Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican) / Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to Date

by W. I. Hood

The bill that would make it “easier for the poor to live and secure homes” had come to life again. When the bill was read there was a murmur of general approval. Its champion made one of the most eloquent and pathetic speeches ever delivered in the State-house at Columbus. He showed how, at six per cent. interest, all the wealth of the nation may pass into the hands of the money-lenders every sixteen years, and leave of the annual increase only enough to support the great mass of the people with a meager living. He showed how the bankers had conspired together to rob the nation in time of peril; how they had robbed the business men, robbed the masses, robbed everybody by their contraction of the currency and their thieving, unjust laws. He said:

“We have had demonstrated here in this hall to-day the manner in which the bankers have looked after the interests of the country for the last thirty-five years. They know no god but money, and with money they have corrupted the world. They are of no service to either God or man, and yet they demand that both man and God bow before their will.”

He showed how hundreds of millions of dollars had been stolen from depositors in the banks of the United States by suspension and failure, the result of the most dishonest, the most unsafe system of banking known to the world. “The American banker laughs when asked for security; takes all the money he can get; breaks up at pleasure, and mocks the grief of the poor depositors.” Closing he said:

“Fellow-legislators, I appeal to you for the passage of this bill. I appeal to you in the name of common honesty; I appeal to you in the name of thousands of hard-working citizens who, desiring to save their earnings, now have no safe place to put them. I appeal to you in the name of the millions of husbands and fathers whose shoulders are stooped under the burdens of high interest and money contraction heaped upon them by this conspiring horde of money-mongers. Let our motto be: ‘Justