 
 Sugar by the pound ; 
 Drink their bowl of buttermilk 
 
 With a spoon to stir it 'round. 
 
 Before the rebellion, the southern mercantile fraternity 
 had learned how to protect themselves against too much op- 
 position (to a certain extent) while selling to the rich or 
 parties buying in large quantities at a time, but had not 
 learned how to protect themselves against too much op- 
 position while selling to the poor or parties buying in small 
 quantities at a time. When they sold to the rich slave 
 owner, they sold on the small profit order, but before the 
 merchants of the South could learn how to sell to all alike, 
 so as to protect themselves against too much opposition under 
 any and all circumstances, the "cruel war" broke up this 
 almost complete, naturally formed combination. 
 
 Just as the young archer was learning to shoot, the cord 
 broke in twain. Just as the "Sunny, Sandy South" was 
 ready to unlock the door of wisdom that leads to success, 
 the "key" was snatched from her "lilly white" hands and 
 thrown in the well. 
 
 The South had learned how to sell the lowest, while the 
 demand was the greatest, to a few who bought in large quan- 
 tities at a time. Could she have learned how to have sold 
 the lowest, while the demand was the greatest to a greater 
 number who bought in small quantities at a time, she 
 would have unlocked the door that leads to success. What 
 
28 
 
 a pity the South came so near discovering the "key" that 
 unlocks the door of wisdom, that leads to success ; then 
 failed. Had the South ascertained how to have had pity upon 
 her poor, how easily the South could have recovered from 
 the effects of the reverses of war. Where the poor are over- 
 charged because they buy iD small quantities, the merchant 
 makes the greater part of his gains off of the poor and the 
 less amount of gains off of the rich, which has a tendency to 
 cause our poor to become poorer, and our rich to become 
 richer. A miller charges a poor man one-eighth toll, and 
 cannot afford to grind for the rich man for any less. A 
 retail merchant should sell so cheap to the poor, that he could 
 not afford to sell any cheaper to the rich, then the merchant 
 would derive a greater profit off of the rich. Then should 
 the country, or part of the country, be forced to undergo the 
 reverses of war, forcing the overwhelming majority over 
 on the poor side of the branch, the main bulk of the com- 
 munity would not be overcharged for the necessities of life ; 
 and would have a fair chance to recover from the reverses of 
 war ; besides the merchant could continue to protect himself 
 from too much opposition, to a great extent. 
 
 A merchant cannot obtain the best of the bargain and 
 protect himself against too much opposition at one and the 
 same time unless he could obtain a patent right. But our 
 mercantile fraternity have always been under the impression 
 that competition and opposition were the life of trade ; never 
 feared opposition, so never have attempted to keep off oppo- 
 sition by selling at a low margin. 
 
 Directly after the surrender, the Southern merchants 
 continued to overcharge the poor, because they bought in 
 small quantities, notwithstanding the whole "Sunny, Sandy 
 South" had just realized the hard, sad experience of under- 
 going the reverses of war, and the main bulk of the South on 
 the poor side of the branch. Just after the surrender, the 
 merchants had forty poor customers to one rich, who was 
 able to buy in large quantities. By the merchants over- 
 charging the bulk of their customers, the main bulk of the 
 
"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 29 
 
 South, were overcharged for the necessities of life, so the 
 South had a poor chance at best to recover from the effects of 
 the reverses of war. 
 
 The late rebellion was somewhat different from the other 
 wars we had prior ; it was the first instance where the Union 
 or a part of the Union had to undergo the reverses of war. 
 After a nation, or part of a nation, is forced to undergo the 
 reverses of war, it should be entitled to more or less consid- 
 eration, if not pity. The South may have been in the wrong, 
 it is true ; yet had the whole Union been fighting a foreign 
 enemy, our Southern soldiers probably would have fought 
 just as hard for the Union as they fought for the "lost cause." 
 Before the rebellion the merchants protected themselves 
 against too much opposition (to a certain extent) by selling 
 on the small profit order to the main bulk of the South ; 
 but after the war, when the merchants overcharged forty to 
 one, it took the door from off of its hinges that kept off 
 opposition. Before the war we had few imitations, then we 
 had less the number of business houses, according to the 
 financial condition of the South, but since the war thousands 
 of business houses have sprung up in the South, (and else- 
 where) because the poor are charged more than the rich, 
 because the poor buy in small quantities ; while tens of 
 thousands of business houses have been erected, because a 
 greater per cent, can be more readily and easily realized off 
 of imitations than goods of a better grade. You can rob 
 more people with a bolt of imitated cloth, than with a deck 
 of marked cards. Most all are forced to buy (or steal) 
 clothing while none are compelled to play at cards. Card 
 playing is an unnecessary evil, while buying wares of mer- 
 chandise is a necessity. After a necessity is connected with 
 an evil, it then is much worse than an unnecessary evil. 
 We are forced to patronize a necessary evil, while we are not 
 forced to patronize an unnecessary evil. "The pen is mightier 
 than the sword," but the fatal "hammer" (if not restricted) 
 is mightier than the two combined. No modern pen has yet 
 been able to cope with the fatal "hammer." After Gen. 
 
Cornwallis surrendered, we turned our swords into plow- 
 shares ; after Gen. Lee surrendered, we turned our swords 
 into claw-hammers. When the North and South laid down 
 the sword they both took up a more destructive weapon, 
 the fatal "hammer," and never laid it aside till after they had 
 erected enough business houses to endanger twice as good a 
 financial conditioned country as Young America. We have 
 pn hand today, probably enough non-productive business 
 houses to accommodate the enlightened world. The North 
 beat the South with the sword, but the "Sunny, Sandy South" 
 teat the North "all out of hollow" with the hammer, and 
 erected two business houses to the North's one, according to 
 the South's financial condition. But built the great number 
 of business houses in order to be the better enabled to "work 
 .off ' the great amount of "imitations" that the Yankee (or 
 some one else) were manufacturing to accommodate our 
 poor. You may gain a law suit, and yet come off looser. 
 You may gain a great victory in battle, but wind up looser, 
 financially, in the end. The North freed and burned more or 
 less property, but did not confiscate enough, to pay her for 
 her trouble. 
 
 The South had to undergo the effects of the reverses of 
 war, while the North had to undergo the effects of war. The 
 communities of the North were in a financial weaker condition 
 after the war than just prior. She had her hosts of widows 
 and orphans to support. Just after the surrender, it seems 
 that the whole Union become perfectly "carried, away with 
 their idea" of erecting non-productive business houses and 
 railroads as though our entire population were so many 
 Rothschilds. 
 
 Instead of the Union allowing the South to recover from 
 the reverses, and the North from the effects of war, the Union 
 crowded her impoverished people with non-productive enter- 
 prises. 
 
 A non-productive enterprise is a blessing where and 
 when it is needed, but where an unnecessary non-productive 
 necessity is forced upon the people, it is one of the most dan- 
 
u A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 31 
 
 gerous natural curses. There probably never has been a 
 supernatural curse since Christ became our "Mediator." But 
 it is only the poor who suffer the extreme through our folly. 
 A young nation should endeavor to ascertain how to "go 
 slow and learn to peddle " 
 
 Directly after the rebellion, some of our Southerners 
 took advantage of our bankrupt law ; this was caused from 
 the effects of the reverses of war. The weight of our bank- 
 rupt law fell upon our several creditors. Later on, an indef- 
 inite number of our merchants took advantage of our "failure" 
 law (if it could be termed a law) ; this was caused by too 
 much opposition between our non-productive mercantile fra- 
 ternity. They had become "too thick to thrive." But where 
 did the weight (and where does the weight) of our "failures" 
 fall ? The wholesaler as well as the manufacturer, for fear 
 of failures, added on a per cent, to cover the same. As a 
 greater per cent, can be more readily and easily realized off 
 of imitations than goods of a better grade, a greater per 
 cent, was added on to imitations. As the South had not re- 
 covered from the effects of the reverses of war. The "Sunny, 
 Sandy South" was a near and handy market for these imi- 
 tations. So the poor of the South had to "carry the big end 
 of the log," and were not only overcharged through imita- 
 tions to help pay for the failures that transpired throughout 
 the South, but were overcharged to help pay for all the fail- 
 ures that transpired throughout the whole United States of 
 America. Explaining temporal truths of vital importance is 
 somewhat like explaining spiritual truths of vital importance ; 
 what we don't re ally know we are forced to "guess." We do 
 not presume to assent that every wholesaler and every man- 
 ufacturer added on a per cent, to cover failures, but we are 
 following a chain of circumstantial evidence. No wholesaler 
 or manufacturer is supposed to be guilty of adding on this 
 per cent, unless he actually did so. So no one will take any 
 exceptions to this statement, unless he is guilty. This book 
 is supposed to be our manufacturer's and merchant's friend. 
 The honest merchant is always almost forced to shield the 
 
32 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 
 
 dishonest merchant, (if there is such a thing as a dishonest 
 merchant). Our chain of circumstantial evidence shows 
 that our communities were taxed, more or less, to cover said 
 failures. Today "business" in general is rather a "drag" 
 upon the market. Our shoe and dry goods wholesaler, for 
 fear that too great amount of his goods will be left upon his 
 hands and fall under the hammer at auction at too great a 
 sacrifice, adds about the same now on imitations to make up 
 for the deficiency of too great amount sold under the hammer, 
 as were added on to imitations when failures were the fashion 
 and folly of the day. So today, the poor of the South are 
 not only overcharged through imitations to make up for the 
 deficiency of auction bought goods that are sold in the South, 
 but are forced to pay the greater part to make up for the 
 deficiency of all auction bought goods that are sold through- 
 out the Union. So, now-a-days, we are not surprised to see 
 notices, in our daily papers, advertisements for "southern 
 immigration." 
 
 Thousands of our southern farmers' have been forced to 
 mortgage and loose their "Sunny, Sand}', Southern Home ; 
 sweet homes and farms ;" go to the public works and "jine" 
 in the "strikes." Thousands of our southern city citizens 
 have been forced to mortgage and loose their houses and lots 
 in order to keep the overgrown "wolf from the door." Our 
 once little gray wolf has grown to the enormous size of a 
 "white elephant." A great per cent, of our southern farmers 
 have degenerated down to the pauper as natural as tad- poles, 
 turn to frogs. It is not only our southern farmers but our 
 communities throughout the Union are becoming the more 
 impoverished each succeeding year. 
 
 "Leaf by leaf the roses fall, 
 
 Drop by drop the spring runs dry." 
 
 As fast as our well-to do fall over on the poor side of 
 the branch, so soon are they forgotten and ignored by their 
 former mates. They seem to loose all energy after they have 
 lost their controlling influence. What they may ascertain 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 33 
 
 through hard, sad experience, is like the wild rose that bloomed, 
 faded, and died totally ignored. You must realize the sting 
 of a wasp, before you can know how much pain it can inflict. 
 Many a Southern farmer has quit the home and farm and 
 gone into the mercantile business. These Southern farmers 
 did not quit the farm because their slaves were freed, neither 
 did they quit off for fear that ploughing in hard ground with 
 a dull plow would make them hump-shouldered and spoil the 
 gate of their walk, but being overcharged for the necessities 
 of life, they were forced to drop the plow handles and take 
 up the yard stick in order to obtain a lever power to off-set 
 the overcharge that they were subjected to. It is a great 
 scheme, now-a-days, to live in a town, village or city, where 
 you can have a chance to wear your Sunday clothes on week 
 days and eat flour vituals the whole year round without work- 
 ing a lick in the field. 
 
 If you were forced to utilize one gallon of whiskey ex- 
 ternally or otherwise, and if whiskey was sold at too high a 
 price, you might be forced to go into the saloon business in 
 order to obtain this gallon daily and keep it up. After the 
 necessities of life are put on the market at too high a price, 
 thousands are forced into the mercantile business in order to 
 obtain the necessities of life. They thereby manage to pro- 
 cure their wares from the wholesaler at a cheaper rate than 
 they could before they went into the business. A man will 
 ofttimes go into a leaky house in order to get in out of the 
 wet. 
 
34 " A L[VE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.' 
 
 Chapter IV. — A True Patriot. 
 
 Because we rush into the parlor and dust our Bible 
 after the good minister has arrived at the gate, is no reason 
 why we should be considered a true Christian. Because we 
 are first to volunteer, after Uncle Sam has called for troops, 
 is no reason why we should be considered a true patriot. In 
 time of peace prepare for war ; in preparing for war there is 
 else to do outside of molding bullets. A true patriot will 
 look to the welfare of the community, at large, in time of 
 peace. 
 
 A monarch is forced to respect his subjects — his people, 
 in time of peace, in order to have his people respect him in 
 time of war. 
 
 A free form of government cannot be an exception to 
 this rule. In order to respect our people we should protect 
 them. If we protect them in procuring the necessities of life 
 we thereby show them the greatest respect. 
 
 Our once well-to-do, who have been forced to mortgage 
 and loose their "homes, sweet homes" on account of being 
 overcharged for the necessities of life, will not have much 
 heart to go and fight voluntarily for country, where they only 
 have a wood claim. Should they volunteer, they will not 
 have the enerey to buoy them up for a long and tedious siege. 
 
 Should they not volunteer readily, if conscripted, will not 
 be worth their room in the army. Their influence will do 
 more barm than their shots will do good. Never attempt to 
 make soldiers out of tramps. "You cannot gather figs from 
 thistles." Conscripts will shirk from their duty, when they 
 come to the pinch, and may cause their regiment to be cut 
 into pieces on account of their lethargy and inactivit}^. They 
 may cause a general to overestimate his strength. When a 
 nation, or part of a nation, is forced to conscript too great a 
 per cent, of her troops or raw recruits, said nation is in good 
 condition to send in orders for white flags. Experience, hard 
 experience, has taught some of us this fact. 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 35 
 
 40,000 Americans are living to-day in France, while 
 France has 36,000,000 inhabitants, and the Republic lacks 
 70,000 square miles being as large as the State of Texas. 
 Her meat and bread stuffs are dearer than ours, but her other 
 necessities of life are so much cheaper, it overbalances this 
 affect. 
 
 France is over-populated compared to this country ; her 
 meat and bread-stuffs dearer, but the advantage of her "make- 
 shift" of a "live and let live price system," and the disad- 
 vantage with us for the need of the same, makes France the 
 preferable of the two countries. 
 
 Suppose you were born and raised in young free Amer- 
 ica, and you have on hand a sack of gold, also, a wife and 
 three little children to mantain and support. Your annual 
 expenses may be so great you cannot get into a lucrative 
 enough business to meet the demands. Trade being killed, 
 you have no material to work on ; you are forced to live too 
 fast, at the rate of about forty miles an hour in a kind of a 
 "running walk." So you sew up your little, big or indiffer- 
 ent sack of gold (or silver) and immigrate to our sister Re- 
 public where, if you cannot get into a lucrative business, you 
 will have the satisfaction of obtaining nearer the real value of 
 your gold, in procuring the necessities of life. There you 
 will not be forced to live so fast (in a "running walk.") You 
 will not be forced to cheat your fellow man with a cheat in 
 order to make an honest living. In return you may be cheated 
 (the modern world is considered a cheat). 
 
 Should you take sick and die in France and leave your 
 widowed wife and little orphan children in destitute circum- 
 stances, (they may be cheated to a certain extent) but will 
 not be cheated for a cheat. We (young America) as a young 
 nation of people, are forced to compete against Europe to a 
 certain extent, else too great a per cent, of our best, honest 
 men will leave us and go to France and elsewhere. 
 
 The day on which you leave America and embark for 
 France, as your vessel is leaving the wharf, in the far dis- 
 tance you strain your already tear dimmed eyes in order to 
 
36 
 
 take the last look upon your dear young "home, sweet home," 
 and native soil, that you never expect to see again, where 
 your dear father and sweet, dear, dear mother lie buried side 
 by side. You don't mind leaving your country, your native 
 home and soil so much. Your native country did not respect 
 you by protecting you in procuring the necessities of life for 
 your dear beloved family and self, so you can have but little 
 respect for your own only native soil. You have naturally 
 lost nearly all manhood regarding the promptings of a true 
 patriot. You feel as though you were being banished by an 
 unseen hand. (There are two different ways to banish — 
 one is by force, another by non-protection.) A large lump 
 will rise up in your throat when you realize that the patriotic 
 influences are really deserting you, but you manage to choke 
 it down by promising yourself that you will return in some 
 future day when times are better. But when your thoughts 
 are carried back to your dear, dear, relatives' graves, that you 
 have been keeping green by planting flowers around the same, 
 to desert these dear, dear, dumb graves, and your can't-help- 
 but-loving-country, because it is your only native soil, to de- 
 sert and leave all behind ; it is more than your noble, natural 
 manhood will allow you to shake off, so the hot, scalding 
 tears will well up in your eyes that seem too bitter to fall. 
 What does it take to constitute a true patriot ? What does 
 it take to sustain a true patriot ? It is protection. 
 
 If you are immigrating from Europe to this country, 
 that is altogether different ; that is natural. Your country 
 being over populated, you are benefiting the same and your 
 people by leaving and giving them more room, and employ- 
 ment for those who may be unable to leave. Your country 
 protected you in procuring the necessities of life much bet- 
 ter than young America protects her people. Your country 
 may not have been able to give you employment, but she 
 did give you protection, to a greater extent, than young 
 America gives her people. You leave your country in good 
 faith ; no other country protected her people any better than 
 yours did, and you feel as though you would be willing to 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 37 
 
 return at any distant future day, to take up arms to defend 
 your old country, should an enemy threaten the same. 
 
 After you have lived in the New World for years and 
 years, you still stick up for the "old country," because the 
 "old country" always showed you the more respect, by pro- 
 tecting you in procuring the necessities of life. You never 
 run the "old country" down ; but maintain a deep, almost 
 sacred respect for the same, while some of our American 
 born and raised citizens, are continually running down young 
 America ; don't respect their own country, because their own 
 country don't respect them by protecting them. Europe is 
 considered a cheat, but she has a "make-shift" of a "live and 
 let live system," while we have no system to speak of of 
 this character, but trust almost wholly to "chance." Suppose 
 you are a young man living in Europe, having a fair bank 
 account, too much for one, and not quite enough for two. 
 You, being young and ambitious, would naturally wish to 
 invest your means where you could realize the greatest 
 profit in the shortest space of time. 
 
 Being well posted on things in general, you probably 
 will soliloquize in this manner : "I can live the cheapest 
 here in Europe ; but here the laws are rather strict, the rules 
 are almost too precise. I will go to free America where I 
 can do almost as I choose, where I can invest in some great 
 non-productive enterprise, where I will have a chance to 
 make a fortune in a few, short years. Then 1 will return to 
 Europe with my honest gains, made in a dishonest way, where 
 I can live in the finest style at the least expense." So young 
 America has her parlor doors standing wide open for all 
 syndicates and parties looking for the best of the bargain. 
 The reason why "there is no worse a sin than trying to get 
 rich in a hurry," is probably because you cannot defraud 
 your fellow man out of the value of a brass pin without lay- 
 ing yourself liable for murder. We (young America) 
 should attempt to protect our mercantile fraternity against 
 too much opposition, give our merchants as much patronage 
 as European merchants obtain ; then our merchants will be 
 
38 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 able to sell at as low a margin. After we sell cheaper we 
 can manufacture cheaper ; after we place the necessities of 
 life as cheap upon the market as Europe, we can protect 
 our people in procuring the necessities of life, the same as 
 Europe, through this means our own monopolies will be able 
 to obtain the necessities of life at a cheaper rate, who can af- 
 ford to come down in conformity with the mercantile fra- 
 ternity. After we protect ourselves and country against our 
 own monopolies and syndicates, we will be in a condition to 
 protect ourselves and country against foreign monopolies and 
 syndicates. France, as well as all Europe, protects her peo- 
 ple in procuring the necessities of life, much better than we. 
 Still, modern Europe — the modern world — has always been, 
 and yet is considered a cheat. Europe ma}' be playing second 
 fiddle while we are hammering away upon the third. 
 
 Chapter V. — A Private Costmark. 
 
 Jamestown, Virginia, was settled in 1607, by some 
 London merchants and English noblemen, for the desire of 
 commercial adventure. These London mer -hants sold out 
 in London and come to this country to embark in the same 
 business they were want to follow in London. Why did 
 these London merchants sell out in London ? and why come 
 to this country and go into the same business ? For the sole 
 purpose of commercial adventure. 
 
 It looks reasonable enough for the English noblemen to 
 immigrate here and embark in the mercantile business ; but 
 for merchants to sell out, sell out their business, for the sole 
 
w A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 39 
 
 purpose of immigrating to this New World to embark in the 
 same business they must have had an object in view ; they 
 must have imagined that they would have a chance to real- 
 ize a greater profit off of their wares here than in London. 
 When Christ commanded : ''Thou shalt not steal," he prob- 
 ably intended that the enlightened Christian world, if not 
 the whole world, should make laws in compliance with this 
 commandment. If a miller in London was allowed toll for 
 grinding corn, he probably would not have sold out in order 
 to have come to this country in 1607 and grind for the same 
 limit. These London merchants came to this country for 
 the sole purpose of adventure, and commercial adventure. 
 u There is no worse a sin than trying to get rich in a hurry," 
 but where the mercantile fraternity attempts to make a for- 
 tune in a hurry, it is liable to become too interesting because 
 all are compelled to patronize merchandise at all times. 
 Where the mercantile fraternity over speculate, then all are 
 either forced to over speculate, else suffer the consequence. 
 As these adventurers commenced selling the necessities of 
 life 289 years ago, our mercantile fraternity have been fol- 
 lowing in their wake up-to-date, without once investigating 
 this question thoroughly in every detail, in particular. In 
 1607 the private costmark was introduced into the New 
 World. Because Europe utilized a private costmark, that 
 was no reason why young America should utilize the same. 
 Probably each European country is forced to make part of a 
 livelihood by manufacturing and shipping wares. The main 
 secret in manufacturing cheap, is in selling cheap. The 
 country that can sell the cheapest to her own people, can be 
 the better enabled to manufacture the best grade at the least 
 cost and realize the greatest profit off of her exports. Had 
 the private costmark never been introduced, a young, new 
 country could readily learn to sell cheap to her own people, 
 and could thereby readily learn to manufacture different 
 kinds of wares, and manufacture just as cheap as an older 
 country. The older a country becomes, the wiser she be- 
 
40 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 comes, and the more advantages she learns to obtain under a 
 private costmark. 
 
 The private costmark is to be placed into the hands of 
 each new country so said new country will be the longer in 
 ascertaining bow to sell cheap in order to manufacture as 
 cheap as an older country. Had Europe never utilized thje 
 private costmark, but had utilized a public costmark and sold 
 at a given margin, the same as a miller who grinds at a cer- 
 tain per cent, -'young America" probably would have sold 
 just as cheap as Europe, from the start; And after we were 
 allowed to manufacture, we could have manufactured and 
 learned how to have manufactured different kinds of wares 
 just as cheap as Europe. This would have cut off a great 
 deal of imports to this country. A new country must first 
 ascertain how to "go slow and learn to peddle." The cheaper 
 we can sell among ourselves so we will not be forced to live 
 in a "running w 7 alk," we will have the more liesure time in 
 which to manufacture genuine articles. . 
 
 "Never do your work in a hurry." We never will be 
 able to manufacture good, genuine articles, the same as 
 Europe, till after we sell to our own people at as low a mar- 
 gin as Europe. Where our mode of selling is deranged, it is 
 natural t hat our mode of manufacturing will be deranged. 
 To manufacture a good, genuine article you need time, "time 
 is money." A manufacturer in this country cannot compete 
 with a factory in Europe, because the merchants in this 
 country sell at too high a margin ; the manufacturer in this 
 country is overcharged at every turn and is forced to man- 
 ufacture on the "rush" order. A great per cent, of our wares 
 are made bv machinery, but such wares are not worth pick- 
 ing up in the road. Our hand-made and hand-sewed wares 
 are inferior to those imported, because they are manufactured 
 in too short a space of time. We have a great many factories ; 
 we manufacture a great amount of wares of merchandise; (a 
 great deal more than we can sell), yet our intelligent 
 moneyed men still patronize European imports in preference 
 to our hurried home-made wares of merchandise. We can- 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 41 
 
 not manufacture as good an article as cheap as Europe, be- 
 cause we have not yet learned how to sell under a private 
 costmark as cheap as Europe. We don't presume to say 
 that England or Europe introduced the private costmark into 
 the New World through malice or any evil intent. ''Evil is 
 wrought through want of thought the same as through want 
 of heart." Probably modern Europe has always been used 
 and accustomed to the private costmark. Different European 
 countries are forced to compete against each other in shipping 
 manufactured wares ; each European country is forced to re- 
 strict the merchants, notwithstanding they utilize a private 
 costmark, while young America has no natural restrictions 
 of this character. 
 
 You may afford to overload a wagon and drive down a 
 steep incline if you are supplied with a lock chain or wheel- 
 break, but if you have no restrictions of this character it is 
 hazardous to try the experiment. Surrounding circumstances 
 ofttimes force the necessity of altering cases. By each 
 European country being forced to compete with each other 
 in shipping wares, each country is forced to restrict her mer- 
 cantile fraternity. The* country that can manage to restrict 
 her mercantile fraternity and not expose her management, 
 can the better compete with others, obtain and hold the more 
 of the patronage of the world at large, and realize the largest 
 profits from its exports. If young America was exactly the 
 opposite, a small, poor knoll, over-populated, with her 
 natural resourses exhausted, and was forced to make part of 
 a livelihood by shipping wares to newer countries that were 
 less populated and more abundantly blessed with rich, natural 
 resources, then we would need to utilize a private costmark 
 and teach these new countries to do the same. These new 
 countries might be centuries attempting to ascertain how to 
 sell as cheap as we under the private costmark. But during 
 these centuries we could be shipping these new countries 
 wares that they might have manufactured, had they been 
 able to sell as cheap as we. Besides, these new countries 
 could not be able to compete with us in shipping wares to 
 
42 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 any other country and rob us of any of our share of patron- 
 age. But there are no more newer countries ; we are "the 
 last of the Mohegans." We have no one upon whom to pass 
 the joke. We have no new country to cheat unless we turn 
 to and cheat ourselves. Uncle Sam has never had any more 
 use for a private costmark than a shoat has for a side-saddle. 
 This coil of rope was put into Uncle Sam's hands while he 
 was yet an urchin, before he knew its purport, so that in 
 after years he could go and hang himself with the same ; 
 (about what he has done). Probably Europe, today, is un- 
 able to define the private costmark ; explain why, and how 
 it first germinated into existence and into fashion. It is a 
 curse and an imposition upon the whole mercantile fra- 
 ternities of the universe. It ties each and every merchant, 
 hard and fast, so that he is powerless to protect himsalf 
 against the modern world's worst enemy, known as "compe- 
 tition." This "town snake" did not show all of its fangs 
 till within the last thirty years. We might say that the 
 Union has made manufacturing imitations a legitimate busi- 
 ness for the last thirty years. Selling genuine articles under 
 a private costmark may be bad enough, but selling imitations 
 and cheats under the protection of a private costmark, it is 
 "perfectly ridiculous." During the last thirty years, prob- 
 ably, is the first instance where imitations were ever sold 
 under a private costmark. Had it not been for the private 
 costmark, today young America probably would not be over 
 stocked with counterfeit goods and non-productive business 
 houses. 
 
 Should we wish to advance the price of our raw cotton, 
 we should attempt to manufacture our cotton goods as cheap 
 as possible, then sell the same at as low a margin as possible. 
 The cheaper we can manufacture and sell our cotton goods, 
 the cheaper we can place cotton goods on the market; the 
 more cotton goods that will be consumed, the more of our 
 cotton goods that are consumed, the greater will be the de- 
 mand for the raw material. We may imagine that high 
 priced goods are the life of a country, but this is probably a 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 43 
 
 mistaken idea. The high margin that our several merchants 
 may realize, is of no good or benefit to any one or more 
 parties. The merchant's high margin simply opens the door 
 the wider for the more opposition. The high margin that 
 our merchants realize, is death to our home raised, staple raw 
 cotton. The lower the margin that our merchants sell cotton, 
 (as well as all kind of goods), the more that will be utilized. 
 If a merchant realizes twenty per cent, profit off of cotton 
 goods, so much wdl be utilized ; but if he only realize five 
 per cent, so much the more will be utilized. The more that 
 is utilized, the greater will be the demand for the raw mater- 
 ial. The demand causes the price of raw cotton to go up, 
 and not the great profit that the merchant may realize. Had 
 we restricted the merchant at the same date and time we did 
 the miller, had we also established a "live and let live price 
 system" in its proper form, probably to-day, forty millions or 
 more of our poor would be able to utilize bolts of both cotton 
 and finer goods, where now they are only able to utilize one 
 yard. This would have given European paupers employment 
 at home manufacturing said finer goods. By m llions of 
 European paupers obtaining said, employment, they would be 
 able to utilize bolts of cotton goods where now they are only 
 able to utilize one yard. 
 
 By this means young America might raise ten bales of 
 cotton where she now raises one, and still not overstock the 
 markets. It is not that too great amount of cotton is raised 
 that the enlightened world is overstocked with cotton goods, 
 it is the little amount that is utilized. Capitalists will not, 
 and paupers cannot, utilize cotton goods, it is the well-to-do 
 class that utilize this article. 
 
 With our "system" established, say, when we first be- 
 come a free republic by first doing away with our private 
 costmark, we would have cut off a certain class of Europe's 
 exports from this country, the kind that we could have 
 learned to manufacture; but millions of our people would be 
 in a condition to patronize Europe of what wares we could 
 not manufacture. So it would be better for Europe to obtain 
 
44 
 
 the half of a big loaf, than no loaf. The modern world — 
 modern Europe — is considered a cheat, while we acknowledge 
 that young America has been speculated (cheated) to death. 
 We and Europe have utilized a private costmark till its bad 
 effects begin to show the plainer upon the top surface. There 
 are a great many things like our backbone ; we know that it 
 exists, but we need never expect to see it with your own eyes. 
 Seeing ourselves as others see us, is one thing, but seeing 
 ourselves as we really are, is a horse of another color. One 
 reason why "truth is stranger than fiction" is because we 
 have ignored temporal truths to too great an extent. Under 
 the weight of our private costmark, forty million, more or 
 less, of our American citizens have become so much im- 
 poverished that they are unable to patronize either our own 
 or Europe's industries. Th*e private costmark places our 
 mercantile fraternity in such a position that it cannot protect 
 itself against so much opposition ;too much opposition cheats 
 our merchants out of their rightful share. of patronage, then, 
 our non productive mercantile fraternity is forced to cheat 
 the community in return. After the community is over 
 charged for the necessities of life, they must need to offset 
 this overcharge by every device and vice that surrounding 
 circumstances will permit. The greater portion of our de- 
 vices today, are vices without the u de." Each European 
 country ships wares to this and other countries as a means, 
 partly, of a livelihood. No European country is wholly de- 
 pendent upon itself — its own people — for patronage ; while 
 young America is almost whollv dependent upon herself — her 
 own people — for patronage. Europe is independent upon 
 herself, but dependent upon other countries for the patronage 
 of her manufactured wares, while young America is not 
 independent but dependent upon her own people for the 
 patronage of her manufactured wares. We may ship a few 
 manufactured wares, but we manufacture at so high a cost 
 we do not realize much profit from our manufactured wares, 
 and we cannot depend on making a livelihood at the business. 
 By utilizing a private costmark with no restrictions to 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 45 
 
 speak of, our merchants realizing too large a profit, we are 
 unable to check any other kind of enterprise or monopoly. 
 All enterprises and monopolies are forced to patronize mer- 
 chandise, and are supposed to be checked only in conformity 
 with the mercantile fraternity. This is a free country, so to 
 speak; fewer restrictions than any other country, yet we re- 
 strict the miller and banker. Our public toll-dish forces a 
 dishonest miller to be honest, while our priva e costmark 
 
 forces an honest merchant to make an honest living- in a dis- 
 cs 
 
 honest way. He is unable to protect himself against too 
 much opposition, and after opposition robs him of his right- 
 ful share of patronage lie is forced to overcharge his remain- 
 ing handful of patrons to make up this deficiency, because 
 he is engaged in a non-productive enterprise. After our peo- 
 ple are impoverished to too great an extent, who are to pat- 
 ronize our enterprises and industries ? 
 
 "While we are sitting with our backs toward a draft, 
 our faces are turned toward our coffins." While we are 
 spending our precious moments in attempting to obtain blood 
 from turnips, we are living with our handsome faces turned 
 toward the "poor-house." After Europe oversells her people 
 under a private costmark, she ships us her oversold paupers 
 while we have no new country to ship our paupers, or Europe's 
 oversold paupers to. We may ship a few of our oversold 
 darkies to Mexico, but what are we going to do with the 
 "po' white trash ? " We may check our pauper immigration 
 but how are we to check our moneyed men (and ladies) from 
 going to Europe ? 
 
 There is a natural rivalry that exists between ladies of 
 different societies ; this is the life of each respective society. 
 There is a natural rivalry that exists between our men of 
 controlling influence ; this is the life of our statesmen. 
 
 There is a natural rivalry that exists between different 
 enlightened Christian countries. Each respective, enlight- 
 ened Christian country endeavors to excel other countries. 
 
 Each European county endeavors to excel others in plac- 
 
46 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 ing the best of wares of merchandise, the necessities and lux- 
 uries of life, upon the market at the lowest prices. 
 
 The cheaper you can live in any one European country, 
 the more valuable that country is (according to surrounding 
 circumstances.) This rivalry, that exists between different 
 European countries, is the life of Europe. Young America 
 is yet almost too young to fully comprehend this natural 
 rivalry that exists between different European countries. 
 If we could manage to sell the necessities of life at as low a 
 margin as Europe, with the aid of our cheaper meat and bread 
 stuff, we could manufacture and place the necessities of life 
 upon the market cheaper than Europe. Then our own moneyed 
 men would not only remain and dine with us, but Europe's 
 overplus of inhabitants would be lessened by her moneyed 
 men and the cream of her societies immigrating to the New 
 World, instead of her paupers, who are forced to "jump out 
 of the frying pan into the fire," come to this country and 
 "root hog or die," and her syndicates -and parties who are 
 looking only for the best of the bargain. Rivalry, between 
 different enlightened Christian countries is the life of the 
 modern enlightened Christian world. Should we wish a rich 
 flowing immigration to commence anew, we must place the 
 necessities of life upon the market as low as Europe. 
 Then our immigration will have some of the George Wash- 
 ington's father's style of people immigrating to the New 
 World, parties who are not looking for so much the best of 
 the bargain, but good old "slavery times ; " honest men who 
 only wish an "even brake." "Respect yourself should you 
 wish others to respect you; " but in order to hold your self- 
 respect, you must first be self protecting. Should your neigh- 
 bor prove ever so intelligent and be ever so beneficial to you 
 and yours, after you discover that he is incapable of protect- 
 ing himself in a general way, you loose more or less respect for 
 him. We were blessed with a rich flowing immigration 
 while our rich natural resources overbalanced our disadvan- 
 tages, but the moment our several disadvantages overbalanced 
 our rich resources, our rich immigration quit us. Our 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 47 
 
 several disadvantages overbalanced our rich natural resources 
 before our rich natural resources were one-half developed. 
 
 After our disadvantages overbalanced our rich natural 
 resources, we then are forced to be self protecting in order 
 to be self sustaining. One need not expect any credit for 
 doing anything stupid. "A city set upon a hill cannot be 
 hid." We have failed to protect ourselves against ourselves, 
 so today we have principally paupers or syndicates immigrat- 
 ing to the New World. 40,000 Americans are living today 
 in France while France has 86,000,000 inhabitants, and the 
 Republic lacks 70,000 square miles of being as large as the 
 State of Texas. So over 40,000 Americans have either 
 bought a ticket and immigrated to France, else have bought 
 a rope and hung themselves, Some of our moneyed men 
 (and ladies) are leaving us ; we are changing golden nuggets 
 for turnips, moneyed gentlemen and ladies for syndicates and 
 paupers. 
 
 A charitable company have advanced transportation 
 for the darkies to Mexico. Our rich "white folks ' can leave 
 us by procuring a ticket to France, but our "po' white trash" 
 can only get out of this country through the aid of a rope. 
 
 It is probably just as essential that a nation should pro- 
 tect itself from itself as to protect its country against a 
 foreign enemy. U A small leak will sink a great ship." Never 
 brag too much on yourself but allow your neighbor to praise 
 your good deeds. Don't brag too much on your own country 
 (it is vulgar) but let other countries praise your country. 
 U A tree is known by the fruit it bears." We sincerely hope 
 that Uncle Sam will do one of three propositions we make : 
 Kill the private costmark, send us a ticket to France, or else 
 send a quarter in stamps (or in silver) that we may buy a rope. 
 History teaches us that during the time the Saxon kings 
 were reigning in England, a very extraordinary race of men 
 were gradually rising to importance and power on the Ger- 
 man'Ocean and on the adjacent seas. They came, of course, 
 originaLy from the land, but they lived almost wholly upon 
 the sea, only making occasional visits to the shores of various 
 
48 
 
 countries within their reach for purposes of conquest and 
 plunder. They were in fact little better than an organized 
 nation of pirates. As they came originally from Denmark 
 and Norway and other countries on the shores of the Baltic 
 Sea and German Ocean, they are in English History com- 
 monly called Danes. 
 
 The work of conquering and plundering a country was 
 in those ages of the world (850 A. D.), considered a very 
 honorable business, provided the deed was done by a suffici- 
 ently large number of people and on great enough scale. So 
 the Danes, though really pirates and robbers, were considered 
 honorable men, and many young persons from high (supposed- 
 to-be Christian) families on the continent used to come and 
 enter their service from time to time in order to see the world 
 and learn the art of seamanship and war. 
 
 In 850 the enlightened Christian world imagined that 
 piracy was an honorable business, provided the deed was done 
 by a sufficiently large enough number of people and on great 
 enough scale. Today, in 1896, we enlightened Christians 
 imagine that selling the necess ties of life under a private 
 costmark to our own people in our own country is all "O. K.," 
 provided the deed is done by a sufficiently large number of 
 people and on great and grand enough scale. The business 
 is surely carried on by twice the number of people needed 
 and on as grand scale as a poor white man can stand up to. 
 
 The pirate ship and the private costmark may be twin 
 sisters. They both may have been introduced during the 
 dark ages. After the Christian world emerged out from the 
 dark waves of the dark ages, the Christian world condemned 
 piracy, although they may have become partly used and ac- 
 customed to the same. The enlightened Christian world 
 finally criticised itself out of its piratical error, after so long 
 a time, after the Danes had conquered the Saxons, and 
 after the rich and otherwise intelligent parties of controlling 
 influence had suffered the extremes from piratical excursions. 
 The private costmark may prove to be more dangerous than 
 the pirate ship, because, the private costmark emits no smoke 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 49 
 
 or flame and its weight is only felt by the poor and other- 
 wise ignorant classes who look to the rich and otherwise in- 
 telligent classes of controlling influence for protection. 
 While piracy was the fashion and folly of the day, it was the 
 rich and otherwise intelligent classes who suffered the ex- 
 tremes through piratical excursions. But while utilizing a 
 private costmark has been, and is yet the fashion and folly 
 of the day, it is only our poor who suffer the extremes. The 
 rich may complain when they imagine they are overcharged 
 for the necessities of life, but they will not suffer the ex- 
 tremes till after they fall over on the poor side of the branch. 
 As long as you have a dollar you will not suffer the extremes 
 of poverty, but your influence and energy in this direction 
 will naturally disappear with your last dollar. Demoraliza- 
 tion follows after. Piracy might have been popular among 
 the enlightened Christian world in 850, but at the same time 
 the whole enlightened Christian world were not engaged in 
 piracy. The business itself was not spread throughout all 
 the world. After the Saxons had suffered t^e extremes and 
 had lost their country through piratical excursions, the peo- 
 ple were able to make a comparison between the Saxon's 
 country, that had been lost through piratical excursions, and 
 other countries that had not suffered from piratical ships. 
 There was such a comparison between the conquered Saxons 
 and other countries or nations that had not been conquered 
 or overrun by pirates, that the people in general could de- 
 termine the bad effects of piracy. From the time that the 
 private costmark was first introduced among the retail mer- 
 chants in selling to their own people, up-to-date, or since, 
 utilizing the private costmark has become universal through- 
 out the enlightened Christian world, we have no way of 
 making a comparison. Poe says : "We can only recognize 
 good and ill by comparison." 
 
 Had any one or more countries in Europe discontinued 
 the private costmark and forced their merchants to have sold 
 
 at a low margin, then the modern world could have been 
 
 4* 
 
50 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 
 
 able to have made a comparison. The private costmark has 
 a tendency to impoverish both Europe and young America ; 
 the more that young America's people become impoverished 
 the less we are able to patronize Europe ; the less we patron- 
 ize Europe the more dependent Europe becomes upon us for 
 patronage. The more dependent that Europe becomes upon 
 us for patronage, the closer she may stick to her private cost- 
 mark. From the time that the private costmark was first in- 
 troduced, from that time up-to-date, the enlightened world's 
 mode of living has been deranged. It may make little dif- 
 ference whether this natural curse first germinated through 
 accident or through surrounding circumstances, or whether 
 some evil genius instigated it and introduced it in order to 
 impede the progress of the enlightened world, or not, in 
 either case the effect has been and still is just the same. 
 "Evil is wrought through want of thought the same as through 
 want of heart." So long as the private costmark is utilized, 
 so long will the modern world continue a cheat. So long as 
 the private costmark is utilized, so long will we remain under 
 a natural curse. 
 
 There probably cannot be a supernatural curse since 
 Christ is our "Mediator," while we may remain under a 
 natural curse for ages without once being warned. In order 
 to unearth and uproot a natural curse we are forced to ascer- 
 tain temporal truths. Ever since the private costmark has 
 been in use the modern world has been considered a cheat. 
 An Irishman upon beholding a donkey for the first time ex- 
 claimed : "Sure this is the daddy of all the rabbits." So the 
 private costmark probably is the daddy of all cheats. While 
 piracy was the fashion and folly of the day the Saxons had 
 the worst of the bargain ; while the private costmark is the 
 fashion of the day young America is getting the worst of the 
 bargain. It is impossible for us to miss all we do not re- 
 ceive, although we might have been, and still might be en- 
 titled to the same. 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 51 
 
 Chapter VI. — China. 
 
 China sustains 400,000,000 inhabitants upon an old 
 knoll where the natural resources were almost exhausted 
 centuries ago. China punishes all cheats with death. She 
 makes nor recognizes no distinction between cheats ; she, like 
 Christ, condemns all cheats, while she might make a distinction 
 between the punishment of cheats. Today, China's merchants 
 sell as low as two mills on the dollar at retail. By China 
 selling so cheap, at so low a margin, to her own people, she 
 is thereby able to manufacture and raise the necessities of 
 life at a proportionate cost. The cheaper a nation sells the 
 necessities of life to her own people the cheaper she can man- 
 ufacture and raise the necessities of life. Millions of China's 
 poor may suffer from want, (her natural resources near con- 
 sumed and her country over-populated) but her poor might 
 suffer the more if China sold, raised and manufactured the 
 necessities of life at a higher cost. We cannot determine 
 how China could make an improvement on her mode of deal- 
 ing unless she manufactured and circulated more currency 
 according to her population. It seems that China has at- 
 tempted to increase the value of her currency by decreasing 
 the value of her merchandise, her necessities of life. Our 
 chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that China was 
 always too ignorant ; was not intelligent enough to make and 
 recognize a distinction between cheats, but condemned all 
 cheats. She probably forced her mercantile fraternity to sell 
 at a given margin, then forced all other enterprises down in 
 conformity with the merchant. After the merchant sold as 
 low as two mills on the dollar, her monopolies and money 
 lenders could afford to place their rates at a low margin, as 
 ■all would naturally realize a benefit from the merchants' low 
 margins as it had a tendency to cause the necessities of life 
 to be put on the market at a low price. We have been in- 
 formed that China's merchants sell at retail as low as two 
 mills on the dollar. So our chain of circumstantial evidence 
 shows us that her money lenders loan at a proportionate rate ; 
 
52 
 
 they probably loan at about two mills on the dollar per annum. 
 Had ten cents (one dime) been put out at ten per cent, inter- 
 est, with compound interest added on at the birth of Christ, 
 today there would not be enough gold to redeem it. This 
 shows us how dangerous the world's at large growing mon- 
 opolies may eventually terminate. If the world's at large 
 money lenders were loaning with the compound interest at- 
 tached, it might not be so dangerous, because then we might 
 know the danger, but without the compound interest we can 
 only guess the danger. In ancient times, warring was the 
 fashion and folly of the day. In the early stages of modern 
 times the people continued to war but commenced to specu- 
 late. While the modern world was speculating and warring 
 at the same time, the world's at large growing „ monopolies, 
 combinations, would ofttimes be broken up through the effects 
 and reverses of war. At a certain date the modern world 
 managed to check continued wars to a great extent by estab- 
 lishing ministers of war. Now we have nothing to check 
 the world's at large growing monopolies. We have this new 
 enemy to face. 
 
 It may be just as essential for a nation to protect itself 
 against itself as to protect its country against a foreign enemy. 
 A nation now-a-days must be able to protect itself against its 
 own monopolies in order to be enabled to protect itself against 
 foreign monopolies. China has protected herself against her 
 own monopolies, although she has run her country 6,000 years. 
 China has protected herself against herself by condemning all 
 cheats the same as Christ. China is a heathen nation, and has,, 
 probably, ascertained through hard experience, the vital necess- 
 ity of condemning all cheats. Christ commanded, "Thou 
 shalt not steal," in order to save us the hard experience that 
 China may have labored under. 
 
 We may admit that "experience is our best teacher" be- 
 cause we are too careless to be taught otherwise. Merchan- 
 dise is something that all are forced to patronize at all times. 
 The limit of profits that the retailer realizes is like the main 
 
53 
 
 spring of a watch ; most everything, in particular, is governed 
 by this "movement." 
 
 Had China not restricted her mercantile fraternity, she 
 could not well have restricted any other enterprise or any mo- 
 nopoly. Her money lenders and monopolies might have bank- 
 rupted her in the space of 6,000 years. But after she re- 
 stricted her retail merchants she then could restrict her whole- 
 sale merchants in conformity. After the necessities of life 
 were sold at a low margin then they could be manufactured 
 and raised at a low cost. After the necessities, as well as 
 the luxuries, of life were put on the market at a low cost, all 
 enterprises, monopolies and money lenders could afford to 
 fall in proportion. Never allow your neighbor to defraud 
 you out of your "home, sweet home and farm," then expect 
 him to lend you a peck of potatoes. The only time to lock 
 your stable door is before the horse is stolen. Rome existed 
 thirteen centuries, "howled" then "trembled, tottered and 
 fell." China has not only existed, but has "lived" 6,000 years. 
 She, like Christ, condemns all cheats and still she stands. By 
 China condemning all cheats she has been able to run her 
 country 6,000 years without her monopolies obtaining too 
 much of her circulating currency, she is not forced to borrow 
 from her own or foreign monopolies. She is not forced to 
 monopolize in foreign countries in order to feed her own or 
 foreign monopolies. She is able to live at home, board at the 
 same place and have her washing done up stairs. Selling at 
 retail at two mills on the dollar is, probably too low, too in- 
 convenient. 
 
 But China is a heathen nation. She may have gone too 
 far to extremes, but being a heathen nation, she has, probably, 
 no idea of the end of time and has set her pegs so that she 
 could be able to run her country forever without any danger 
 of her monopolies obtaining too much foothold. But China, 
 though a heathen, has advanced one good idea : She makes 
 nor recognizes no distinction between cheats. 
 
 She is a heathen nation; worships idols; we proba- 
 bly can give her credit for advancing one good idea. She, 
 
54 
 
 like some other nations, after they have advanced one good 
 idea, they have done their do. We might borrow this one 
 idea from China and leave out her other ideas. Men have 
 been known to learn a good trait from a dog in the way of 
 faithfulness. It seems that after China realized a benefit 
 from decreasing the value of the necessities of life, she then 
 went to extremes, went below the mark. 
 
 China belongs to the old ancient race, but being a 
 heathen, we cannot afford to take many patterns from her. 
 She probably restricted her merchants before the private cost 
 mark was introduced. Today she may or may not utilize a 
 private costmark. Our chain of circumstantial evidence 
 shows us that China could not have lived and stuck 
 together as a nation for the period of 6,000 years had she 
 made and recognized a distinction between cheats; had she 
 not condemned all cheats the same as Christ condemns them. 
 Probably other old Asiatic nations today would be on their 
 respective homesteads and living at home instead of roving 
 about, had they, like China, learned through hard experience 
 how to have condemned all cheats. " We only recognize 
 good from ill by comparison." We never think of making 
 a comparison between our mode of merchandise and China's 
 because China is a heathen nation and worships idols. The 
 dark ages probably did not affect China's mode of selling her 
 merchandise. A nation should attempt to decrease the value 
 of their merchandise, the necessities and luxuries of life, in 
 order to increase the value of their currency, but they 
 should not go to extremes in either direction. China prob- 
 ably has decreased the value of her merchandise and 
 increased the value of her currency to too great an extent; 
 while Europe probably has gone to extremes in the other 
 direction — increased the value of her merchandise, her neces- 
 sities of life, and decreased the value of her currency. Our 
 chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that Israel, under 
 the Mosaic law (Christ confirmed this law), sold the necessi- 
 ties and luxuries of life to her own people at two (2) per cent. 
 at retail. Everything else in particular was regulated and 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 55 
 
 governed from this standpoint — this standard limit — A dol- 
 lar saved is as valuable as a dollar made. 
 
 Chapter VII. — " Thou Shalt Not Steal." 
 
 " Thou shalt not steal." This includes all cheats. All 
 cheats are thefts and all thefts are cheats. A cheat is sim- 
 ply a theft shielded under a form. When the Lord gave 
 Moses the commandments, among the same is found a Thou 
 shalt not steal." While Christ was upon earth he confirmed 
 and reiterated this same commandment in person. Twice 
 the Lord has commanded k ' Thou shalt not steal." After we 
 are convinced that all cheats are thefts we then are supposed 
 to determine what is stealing or cheating. Prior to this 
 commandment in both the Old and New Testaments we 
 read " Thou shalt not kill." In order to obey the com- 
 mandment "Thou shalt not kill," we are forced to obey the 
 commandment " Thou shalt not steal." Most any kind of 
 a cheat has a tendency to impoverish, and impoverishment 
 has a tendency to hasten death — cut off life. It is not only 
 a sin to steal because Christ has commanded k ' Thou shalt 
 not steal," but because Christ has commanded " Thou shalt 
 not kill." The commandment " Thou shalt not steal " pro- 
 tects the commandment " Thou shalt not kill." Had we 
 only been forbidden to kill and not been forbidden to steal, the 
 commandment " Thou shalt not kill," would have been left 
 unguarded to a great extent. Probably more people in 
 modern times die from impoverishment through being de- 
 frauded than die from the sword. The sword only hastens 
 
56 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 death. Those that have died from the sword would have 
 eventually died anyhow. Those that die from impoverish- 
 ment simply have a certain (or uncertain) number of days 
 cut off — they would naturally die anyhow. If you kill 3^0 ur 
 fellow man with the sword or shotgun, you simply hasten 
 death. If you kill your fellow man by having his life cut 
 off through impoverishment by defrauding him, you simply 
 hasten rleath. Jn either case your fellow man would natur- 
 ally eventually die. "We only live to die," about the same 
 as a chicken. In order to determine when we are cheating, 
 we might attempt to ascertain when and where we are im- 
 poverishing. 
 
 By referring to the l9th and 20th chapters of Exodus, 
 it seems that the Lord first wished to speak to all Israel 
 through a cloud, in order to fully impress the people, so the 
 people could understand the full meaning of the command- 
 ments. But for fear that some of the people might go 
 beyond the " bounds," the people stood afar off, while the 
 Lord spoke to Moses through a cloud. 
 
 "And all the people saw the thunderings and the light- 
 nings and the noise of the trumpets, and the mountain smok- 
 ing, and when the people saw it they removed and stood afar 
 off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us and we 
 will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And 
 Moses said unto the people, fear not, for God is come to 
 prove you, and that his fear may be before j^our faces, that 
 ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew 
 near unto the thick darkness where God was." — Ex. 20 chap., 
 18, 19, 20 and 21 verses. 
 
 It seems that the Lord wished to awe and impress the 
 people so they could fully understand the commandments. 
 After the Lord gave Moses the commandments, Moses taught 
 all Israel the full meaning of the commandments, through 
 the power of inspiration that Moses was endowed with. 
 Among the commandments were found "Thou shalt not 
 steal " All Israel were taught the full sense and meaning 
 of this commandment through inspiration. Christ, while 
 
upon earth, reiterated this self same commandment in per- 
 son, so that the Gentile might understand the true meaning, 
 as well as all Israel. We Gentiles cannot be taught the full 
 sense and meaning of the commandment "Thoushalt not 
 steal " through inspiration, but can only be taught through 
 the aid of our intellect or wisdom. 
 
 We all admit that the now modern world is a cheat. 
 This is probably because we Gentiles who help to constitute 
 the modern world do not fnlly understand the command- 
 ment " Thou shalt not steal." 
 
 The world is 6,000 years old, but today it seems that 
 only two classes of people fully understand the meaning of 
 the commandment " Thou shalt not steal," and those are the 
 heathen Chinese and the Jews. China probably was thou- 
 sands of years in ascertaining the vital necessity of con- 
 demning all cheats. She was probably thousands of years 
 in learning the meaning of the word " steal," through years 
 of hard experience, while the Jews were taught the full 
 meaning through inspiration in a moment of time. Christ, 
 while upon earth, commanded " Thou shalt not steal " in 
 order to save us Gentiles the hard experience that China 
 may have labored under. China has ascertained the mean- 
 ing of the word " steal" through thousands of years of hard 
 experience. The Jews were taught the full sense and mean- 
 ing of the commandment u Thou shalt not steal," through 
 inspiration. Christ, while upon earth, commanded " Thou 
 shalt not steal." We enlightened Gentile Christians must 
 remember that nearly 1,900 years have intervened since 
 Christ gave this commandment in person. The dark clouds 
 of the dark ages probably had little or no effect upon the 
 Jews, traditionally or commercially (in dealing among them- 
 selves). The dark clouds of the dark ages probably had 
 little or no effect upon the heathen Chinese. 
 
 The Jews were probably too wise, while the heathen 
 Chinese were too ignorant and too far isolated off to be 
 effected from the dark cloud of the dark ages. China was 
 
58 
 
 too old to bend. But with us enlightened Gentile Christ- 
 ians of today it is somewhat different. 
 
 Since Christ gave this commandment the dark cloud of 
 the dark ages has rolled over us, and given " use and cus- 
 tom " a chance to step in between us and this (as well as 
 other) commandments. "Custom," says Lord Bacon, " is 
 man's chief magistrate. Custom is ofttimes stronger than 
 reason." We Gentile Christians of today never attempt to 
 define the meaning of the commandment " Thou shalt not 
 steal," but give way entirely to use and custom. We give 
 way probably to the usages and customs that germinated 
 and originated during the period of the dark ages. Today 
 we make and recognize most any kind of cheat that is 
 shielded under a form. In other words we make and recog- 
 nize a distinction between cheats. Most any kind of a cheat 
 can be made popular after it is shielded under a form. To 
 steal outright is breaking the law of God, but to cheat (steal) 
 and shield it under a form, is it not attempting to rectify the 
 laws of God ? It is a sin to break the law of God, but is it 
 not a greater sin to attempt to rectify God's law ? There 
 probably is only one class of people today who make and 
 recognize a distinction betweencheats and they are the.enlight- 
 ened Gentile Christians. The heathen Chinese are too ignor- 
 ant, are not intelligent enough, to make and recognize a dis- 
 tinction between cheats, but condemn all cheats. The savage 
 cannibal makes no distinction between cheats, but indorses 
 all cheats. He will steal your gold (or silver), steal your 
 horse, saddle and bridle, will cheat you in any way he knows 
 how, but at the same time he is not intelligent enough to 
 shield his theft under a form. If he is caught in the act, he 
 may own it up to your face, as he has no way of shielding 
 his theft; he is not intelligent enough to shield his theft or 
 cheat under any kind of a form. He will slay and eat you, 
 but probably would own it up to your face should you ask 
 him in a polite manner. There is one difference between us 
 Gentile Christians and the cannibals. We do not eat those 
 that we defraud and murder. The reason why that u truth is 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 59> 
 
 stranger than fiction," is probably because we have ignored 
 (temporal) truths of vital importance to too great an extent* 
 and depend upon most any kind of "use and custom" that has 
 germinated since the Christian era. Again (excuse our 
 digression), the heathens either condemn or endorse all 
 cheats, they are not intelligent enough to make or recognize 
 a distinction between cheats. The heathen Chinese condemn 
 all cheats, while the savage cannibals indorse all cheats. 
 
 The children of Israel (the Jews) condemn all cheats 
 (in dealing among themselves), the same as Christ — the 
 same ~as China ; while they may not punish all cheats (in 
 dealing among themselves) the same as China. The Jews 
 are too wise to make or recognize a distinction between 
 cheats in dealing among themselves. Should the Jews 
 make and recognize a distinction between cheats in dealing 
 among themselves, they might break the commandment. 
 " Thou shalt not kill " by impoverishing each other, besides 
 should they make and recognize a distinction between cheats 
 in dealing among themselves, we Gentiles might be able to 
 cheat wise Israel. We enlightened Gentile Christians are 
 intelligent enough to make and recognize a distinction 
 between cheats, but are not wise enough to protect ourselves 
 against wise Israel. We are not wise enough to protect our- 
 selves against ourselves. If we Gentiles recognized no dis- 
 tinction between cheats, but condemned all cheats, we then 
 could not cheat each other without breaking our laws. If 
 we Gentiles recognized no distinction between cheats, the 
 Jews could not cheat us without breaking our laws. All 
 cheats are thefts, simply shielded under different forms. The 
 Jews only take advantage of some of our shielded cheats,, 
 but are too wise to cheat (steal) where the theft is not 
 shielded under a form. The Jew is almost always ready to 
 cheat us, but at the same time he will not steal. We all 
 admit that the Jew is a cheat, in a general way, probably, 
 because the Jew is generally non-productive. But the Jews 
 could not live off of us and still be popular among us and cheat 
 us unless we recognized a distinction between cheats. If 
 
60 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 the Jew is really a cheat he cannot live off of a nation only 
 where a distinction between cheats exist. Living off of a 
 nation and living among a nation are two different questions. 
 "A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of him." 
 
 When we see a reliable school teacher still using the 
 rod, we may be confident that one or more of the " school " 
 are still disobedient. When we see the Jews still living off oi 
 a nation we may be confident that the nation of Gentiles are 
 still disobedient and still recognize a distinction between 
 cheats. Don't spare the rod and spoil the school. You can 
 almost always determine when your watch is correct by 
 referring to the ''town clock." What did the Lord mean 
 when He commanded "Thou shalt not steal?" Did He 
 mean that we should speculate upon the necessities of life to 
 an unlimited extent ? As the limit of profits that the retailer 
 realizes is the same as the mainspring of a watch, most every- 
 thing else is governed from this " movement." We are 
 forced to set a limit. Set a gauge for the retailer to go by. 
 What limit should the retail merchant realize in compliance 
 to the commandment "Thou shalt not steal?" China sells 
 as low as two mills on the dollar at retail, but this probably 
 is too low, too inconvenient. Europe's retail merchants may 
 sell at seven cents on the dollar, but this probably is too 
 high. China is probably on the extreme in one direction 
 and Europe on the extreme in the other. Young America 
 is not " in it." Instead of young America trying to bring 
 the limit of profits down, she has been bringing them up, so 
 when she does "fall," the same as Rome, she will have the 
 greater space to fall through, " hit the grit" the harder, and 
 come down in a heap. Should you attempt to go from Cali- 
 fornia to New York, and should you start and travel in the 
 exact opposite direction from towards New York, you would 
 finally bring up at New York, but come up at the opposite 
 side from which you started. By young America traveling 
 so far and fast in the exact opposite direction from the right 
 way she should have gone, she has simply made the circum- 
 ference. " Experience is our best teacher." 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 61 
 
 By tracing the Jews from the time of Moses up to date 
 our chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that they sell 
 the necessities of life at retail to each other at two per cent, 
 on the dollar. While the Israelites were dwelling in Canaan 
 and following the comandment, "Thou shalt not steal," they, 
 probably, sold the necessities of life to each other at retail at 
 two per cent, on the dollar. They, probably, brought or held 
 all other enterprises, monopolies and money lenders down in 
 conformity with the retail merchants' limit on profits. Today 
 in Young America, our American Jews, probably, sell as low 
 as two per cent, when surrounding circumstances will permit 
 of it. They may ofttimes be forced to charge a higher limit 
 where they are overcrowded with too much opposition. They 
 probably, loan money at about one (1) per cent, per annum 
 to one another. 
 
 When the Lord gave Moses the commandment, "Thou 
 shalt not steal," all Israel were to realize a temporal blessing 
 through following this commandment. The Jews have obeyed 
 this commandment (among themselves) from that day to 
 this and they still realize temporal benefits from following the 
 same. Christ commanded, "Thou shalt not steal," while 
 upon earth, so that we enlightened Gentile Christians might 
 realize a temporal blessing from following this commandment. 
 Could the whole modern world be converted to Christianity, 
 the whole world could realize a temporal benefit through fol- 
 lowing this commandment. The Bible is to teach us how to 
 prosper in a temporal way the same as how to serve the Lord 
 in a devotional or spiritual way. We will prosper both in 
 a spiritual and in a temporal way from following the spiritual 
 and temporal teachings of our Bible. Truth is wisdom, wis- 
 dom is for our spiritual and temporal good. Spiritual truths 
 are for our spiritual good and welfare, while temporal truths 
 are for our temporal good and welfare. 
 
 Cheating cannot thrive, not because it is a sin, (since 
 Christ is our "Mediator" "it will rain upon the unjust the 
 same as the just"), but because it has a tendency to impov- 
 erish. The Jews were not only taught "Thou shalt not steal" 
 
'62 
 
 through inspiration, but were taught "Thou shalt not kill" 
 through inspiration. Should a Jew defraud another enough 
 to impoverish, probably, the whole Jewish nation would look 
 upon said defrauder not only as a thief, but as a murderer. 
 The reason why that "there is no worse a sin than trying to 
 get rich in a hurry," is because defrauding impoverishes and 
 impoverishment cuts off life, hastens death. 
 
 Life hangs by a slender strand — thread at best. The 
 last straw that is laid on and breaks the camel's back is not 
 any the more guilty than its predecessors. "Show me a thief 
 I will show you a murderer." "We take off our hats to big 
 thiefs" and murderers, "but jail" and hang "little ones." It 
 may not be the little amount of sin that we commit that we 
 are aware of, but the great amount of sin that we commit 
 that we are ignorant of. 
 
 Ignorant, but not innocent. "Ignorance is sin." "Many 
 will be called but few will be chosen," because "straight is the 
 gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few 
 there be that find it." It seems that the modern world has 
 lost her "measuring rod." Her weights and measures may 
 be correct. She, probably, reserved these through the dark 
 ages, but the limit of profits — this measure, or rather per 
 cent. — that the retail merchant is to realize, may have gotten 
 swept off the deck when the dark waves of the dark ages 
 swept over our gallant ship. 
 
 "And when He was gone forth into the way, there came 
 one running and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good 
 Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? " 
 "And Jesus said unto him, why calleth thou me good? there 
 is none good but one, that is God." "Thou knoweth the 
 commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not 
 steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father 
 and mother." "And he answered and said unto him, Master, 
 all of these I have observed from my youth. Then Jesus 
 beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou 
 lackest ; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to 
 the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in Heaven ; and come, 
 
 
63 
 
 take up the cross and follow me." "And he was sad at that 
 saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions." 
 X This was a Gentile that asked Christ what he should da 
 to inherit eternal life. Christ said, "defraud not." This 
 Gentile had large possessions ; he probably acquired this 
 wealth through realizing too great a profit. After this Gen- 
 tile had said unto Christ, "all of these I have observed from 
 my youth," Christ commanded, "go thy way, sell whatsoever 
 thou hast and give to the poor." When Christ commanded 
 this Gentile to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to 
 the poor, it shows that this Gentile might have defrauded 
 the people — the poor — by realizing too much profit, while at 
 the same time this Gentile was ignorant of the fact. When 
 the Lord gave Moses the commandments, the Lord did not 
 explain to Moses what was stealing, but gave Moses the com- 
 mandment, "thou shalt not steal." But Moses knew the 
 meaning by inspiration. Christ, while upon earth, was more 
 explicit to this Gentile and commanded, "defraud not." And 
 after the Gentile had said, "all of these I have observed from 
 my youth," Christ commanded him to sell and give to the 
 poor. Christ here shows us that this Gentile had not ob- 
 served all of the commandments, he had defrauded but was 
 ignorant ; ignorant, but not innocent. ^ 
 
 It seems that we enlightened Gentile Christians of to- 
 day, ignore the temporal teachings and meanings of our 
 Bible. We best Christians seem to devote all our spare 
 time to the spiritual teachings and meanings of our Bible, 
 but ignore the temporal teachings and meanings to a great 
 extent. How are we to determine when and where we are 
 cheating, (stealing) while we ignore temporal truths? 
 "Thou shalt not steal." We are supposed to determine what 
 is cheating (stealing.) This can only be accomplished by 
 ascertaining temporal truths. Should we Gentile Christians 
 master, ascertain, analyze and utilize temporal truths the 
 same as the Jews, then at the same time analyze spiritual 
 truths, as well as we do or attempt to do, then we might be 
 that nearer perfection ; we then might be able to "put on the 
 
 X 
 
 r*r ^^3TH^ /^. 
 
64 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PHICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 whole armor." Carry the sword of spiritual truths in one 
 hand and the sword of temporal truths in the other. 
 
 "Thou shalt not steal" is for temporal use. We may or 
 may not be perfect in regard to spiritual truths, while the 
 modern Christian world's greatest fault probably lies in 
 ignoring temporal truths of the most vital importance to the 
 almost greatest unreasonable extent. Temporal truths some- 
 what like spiritual we must ascertain, analyze and utilize 
 the same before we can realize their true worth and value. 
 The savage cannibals indorse all cheats ; they make no dis- 
 tinction between cheats, they have an "equal break" in deal- 
 ing amoug themselves. But we enlightened Gentile Chris- 
 tians recognize a distinction between cheats, allow any party 
 or parties to cheat, provided, the theft is shielded under the 
 slightest form. 
 
 But this gives our poor the worst of the bargain, who 
 may not have the easily comatable necessary pocket change 
 to procure a shield to cover a theft. It may require more or 
 less knowledge, wit and hard cash to procure a shield. But 
 we are more cruel to our poor than the savage. We cheat 
 our poor in ways, too numerous to mention, that are shielded 
 under different forms, while our poor are forced to submit, 
 have not the knowledge, wit and means to retaliate. Know- 
 ledge is power, wealth is power ; knowledge and wealth are 
 powerful. We should attempt to protect our people — our 
 poor — from this powerful "swamp angel." "Self preservation 
 is the first law of nature." In order to protect ourselves, 
 we are first forced to protect our merchants against too much 
 opposition. In order to do this, our merchants need to 
 utilize a public costmark as though naught had happened. 
 We must be in sympathy with our poor, sympathize with 
 our people — our poor — before we can have pity upon them 
 and be able to obtain a corresponding benefit from the Lord. 
 
 After the community cheats the mercantile fraternity 
 out of its rightful share of patronage, then the mercantile 
 fraternity is forced to cheat the community and shield the 
 same under the form of speculating. After the whole com- 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 65 
 
 munity is cheated under the form of speculations, then the 
 community originates different cheats of different characters 
 shielded under different forms. After different cheats shielded 
 under different forms commence to be felt by the community 
 and impoverish them, the community becomes more or less 
 demoralized under the weight of this impoverishment. Those 
 that cannot, or are not shrewd enough to obtain a shield to 
 shield a cheat, steal outright where the theft is not shielded 
 under a form. By a nation's mode of selling, her merchan- 
 dise being deranged, that naturally deranges most every thing 
 else. A nation's mode of selling her merchandise — her 
 necessities of life — is her living. Where hermode of living is 
 deranged, most everything else is deranged. 
 
 Chapter VIII. — Several Things. 
 
 The average deaths from starvation in the city of Lon- 
 don is two human beings per week. But a person need not 
 drop dead upon the highways and streets for the need of 
 proper food, bat may have their liver deranged from eating 
 unwholesome food and exist ninety or more years afterward,, 
 still have from sixty seconds to ninety years of their precious 
 life cut off. 
 
 Feed a hog upon trash and green peaches, he may take 
 the cholera and die in a few weeks time, but the human is 
 longer lived. The greater the distance you may be allowed 
 to travel a lonely road, the greater the chance for you to 
 meet up with highwaymen, pitfalls, wolves, bears, panthers 
 
 5* 
 
66 
 
 and lions. The longer lived the human race, the greater the 
 danger of life being cut off. Thousands of Europe's and 
 Young America's poor die annually of innutrition — a slow, 
 cruelly slow starvation — prolonged from month to month or 
 from year to year according to their relative strength of con- 
 stitution. A few days fasting makes one ravenous, but a 
 long partial starvation so exhausts the victim that he looses 
 all inclination for food, as well as power to assimilate it. The 
 doctors may imagine the cause of a death of slow starvation 
 consumption, but Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth claims 
 that it is "wott-consumption." The world's ablest physicians 
 devote all their spare time in attempting to ascertain the cure 
 of a disease, and have little or no time to devote in attempting 
 to ascertain the true cause of the same. Thousands of the en- 
 lightened Gentile Christian world's poor catch their death of 
 cold in winter, being poorly clad and having to undergo too 
 many hardships and exposures. They catch their death of cold 
 ofttimes while asleep or attempting to sleep. The worst un- 
 protected rooms are generally occupied by the modern world's 
 poorest people who are not in possession of blankets or suffici- 
 ent bed covering, while our wealthiest people occupy lathed 
 and plastered rooms with the best of blankets and quilts. The 
 Jews don't defraud their people, so most all their people fare 
 "tolerably'' well. If we treated our people — our poor — as 
 well as the Jews treat their people, then should our poor 
 suffer from want, it might be from their own fault and not 
 ours. We, as a nation or nations, then could not be held 
 responsible. Had modern Europe never allowed the private 
 costmark to have been introduced — forced her merchants to 
 have sold .strictly at two per cent, at retail — (the wholesalers 
 restricted in proportion) today Europe would have less than 
 half the number of merchants, both wholesalers and retailers. 
 This would give each merchant double the patronage. The 
 necessities of life could be procured so cheap that none would 
 need to go into the mercantile business in order to make an 
 honest living. The great number of retailers don't guarantee 
 the wholesale merchants the more patronage, but the low 
 
67 
 
 margins that the retailers sell at. By the wholesalers having 
 double the patronage by only having one half or less the 
 opposition, they could sell at one half the margin by the re- 
 tailers having doubled the patronage by having one half the 
 opposition, they too could sell at one half the margin. By 
 both the wholesalers and the retailers selling at one half the 
 margin, it would foot up quite an item. Europe today would 
 be able to place the necessities of life upon the market at 
 about one half the price she does now. 
 
 The cheaper you can place the necessities and luxuries 
 of life upon the market in any country, the more valuable 
 that country according to surrounding circumstances. Of 
 course, you don't need to go to extremes, go too low the 
 same as China, neither should you go too high the same as 
 Europe is today. When you imagine your watch is keeping 
 imperfect time, refer to "the town-clock." If we Gentiles 
 wish to obtain the correct standard limit on profits, we should 
 refer to the Jews (in dealing among themselves.) Had 
 Europe always sold at two per cent, at retail, her necessities 
 and luxuries of life could have been procured at a propor- 
 tionate rate. She could have restricted all other enterprises 
 and monopolies in conformity with the retailers margin. 
 Every man, woman and child are forced to patronize the 
 merchant. All cheats that cheat and shield their differ- 
 ent cheats under different forms; all theives that steal where 
 their thefts are not shielded under a form, are forced to pat- 
 ronize the merchant. A nation cannot expect to check any 
 kind of a cheat that is shielded under a form, or check any 
 kind of a theft that is not shielded under a form, success- 
 fully, till after said nation rectify its mode of selling. After 
 the private costmark is properly introduced, the merchants 
 allowed to sell regardless of any lawful limit, then this non- 
 productive mercantile business is powerless to protect itself 
 against too much opposition. Competition and opposition 
 cheat the merchants out of their rightful share of patronage 
 which forces the mercantile fraternity to overcharge the 
 community. This overcharge is called speculating. 
 
68 
 
 The more the community defraud this non-productive, 
 helpless enterprise out of its rightful share of patronage, the 
 higher the profits ; the higher the profits, the wider the door 
 is left open for the more opposition. Finally, and occasion- 
 ally, the poor close some of the doors with their empty purses. 
 The empty purse of the poor is about all that can restrict 
 the "fatal hammer" and check the rapid growth of business 
 houses. Each European country is cheating itself "to the 
 death." The mercantile fraternity of each country selling 
 the necessities of life under a private costmark without any 
 lawful margin, the merchant is unable to protect himself 
 against opposition. The communities cheat the merchants 
 out of their rightful share of patronage, then the merchants, 
 are forced to overcharge the communities. "Should you 
 wish to dig up a big tree, begin at its roots." Should the 
 modern world wish to change the cheating world into an 
 honest one, the modern world should attempt to correct her 
 mode of selling her merchandise — her necessities of life. 
 She then might produce "a land flowing with milk and 
 honey." 
 
 England's factory hands work for starving wages. Had 
 England (as well as the modern enlightened world) re- 
 stricted her merchants with a law, forced her merchants to 
 have sold at two per cent, at retail, then her factory hands 
 could have obtained a certain amount of the per cent, that 
 her merchants have been realizing. The profits could have 
 been more equally divided. Besides, it would not have cost 
 said factory hands so much to live. They could have ob- 
 tained the necessities, as well as the luxuries of life, at one 
 half the cost. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." We 
 cannot divide equally among ourselves without the aid of a 
 law. Our laws should restrict the merchants ; this restriction 
 will protect the merchant against too much competition, then 
 our laborers will obtain that which competition has been 
 robbing the merchants of. 
 
 Had modern Europe forced her merchants to have sold 
 at two per cent, at retail, young America would have done 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 69 
 
 likewise. Today, we would have about three-fourths less the 
 number of both wholesale and retail merchants. By us having 
 one-fourth the number of wholesalers, they could sell at 
 three-fourths less the margin, and by us having one-fourth 
 the number of retailers, they could sell at three-fourths less 
 the margin. By our retailers having three-fourths less the 
 opposition, they would have four times the amount of cus- 
 tomers, and their customers would have the more easily com- 
 atable necessary pocket change to patronize our fewer mer- 
 chants with, the people's trade not being overcharged as 
 heretofore. Our retailers could fare as well selling (under 
 this system) at two per cent, as they can now selling at 
 thirty. The necessities and luxuries would be placed upon 
 the market at such low figures that none would need to go 
 into the non-productive mercantile business in order to make 
 a livelihood. When a man is forced to go into a non-pro- 
 ductive enterprise where he is not necessarily required, he is 
 a burden upon the community. 
 
 When a Christian people claim that competition is the 
 life of trade, they then and there ignore the commandment 
 " Thou shalt not steal," and utilize competition in its stead. 
 Christ gave us this commandment so that we would be able 
 to protect ourselves against ourselves so that we could all 
 prosper in a temporal way, unless we were too old or lazy to 
 work. Should we enlightened Christians protect our people 
 and our poor in procuring the necessities and luxuries of life 
 the same as the Jews seem to protect each other? Should 
 we sell at two per cent, at retail, loan to each other at one 
 (1) per cent, per annum, then should one or more of our 
 poor suffer for want, we, as a nation, would probably not be 
 held accountable. The Jews have few or no drones among 
 their own nation. They give each and every one of their 
 people protection in procuring the necessities of life, as far as 
 surrounding circumstances will permit. China condemns all 
 cheats the same as Christ. She may labor under supersti- 
 tious ideas ; she worships idols, besides she may labor under 
 thousands of other superstitious ideas, but she may be nearer 
 
70 
 
 correct in regard to condemning all cheats than we enlight- 
 ened Christians are. "All men are born equal." Here we 
 might add that all men remain nearer equal than a* careless 
 observer might naturally suppose. China may have super- 
 stitious ideas in regard to her mode of religion, while we 
 may labor under superstitious ideas in regard to our mode 
 of merchandise. Superstitious ideas, somewhat similar to 
 the hairs of our head — we may not know how many we labor 
 under till after they are counted. China's poor may die 
 from impoverishment, but they may not be impoverished 
 from being overcharged. If we Gentile Christians protected 
 our people — our poor — the same as the Jews, then we might 
 not be responsible for any inconveniences that our people — 
 our poor — underwent. 
 
 It is a wise man that is aware of all his faults, but only 
 a fool that will own up to the half of them. This one item 
 alone ties a hard knot around the throat of a free republic. 
 Under a monarchial government the people, with all their 
 faults, force their monarch to protect themselves rfgainst 
 themselves to a certain extent, through fear of losing the 
 crown (or head with the crown). Probably more than one 
 monarch has lost both crown and head on account of his 
 incapacity of protecting his people against his people. 
 
 King Charles lost his head and crown on this account. 
 Under a monarchial government the people place so much 
 power in the hands of their monarch, then this monarch is 
 responsible according to his power. Under a free form of 
 government we cannot hold our President responsible — his 
 responsibilities cannot exceed his power. 
 
 Some of us might complain if we had a "golden" Presi- 
 dent (or a silver one), but we all like a free form of govern- 
 ment, so we all should attempt to help protect a free form of 
 government. It is natural that the easiest form of govern- 
 ment for the people would be the hardest form of govern- 
 ment to protect the people under. We might say we have 
 no natural restrictions that will enable ourselves to protect 
 ourselves against ourselves. 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 71 
 
 Most each European country is, or was once, under a 
 monarchial government. It seems that the modern intelli- 
 gent, enlightened world is not yet quite intelligent or wise 
 enough to run any one country unless it was first put under 
 a monarchial government in order to get in running shape. 
 
 We (young America) have, started to run a free repub- 
 lic, but simply starting don't signify Ave might say anything 
 hardly. Starting out to make one billion of dollars don't 
 actually make one dollar. We have '•started" to run a free 
 form of government, the next question that arises, can we 
 accomplish the feat? 
 
 Should you find yourself "fair, fat and forty" with a 
 wife and ten children, and should you u start" to make a 
 livelihood by farming, should you allow one of your children's 
 life to be cut off from undergoing too many hardships and 
 exposure, and for the need of proper food and raiment through 
 your carelessness of non-protection while there was plenty upon 
 the farm, could you claim that you were making a success at 
 farming? If you had been visited with famine and drought 
 you might not be responsible, but if not, you might be respon- 
 sible for your child's death. A free form of government is 
 somewhat similar to a dozen orphan children living upon a 
 farm, whose parents are dead. Where one or more of the 
 children suffer death through non-protection, the others are ir- 
 responsible. No one child had absolute power, so no one child 
 could be held responsible. But if these children were "wise 
 as the Jews;" if they were wise enough to lead and under- 
 stand the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," and could 
 understand how to follow the "golden rule," and were capable 
 of maidng and informing laws that would project themselves 
 against themselves, they, probably, would all fare as well as 
 though they were under their parents' charge who were over- 
 confident of their capabilities. It is the act of making and 
 inforcing the right kind of laws that protects any form of 
 government and not the monarch himself. When a nation is 
 able to make and inforce the right kind of laws, it may never 
 need a monarch in order to force a monarch to protect the 
 
72 
 
 people. A law-maker or law-giver should make and establish 
 his laws to correspond with the laws or meaning of the laws 
 found in the Bible, but should not make laws nor be forced to 
 make laws to correspond with the threatening attitude of the 
 people. Has a modern nation ever yet defined the command- 
 ment, "Thou shalt not steal," and established a law or laws to 
 correspond with this definition ? Most all modern nation's laws 
 have been made and established through the fear of the people 
 instead of through fear of the Lord. Modern Europe's laws 
 allow a merchant to sell the necessities of life under a private 
 costmark. This act alone, probably, deranges most all the 
 laws that Europe has made or established. 
 
 While young America was under the Crown, a law was 
 (probably) passed that would allow a banker to realize and 
 loan at eight per cent. This law corresponded with the 
 merchants' selling under a private costmark, but not with 
 the old Mosaic law (Christ confirmed this law of Moses) 
 that allowed a money lender to loan at one or, probably, two 
 per cent. Take our American Jews, they pay no attention 
 to these forced laws (in dealing among themselves) that 
 Europe or young America have made and established. The 
 Jews (in dealing among themselves) pay little or no attention 
 to the usages and customs that have germinated during or 
 since the dark ages, but still follow the dictates of the laws 
 that Christ confirmed in person. Christ commanded "de- 
 fraud not," the Jews follow this commandment (in dealing 
 among themselves.) We (young America) have recognized 
 the private costmark, and have then naturally borrowed more 
 or less laws from Europe to correspond with the private 
 costmark. We easily follow in the tracks of use and custom, 
 while the Jews still stick to the old Mosaic, as well as some 
 of the laws that Christ confirmed of temporal use. The Jews 
 probably have never utilized or recognized the private cost- 
 mark, (in dealing among themselves) so they can easily 
 follow some of the temporal laws that Christ confirmed. 
 The Jews need no monarch to force them to obey the com- 
 mandment, "Thou shalt not steal." They obey this coin- 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 73 
 
 mandment among themselves through the heart, and not 
 through the threats of an earthly monarch. They are 
 forced to obey this commandment (among themselves) 
 through God, through Christ, and not through the dictates 
 of man. Should we (young America) wish to run a free 
 form of government successfully, we should first throw off 
 the yoke of "use and custom." Kill the private costmark, 
 then, and not until then, we will be able to establish laws 
 corresponding with the laws that Christ confirmed in per- 
 son. Europe is more weighted down under the yoke of use 
 and custom, while we are independent and could more easily 
 throw off these superstitious delusions. When we threw off 
 the English yoke, then and there, we had a golden oppor- 
 tunity to throw off all uses and customs that were tainted 
 the least with superstitious delusions. But instead of us 
 attempting to throw off the yoke of use and custom, we 
 borrow some of it's (Europe's) laws and utilize the same 
 while we have no natural restrictions as Europe may have. 
 Europe manufactures few or no imitations, yet thousands of 
 her poor's lives may be cut off annually on account of im- 
 poverishment caused from being overcharged for the neces- 
 sities of life. We (young America) are not over-populated ; 
 our rich, natural resources are not one half developed ; we 
 have not been visited with wars, drought nor famine of late, 
 yet 50,000, more or less, of our poor's lives are cut of an- 
 nually on account of impoverishment through being over- 
 charged for the necessities of life. 
 
 Not one day passes over our heads but what one or more 
 of our poor are, probably, cheated for a cheat (except Sun- 
 day.) Not one day passes over our heads but what one or 
 more of our poor are forced to give up life (Sunday included) 
 through being defrauded. "There is no worse a sin than 
 trying to get rich in a hurry." Europe may be murdering 
 her thousands while we, (Young America), may be murder- 
 ing our tens of thousands. "Evil is wrought through want 
 of thought the same as through want of heart." 
 
 As long as Christ is our "Mediator" "it will rain upon 
 
74 
 
 the unjust the same as the just." It may make little differ- 
 ence how many people we murder through want of thought 
 or through want of heart, Christ our "Mediator" will protect 
 us from the wrath of God during our natural lives but we 
 may be required to give an account of every deed done in the 
 body on the day of judgment. Why is it that no modern 
 European country could ever run a free form of government 
 successfully? Take the Jews today and note how well they 
 protect themselves against themselves. They don't seem to 
 require any monarch so as to force their monarch to protect 
 themselves against themselves. 
 
 The reason, probably, that modern enlightened Europe 
 has been unable to run a free form of government success- 
 fully is because she makes and recognizes a distinction be- 
 tween cheats. "Thou shalt not steal." By following this 
 commandment it will enable us to protect ourselves against 
 ourselves. Should we, (Young America), wish to run a free 
 form of government successfully, we should abide by this 
 commandment. This commandment will enable us to pro- 
 tect ourselves against ourselves much better than any earthly 
 monarch. We should attempt to establish natural laws that 
 would harmonize between the commandment "Thou shalt not 
 steal" and nature. We should attempt to establish laws as 
 though the dark ages had never existed. We should pay no 
 attention to use and custom in establishing our laws. 
 
 Young America is perfectly "carried away with her 
 idea " of " selling " her people to death. We are speculating 
 (cheating) ourselves to death. If we were manufacturing 
 all the wares of merchandise that we utilized, if we manu- 
 factured nothing except necessary genuine articles and sold 
 the same as low as two per cent, at retail, it then might be 
 a bad policy to "sell" our own people to death, to oversell 
 them, sell them more than they actually required. We 
 should give the goose that lays the golden egg a fair 
 and impartial chance to prosper. In good " old slavery 
 times" we manufactured few or no "imitations," we manu- 
 factured nor imported (through old-fashioned sail ships) few 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 75- 
 
 unnecessary wares of merchandise. In good " old slavery 
 times " our markets were not stocked with imitations, nor 
 too great amount of unnecessary wares. Then the whole 
 44 Sunny, Sandy South" flourished and prospered. Our 
 Southern farmers were not forced to read over two columns 
 of advertisements for snide jewelry before they found the 
 fluctuating prices of cotton in New York and of darkies in 
 New Orleans. In those da}^s, when our Southern people 
 made a dollar there were fewer unnecessary wares to tempt 
 them ; they learned to put a dollar away now and then for a 
 rainy day, till it accumulated. Once in a great while the 
 Southern farmer would buy himself a thousand dollar candle- 
 stick to eat his supper by (bought a thousand dollar slave 
 and stuck a pine torch in the slave's hand). When the far- 
 mer bought a slave he got value received for money 
 expended. We may now all admit that it was a sin to 
 shackle and sell slaves ; this may be all too true, but we are 
 attempting now to prove that it is detrimental to the welfare 
 of any nation to sell their own people too great amount of 
 unnecessary or necessary wares of merchandise. The greater 
 per cent, of us will naturally spend most every dollar we 
 make (or steal either) for unnecessary wares of merchandise. 
 How are we to check this fashion and folly of the Gentile 
 enlightened world? When you imagine your watch is 
 incorrect, refer to the " town clock." The Jew may or may 
 not purchase too great amount of unnecessary or necessary 
 wares of merchandise, but if he procures too great amount 
 of either he does not defraud one of his own people in order 
 to obtain the means to procure said wares with. Should we 
 quit defrauding each other, make all of our honest dollars in 
 an honest way, we probably would not have quite so much 
 gold (and silver) to squander on either the necessary or 
 unnecessary wares of merchandise. 
 
 A certain per cent, of us make our honest dollars in a 
 dishonest way. We take our honest dollars (that were made 
 in a dishonest way) and set a bad example by buying up 
 most everything and anything that comes within our reach. 
 
76 
 
 (snide jewelry included) as long as our dollars hold out. A 
 dollar made too easy goes too easy. 
 
 Another per cent. e£-«g who may make their fewer dol- 
 lars by the sweat of their brow learn to follow suit "buy- 
 buy " till their last hard earned nickel is gone. The next 
 time you hear from one of these parties he will be in jail 
 for' stealing something that he could not buy. Besides this 
 per cent, of us that set the example by buying, we advertise 
 our people to death. We spend about three hundred millions 
 annually advertising, and about four hundred millions keeping 
 up our prisons. We advertise so "awfully" that it has a ten- 
 dency to set some of our folks "wild," who spend every 
 cent they can make, then break into prison by attempting to 
 steal money that they could not earn, or stealing wares that 
 they could not buy. Our number of convicts have gained 
 •888 to the million since we commenced advertising snide 
 jewelry and other such foolishness, not counting in the number 
 of wow-convicts that should be in prison. We, as a young 
 nation of people, must buy experience. The first payments 
 are generally heavy. Where no counterfeited wares of mer- 
 chandise are manufactured, none are sold ; where no unnec- 
 essary wares are imported none are utilized. It is rather a 
 sorry kind of a man that a woman or a dog won't follow ; it 
 is rather a sorry kind of a nation that cannot manufacture 
 as great amount of unnecessary wares of merchandise as their 
 people are able to purchase. We are forced to import a great 
 amount of necessary wares of merchandise ; we are forced to 
 patronize Europe to a great extent in procuring necessary 
 wares, while we are not necessarily compelled to import un- 
 necessary wares. A young nation, somewhat like a young 
 man, should not act the miser, neither the spendthrift. Coal 
 Oil Johnnie acted the spendthrift, he patronized too freely 
 for his own good. 
 
 We (young America) may some day find ourselves 
 picking ourselves up. Somewhat like Johnnie, obtaining 
 little sympathy and still less credit for acting stupid. It 
 may be well enough for you to have your physician to 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 77 
 
 puncture a vein in your arm that your blood may flow more 
 freely, but you should never have him to slash ^uto an artery 
 with a razor, for then you might bleed to death. It may be 
 well enough for us to patronize Europe to a certain extent, 
 but there is reason in all things. Today, we are not obtain- 
 ing the rich flowing immigration we use to have. We might 
 afford to patronize Europe in proportion to the patronage we 
 receive from her. Europe buys no trash, no snide jewelry, 
 no unnecessary wares of merchandise, but generally buys 
 good raw material that she can make a profit off of without 
 impoverishing her people, while we defraud our people in 
 ways too numerous to mention, take our honest dollars made 
 in a dishonest way and import unnecessary wares to sell our 
 people. If you are rich and "respectable" you can afford to" 
 buy up unnecessary wares, but it is a bad policy to overstock 
 our markets with imported unnecessary wares because it will 
 impoverish our communities to too great an extent. A 
 country school-girl has been known to feed a frog on squirrel 
 shot ; the ignorant frog would eat this shot, this heavy un- 
 necessary diet, until he was unable to hop one inch without 
 aid or help. It is bad enough for us to sell our own people 
 to death, but it may prove worse to allow Europe to sell us 
 to death. 
 
 Europe is rather sweet on selling. After she oversells 
 her own people she ships (or did ship) her oversold pau- 
 pers to free America, but we have no new country to ship 
 our own or Europe's oversold people to. We must bear in 
 mind that modern Europe has always been considered a cheat. 
 Criticism is the life of wisdom. Wisdom is for our own 
 good. Europe seems to be under a natural curse. She has 
 been taught through surrounding circumstances, through use 
 and custom. She has allowed her non-productive mercantile 
 fraternity to depend upon competition between themselves 
 in selling wares to their own people instead of depending 
 upon a law. Young America may or may not be able to 
 continue to live under the weight of her own mistakes, if 
 Young America is forced to carry all her own mistakes and 
 
78 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM!." 
 
 .at the same time labor under the weight of a portion of 
 Europe's mistakes, it will be a double dose. "Experience," 
 hard "experience is our best teacher." This little pamphlet 
 never would have germinated had it not been for the teach- 
 ings that hard experience taught the writer. There is such 
 a vast difference between the Jews' mode of dealing among 
 themselves and between us — we enlightened Gentile Chris- 
 tians' mode of dealing among ourselves. 
 
 The next time you happen to walk up the street in 
 (Young America) in your city, notice and see if the wise 
 Jews are rushing up and down the sidewalk, rushing into 
 every store endeavoring to buy out every merchant (at retail 
 prices) that happens to have his door open. You may never 
 live to see the day. But when we walk up the street and 
 see a flock of intelligent superstitious Gentiles rushing into 
 every merchant's store where the door happens to be open 
 (it not being closed for debt) trying to buy out the town, we 
 naturally imagine that good times have come at last. We 
 feel over elated and catch the "fever of excitement." We 
 must turn our money loose ; (it seems to be born in us.) 
 We must procure something any way, any how, a jack-knife, 
 jack-pot, coffee pot or what-not ; we must procure something 
 whether we need the same or not. "While in Rome we must 
 do as the Romans do," although we are aware that Rome fell. 
 As Puck says, "What fools we (Gentile) mortals are." 
 Why do we wish to "sell" our people to death ? The greater 
 pei- cent, of our people that we oversell we are forced to 
 either bury them in the "potter's field" or send them to prison. 
 You never see the wise Jews selling their people to death, 
 neither do they bury their people in fche "potter's field" nor 
 send them to prison. 
 
 "We are spirits clad in veils, 
 
 Man by man was never seen, 
 All our deep communion fails 
 
 To remove tlie shadowy screen." 
 
 —Rev. C. P. Cranch. 
 
 Man needs protection ; he is incapable of protecting him- 
 self. Men need protection ; they are incapable of protecting 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 79 
 
 themselves. Twice the Lord has given us a law, "Thou shalt 
 not steal." Any kind of a cheat, anything- that has a tend- 
 ency to impoverish t* a cheat. When you imagine your watch 
 is incorrect you refer to the "town-clock." Christ was an 
 off-spring of a Jewish mother. 
 
 Chapter IX. — The Jew. 
 
 Peter did not deny Christ because he imagined Christ 
 to be an imposter, but denied Christ for fear that the ene- 
 mies of Christ might do him (Peter) an injury through 
 want of heart. Had Christ been kept in prison for a long- 
 period, and had Peter raised a family of children in the 
 vicinity where the enemies of Christ dwelt, Peter might 
 have taught his descendants to deny Christ, for fear that the 
 enemies of Christ might do Peter's descendents an injury. 
 These descendents of Peter's might eventually believe that 
 Christ was an imposter, while Peter himself would not 
 believe Christ to be an imposter, but would have taught his 
 descendents to believe this, in order to protect his descend- 
 ents from the enemies of Christ, who might do Peter's 
 descendents an injury through want of heart. The Jews 
 today may believe that Christ was an imposter, through 
 being taught by their forefathers to believe the same — their 
 forefathers teaching them to deny Christ for fear that the 
 believers and followers of Christ might do them an injury, 
 through want of thought. "An evil is wrought through 
 want of thought the same as through want of heart." The 
 Jews (we might imagine) have been forced to erect and hold 
 
80 " A LEYE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 
 
 a " barrier " between themselves and the Gentiles in order 
 to protect themselves and their descen dents in a temporal 
 way. Should we now wish the Jews to join us Gentiles, 
 acknowledge Christ, and become so many of us, we first must 
 be able to protect ourselves from ourselves, as the Jews pro- 
 tect themselves from themselves. We must be able to pro- 
 tect ourselves in a temporal way, the same as the Jews pro- 
 tect themselves in a temporal way. Our faults may not lie 
 in the way we serve Christ and ascertain spiritual truths, 
 the reason that the Jews do not join us and become so many 
 of us, but probably the way we ignore temporal truths and 
 the way we protect ourselves in a temporal way. Their 
 forefathers, their wise forefathers, who were perfect upon 
 temporal truths, have taught their descendants to erect and 
 hold a "barrier" between themselves and us Gentiles, for 
 fear that we might 'do them a temporal, bodily injury through 
 want of thought-wisdom. If you was a Jew today, with a 
 large family of children, should you break clown this "bar- 
 rier" by acknowledging Christ, then yourself, family and 
 children and descendents' temporal protection would be 
 "left to the mercy of the waves." You and your own 
 descendents' temporal protection would be left partly or (we 
 might imagine) wholly to "chance." Should you break 
 down this " barrier " by acknowledging Christ, it might be 
 near the same as if you were signing a death warrant to your 
 own descendents. " Those that know nothing fear nothing." 
 Under the same principles, those that are the most wise fear 
 the most. Had Peter acknowledged Christ, Peter alone 
 could have suffered, while if the Jews today acknowledge 
 Christ, they and their descendents might suffer. 
 
 At the date and time Christ ascended up to heaven, 
 1,866 years ago, the whole Jew nation did not deny Christ, 
 the same as they do today. It seems that the Jews must 
 have commenced to teach their descendents to deny Christ 
 in a general way throughout years after Christ ascended up 
 to heaven and since the Gentile world commenced preying 
 upon each other. Should the Jews acknowledge Christ, 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 81 
 
 break down this "burner;" we then might defraud and mur- 
 der them. It may make but little difference how perfect we 
 may be in regard to spiritual truths, we may be imperfect 
 in regard to temporal truths. When the Jews first com- 
 menced to teach the whole Jew nation to denv Christ in a 
 general way throughout, is a conjecture, probably during the 
 period of the dark ages. After the Gentiles succumbed to 
 too great an extent under the cloud of the dark ages, the 
 Jews then were forced to erect a " barrier" between them- 
 selves and the Gentiles for self preservation. ' 
 
 As long as we continue to labor under the delusions that 
 germinated during the dark ages, so long are the Jews forced 
 to maintain this "barrier." We may have perfected our- 
 selves in a spiritual way in spiritual knowledge, while our 
 knowledge of temporal truths of the most vital importance 
 may be in a worse condition than we have the power to 
 imagine. We believe that competition between our non- 
 productive mercantile fraternity is the life of trade, the life 
 of our people. But it may be the exact reverse, it may be 
 the death of our people. How can we know till after we 
 investigate this matter? How can we recognize good and 
 ill where we have no chance of making a comparison ? There 
 is no temporal subject of more vital importance than our 
 mode of selling the necessities of life, it is our living. "None 
 are so blind as those that will not see." 
 
 The Bible teaches us that the Lord ofttimes made calcu- 
 lations centuries ahead. When the Lord picked out a coun- 
 try for the children of Israel, He chose Canaan, a tract of 
 land that was probaMy elevated at too high an altitude to 
 cause or admit of regular seasons rains without the aid of a 
 supernatural agency. Before the new dispensation the bet- 
 ter God's people served Him in a devotional way and obeyed 
 His commandments, the better they prospered in a temporal 
 way. Before the new dispensation the better the children 
 of Israel obeyed the Lord, the better they prospered; as long 
 as they obeyed the Lord so long might they expect a plenti- 
 
 6* 
 
82 
 
 ful harvest, although they were dwelling on a tract of land 
 that could not produce enough rain naturally without the 
 aid of a supernatural agency. Christ prayed three times in 
 the garden that the "cup might pass," but when the assassin 
 attempted to drive the nail into our Saviour's flash, the fatal 
 '•hammer" was not swerved from its course. After the 
 Lord refused to aid His own Son in His temporal wants, in 
 a supernatural way (although Christ had prayed three times 
 that the '-cup might pass,") then the Lord could not aid the 
 Jews in a supernatural way without showing the Jews a 
 greater favor thin He did His own Son. The Jews may 
 believe to this day that their forefathers underwent a super- 
 natural curse in Canaan after the crucifixion of Christ. But 
 the Lord may have simply withdrawn His supernatural 
 power. After the Lord withdrew His supernatural power 
 from the world, from Canaan, then the land could only be 
 made productive through artificial means. Had the Jews 
 cut irrigating ditches and irrigated their fields, their land 
 probably would have produced near the same as before ; but 
 after this land failed to produce on account of its drouthy 
 tendencies, the Jews may have been led to believe that they 
 were a cursed race. 
 
 After the land failed to produce for the need of rain, 
 the Jews were forced 10 mort^a^e and leave their homestead 
 and dwell among the Gentiles. The Jews probably have 
 never undergone a supernatural curse since the crucifixion, 
 but God's supernatural agency was withdrawn from the 
 world after the fatal hammer was not swerved from its course 
 hy a supernatural power. At a certain time and date, the 
 Lord promised the children of Israel "a land flowing with 
 milk and honey." While the Israelites were yet in the 
 wilderness, before they immigrated to Canaan, the Lord gave 
 Moses the commandments. After Israel had dwelt in Canaan 
 and had followed the commandments, they flourished and 
 prospered ; their prosperity constituted "a land flowing with 
 milk and honey." By all Israel obeying the commandment, 
 "Thou shalt not steal" in its full sense and meaning, selling 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 83 
 
 the necessities and luxuries of life at about two per cent, at 
 retail, holding all other enterprises and monopolies down in 
 conformity with the merchant, making or recognizing no dis- 
 tinction between cheats, but condemning all cheats after they 
 had determined what was cheating. Then the poorest of their 
 poor could obtain nearly all the necessities and luxuries of life 
 at a small cost. None of the people were cheated or de- 
 frauded, (while they were obeying the commandments) so 
 all could nourish and prosper, unless it was those that were 
 too old and infirm to labor. The necessities and luxuries of 
 life were sold, raised and manufactured at so low a cost; 
 the necessities and luxuries of life were put on t^e market at 
 such low figures that none were compelled to g > into the 
 mercantile business in order to make a livelihood. A non- 
 productive business house was only erected where surround- 
 ing circumstances required it. The idea of speculating upon 
 the necessities of life under an unlimited margin to their own 
 people, probably was unthought of. Their money lenders, 
 probably loaned at one (1) per cent, per annum. Had a mer- 
 chant sold above one per cent., or had a moneylender loaned 
 above two per cent.. Israel would probably have looked upon 
 such as a cheat, a theft. The parties would have been guilty 
 of endangering life by defrauding and impoverishing. We 
 Gentiles defraud each other in ways t?o numerous to mention. 
 After we rob our merchants out of their rightful share of 
 patronage, and after the merchant robs the whole commun- 
 ities, then the communities are all either forced to cheat to 
 offset the overcharge they are subject to, else suffer, imre or 
 less, under the natural curse of being overcharged for the 
 necessities and luxuries of life. We defraud each other in 
 different ways where the fraud is shielded under different 
 forms, then build asylums, prisons and "poor-houses" to accom- 
 modate our poor. Our poor don't only have death hastened 
 from being defrauded, but millions and millions of our poor 
 are forced to suffer all the known and unknown pangs of 
 hunger and stings of poverty, exist a living death, realize all 
 the stings of poverty in its known and unknown elements. 
 
84 
 
 A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 
 
 "Experience is our best teacher." How are we to be 
 taught by this hard experience ? We all admit that "it is 
 no disgrace to be poor, but rather inconvenient." If we pro- 
 tected our poir the same as Israel protected their poor while 
 they were living in Canaan, our poor then might not suffer 
 any great inconvenience. When we defraud our fellow man, 
 we take the bread (if not the butter) out of his and his 
 little starving children's mouths ; we rob them out of their 
 chance of social standing, of their chance of acquiring an 
 education, force them to grow up and pass a life in ignorance, 
 rob them of the cream of life, divorce them from intelligence 
 the almost divine attribute of humanity. We force our poor 
 to exist a living death, an "outcast" in the cold, cruel world 
 we have helped to make. You scarcely ever meet with an 
 ignorant, uneducated Jew ; but how many millions of Europe's 
 and young America's poor, that have and are yet existing, 
 that cannot write their own name? When and where a Jew 
 is uneducated, it may be his fault and not the fault of the 
 Jewish nation. In educating your people there is else to do 
 outside of building school-houses. Don't defraud the poor 
 out of their last dime that is to procure their last crumb, 
 then build a brick school-house and expect pauper children 
 to attend school in their ragged clothes and memorize their 
 lessons on top of an empty stomach. "The poor are wholly 
 dependent upon the character of the rich." "A stream can- 
 not rise above its source." We all admit that "the modern 
 world is a cheat;" we all admit that "there is no worse a sin 
 than trying to get rich in a hurry." What is meant by "no 
 worse a sin? ' In our courts we ofttimes hang. a man on a 
 "chain of circumstantial evidence" after we have convicted 
 him of murder on a "chain of circumstantial evidence." Let 
 us now attempt to c nvict (if not hang) the modern world, 
 we who constitute the modern world, by a chain of circum- 
 stantial evidence. As long as we are forced to admit that 
 the modern world is a cheat, so long may we consider our- 
 selves who constitute the modern world, liable of murder. 
 We have ignored temporal truths to such a great extent 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 85 
 
 that when we now commence to analyze the same, we find 
 that they are "stranger than fiction." "Ignorance is sin." 
 Under the laws of the new dispensation it is a sin to ignore 
 temporal truths. 
 
 Probably the modern world has only been considered a 
 cheat, in a general way, since and after she commenced 
 ignoring temporal truths. We Gentile Christians seem to 
 imagine that we only have to ascertain spiritual truths and 
 allow temporal to go ignored. Now, when we ascertain 
 what we have been ignoring, Ave find ourselves guilty of 
 murder — figuratively speaking. Can we wonder at the Jews 
 for maintaining a "barrier" between the "two of us?" We 
 never have attempted to compare our temporal mode of deal- 
 ing with the Jews, because they deny the existence of Jesus 
 Christ. Are not we Gentile Christians supposed to be the 
 representatives of Christ? We may be perfect or near per- 
 fection in regard to spiritual truths, while our deficiency is 
 in regard to > 7^prrtteal truths. We only represent Christ 
 spiritually, but if we wish to represent Christ — prove to the 
 world that there is a living God — we should produce "a land 
 flowing with milk and honey." Young America may or 
 may not raise enough of the necessities of life, if all could 
 obtain what they needed ; but had we double the amount, 
 what good would it do our starving poor if the price was too 
 high? What good is one thousand bushels of corn locked 
 up in a crib to a starving horse in the manger? Place a high 
 priced muzzle upon a hungry tramp and turn him loose in a 
 " French restaurant," he would starve as readily as though 
 he was on a barren desert. 
 
 We sometimes wonder why the Jews all seem to "stick" 
 to each other. They are obeying the commandment " Thou 
 shalt not steal" in dealing among themselves. 
 
 11 In youth I sought for some flower rare, 
 But searched in vain in every clime and state; 
 
 'Till old, I wandered home in dark despair, 
 And found the flower by my garden gate." 
 
 —Clifford Howard. 
 
 ^ \Jur^J^<rv-^ 
 
86 
 
 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 
 
 Should you wish to ascertain temporal truths, go to the 
 wise Jew. After we cheat our own people we give them 
 cold victuals and good advice. We make paupers out of 
 our people in ways too numerous to mention, then ofttimes 
 give one of them a dime's worth of cold pie and a hundred 
 dollars worth of good advice. But the Jews give their 
 people protection before they are impoverished. "A stitch 
 in time saves nine." "He that hath pity upon the poor 
 lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will 
 He pay him again." What is it that you can give to the 
 poor and receive the same in return ? It is not wealth. 
 Should you bequeath one million to the poor, the poor might 
 not repay you; the Lord might not repay you — you cannot 
 buy a seat in heaven. The Jew teaches us what we can 
 give the poor and receive the same in return, it is protection. 
 Should we wish to give our poor protection, be charitable in a 
 wholesale manner, we first would need to establish " a live 
 and let live price system," so all could live aud let live ; so 
 none would have their lives cut off from impoverishment. If 
 our retail merchants were selling at two per cent, all other 
 enterprises brought and held down in proportion, we then 
 would be "giving to the poor." We then would receive 
 this same protection and benefit the same as the poor. We 
 could not aid the poor in this direction without aiding our- 
 selves at the same time. Our poor then would all flourish 
 and prosper and be able to patronize our industries and 
 enterprises the more. Our people of the well-to-do order 
 would prosper the more; life would then be "as easy as 
 living upon a farm." 
 
 We remind a "good old slavery times" darkey's refrain 
 that will suit the occasion : 
 
 "Raccoon has a ringed tail, 
 
 'Possum tail am bare, 
 Rabbit got no tail at all, 
 
 But a little bunch o' hair." 
 
 The Jew's "live and let live price system," (in dealing 
 among themselves), is perfect ; it represents the coon's tail. 
 
 
87 
 
 Europe's system represents the opossum's tail ; it is bare, in- 
 sufficient, while Young America is somewhat like the rabbit, 
 has no tail (system) at all. By Europe being forced to put 
 on more or less restrictions of different characters and estab- 
 lishing a "make-shift* of a system, she might continue to go 
 centuries longer without ascertaining the vital necessity of 
 discarding the private costmark and condemning all cheats. 
 But by Young America having no make-shift of a system, 
 having no natural restrictions, "necessity, the mother of in- 
 vention," may force upon us good reasons to establish a sys- 
 tem in its proper form. You may put up with a leaky house 
 for a number of months, but if your house has no roof, you 
 may then be forced to establish a good substantial roof over 
 your head. Young America is independent. She can take 
 pattern from Europe in regard to spiritual truths, and take 
 pattern from the Jews in regard to temporal truths. Europe's 
 mode of religion, spiritually, may do to take pattern from, 
 while the Jew's mode of merchandise (in dealing among 
 themselves) may suit us better than Europe's mode. Why 
 did the Lord choose Canaan an elevated district that would 
 not produce without the aid of artificial or supernatural aid? 
 The Jews were forced to dwell among the Gentiles, and as 
 long as the Gentiles neglected to protect honest labor, the 
 Jews would be forced to live off of the Gentiles as well as 
 among them. As long as the Gentiles defrauded the people, 
 so long would the Jews defraud the Gentiles. The Jews are 
 supposed to teach the Gentiles by hard experience what they 
 failed to comprehend by precept. The Jews do not labor in 
 the field, at public works, &c, because we don't protect hon- 
 est labor. "Labor is not dignified till it works as little as 
 possible. What we may imagine, the dignity of labor is a 
 myth, for drudgery will always be degrading." A wise man 
 will not drudge nor force his family to drudge, because it is 
 degrading. We Gentiles do not protect honest labor, so hon- 
 est labor is drudgery, and drudgery is degrading. 
 
 If Europe and Young America should establish a "sys- 
 tem" in its perfect form so that the necessities and luxuries 
 
88 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 of life could be procured as cheap as the same were had in 
 Canaan, then we, both Jews and Gentiles, could condescend 
 to labor, because then honest labor would be dignified by 
 working as little as possible. Honest labor then would not 
 be degrading, because labor then would work as little as poss- 
 ible, and would not be a drudge. 
 
 Chapter X. — Rothschild. 
 
 At the time of the battle of Waterloo, Rothschild man 
 aged to he first informed how the battle terminated, and had 
 a false report circulated in the city of London. This had a 
 tendency to cause real estate to depreciate in value. Here 
 Rothschild managed to make a grand speculation. England 
 gained the day in battle, but Rothschild gained more or less 
 of England's gold. Had the French gained the day, confis- 
 cated the whole of England, England would have had a 
 chance to have obtained her country back again ; besides, 
 England would have had a chance to have taken the whole 
 of France through force of aims; she would have had a 
 chance to have gained in battle near the same as she took 
 chances in losing in battle. Had Rothschild went to war wiih 
 England, and had Rothschild taken the whole of England, 
 confiscated the same, England would have had a chance from 
 that day to this to have redeemed her country, through force 
 of arms, besides England would have had a chance to have 
 confiscated more or less property belonging to Rothchild; 
 she would have had a chance to have gained in battle near 
 
 
89 
 
 the same as what she might have lost in battle. Had Roths- 
 child attempted to have confiscated the whole of England, 
 through force of arms, England's ablest men would have 
 been k4 waked up," for when a country is confiscated the rich 
 and otherwise intelligent men of controlling influence suffer 
 the extremes under the rules of confiscation. But Roths- 
 child simply speculated off of England to a certain extent. 
 England's rich and otherwise intelligent men probably did 
 not suffer the extremes (at the time being), on account of 
 Rothschild's speculation. They may have complained more 
 or less, but could not suffer the extremes till after their last 
 dollar had disappeared, but their controlling influence dis- 
 appeared with their last dollar. It is the rich and otherwise 
 intelligent men of controlling influence that suffer the 
 •extremes under the rules of confiscation, while it is the poor 
 who suffer the extremes under the effects of speculation. 
 
 After Rothschild speculated and obtained this gold off of 
 England, England went to speculating off of Egypt and 
 other countries. But why did not England attempt to obtain 
 the same gold back from Rothschild that Rothschild had 
 obtained off of England? Probably England imagined that 
 any one gold dollar was worth as much as another. Had 
 Rothschild taken the whole of England by force of arms 
 instead of obtaining some of England's gold by speculating, 
 would England have gone to Egypt or elsewhere hunting 
 for a new homestead? Or would England have attempted 
 to have obtained her same "home, sweet home" back again? 
 Rothschild, in his grand swindling speculation, was teaching 
 England a hard lesson in experience, in a natural way, but 
 it was like throwing so much water upon a duck's back. 
 " None are so blind as those that will not see." 
 
 Had England been unable to have speculated off of 
 any other country she might have learned more or less wis- 
 dom through hard experience. Had England been unable 
 to have obtained a single gold (or silver) dollar off of any 
 other country, the author of this pamphlet then probably 
 would have been born in England instead of Young America. 
 
90 
 
 Had Israel (the Jews) owned England at the time of 
 the battle of Waterloo, Rothschild could not have gotten off 
 with his grand swindling speculation, because the Jews 
 recognize no distinction between cheats in dealing among- 
 themselves. All transactions would have been declared 
 "off" the same as our race horse clubs, who declare ali bets 
 off after they detect a fraud upon the race course. There is 
 generally a certain amount of honesty among thieves ; this is> 
 probably because one thief is as wise as another, and will 
 ask for his rights. 
 
 We may miss a great deal in life through being too 
 stylish to ask for what we do not see upon the board. "Cer- 
 emony is the worst enemy to enjoyment." Had the Chinese 
 owned England at the time of the battle of Waterloo, Roths- 
 child could not have gotten off with his speculation. China 
 may labor under more or less superstitious delusions, but 
 not of this character. China has "got sense like a mule" 
 in regard to swindles. Had the cannibal savages owned 
 England at the time of the battle of Waterloo, they probably 
 would have highly indorsed this swindle the same as England. 
 The cannibals, somewhat like we Gentile Christians, indorse 
 most any kind of a swindle, but it might have proved haz- 
 ardous for Rothschild to have swindled the cannibals to too 
 great an extent, for should they have found themselves hun- 
 gry, and Rothschild fat from the effects of this swindle, the 
 cannibals might have called for a French (Jew) stew. Had 
 England understood the full meaning of the commandment 
 '« Thou shalt not steal " at the time and date of the battle 
 of Waterloo, she would have had her retail merchants sell- 
 ing at about two per cent., her money lenders loaning at one 
 (1) per cent. By her retailers selling at this given margin 
 England, recognizing no distinction between cheat-*, Roths- 
 child could not have gotten off with his swindle, neither 
 could he have loaned above one per cent, at the time of the 
 battle of Waterloo or since that date. Had England or the 
 enlightened Gentile Christian world never been under the 
 superstitious delusion that the enlightened Gentile Christian! 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 91 
 
 world is today and has been back to a certain (or uncertain) 
 date and time, Rothschild never could have loaned above 
 one per cent, and could not have gotten off with his swindle 
 at the time of the battle of Waterloo. Today Rothschild's 
 little sack of gold would not be felt by the world. Roths- 
 child is simply a modern Alexander, and may eventually 
 weep (shed silent tears) after there is no more gold for 
 him to obtain. Rothschild is a modern Alexander, but of a 
 different and more dangerous type. Because Rothschild is 
 more modest and calm than Alexander was in his day and 
 time, that is no reason why Rothschild's strength and inge- 
 nuity should be considered iuferior to that of Alexander's. 
 Where the ocean is the most calm and modest, there you 
 may find it the deepest. Rothschild's cannons emit no flame 
 or smoke, the shells make no noise, and only explode among 
 the poor. 
 
 The rich may complain on account of Rothschild obtain- 
 ing too great amount of the world's gold, but will not suffer 
 the extremes through the scarcity of gold till after their last 
 dollar is gone. Their influence will disappear with their 
 last dollar, and the cheating world will roll on as though 
 naught had happened, but may simply imagine that "another 
 good man has gone wrong." If Rothschild was attempting 
 to conquer the world by force of arms, our rich and intelli- 
 gent classes would be attempting to "head him off," because 
 it is the rich who suffer the extremes from a confiscating 
 enemy. But where Rothschild is obtaining the world's gold 
 on too fast a scale, our smaller monopolies attempt to obtain 
 what little gold they can possibly get their clutches on, which 
 has a tendency to shield Rothschild who continues to take 
 sure and long-measured strides. Instead of the Gentile 
 world's ablest men attempting to check Rothschild's advance 
 by condemning all cheats the same as Christ, they indorse 
 most every kind of a cheat that is shielded under the slightest 
 form. Instead of the Gentile world attempting to check 
 this growing evil, we Gentiles fall in line behind Rothschild 
 the same as the people used to join Alexander's army. 
 
92 
 
 England is the "leader" of the modern world. She has 
 been "pitting her knowledge against Rothschild's wisdom." 
 "Knowledge comes, but wisdom tarries." By the time that 
 England's wisdom arrives, Rothschild may have all of the 
 world's gold. We must bear in mind that had one dime been 
 put out at ten per cent, interest, With compound interest at- 
 tached, at the time of the birth of Christ, today there would 
 not be enough gold to redeem the same. By this we are 
 able to judge at about what per cent, a money lender should 
 realize. But the retail merchant must first be forced to sell 
 at about two per cent., the wholesaler in conformity, as well 
 as all other enterprises and monopolies. All are forced to 
 patronize the retailer. There must be a live and let live 
 price for the retailer before any monopoly or enterprise can 
 be checked or regulated. When we Gentile Christians make 
 and recognize a distinction between cheats while wise Israel 
 is scattered among us, we must suffer the consequence. We 
 are forced to ascertain the full meaning of the commandment, 
 "Thou shalt not steal," by precept, example or hard ex- 
 perience. 
 
 In Alexander's day and time, waring was the fashion 
 and folly of the day. Alexander took a hand in the game, 
 played lucky and conquered the world. After the world 
 was convinced of the extreme folly of waring, she estab- 
 lished ministers of war in order to check this evil. Speculating 
 on too fast a scale, swindling and cheating shielded under 
 different forms, has been for the longest and is increasing each 
 succeeding year, but how are we to check it o: ily through the 
 aid of a "system!" Alexander conquered and obtained the 
 woild, but gave the people their world back again, but how 
 about Rothschild giving back the world her gold ? 
 
 It might be deemed against the rules of etiquette for 
 the world to accept of this gold should Rothschild proffer to 
 give it back. Alexander giving us back the world is some- 
 what different to Rothschild giving us back our gold. He 
 has been lending and is yet lending at four per cent, or at a 
 greater percent., where a money lender is cheating (stealing) 
 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 93 
 
 when he lends at above one per cent. This weight is not 
 felt by England so bad as elsewhere because England is lend- 
 ing at a proportionate rate, so England might continue on 
 without learning from hard experience. Rothschild has been 
 handling England as though she was a child because Engl md 
 don't seem to understand the word "steal." At the date 
 and time that Rothschild made his grand swindle, England 
 then would, probably, jail a man for debt and hang a man 
 for stealing a sheep ; but where a party could swindle her 
 people or government out of millions, shielded under the 
 slightest form, she imagined it was right. What is our Bible 
 for if not to teach us temporal truths the same as spiritual ? 
 
 After we enlightened Gentile Christians recognized a dis- 
 tinction between cheats, after we grot into the habit of lifting 1 
 our hats too high to those that were "rich and respectable," 
 and after Rothschild once obtained a good foothold, it was 
 "duck soup" and "easy sailing" for him. The richer he be- 
 comes, the more "rich and respectable" he becomes and the 
 higher up go our hats, and it may be only a matter of time 
 before the world will have a modern Alexander, but we may 
 "whistle" through our fingers before Rothschild gives back 
 the world her gold. 
 
 Alexander was only in fun, while Rothschild may be 
 in dead earnest. It may not matter whether we envy Roths- 
 child his gold or not. That would not change any facts. 
 But the main trouble is this, where one party obtains too much 
 gold, it makes it too inconvenient for others. We may not 
 mind living without gold, as far as the gold itself is con- 
 cerned, but the inconvenience that the scarcity of gold may 
 subject us to. We might not mind if Rothschild owned a 
 "bushel of gold," provided we did not suffer any incon- 
 venience thereof. We are not complaining on account of the 
 amount of gold that Rothschild has, and is accumulating on 
 too fast a scale, but dread the inconvenience that we and our 
 descendents may have to suffer hereafter from the effects of 
 the scarcity of gold. Envying and begrudging one his riches 
 is one thing, while dreading the stings of poverty is quite 
 
94 
 
 different. We are commanded, "Thou shalt not covet ;" 
 prior to this commandment we read, "Thou shalt not steal." 
 In order to obey one commandment, we are ofttimes first 
 forced to obey another. After we break the commandment, 
 "Thou shalt not steal," and allow it to be broken, necessity 
 and surrounding circumstances almost force us to break the 
 commandment "Thou shalt not covet." After we once at- 
 tempt to obey the commandments, we should obey them all 
 strictly ; not make a botch of them, not pick out and obey a 
 portion or a part of a portion. We should not attempt to 
 rectify any of the commandments through want of thought 
 nor through want of heart. We have established ministers 
 of war and have somewhat checked this once growing evil 
 by establishing ministers of war in a systematical form. Now 
 we need to establish "a live and let live price system" in 
 order to check cheats. 
 
 England is the "leader" of the modern world, while 
 England's English lords are (or have been) the leaders of 
 England. An English lord has been known to rob his child 
 and deed the bulk of the property to the eldest son. Has a 
 man a right to rob his own child? It is a wise man that 
 knows when he cheats. It is true that these younger heirs 
 are better provided for than the general run of heirs, besides 
 a father may have a perfect right to dispose of his property 
 as he chooses. But it is the effect it has had, and still has 
 upon the modern world. After a lord robs his own child in 
 order that the eldest son may be "rich and respectable," we 
 think nothing of defrauding our fellow man. These lords 
 were forced to rob their own children in order that their 
 names might be handed down in prosperity. Probably the 
 private cost mark was introduced, and the mercantile fra- 
 ternity selling the necessities of life without any lawful limit 
 on margin of profits. Had England never allowed the pri- 
 vate costmark to have been introduced ; had she condemned 
 the private costmark and had condemned all cheats, the 
 necessities and luxuries of life could have been procured at 
 such low rates that the people could have flourished and 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 95 
 
 prospered. England would have been "a land flowing with 
 milk and honey." These English lords would not have 
 needed to have robbed their younger children in order that 
 their names might be handed down in prosperity. Super- 
 stitious delusions, like the hairs of our head, we may not 
 know how many we labor under till after they are counted. 
 We don't say that modern England originated the private 
 costmark. Had she been smart enough to have originated 
 the private costmark, she would have been smart or wise 
 enough to have protected herself against Rothschild's swindle. 
 The private costmark must have germinated during the dark 
 ages by ignorant people who were incapable of establishing 
 a law from the commandment, u Thou shalt not steal." From 
 the Hay the private costmark was first introduced, from that 
 day to this, the whole enlightened modern Christian's mode 
 of living has been deranged. This derangement is what 
 allowed Rothschild to get off with his swindle. This de- 
 rangement forces an English lord to rob his own child in 
 order to save and have his name handed down in prosperity. 
 The modern world has been a cheat and a murderess ever 
 since this derangement. Show me the man that has never 
 cheated ? The hardest thief to run down and convict is the 
 man that cheats yet is ignorant of the fact. Since the modern 
 world's mode of selling her merchandise is deranged, most 
 everything else is deranged. A burglar that enters a house, 
 kills the inmates and robs the till, is a wise man. He knows 
 that he has murdered and robbed. But the most dangerous 
 class of thieves and murderers that walk the green earth, are 
 those that rob and murder yet are ignorant of the fact. To 
 murder and rob and know it is bad enough, but to rob and 
 murder and not know it, it is (as Mark Twain would say) 
 ■"perfectly ridiculous." 
 
 A man that will continue to murder and steal and know 
 it is a fool (as Sam Jones says). Did you ever tackle a 
 fool? But a man or nation that will continue to rob and 
 murder, and not know it, is the biggest fool of the two. Are 
 you a murderer and a thief? Or are you a thief and rnur- 
 
96 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 
 
 derer? "Know thyself." How can a man defraud another 
 without endangering life? Should you shoot and kill a 
 deer with an Infield rifle and should the ball after passing 
 through the deer's body speed on its course one mile farther 
 and kill a darkey who was splitting rails upon an adjacent 
 hill, would not you be guilty of murder? You might be 
 ignorant, but not innocent. Never draw a brad and press 
 the trigger of a small-bored rifle, let alone a large one, unless 
 you are sure about where the ball stops. More p.ople are 
 murdered in modern times (since the private costmark was 
 introduced) through want of thought than through want of 
 heart. Since our mode of living is deranged, a man is forced 
 to be rich in order to be "rich and respectable." Christ com- 
 manded " Thou shalt not steal," in order to allow us to live 
 on a near equalization, so all could realize the benefits and 
 luxuries of life equally. When a rich American Jew meets 
 with one of our poorest Jews it is near the same as two 
 angels meeting in heaven (in one respect) they meet on an 
 equal social f oting and standing. The rich Jew don't go 
 down in the slums to drag his fellow man out, but simply 
 gives him protection ; sells him at two per cent, and loans 
 him at about one. This rich Jew don't defraud his own fellow 
 man. If you can obtain wealth without defrauding your 
 fellow man, do so. We would like to come and dine with 
 you, but if you are forced to defraud \ our fallow man in 
 order to be "rich and respectable," your "sponge cake" 
 might choke us, if it was not for the wine you gave to wash 
 it down. 
 
A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 97 
 
 Chapter XI. — Religion. 
 
 Should you find yours df adrift in mid ocean, with a 
 sailor, in an open boat, the good ship in which you embarked 
 having sprung a lea.v and sank, your sailor friend and self 
 the only survivors. Your sailor friend and self are adrift in 
 an open boat, without food or shelter, where you both are 
 scorched by the hot rays of a tropical sun by dav and chilled 
 by the cold, heavy dews by night. It may make but little 
 difference how good a Christian you always have been 
 and still continue to be, or how wicked a man the sailor is 
 now and always has been; you may pray both night and day 
 while the sailor may swear both day and night, you both 
 may share about the same fate temporally. You may realize 
 more or less spiritual consolation, while the sailor may suffer 
 under the weight of a guilty conscience, but otherwise you 
 will receive no temporal aid or benefits more than the wicked 
 sailor. Should you and the sailor be in separate boats and 
 adrift leagues apart, it then would only be a matter of 
 " chance " which would be picked up by a passing vessel or 
 which would be left to perish. But had this happened before 
 the crucifixion, by your being over religious you might hold out 
 your hat and it would be filled with manna ; the ravens might 
 bring you food, or some good old prophet might be warned 
 through a dream of your perilous position, send a ship and 
 pick you up. But since the crucifixion of Christ, since the 
 Lord refused to aid His own son in a supernatural way, it 
 will rain upon the unjust the same as the just. From this 
 we may judge that it will not rain any more upon the just 
 than the unjust. We cannot be aided in our temporal wants 
 in a supernatural way. . . . While at ten years of age 
 your twin brother and self will not attend the Sabbath-school 
 on a certain Sabbath, your father being called away cannot 
 accompany you twins, but he commands you twins to remain 
 
 at home and recite your lessons to your mother. You mem- 
 
 7* 
 
98 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 orize and recite your Sunday-school lesson to your mother to 
 perfection, but your twin brother neglects his lesson, and 
 breaks the Sabbath by stealing apples from an adjoining 
 neighbor's orchard. When your father returns home he is 
 made acquainted of your good and your brother's bad beha- 
 vior. You may receive more or less praise (spiritual conso- 
 lation) for your good behavior, while your brother may be 
 reprimanded (made to suffer under the weight of a guilty 
 conscience) for his bad behavior. But when the family- 
 gather at the board, the evening meal, your father will make 
 no distinction in helping yours and your brother's plate to 
 the luxuries of the table. Your wicked brother will be 
 helped to the luxuries of the table just the same as yourself, 
 whether he will enjoy the same as well as you will be owing 
 to the amount of belief he has in his guilt. Should you 
 wish your father to help you to some of the tarts and jellies 
 that are in the cupboard, that are not on the table, extra, of 
 which your brother is not to share on account of your good 
 obedience, it would show a selfish disposition on your part, 
 besides it would show that you overrated your good beha- 
 vior, and underrated the luxuries that your father had already 
 placed upon the table. Because you imagine you are 
 not as wicked as your brother, you wish extra favors that he 
 is not supposed to partake of. Because your brother is more 
 wicked than you, that does not mike you any the better. 
 Have you never sinned ? You probably have forgotten the 
 day you stole the teacakes out of the pantry. It may be 
 true that your brother stole and ate as many as yourself, yet 
 you have sinned. Your father may have promised not to 
 remember this circumstance against you, since you have 
 somewhat reformed, still yet you have sinned. . . . 
 
 Should you live to the age of one hundred years, com- 
 mence serving the Lord at the age of ten, put in ninety 
 years of devotional prayer, be one of the best spiritual 
 Christians that the modern world ever produced, you could 
 not repay Christ for what He has suffered for you upon the 
 cross. Should you expect any extra temporal benefits more 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 7 \)\) 
 
 than the wicked enjoy (outside of spiritual consolation) you 
 would thereby underrate what Christ has suffered for yon, 
 and overrate your life's devotion. Outside of what Christ has 
 suffered for you, Christ has pr >mised you a joint heirship 
 with Him in heaven forever. This promise of joint heirship 
 is more than you can ever expect to deserve with all of your 
 life's devotion. Should you expect any temporal benefits 
 more than the wicked enjoy (outside of spiritual consolation) 
 you overrate your life's devotion and underrate the promise 
 of this heirship. 
 
 You may enjoy more spiritual consolation by rendering 
 spiritual prayers more than your fellow man, but in regard 
 to temporal blessings and temporal benefits, you will realize 
 these the same as your fellowman. Should you wish to en- 
 joy all the temporal benefits upon earth that the Lord in- 
 tended that His people should enjoy, you must not only obey 
 the temporal commandments and teachings of the Bible, but 
 your people — your nation — must obey these commandments 
 correctly in order that you and your people may enjoy all 
 the temporal benefits that the Lord intended for m mkind. 
 
 Don't fall upon your knees, pray a long spiritual prayer, 
 and expect Christ to aid you in both a spiritual and in a 
 temporal way. Don't expect to be paid twice for one piece 
 of work. You may receive more or less spiritual consolation, 
 receive more or less spiritual aid, but for you to expect any 
 temporal aid, (outside of spiritual consolation), it is a fatal, 
 dangerous delusion. The Lord will not aid us in our tem- 
 poral wants on account of our spiritual prayers. Christ 
 prayed the first spiritual prayer when he prayed in the gar- 
 den that "the cup might pass" but the Lord refused to aid 
 his own Son in his temporal wants in a supernatural way 
 according to Christ's spiritual prayer. Christ received spir- 
 itual consolation but no temporal aid ; the fatal hammer was 
 not swerved from its course. When we expect the Lord to 
 aid us in a temporal way on account of our spiritual prayers, 
 we expect a greater favor than Christ received. 
 
 Under the laws of the old dispensation, the Lord of ttimes 
 
100 
 
 cursed and punished or blessed and aided His people in a 
 supernatural way, then the people had the temporal com- 
 mandments to obey, rendered burnt offerings but rendered no 
 spiritual prayers. They were not aided in their temporal 
 wants in a supernatural way according to their spiritual 
 prayers, but were aided in their temporal wants in a super- 
 natural way according to the way they obeyed tue temporal 
 commandments and offered their burnt offerings, under the 
 laws of the new dispensation — 
 
 . After the Lord refused to swerve the fatal hammer from 
 its course in a supernatural way, since then "as the tree falleth 
 so shall it lie." We will not be aided or cursed (temporally) 
 in a supernatural way (outside of spiritual consolation and 
 the weight of a guilty conscience) ; we may receive out full 
 reward or punishment after we cross the river of death. We 
 may not be punished in this life in a temporal way for diso- 
 beying the spiritual teachings, neither will we be blessed in 
 a temporal way for obeying the same outside of spiritual 
 consolation. 
 
 In our Bible we find two classes of teachings and com- 
 mandmeuts ; spiritual and temporal. In order to obey the 
 spiritual teachings we erect churches and establish systems 
 of spiritual worship ; in order to obey the temporal command- 
 ments we erect court-houses and establish laws. In obeying 
 the spiritual teachings we can render spiritual prayers, serve 
 the Lord in a spiritual manner by praying in our closets in 
 secret or by attending church and praying in a public manner. 
 We can obey the spiritual teachings individually, separately, 
 or collectively. In obeying the spiritual teachings and com- 
 mandments we are independent ; not necessarily forced to be 
 dependent upon others. Others may do as they choose "but 
 for me and my house we will serve the Lord." But in obey- 
 ing the temporal teachings and temporal commandments we 
 cannot obey the temporal commandments separately, in- 
 dividually; independent of others. We can only obey the 
 temporal commandments collectively in a national way. 
 "While in Rome we are forced to do as the Romans do." 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 101 
 
 In order to obey the spiritual teachings of our Bible and 
 realize all the spiritual blessings, we are supposed to work 
 out our own soul's salvation, separate and apart. "Each tub 
 must stand upon its own bottom." But in order to obey the 
 temporal teachings and commandments and be able to realize 
 all the temporal blessings that the Lord has intended that we 
 should realize, this can only be accomplished in a collective 
 or nationaj way. Should we (Young America) obey the 
 temporal teachings of our Bible collectively in a national 
 way the same as our American Jews seem to obey these teach- 
 ings in dealing among themselves ; should we be able to pro- 
 duce "a land flowing with milk and honey" the same as 
 Israel did in Canaan, then we could realize all the temporal 
 blessings and benefits that the Lord has intended we should. 
 Our unjust people would realize these same temporal bless- 
 ings, and then would have the more faith and confidence in 
 the spiritual teachings of our Bible. By us producing "a 
 land flowing with milk and honey," this act itself would be 
 introducing Christ. Our light would shine, the whole world 
 could see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. 
 We could prove to the world God's good will to all mankind. 
 After the world had seen these temporal blessings, the world 
 then would have the more faith and confidence in man and 
 more faith and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 It may be true that spiritual truths will aid us in pro- 
 tecting our morals to a certain extent, but we need to obey 
 the temporal commandments and teachings of our Bible in a 
 collective or national way in order to protect our people's 
 morals. When poverty enters the door, good morals and 
 good resolutions go out at the window, especially with the 
 young. After poverty is properly introduced the old die off, 
 then the community is totally demoralized. "Experience is 
 our best teacher" but it is generally the poor little starving, 
 freezing, impoverished children that realize this too hard ex- 
 perience. You must realize the sting of the wasp before you 
 can know how much pain it can inflict. Some of our poor 
 pauper children's little innocent hearts are nulled from beat- 
 
102 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 ing from the effects of poverty before they reach demoraliza- 
 tion. After they are impoverished to the death, Christ 
 reaches down and saves these little ones from becoming 
 totally demoralized, by taking them up to Himself. Note 
 how our American Jews protect their people, their poor peo- 
 ple's morals, and note how we Christians protect our poor 
 people's morals. The Jews deny Christ, (probably for good 
 reasons) yet they are moral models compared with us. When 
 we attempt to make a comparison between two nations of 
 people we must include all, include the poor and note from 
 the poorest up. The Jews protect their people's, their poor's, 
 morals through the aid of temporal truths, probably to a 
 great extent ; they protect most all their poor's morals, while 
 millions and millions of our poor have passed out of this life 
 totally demoralized, besides the thousands of our totally de- 
 moralized poor that are still existing. It may require the 
 least mite of the world's wealth to keep disgrace, if not sus- 
 picion, from resting upon an unblemished character. You 
 seldom ever see a beggar pauper Jew. 
 
 Paul while writing to the Ephesians wrote : "Honor 
 thy father and mother which is the first commandment with 
 promise, that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live 
 long on the earth." The greatest honor you have conferred 
 upon your parents (whether they be living or dead) is to 
 have their child (yourself) honored. If your people — your 
 friends — will protect you in procuring the necessities of life, 
 your life may not be cut off for want of proper food and 
 raiment, besides you may not need to undergo too many hard- 
 ships and exposure where you are protected by your friends — 
 your people. You must honor your parents through your 
 friends. If your life was prolonged on account of your piety 
 towards your parents, that would prove that it rained the 
 more upon the just than the unjust. Christ's life was not 
 prolonged on account of his piety — can you be better than 
 Christ ? The average life of the American Gentile is about 
 thirty-three years, while the average life of the American 
 Jew is about fifty-five. The Jews seem to obey the first 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 103 
 
 commandment with promise to perfection in dealing among 
 themselves. 
 
 Christ commanded "Honor thy father and mother." (St. 
 Mark 10 chap., latter part of 19 verse). This commandment 
 that Christ gave was meant for piety towards our parents, 
 while Paul's commandment is of a different meaning ; it is 
 for our temporal benefit. We might obey both of these com- 
 mandments at one and the same time the same as the Jews. 
 In our blue back speller we read : '-The Jews are a nation 
 who accept the Old Testament, but reject the New and ex- 
 pect a Savior yet to come." Prior to the time that Christ 
 ascended up to heaven, He commanded His twelve disciples 
 to go and preach the gospel. Who were these twelve dis- 
 ciples ? Were they not principally Jews ? Today we find 
 no Jew ministers preaching Christ. 
 
 Today the Jews deny Christ, but a close observe]' will 
 discover that they follow most, if not all, the temporal teach- 
 ings of the New Testament. It may be true that the Jews 
 today never see inside of the pages of the New Testament, 
 but at the same time they may follow the teachings of the 
 same through the aid of use and custom. We Christians of 
 today did not originate the folly of making and recognizing 
 a distinction between cheats but have learned to do so through 
 the power of use and custom. Under the >ame principle the 
 Jews today may follow the temporal teachings of the New 
 Testament through the aid of use and custom. "Custom," 
 savs Lord Bacon, "is man's chief magistrate." A people 
 may learn to do either good or ill through use and custom. 
 
 These Jew disciples of Christ may have, preached the 
 doctrines of the New Testament to Israel as well as to the 
 Gentiles. After Christ had ascended up to heaven, and be- 
 fore the dark waves of the dark ages deluged the enlightened 
 or partially enlightened world, Israel may have become used 
 and accustomed to these temporal teachings as well as spir- 
 itual teachings of the New Testament. 
 
 After the dark waves struck the world Israel may have 
 continued to follow the temporal teachings of the doctrine 
 
104 "A LEVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.'' 
 
 of the New Testament, but Israel discontinued folloAving the 
 spiritual teachings. Our Jews of today may follow the tem- 
 poral teachings of the New Testament through the power of 
 use and custom, yet at the same time not see inside of its 
 pages. Christ gave His twelve Jew disciples the gospel of 
 the new dispensation and commanded them to preach the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Today we rind the descend- 
 ants of these disciples denying Christ, yet following the tem- 
 poral laws of the new dispensation. While Christ was upon 
 earth He established a union between the Jew and Gentile. 
 ("United we stand, divided we fall.") After the dark waves 
 of the dark ages had deluged the world for a period of 1,200 
 (more or less) years, we find this union that Christ had estab- 
 lished "split in twain," disunited. 
 
 The dark waves of the dark ages seem to have "flushed" 
 us Jews and Gentiles and we have not been able to reunite 
 ourselves. There seems to be a misunderstanding. We 
 Gentile Christians and the Jews might attempt to unravel 
 this "skien" that the dark waves of the dark ages, time and 
 surrounding circumstances entwined about us while the 
 black clouds of the dark ages hovered low over us and en- 
 tirely obscured all surroundings. We Christians and Jews 
 should attempt to get placed back into the same position that 
 Christ placed our forefathers while He was upon earth. It 
 cannot be the delusions that we, this generation, have allowed 
 to germinate that caused the Jew and Gentile to be dis- 
 united, because thi's disunion existed before this, our now, 
 generation's time. This disunion "happened" probably during 
 the dark ages. We Jews and Gentiles now might attempt 
 to unearth most all the superstitious delusions that originated 
 during the period of the dark ages. "What is life, this 
 enigma, this riddle of ages ? " It is probably a knowledge 
 of spiritual and temporal truths. Heretofore we never have 
 thought of comparing our mode of dealing among ourselves 
 with the Jews' mode of dealing among themselves, because 
 the Jews deny Christ. We might not only compare our 
 modes of dealing, but attempt to unveil this hidden mystery 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 105 
 
 that now exists between the two. The Jews have borne a 
 tolerably good character since the time of Moses. Christ 
 was an offspring of a Jewish mother. When we attempt to 
 trace our own lineage back, we only can go a few centuries 
 then come to a dark chasm, besides our character of today 
 shows up none too good. We have progressed and advanced 
 spiritual truths and spiritual doctrines probably to a greater 
 extent than spiritual doctrines were ever advanced, while at 
 the same time we must admit that we have ignored temporal 
 truths to a proportionate rate. Our defects today may not 
 be in ignoring spiritual truths but in ignoring temporal. 
 Some of us church members criticise upon the way our good 
 ministeis explain spiritual truths. Where some of our min- 
 isters do not expound spiritual truths in scientific enough a 
 style to suit our taste and fancy, we politely but positively 
 request their resignation. Some of us church members don't 
 only ignore temporal truths, but almost force our ministers 
 to do the same by criticising on the way our ministers ex- 
 plain spiritual truths. So some of our almost ablest ministers 
 have a poor chance at best to ascertain the vital necessity of 
 mastering temporal truths. After we ignore temporal truths 
 to too great an extent for too long a period, and after we be- 
 come more or less demoralized from the effects thereof, then 
 our ministers are forced to preach spiritual doctrines the 
 harder in order to check us in our downward career, who 
 may obtain little credit and still less pay for their noble ex- 
 ertions. It may require a keener intellect, a brighter brain 
 and a steadier nerve to pilot a ship out from amung an in- 
 numerable number of invisible shoals, (where it has been 
 allowed to drift) than to guide an easy sailing craft upon 
 the main sea road. During the period of the dark ages the 
 mode of obeying the spiritual and temporal teachings of the 
 Bible declined. Within the last few centuries we have ad- 
 vanced the mode of obeying the spiritual doctrines almost to 
 perfection, with one exception (if not any more). It seems 
 that we imagine that it surely will rain the more upon the 
 just (in a temporal way) than the unjust. 
 
106 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 We seem to imagine that the better we serve the Lord 
 in a spiritual way the better we will prosper in a temporal 
 way. If we obey the temporal commandments in a temporal 
 way, we then may expect to prosper in a temporal way. If 
 we obey the spiritual teachings, we may expect to prosper in 
 a spiritual way, realize more or less spiritual consolation* 
 We may not prosper in a temporal way, simply by obeying 
 the spiritual teachings and disobeying the tempo, al. Neither 
 will we prosper in a spiritual way, obtain a seat in heaven, 
 simply by obeying the temporal teachings and disobeying 
 the spiritual. We should attempt to obey the temporal 
 commandments, the same as the Jews obey the temporal 
 commandments in dealing among themselves, and at the 
 same time obey the spiritual teachings of our Bible, the 
 same as we do or attempt to do. After we obey the tem- 
 poral teachings, the same as the Jews, then we all will have 
 a fair chance to prosper in a temporal way. We may then 
 not need to go to Christ in our spiritual prayers for temporal 
 aid. " Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss." We 
 should not ask for temporal aid through spiritual prayers. 
 We should thank and praise the Lord for both spiritual and 
 temporal blessings. 
 
 We might attempt to improve our mode of obeying the 
 temporal teachings and commandments of our Bible, the 
 same as we have improved our mode of obeying the spiritual 
 within the last few centuries. The dark waves of the dark 
 ages deluged the enlightened world for a period of twelve 
 hundred, more or less, years. Today we Gentile Christians 
 " bring up " with our mode of obeying the* spiritual teach- 
 ings almost to perfection. The Jews passed through the 
 deluge, and today they seem to be perfect in obeying the 
 temporal commandments, in dealing among themselves, but 
 they sell the necessities of life to each other at a lower mar- 
 gin than we sell to each other. A nation's mode of mer- 
 chandise is their living. 
 
 The margin that our several retailers realize is like the 
 mainspring of a watch, most everything in particular is gov- 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 107 
 
 erned, controlled and regulated by this movement. This 
 "movement" may not govern our mode of obeying spiritual 
 teachings, while it may govern our mode of obeying the tem- 
 poral commandments to a greater extent than we can possi- 
 bly imagine. This "movement" controls our mode of obey- 
 ing the temporal teachings with an invisible rein. " Evil 
 is wrought through want of thought, the same as through 
 want of heart." Here probably lie the hidden " keys " that 
 unlock the door of wisdom, that leads to success. In order 
 that we may be able to obey the temporal commandments, so 
 that we can obey the Lord and prosper in a temporal way, 
 we may need to improve our mode of establishing laws to 
 force all to obey the temporal commandments. 
 
 First, we may need to determine what margin our retail- 
 ers are to realize in order that they should comply with the 
 commandment " Thou shalt not steal." If the margin is put 
 at two per cent, then all will realize a benefit thereof. All 
 shielded cheats then can be condemned. One thousand 
 years ago, during the dark ages, our great grand forefather's 
 laws were too weak to control the merchant's margin. To- 
 day we are in the self same fix. We may have improved in 
 establishing laws, still our laws are too weak to control the 
 margins. We have been contending with our several disad- 
 vantages, instead of contending with the cause of the same. 
 The only way to dig up a big tree is to dig up its roots. We 
 should have our laws to control the merchant's margin, and 
 not have our merchant's margin to control our laws. Our 
 law should be superior to the merchant's margin, then our 
 laws will control the same. 
 
 What is a law? It is to protect, by first restricting. 
 After we establish a law that will restrict our merchant's 
 margin, this restriction itself will protect our merchants 
 against too much opposition. 
 
 We need to establish a natural law of this character 
 that will protect our mode of living in a natural way. Estab- 
 lish a law from nature and not from the old usages and cus- 
 toms that existed one thousand years ago. After we estab- 
 
108 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 lish a law that will restrict and protect the merchant, that 
 will naturally reverse most everything in particular, we then 
 will not need so many unnecessary laws. One good natural 
 cook is worth one dozen hired (or borrowed) ones. 
 
 We have rectified the old mode of obeying the spiritual 
 teachings of our Bible, but we may need to rectify our mode 
 of merchandise, oui mode of living, in order to be able to 
 obey the temporal teachings and commandments. Our mode 
 of religion and our mode of living are closely connected. 
 We Gentile Christians today may be perfect in obeying the 
 .spiritual teachings, while the Jews may be perfect in obey- 
 ing the temporal commandments in dealing among them- 
 selves. We may be able to teach the Jews of today how to 
 obey the spiritual teachings, while the Jews of today may be 
 able to teach us how to obey the temporal commandments. 
 "When you can see your imperfections you are learning 
 wisdom." We should "watch" as well as pray. All praying 
 and no watching is similar to all work and no managing. 
 What is watching if not ascertaining temporal truths ? 
 
 The Jews are nearly as far above capital punishment as 
 the stars are above this earth. They never kill each other 
 through want of thought, and so are never killed through 
 want of heart. Take home with you the first snarling cur 
 you find upon the street, give him proper protection, he will 
 follow you to your grave. But starve and abuse your pet 
 spaniel, he will turn and snap you, then you order him to be 
 shot. Should we show our people respect by protecting them 
 the same as Israel protected her people, we would have less 
 the number of criminals. Then should one slay his fellow 
 man? we might not have any right to take his life, because 
 this act would not give the murdered man back his life. 
 Two wrongs don't make one right. We might imprison a 
 criminal but to take his life — .Capital punishment don't de- 
 crease, but increases crime, because it is demoralizing in the 
 extreme. 
 
 The greater the number of comrades that fall around a 
 soldier on the field of battle, the more hardened becomes his 
 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 109 
 
 heart. There is more or less of the brute in the human 
 make up, and when you attempt to intimidate, the cowardly 
 wolf or brave lion is put into act on. You can never expect 
 to avail any good by doing any act that has a tendency to 
 demoralize. A man is either a saint or a demon, according 
 to the respect shown him. Capital punishment is simply a 
 superst tious idea and a borrowed one. When you imagine 
 your watch is incorrect refer to the "town-clock." "Where 
 ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." If we hung every 
 man that helped to shorten life, the number of our widows 
 and orphans would increase. "Judge not that ye be not 
 judged." "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of 
 thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the 
 mote out of thy brother's eye." 
 
 It is a serious thing to defraud your fellow man. You 
 might defraud a few thousand people in some grand specu- 
 lation, these people's lives might continue to be cut off from 
 this fraud years after you were dead and buried. While in 
 your grave the deeds that you had committed in your life- 
 time might cause the death of your fellow men. We may 
 be judged according to the deeds we have committed. Men 
 have been known to shoot each other in a duel ; one of the 
 contestants falling dead in his tracks while his opponent sur- 
 vived him several days or weeks, then expired from the effects 
 of the wound. The dead man was the murderer of his sur- 
 vivor. "Life is real, life is earnest, life is 'nof an empty 
 dream, " in one sense of the word. "Ignorance is sin." 
 
 Should the Jews acknowledge Christ, obey the spiritual 
 teachings the same as they obey the temporal commandments, 
 (in dealing among themselves) they would be one of the 
 greatest and most perfect nations. If we Gentile Christians 
 obeyed the temporal commandments the same as the Jew 
 does, we would be a perfect nation. Could we Gentile 
 Christians and Israel consolidate or re-consolidate, become 
 two nations combined into one, we then might be the most 
 perfect people that ever lived; probably just what Christ in- 
 tended we should be. 
 
110 
 
 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 
 
 The just are yoked down with the unjust. We may 
 raise ourselves above the poor in a social way, through the 
 aid of wealth, fame and honor, but the just cannot raise 
 themselves above the unjust. Our governors nor presidents 
 need not necessarily be connected with a church. If the 
 Lord would aid us in our temporal wants, according to our 
 prayers and piety, then our best Christians would all be "rich 
 and respectable." If the Lord would aid us in a temporal 
 way, according to our prayers, we then could afford to cheat 
 and defraud and neglect our poor. Our poor's prayers 
 would be heard, the Lord would aid them in their temporal 
 wants and make up the deficiencies where we had defrauded. 
 After we defraud our people, our poor, then all of our prayers 
 and our poor's prayers cannot prevail upon the Lord to make 
 up this deficiency. Our poor will suffer from the effects of this 
 fraud, the same as though we and they had not uttered a 
 prayer. It may be true that we may obtain pardon for this 
 fraud, but the temporal effects will remain unless we return 
 to the poor the amount we have defrauded them. After we 
 once defraud our people, our poor, to extremes and after 
 they are impoverished, it then may make but little difference 
 how much we and our poor pray, we both may pray both 
 night and day yet still their precious lives may be cut off 
 from impoverishment just the same as though we and they 
 had not uttered one prayer. We will be guilty of murder 
 just the same. We may obtain pardon through our prayers 
 for the lives that we have helped to shorten, but our prayers 
 will not check a life from being cut off. Thousands of our 
 poor are suffering all the known and unknown pangs and 
 stings of poverty in all its known and unknown elements, 
 caused from being defrauded in ways too numerous to men- 
 tion. All of our and their prayers can give them no 'tem- 
 poral relief (outside of spiritual consolation). Their tem- 
 poral wants can only be reached through temporal means. 
 Thousands of our poor are dying annually, before their natural 
 time, from the effects of the stings of poverty. 
 
 "Their graves are green, 
 
 They may be seen." 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 111 
 
 " None are so blind as those that will not see." These 
 silent graves are dead witnesses against us ; they may rise 
 up and confront us on the day of judgment. If we acted 
 toward our people, our poor, the same as the Jews protect 
 their people, we might not be held responsible. If we are 
 not guilty of cutting off the lives of our people through want 
 of thought we will not be found guilty, but if we are guilty 
 we may be found wanting when weighed in the balance. 
 Since Christ is our mediator, and we have no prophets, as of 
 old, we may continue to cut off life through want of thought 
 and not be warned of our error. We are commanded to 
 "watch" as well as pray; all watcliing and no praying is 
 similar to all work and no managing. The dark waves of 
 the dark ages may have all receded while the dark clouds of 
 the dark ages may still obscure the sky. Wise Israel, with 
 the aid of his temporal wisdom, may see through the rift 
 with his traditional eye. 
 
 Chapter XII. — "We are 'Losted,' Can You Find Us?" 
 
 The dark waves of the dark ages may have all receded, 
 
 While the dark cloud of the dark ages still obscures the sky : 
 
 Israel, with the aid of his temporal wisdom, 
 
 May see through the rift, with his traditional eye. 
 
 — (Original.) 
 
 Because some of our almost ablest men part both their 
 name and hair in the middle, eat pie with a fork and are 
 over intelligent, is no reason why they should be considered 
 perfect or unsuperstitious. They may labor under supersti- 
 tious delusions (borrowed or otherwise), have superstitious 
 
112 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 views and ideas upon any given subject just as much and as 
 far as they have ignored the same. Ignorance constitutes 
 superstition. We are liable to have superstitious views 
 upon any subject that we have ignored. There is a vast 
 difference between intelligence and wisdom, Intelligence is 
 similar to the branch of a tree, only an agent to hold fruit 
 (wisdom). It is not the largest and stoutest limb every 
 time that bears the most fruit. Where all the strength of 
 the tree is consumed in producing too large a limb, there is 
 less strength to produce the fruit. Intelligence is similar to 
 a golden goblet — a vessel to hold wine ; because a goblet is 
 gold, that alone is no reason that it should be full of wine. 
 "All is not gold that glitters." All golden goblets are not 
 filled with wine. Should you wish your son to become a 
 wise physician, master medical science, medical wisdom, you 
 would first give him. a practical education, improve his 
 intellect to a certain degree; have him intelligent, so that he 
 will be in prime condition to absorb and take on medical 
 science, medi al wisdom. When your son comes home a 
 graduate from college (before he has studied medical science, 
 wisdom) he is intelligent, but after he has studied, mastered 
 and practiced medical wisdom, he is a different man. While at 
 the age of twenty he is intelligent, but at the age of forty 
 he is wise. He is wise upon such subjects that he has ana- 
 lyzed and mastered. We might imagine that we have two 
 different distinct classes of superstitious people. Our ignor- 
 ant classes, who are superstitious in a general way, and our 
 intelligent classes, who may labor under superstitious delu- 
 sions that have become prevalent through use and custom. 
 We have the ignorant, superstitious classes and the intelli- 
 gent superstitious classes. An ignorant tramp may know 
 that he is superstitious (he is wise) in a general way ; he can 
 feel it in his bones, while an intelligent party may labor 
 under a number of superstitious ideas but at the same time 
 be ignorant of the fact that he was superstitious. To be 
 superstitious and know it, it may do, but to be superstitious 
 and yet be ignorant of the fact, it is u perfectly ridiculous." 
 
113 
 
 Webster "says" that superstition is "excessive exactness 
 or rigor in religion ; worship of false gods ; belief in omens," 
 but we don't believe that superstition is confined to the 
 ignorant classes alone. Webster seems to be correct as far 
 as he goes, but he might have added that intelligent parties 
 labored under this malady. Who was Webster but a descend- 
 ent of a superstitious race ? We might be able to trace this 
 old superstition back to and beyond the dark ages. "Your 
 severest critic is generally your best friend." Europe's and 
 Young America's poor cannot live out their natural lives 
 while they are cheated from the cradle to the grave unless 
 the Lord aids them in a supernatural way. When we imagine 
 the Lord will aid our people — our poor — in their temporal 
 wants on account of our's and our poor's prayers, is not this 
 a superstitious idea ? "The days of miracles are passed." 
 
 The days of supernatural aid in temporal needs are 
 passed. Where .we imagine that the Lord will aid us in our 
 temporal needs in a supernatural way on account of our spir- 
 itual prayers, that is superstition. We allow our poor to be 
 defrauded in ways too numerous to mention, and when one 
 of our poor's life is cut off on account of impoverishment, we 
 imagine that it was the Lord's will that this poor party 
 should die at this date and time. Should you kill a man in 
 the middle of the road, you only hasten death, cut off life, 
 but you might say that it was the Lord's will that said man 
 should die at this date and time. We are supposed to do 
 the Lord's will. 
 
 If the Lord did His will upon earth we would be under 
 no responsibilities. The dark black cloud of the dark ages 
 is still over our heads which obscures our sky ; this is what 
 causes it so hard for us to see. We are unable to see our 
 faults on account of the black cloud. We have not been able 
 to see the clear, blue sky with our eye of temporal wisdom. 
 After we become intelligent we then are in condition to 
 absorb and take on wisdom. Intelligence is good, knowledge 
 is power, while wisdom is powerful. 
 
 7* 
 
 
114 
 
 A poor old ignorant darkey with his family, attempts to 
 make a livelihood. Ephraham, the eldest son, is forced to 
 drudge in all kinds of weather with an old worn out pair of 
 shoes upon his feet to protect him from the cold and damp, 
 wet mud and water. He catches his death of cold, takes 
 down with pneumonia and expires. The old ignorant, 
 superstitious darkies, Ephraham's parents and their friends, 
 imagine that it "was the Lord's will" that Ephraham should 
 die at this date and time. Had Ephraham have had proper 
 protection he might be alive today with "a wife and house 
 full of children." We need not be over anxious to have the 
 darkies to quit us by going to Mexico. If we keep up our 
 lick, inside of a few short centuries, all that will remain of the 
 African race in this country will be a little bunch of u gray 
 wool." They are degenerating, becoming depopulated, for 
 the need of proper protection. 
 
 A New York banker has a fine residence erected in the 
 heart of New York City where his family and self will have 
 a fair chance to breathe and inhale as much filth as possible. 
 "The banker's daughter" takes down with the fever and ex- 
 pires. The intelligent, superstitious banker, his family and 
 friends, all imagine that it "was the Lord's will" that little 
 Bessie should die at this date and time ; they believe that 
 little Bessie's natural "time had come." Had we established 
 "a live and let live system" in its proper form when this 
 country was first settled, this "system" would have been the 
 "ruling power" to a great extent. Everything that had a 
 tendency to cut off life would have been inquired into. 
 New York City, as well as other cities, would not be so over- 
 populated, but our people would be placed in position in a 
 more uniform order throughout the continent like so many 
 fruit trees in an orchard. There would be no slums of 
 poverty in our cities carrying disease and death in its wake. 
 
 The poorest families would dwell in neat cottages. 
 "Everybody" would use a tooth-brush three times a day and 
 take a wholesome bath in "fresh water" once every day un- 
 less it were those that were too enfeebled. Little Bessie, 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 115 
 
 "the banker's daughter," might be alive today "with a house 
 full of children." Whenever a contagious disease, small pox 
 and similar diseases, "break out" we quarantine against this 
 malady. While we do not attempt to protect ourselves 
 against different diseases that arise from filth. Many a life 
 is prolonged by guarding against lurking diseases, while 
 many a life is shortened by not being properly protected 
 against diseases that might have been checked. We only 
 attempt to protect ourselves to a certain extent, and there 
 stop. After you are once convinced that you are super- 
 stitious, you are then in a condition to guard against this 
 malady known as "intelligent superstition." 
 
 When we imagine that the Lord will curse or bless us 
 in a supernatural way (outside of the spiritual consolation, 
 or the weight of a guilty conscience that we may realize) we 
 there and then are probably guilty of a superstitious error. 
 " Superstition is the curse of the world." It is our intelli- 
 gent classes that control, they are responsible and are at fault. 
 When we imagine the Lord will punish us in a super- 
 natural way, we then and there deny the existence of Christ, 
 the "mediator" between God and man. We must be able 
 to see our own imperfections, be able to see our own super- 
 stitious maladies, before we can expect to remedy the evil 
 thereof. " Know thyself." Are you superstitious and aware 
 of the fact, or are you superstitious and ignorant of the 
 same? Nowadays most everything in general is natural. 
 Nature has its course. "As the tree falleth so shall it lie." 
 Superstitious ideas are insults to Christ, our " mediator." 
 
 Superstitious ideas, like the hairs of our head, we may 
 never know how many we may labor under till after they are 
 counted. " When we can see our imperfections, we then are 
 learning wisdom." Criticism is the life of wisdom. We 
 criticise upon our ignorant classes ; through the aid of this 
 criticism our ignorant classes know they are superstitious ; 
 they have a chance of comparing themselves with our intel- 
 ligent classes, while our intelligent classes have no way of 
 making a comparison. Our intelligent classes can only crit- 
 
116 
 
 icise upon themselves. Our ignorant classes are not intelli- 
 gent enough to criticize upon our intelligent classes the 
 same as our intelligent classes criticize upon our ignorant 
 classes. The greater your controlling influence the more 
 dangerous are your superstitious ideas. An ignorant tramp's 
 superstitious ideas may cost you the value of a piece of cold 
 pie, while the superstitious ideas of some of our almost ablest 
 statesmen may cause you to mortgage and lose your " Sunny, 
 sandy Southern home, sweet home, and farm," and force yon 
 to send your dear old mother (in-law) to the " poorhouse." 
 Which one of us today that have not enough superstition hid 
 about our "old close " to swamp the universe if we had abso- 
 lute control ? Intelligence alone will not save us from 
 superstitious ideas, but wisdom will. It may make little 
 difference how wise we may be on anyone or more subjects, 
 we still may have superstitious ideas in regard to other sub- 
 jects that we have ignored. 
 
 Ignorance constitutes superstition. " Ignorance is sin." 
 " We are born in sin," we are born in superstition, or rather 
 superstition is born in us. Never allow yourself to be per- 
 fectly "carried away" with a man (or handsome young 
 lady either) simply because they have a pleasing address, 
 eloquent powers and seem over intelligent. Don't mistake the 
 "hired girl " for the lady of the house simply because she 
 has swallowed Webster's unabridged, is over good looking, 
 and happens to have on her " Sunday clothes " in the middle 
 of the week. 
 
 A jury that will allow themselves to be the least 
 influenced under the influence of the power of eloquence, are 
 not fit subjects to try a criminal case. If you are wise, sim- 
 ple, plain facts may govern your decision, without the aid of 
 the eloquent powers of others. It may need the power of 
 eloquence to convince a child or a fool, but when you 
 attempt to influence the wise with your power of eloquence 
 you insult them. It is well enough to state any case in an 
 easy, graceful and charming manner, but to attempt to over- 
 awe with your superfluous abilities, you break the refined 
 
"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 117 
 
 rules of etiquette. You cannot move a wise Jew one inch 
 with your power of eloquence. Don't crack your skull but- 
 ting at the silver-knobbed door of intelligence, but improve 
 your intellect, so that you may be able to " pass in a crowd," 
 then goon to the next door that has no knob. Thisknobless 
 door of wisdom will be found fitted into a little squatty 
 building about the size of our poor's smallest shanty. You 
 can be after running your hand and arm down through the 
 chimney and opening the front door. You may find a 
 golden knob on the inner side. This door can only be 
 opened on the inside. 
 
 It may do well enough to step inside a saloon, obtain a 
 glass of good, cool lager beer to slake your thirst, but there 
 is no use in loafing around the barroom. It is well enough 
 to attend college, improve your intellect, but a college, some- 
 what like a saloon, is not built to live in. If you attempt to 
 take on too much lager you may injure your mental 
 faculties. If you attempt to take on too much intelligence 
 you may become brain crowded. We ofttimes meet up with 
 a horse or dog that has an intelligent look out of the corners 
 of his eyes. When we meet with a person who seems to 
 have an over intelligent expression, we are perfectly carried 
 away. Intelligence, like the limb of a peach tree, it is good 
 to look at, but the fruit wisdom is better. 
 
 Spiritual wisdom is for our spiritual good, while tem- 
 poral wisdom is for our temporal good and welfare. The 
 Lord in His infinite mercy has placed both within our reach 
 that we might realize all the blessings and benefits in this 
 our natural lives. If you take dangerously ill you will send 
 for you ablest physician in order that you may obtain the full 
 benefit of the medical wisdom that he has possessed himself 
 with. We have advanced medical wisdom to a great extent 
 within the last few centuries. Our medical scientifics have 
 done away with the greater, if not all, the superstitious de- 
 lusions that physicians labored under one thousind years 
 ago. 
 
 We have advanced innumerable arts and sciences while 
 
118 
 
 our laws are too weak to protect our mercantile fraternity 
 from too much opposition. Could we (Young America) get 
 so placed, so positioned, that we could restrict the merchant, 
 force our retailer to sell at two per cent, under a public cost- 
 mark, bring and hold all enterprises in conformity, condemn 
 all cheats the same as unshielded thefts, establish a natural 
 law of this .character that had no taint of the old delusions 
 that existed before, during, or after the dark ages ; then we 
 might chuck the greater portion of our laws "out of the win- 
 dow." ^ Voice from the gallery : "What's the matter with 
 the door? '") After we are able to est iblish and inforce one 
 good natural law that will protect our merchants against 
 opposition so our merchandise — our living — will be protected, 
 then we will be placed in a similar position that Israel has 
 been placed in since the time of Moses. 
 
 Israel has one good main law and requires few others. 
 Our ablest statesmen have been contending with disadvant- 
 ages, but if they could reach the cause then they might be 
 able to suggest a remedy. Contending with disadvantages 
 is one thing, but contending with the bottom cause or causes 
 of the same, is somewhat different. Our able statesmen, 
 somewhat like our able ministers, it may require a keener in- 
 tellect, a brighter brain and a steadier nerve to pilot a ship 
 out from among an innumerable number of invisible shoals 
 (where it has been allowed to drift) than to guide a craft 
 upon the main sea-road. 
 
 The average life of a working honey bee is sixty days. 
 The average number of years of our ablest statesmen's best 
 work is five years. A statesman need to be "fair, fat and 
 fortv" before he is at his best; at the age of fifty he begins 
 to decline. He will lnturally sleep five years out of the 
 ten between forty and fifty. Some of us sleep away one- 
 half and fool away the other half of our years. Most office- 
 holders spend their first term in learning how to " eat pie 
 with a fork," so their second term is generally the best. 
 This probably is why some persist so awfully on being 
 elected the second term. Most all office holders sleep away 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 119 
 
 one-half their term, and some have been accused of fooling 
 away the other half. We must ail bear in mind that we are 
 attempting to sail a " scuttled " craft, that we did not build. 
 We should attempt to fight /the cause of our several disad- 
 vantages instead of fighting our several disadvantages. 
 
 There should only be about one merchant to every one 
 hundred families, but we notice that most every Jew family 
 produces one or more non-productive merchants. A portion 
 of the Union once believed that it was right to shackle and 
 sell slaves, so today we have more darkies upon our hands 
 than we know what to do with. The whole Union probably 
 once imagined it was right to manufacture and sell imita- 
 tions, so today we have more non-productive Jews upon our 
 hands than we know what to do with. Should we send all 
 the darkies to Mexico, we might afterward find ourselves in 
 a worse condition, because there are a very few darkies in 
 the non-productive mercantile business. After the darkies 
 were gone, we would find that our population would be 
 decreased in proportion to the number of our business houses, 
 while the number of our business houses would be increased 
 in proportion to the number of our population. We should 
 attempt to increase the number of our population in propor- 
 tion to the number of our business houses, in order to give 
 our non-productive mercantile fraternity the more patronage, 
 so the fraternity could sell at a lower margin. Should we 
 increase the number of our business houses in proportion to 
 the number of our population by sending the darkies to 
 Mexico, it would rob our merchants of their original share 
 of patronage. If we could send a number of our business 
 houses to Mexico or Liberia, it would give our remaining 
 business houses the more patronage. Merchants are some- 
 what like water: without enough water we might suffer with 
 thirst, but with too much we would drown. After a young 
 lady has seen twenty summers that is all sufficient, but after 
 she has seen forty, the last extra twenty are the same as so 
 many thieves of time. A certain per cent, of our now too 
 great a number of merchants may be all that necessity might 
 
require, the remainder are much worse than so many tramps; 
 they are non-productive and rob our required number of 
 their rightful share of patronage. Unnecessary necessities 
 of non-productive character are the worst natural curses that 
 the human race is subjected to. But unnecessary necessities, 
 business houses where they are not required, are a dead 
 weight that the communities are forced to sustain. There is 
 nothing of more vital temporal importance than our mode of 
 selling the necessities of life ; it is our living. Where our 
 mode of selling is deranged, our living is deranged ; where 
 our merchants are overcrowded, they are forced to over- 
 charge. This causes the necessities of life to be put upon 
 the market at such high figures that " Tom and Dick" both 
 are forced to go in the business in order to make a livelihood. 
 Now, if we wait till 4 old Harry " himself is forced to go in 
 the business, we then "will have old Harry to pay." 
 
 After the late rebellion was over, after the steamships 
 commenced ploughing the Atlantic, after we commenced 
 inviting immigration, after we commenced manufacturing 
 imitations, and still continuing to solicit competition and 
 opposition among our mercantile fraternity, it had a natural 
 tendency to draw most every loose non-productive Jew from 
 the old to the new world. Before the late rebellion we man- 
 ufactured few imitations ; before the late rebellion we were 
 blessed with few non-productive Jews. The more we Gen- 
 tiles defraud our people the more the Jews defraud us Gen- 
 tiles. We Gentiles cannot defraud our people out of their 
 living, their lives, without allowing the Jews to defraud us 
 Gentiles out of our living. The same law that is to protect 
 us Gentiles from the Jews will protect our people from us 
 Gentiles, will protect ourselves against ourselves. 
 
 In 1891 Russia "threw up the sponge" and declared to 
 the whole world that she was unable to make a law that 
 would protect her people against a few trading Jews. The 
 Jews were never known to break one of God's laws, in deal- 
 ing among themselves, since Moses gave them the command- 
 ments (a few exceptions probably), they may occasionally 
 
121 
 
 break a law in dealing among themselves, but it is not 
 indorsed, it is condemned upon the spot. The Jews have 
 never been known to break one law that a nation had established. 
 Where one Jew breaks one of the Gentile's laws the Jew 
 nation condemns the act. Had Russia examined her Bible 
 she could have found a law that would have protected her 
 people from the Jews. Russia showed signs of " weakness " 
 by banishing the Jews. Did she banish the Jews in order 
 that she might be able to continue to cheat without allowing 
 the Jews to cheat also? 
 
 "A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of 
 him." Different European countries banished the Jews ages 
 ago, which had a tendency to keep the Jews scattered, so to 
 speak — kept the Jews from double-teaming too much upon 
 any one country. 
 
 Instead of us (Young America) banishing the Jews or 
 restricting our merchant's limit on profits, we have gone 
 right opposite from the way that some European countries 
 have gone. We have been encouraging Jew as well as Gen- 
 tile immigration ; we have been encouraging the manufactur- 
 ing and of selling imitations, we have given every induce- 
 ment for all the loose Jews of Europe to flock to the New 
 World. Now after the greater portion of all the Jews are 
 dwelling with us, we find that they or no other nation can 
 live among us without living off of us, although our natural 
 rich resources are greater than elsewhere. The Jews are forced 
 to live off of us in order to live, in order that they could all 
 live and let live. They might exist by simply attempting to 
 dwell among us, but could not all live and let live. There is 
 quite a difference between living and existing. Christ com- 
 manded "Thou shalt not steal" in order to protect the com- 
 mandment 4fc Thou shalt not kill," as well as to enable us to 
 live and let live. The enlightened Gentile may or may not 
 have understood the full sense and meaning of the command- 
 ment u Thou shalt not steal," during the period that inter- 
 vened after Christ's disciples explained it, up till the dark 
 clouds of the dark ages obscured the sky ; but whether our 
 
122 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 great grand fore fathers never did understand the full mean- 
 ing of the word steal, or whether they once understood and 
 forgot the same during the dark ages ; in either case it is 
 all the same with us today. Today we do not understand 
 the meaning of the word steal in its full sense and meaning. 
 We all admit that "experience is our best teacher." We 
 here as good as acknowledge that we can learn more easily 
 and readily from experience, hard experience, than from pre- 
 cept or example. If the Lord pre-ordained that Israel was 
 to teach us Gentiies, through hard experience, what we failed 
 to understand through precept and example, now is the ac- 
 cepted time. Uncle Sam has probably learned more temporal 
 truths of vital importance from the Jews, through hard ex- 
 perience, within the last thirty years than he has learned 
 otherwise in the whole course of his military, or rather mer- 
 cantile career. If you see that you are forced to convince a 
 man against his will, don't tackle him in a single handed 
 game of talk. He may go to sleep and allow you to talk 
 yourself dumb (and foolish). 
 
 The Jews have "went at" our dear young uncle with a 
 "club" about three feet long with figures on either side and 
 they are about to almost pursuade him to become a true 
 Christian. We must always bear in mind that Christ was 
 an offspring of a Jewish mother. We must bear in mind 
 that the modern Gentile world has been considered a cheat 
 back to a certain or uncertain time ; we now may need to at- 
 tempt to pry into the p tst instead of devoting all our spare 
 time in attempting to pry into the future. 
 
 Man is not made wholly for action, but partly for con- 
 templation. He is placed between two glorious mirrors — 
 anticipation and retrospection — the one beckoning him for- 
 ward, the other reflecting light on the way he should go or 
 path he should follow. Ii is a departure from the just bal- 
 ance of nature to dash either of these in pieces. 
 
 Whoever limits his existence to "that fleeting strip of 
 sunlight" which Ave call "now," reduces himself like the tick- 
 ing clock to a mere measure of passing seconds. He who 
 
I 
 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 123 
 
 lives only in the future, never pausing to look back and take 
 counsel of the past, lives the life of a restless settler of the 
 Far West who never stops to secure and enjoy what has 
 been won from the wilderness, but still pushes on and on for 
 scenes of new excitement and adventure. 
 
 A wise man and a wise people should use the past as a 
 prophet of the future and make both of these subservient to 
 the interest of each passing hour. "Men are but children of 
 larger growth." u The child is father to the man " The 
 child is older than the man. You must be a child before 
 you can become a man ; man is incapable of rating himself. 
 We are incapable of rating each other. We, probably, over- 
 rate each other in regard to each other's temporal wisdom, 
 but underrate each other's spiritual wisdom. 
 
 We look backward and see Christ upon the cross with 
 our spiritual eye, while we never think of taking an imag- 
 inary retrospective glance with our temporal eye. 
 
 As before stated, the Lord ofttimes makes calcu- 
 lations centuries ahead. The Lord picked out a drouthy 
 homestead for Israel. After He withdrew His supernatural 
 power, then Israel was forced to dwell among the Gentiles. 
 Probablv Israel has never allowed one of his number to die 
 of poverty or on account of his carelessness. Israel proba- 
 bly cannot be convicted of murdering one of his people 
 through want of thought. If one of his should be murdered 
 in this wajr, it would be an insult, a reproach upon Israel, 
 & lasting reproach upon Christ's own mother's people. The 
 reason probably why that the Jews are generally non-pro- 
 ductive is because neither Europe or Young America have 
 ever protected honest labor, a productive character. Israel 
 cannot be productive among us till after we protect produc- 
 tive enterprises by restricting non-productive enterprises. 
 Should Israel attempt to be productive among us his people 
 would have life cut off the same as our Gentile productive 
 people. The Jews may have been forced to invest princi- 
 pally in non-productive enterprises, else some of their peo- 
 ple's lives might be cut off on account of their carelessness. 
 
I 
 124 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 They are forced to place themselves in positions to aid and 
 protect each other, They have been forced to be only non- 
 productive and deny Christ in order to preserve Christ. 
 Christ was an offspring of a Jewish mother. Israel has 
 respected Christ by not allowing one of Christ's mother's 
 people's life to be cut off from impoverishment on account of 
 Israel's carelessness. Israel has not murdered one of Christ's 
 mother's people through want of thought. Should Israel 
 acknowledge Christ, become so many of us, then Christ's 
 mother's people's lives might be cut off from impoverish- 
 ment caused from being overcharged in procuring the neces- 
 sities of life. "A charge to keep I have." Israel has kept 
 the ten commandments (or has attempted to do so), be- 
 sides Israel has attempted to keep the temporal command- 
 ments that Christ confirmed and gave. Israel has had a 
 double " charge to keep " since Christ gave Israel and the 
 world His temporal commandments. Israel preserved Christ 
 by denying Christ, while the dark waves of the dark ages 
 rolled over the enlightened world. Israel may be forced to 
 deny Christ in order to preserve Christ, as long as the dark 
 clouds of the dark ages obscure our sky. " We can only 
 recognize good and evil by comparison." Had Israel joined 
 us by acknowledging Christ, say one thousand years ago, to- 
 day we would have no nation to compare ourselves with. 
 Today we (Young America) are able to make a comparison: 
 between our poorest Gentiles and our American Jews — poorest 
 Jews. The nation that protects its poor the bjst is probably 
 the best God-fearing nation. Our intentions may be good 
 enough, but we have no " live and let live system, " we are 
 laboring under the delusions that originated, germinated dur- 
 ing or before the dark ages. "A tree is known by the fruit 
 it bears," and not by its leaves. You scarcely meet with an 
 irrespectable Jew, because the Jews protect their people — 
 their poor. Their poor are not forced to be ki rich and re- 
 spectable" in order to be respected, while we are forced to 
 be " rich and respectable " before we can be ( u rich) and re- 
 spectable," because we do not protect our. poor. It takes 
 
125 
 
 protection to constitute respectability. It may require a 
 little of the world's wealth to keep disgrace if not suspicion 
 from resting upon an umblemished character. You scarcely 
 meet with a Jew pauper. We do not protect our poor, and 
 have none to respect except our rich. The Jews pay most 
 of their respects to their poor by protecting them and allow 
 their rich to take care of themselves ; while we pay all our 
 respects to our rich and allow our poor to " root hog or die." 
 
 We respect our rich and not our poor, because our rich 
 respect themselves by protecting themselves. The world 
 cannot afford to respect any party that is not protected for 
 fear of degenerating. Did Christ command us to have pity 
 upon our rich, or upon our poor? Today we (Young Amer- 
 ica) are not able to compare our mode of dealing with the 
 Jews, but we are able to learn more or less from the hard 
 experience we are undergoing, under the heavy weight of 
 the greater portion of the whole non-productive Jew nation. 
 ■"A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of him." 
 Your severest critic is ofttimes your best friend. Israel is 
 criticising upon us with a " club." We acknowledge that 
 "the Jews have gutted Young America financially." Yet we 
 acknowledge that " experience, hard experience " is our best 
 teacher. "None are so blind as those who will not see." 
 Wh-err-w^-4iadexcai^-o«r-g©edr4ooks or-eapabilities we insult 
 <jHJE.J4aker. 
 
 Our laws should be superior to fluctuating prices as 
 well as superior to the merchant's margin. 
 
 Our laws are established from the rules of our Bible, 
 and our laws should be supreme, regardless of the old usages 
 and customs. After we first ascertain what is cheating we 
 then should establish laws suitable for the occasion. Nothing 
 should come under the heading " What is everybody's busi- 
 ness is nobody's business." W r e should not depend upon 
 each other (figuratively speaking), but should depend upon 
 ourselves. We should not wait for something to turn up, 
 but should endeavor to turn up something. When we under- 
 rate our good looks or capabilities we insult our Maker. 
 
If you own one thousand dollars' worth of taxable prop- 
 erty you will be taxed annually about ten dollars. If you 
 procure one thousand dollars' worth of merchandise, the 
 necessities of life, from merchants who are realizing twenty 
 per cent, profit, you are taxed two hundred dollars — you only 
 receive eight hundred dollars' worth of merchandise. But if 
 our retail merchants were selling at two per cent, they 
 would keep off opposition, fare better, because the commu- 
 nities would prosper the more each succeeding year. We 
 could manufacture and raise the necessities of life and place 
 the same upon the market at one-half the price. Then one 
 could procure the same amount of merchandise for five hun- 
 dred dollars that now costs one thousand, and only be taxed 
 ten dollars instead of two hundred. Then our communities 
 could prosper, prosper and prosper. Our world would be a 
 paradise upon earth. Then we could more easily Christian- 
 ize the unenlightened world after we had showed God's good- 
 will to all mankind. "God created man after His own 
 image." 
 
 Rothschild defrauded England out of more or less gold 
 during the time of the battle of Waterloo. 
 
 England's government and merchants have been paying 
 Rothschild too steep a per cent, for borrowed loans, yet 
 England probably has learned very little through this expe- 
 rience, because she has been monopolizing elsewhere, which 
 naturally offsets the effects of Rothschild's weight. But 
 with us (Young America) it is somewhat different. We are 
 in a good condition to be forced to carry the big end of the 
 log, labor under a portion of the world's faults, our own 
 faults, and the greater portion of Israel's weights. We are 
 paying too great a per cent, on borrowed loans, while we are 
 unable to monopolize elsewhere. Europe can over "sell" 
 us, in selling us both necessary and unnecessary wares of 
 merchandise. Europe ships (or did ship) us her oversold 
 paupers, while we had no country to ship ours or Europe's 
 paupers to. Europe has shipped the greater portion of her 
 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 127 
 
 non-productive Jews upon our young shoulders, while we 
 have no new country to ship the same to. 
 
 We (Young America) are in a good position to learn, 
 through hard experience and example, what the enlightened 
 Christian world has failed to learn through precept. We 
 begin to see the folly of recognizing any kind of a cheat that 
 is shielded under any kind of a fancy charming form. But 
 who suffers the extreme on account of our folly? It is not 
 our rich and otherwise intelligent parties of controlling 
 influence. Right here is where the trouble has lain for cen- 
 turies past. If it were our rich and otherwise intelligent 
 parties of controlling influence that suffered the extremes on 
 account of the modern world's folly, it probably would have 
 been unearthed and uprooted years ago. It is the poor 
 whites and darkies of our " Sunny, Sandy South " that have 
 suffered the extremes for the last thirty years. Throughout 
 the South you may find scores and scores of old, gray and 
 white headed, refined, intelligent ladies of the old refined 
 school order, who were once "rich and respectable," who, 
 after having to undergo the reverses of war, were unable to 
 recover from the effects before the Union was manufac- 
 turing and selling imitations as well as genuine articles at 
 too high a price and margin. You may find hundreds of 
 these refined, gray-headed mothers drudging almost day and 
 night, fighting Young America's overgrown "wolf at the 
 door" with their poor old bony wrinkled, palsied hands. These 
 poor old gray and white-headed mothers have been crushed and 
 bruised and are dying a slow, starving death, while there is 
 plenty in the land (so we say). It may be true that their 
 husbands and sons fought, bled and died for the " lost cause,' 
 but these heroes would have shouldered the musket just as 
 readily had there been another Boston massacre, and would 
 have helped to have fought for their country just as hard or 
 harder than they fought for the South (and we hope with 
 better success). It is the poor, and only the poor, old and 
 enfeebled who suffer the extremes under the natural curse 
 
128 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 of speculating upon the necessities of life without any lawful 
 limit on profits. 
 
 These poor old mothers have existed under the curse of 
 being cheated for a cheat for thirty years without cessation. 
 Hundreds of these dear old ladies have succumbed under 
 this curse, leaving now and then a few pauper orphans to be 
 cheated for a cheat till their hearts cease to beat. The greater 
 per cent, of the impoverished whites of the South today are 
 descendants of dead and buried heroes, who gave up their lives 
 that we might enjoy our liberty. Today we have none that 
 we (Young America) can cheat scarcely except the pauper 
 descendents of our dead and buried heroes, that laid down 
 their lives that we might have our liberty. Still we wonder 
 why the Jews do not join us. Should Israel join us, become 
 so many of us, we then might defraud and cut off the lives 
 of Christ's mother's people the same as we defraud and cut 
 off the lives of the descendants of our dead and buried 
 heroes that gave up their lives that we might have our 
 liberty. 
 
 "An honest man is the noblest work o£God," because 
 an honest man protects his fellow man and helps to lengthen 
 life, while a dishonest man defrauds his fellow man and helps 
 to shorten life. The Jews are the noblest men of God, in 
 dealing among themselves, because they act honest among 
 themselves and lengthen the lives of their own fellow men. 
 The Jews cannot act honest toward us until after we act 
 honest toward onrselves. We cannot act honest toward our- 
 selves till after we have established a system. 
 
 The most dangerous, dishonest men we have are not 
 our thieves that steal outright, but our men who imagine 
 they are honest, while they are defrauding. A thief that 
 steals where his theft is not shielded is a wise man, he knows 
 that he is a thief ; but the hardest thief to run down and con- 
 vict is the man who cheats while he imagines that he is hon- 
 est. " While in Rome you must do as the Romans do." 
 
 When you imagine your watch is incorrect, refer to the 
 "town-clock." The poor twice abused slaves, the poor 
 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 129 
 
 unprotected darkies of the South, were the first to discover 
 and draw our attention to the fact that the South was under- 
 going the hardest experience from the effects of the world's 
 folly. The darkies are not intelligent enough to understand 
 how to rectify God's laws. They are not shrewd enough to 
 cheat and shield the same under a form. Few, very few of 
 them, have ever gone in the mercantile or any other kind of 
 business of the non productive character. They are an ignor- 
 ant, productive race. They are an ignorant, honest, produc- 
 tive race of people. They are too ignorant to steal and shield 
 it under a form. Israel is too wise, while the darkies are too 
 ignorant for us intelligent Gentile " white folks." 
 
 By us not restricting our non-productive enterprises in the 
 least it had a tendency to draw most all the non-productive 
 Jews to this country. After our non-productive enterprises 
 were crowded with too much opposition, said non-productive 
 enterprises were forced to fall back upon the communities 
 of the productive order for support and maintenance. As 
 " all the darkies " are generally of the productive order, 
 besides not being shrewd enough to cheat to any extent, 
 where their thefts are shielded under a form^ it is natural 
 that the "ice would be broken" first in their midst, where 
 the weight of the modern world's folly had concentrated. 
 So the poor darkies naturally first felt the weight that they 
 and we could not see. They were first to " throw up the 
 sponge," threw up their black, rough, honest corn-fisted hands 
 and declared their willingness to go to even Mexico or most 
 any place, anyway, anyhow, in order to get out from under a 
 weight that they could feel but could not see. 
 
 There are probably a great many things like our back- 
 bone-^-we may feel or know that it exists, but we need never 
 expect to see it with our own eyes. The greater portion of 
 the weight of the modern world's folly has concentrated 
 upon Young America's young shoulders. Too great a per 
 cent, of us are somewhat like a woodchuck, forced to make a 
 livelihood with our heads instead of our claws, because we 
 
130 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 
 
 are not in a condition to protect productive enterprises. If 
 you was forced to utilize one gallon of whiskey each day, 
 externally or otherwise, and if whiskey was sold at too high 
 a price, you then might be forced to go into the saloon bus- 
 iness in order to be able to procure this gallon daily and keep 
 up. So with our American Jews (as well as our Gentiles), 
 our necessities of life are put on the market at such high 
 rates that too great a number of our Jew population are forced 
 to go into the mercantile business in order to procure the 
 necessities of life. \ 
 
 The Jews cannot afford to draw any of their merchants 
 out of the mercantile business, because we sell our merchan- 
 dise at too high a price. We cannot sell any lower because 
 we have too great a number of Jew merchants. We cannot 
 sell any cheaper, because we have too many Jew merchants, 
 and none of the Jew merchants can afford to draw out, 
 because we sell too high. We probably have too great a 
 number of Gentile merchants, but we have a greater number 
 of Jew merchants according to our Jew population than we 
 have of Gentile merchants according to our Gentile popula- 
 tion. Use and custom as well as surrounding circumstances 
 have naturally forced us into this strait. " Necessity, the 
 mother of invention," may invent a way to help us out. The 
 old delusions that we have labored under have naturally 
 forced us into the predicament we now find ourselves. Europe 
 or the remainder of the world may afford to continue to 
 cheat if it choses, while we have none to cheat scarcely (the 
 darkies have commenced to quit us) except the pauper de- 
 scendants of our dead and buried heroes, that laid down their 
 lives so that we might have our liberty. "Ceremony is the 
 worst enemy to enjoyment." Should we become convinced 
 that our retail merchants should only realize two per cent, 
 (or five per cent.) we might not need to attempt to reach 
 this limit in one year's time, but set our pegs at this limit 
 and attempt to reach it in a gradual way. Our State's or 
 Farmers' Alliance attempted to fall as low as ten per cent, 
 but they went at it in the exact opposite direction from 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 131 
 
 right. Instead of the Alliance attempting to decrease the 
 number of non-producing business houses, the Alliance 
 attempted to increase the same by erecting more large busi- 
 ness houses. " When you can see your imperfections you 
 are learning wisdom." There are two ways : we might give 
 our merchants the more patronage so they could sell at a 
 lower margin ; we might get a rich flowing immigration to 
 commence anew, else cut the number of our business houses 
 in twain. "A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a 
 sweeping rain that leaveth no food." 
 
 We have a great number of merchants who buy the 
 greater portion of their stock of goods on a credit. Credit 
 will ruin any man or nation," probably in a number of differ- 
 ent ways. Our moneyed merchants, who are able to have 
 their bills discounted by paying spot cash, should sell at a 
 low enough margin to keep off this credit competition, then 
 the communities would prosper under these low margins. 
 Our too many poor merchants simply rob our moneyed mer- 
 chants out of their rightful share of patronage. We may 
 not have too great a number of men in the business, but 
 have too great a number of merchants. We need more clerks 
 and a less number of merchants. Our poor merchants might 
 find employment clerking for merchants that were able to 
 have their bills discounted. 
 
 We have simply made a " plaything " out of our mode 
 of selling our merchandise ; we have made a " plaything " 
 out of our mode of living. Our poor merchants should be 
 allowed to sell out their stock, then Uncle Sam might nail up 
 (for the time being) the doors of these business houses with 
 the same "hammer" that erected them. Uncle Sam to keep 
 the closed doors closed until our merchants reached a specified 
 low margin. After our poor merchants have drawn out of 
 the "business," Uncle Sam could count the number of our 
 moneyed Gentile merchants that were still in the "business " 
 and count the number of our Gentile population. After 
 ascertaining what per cent, of our Gentile population that 
 were in the mercantile business, have the Jews to draw off their 
 
132 u A LIVE AND LET LIVE fRICE system. " 
 
 number of merchants till they had the same proportion of 
 merchants according to the Jew population of the Union. 
 This would cut out probably more than half our number of 
 merchants and give our remainder of merchants the more 
 patronage. No merchant should be forced to sacrifice his 
 stock of goods, but be allowed a certain time to sell out, the 
 remnants auctioned off. By our merchants obtaining double 
 the patronage, they could sell at half the margin. They 
 would utilize a public costmark as though naught had hap- 
 pened, and sell at a margin governed somewhat by surround- 
 ing circumstances. As fast as the people prospered under 
 this low margin and gave the merchants the more patronage, 
 so fast would the merchants fall on profits. 
 
 Then the necessities of life could be raised and manu- 
 factured at a lower cost. Should the mercantile fraternity 
 be able to reach two per cent, in course of time, they would 
 consolidate at this margin. All cheats would be condemned, 
 no matter under what forms they were shielded. After our 
 people were able to obtain the necessities of life at so low a 
 cost, they would not need to " strike, steal or starve." No 
 one would then need to cheat and shield it under a form ; no 
 one would need to go into the non-productive mercantile 
 business in order to make a livelihood. The cheaper we sell 
 the necessities and luxuries of life the more valuable our 
 currency, our natural resources, our real estate and our coun- 
 try. The cheaper you can live in a country, the more val- 
 uable that country. One reason why some of us wish to go 
 to heaven is because we imagine we can live there so cheap, 
 will not be worried with the cares of making a livelihood. 
 Of course we don't want so cheap a country as China, it 
 might prove inconvenient. By our retail merchants selling 
 at two per cent, this will naturally govern and regulate most 
 everything else. After all non-productive enterprises are 
 restricted in conformity with the retail merchants' margin, 
 then our productive enterprises will be protected. Honest 
 labor will be dignified, as it will only need to work as little 
 as possible. Then both Jew and Gentile can labor in the 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 133 
 
 (corn) field and vineyard and be respectable, because they 
 will be protected. 
 
 Handsome reader (should the author be so fortunate as 
 to have one), take no exceptions to our seemingly dictations ; 
 a book is not expected to dictate. The author is simply 
 attempting to advance his ideas in a plain, matter of fact 
 manner. 
 
 " Thou shalt not steal " is a commandment for temporal 
 use ; it was given us so that we might be able to protect our- 
 selves against ourselves, so all could have a fair chance to 
 prosper without defrauding each other and enjoy the full 
 benefits, and temporal as well as spiritual blessings of this 
 life. It is impossible for us to miss all we have not received, 
 yet we might have been and still might be entitled to the 
 same. " Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," 
 because we are not able to miss all that we do not receive. 
 It is impossible for a blind man to realize all that he may 
 miss from being blind. " None are so blind as those that 
 will not see." 
 
 After we establish a law, a system, to protect us from 
 Israel's weight, this same law will protect ourselves against 
 ourselves. After we establish a system, a law, so that Israel 
 can prosper in a productive way, then we will be able to 
 prosper in a productive way. A dollar saved is just as val- 
 uable as a dollar made. We must know how to value a 
 human life before we can know how to value a dollar bill. 
 u The love of money is the root of all evil." Should you 
 have ten thousand dollars in currency after the necessities 
 and luxuries of life are put upon the market at half the old 
 original price, your ten thousand dollars then is equivalent 
 to twenty in one sense of the word, its real value in pro- 
 curing the necessities and luxuries of life is doubled. 
 
 The Lord will and does provide, but we should attempt 
 to divide. We may have to give an account of our steward- 
 ship. After the Lord has provided we should not defraud 
 our fellow man out of his rightful share of provisions. The 
 time to charge a high price for the necessities of life is dur- 
 
134 
 
 ing or after a drouth or famine, not prior to this time. If a 
 farmer can raise wheat and corn at forty cents per bushel 
 and pork at four cents a pound, should there be a greater de- 
 mand than usual for these articles ; the prices of the same 
 should not fluctuate, go up, but remain a standard price. 
 When our people commence to prosper in the least, there is 
 generally a greater demand ; this demand causes prices to go 
 up. But these advancing prices have a tendency to check 
 the people from continuing to prosper. Our people are simi- 
 lar to so many drowning men, the moment they get their 
 heads above water there is a greater demand for fresh air, 
 but the heavy hand of fluctuating prices force the drowning 
 heads back under the surface. Should there be a drouth, fam- 
 ine, and should the farmer only be able to make half a crop, 
 then the prices might advance upon his produce because it cost 
 him the more. The prices should fluctuate from thei* head 
 source, then the people would only be overcharged after the 
 famine and not prior. Prices should not advance upon any 
 kind of merchandise unless it was caused from the head 
 source, then when our people commenced to prosper they 
 could continue to prosper. This would naturally cause a 
 continual demand. Fluctuating prices are simply a super- 
 stitious delusion and impedes our progress. The idea of 
 overcharging our people simply because there happens to be 
 a greater demand for bread and raiment; it is barbarous, 
 vulgar, it is "perfectly ridiculous." "Truth is stranger than 
 fiction." We must shake off the old superstitious delusions 
 that originated before our time, before we can expect to make 
 a success at Christianizing the Jews or any other nation. 
 By us enlightened Christians defrauding the people, (in 
 ways too numerous to mention) we naturally rob the world 
 at large of the temporal blessings that the Lord may have 
 always had in store for mankind. Instead of us Christians 
 producing lands "flowing with milk and honey," with said 
 milk and honey at a low price, we show up a cold frost-bitten 
 cruel world. We should attempt to follow the "golden rule." 
 But it may be almost impossible to follow any kind of a rule 
 
 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 135 
 
 successfully without a system. "A system is the secret of 
 success." Without "a live and let live price system" our 
 mode of living is "left to the mercy of the waves." Our and 
 our descendants' welfare is left partly to "chance." We send 
 our offsprings out upon the sea of life without a compass. 
 The Lord probably has never aided one in his temporal wants 
 in a supernatural way on account of spiritual prayers. 
 
 None can ever know how to sympathize with an offspring 
 like a mother. A Jewish mother may know that her child 
 will be cared for in a temporal way, even if it is left an 
 orphan without a penny. Money and means may give out, 
 but this temporal protection that the Jews utilize, give their 
 people, will last probably as long as Israel lasts. The Jews 
 may deny Christ as long as the dark clouds of the dark ages 
 obscure the sky, but to disobey His temporal commandments, 
 never could the whole enlightened Christian world be able 
 to establish as good a live and let live system as Israel seems 
 to have ; - Change this cheating world into an honest world, 
 what a vast difference the contrast would be. What a dif- 
 ferent world this would seem and really be in a short space 
 of time. Thousands of disadvantages would disappear while 
 thousands of advantages would germinate in their stead, that 
 have been dormant and unknown. 
 
 We cannot have the most distant idea of the advantages 
 and temporal blessings that we would realize. Our pen fails 
 us. It might be almost as difficult a task to attempt to ex- 
 plain the benefits and blessings of heaven as to attempt to 
 describe and explain the temporal blessings that the Lord has 
 always had in store for those that obeyed His commandments, 
 because we have never seen either. "Behind a frowning 
 providence we may find a smiling face." After we produce 
 "a land flowing with milk and honey," after we realize these 
 temporal blessings, our realizations will be solid, temporal 
 proofs of God's good will to all mankind. The world will 
 see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The 
 world, our people, and ourselves will then have the more 
 faith in spiritual doctrines. Let your light so shine that all 
 
136 
 
 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 
 
 may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. 
 We should carry the sword of spiritual truths in one hand 
 and the sword of temporal truths in the other, put on the 
 whole armor. "Custom is man's chief magistrate." Should 
 Uncle Sam be able to dethrone this invisible monarch, es- 
 tablish "a live and let live price system" in its proper form, 
 produce u a land flowing with milk and honey," he probably 
 would be the first Gentile Christian that ever pressed the 
 golden pedals with his feet, while his "lilly white" hands 
 mastered the ivory keys. 
 
 
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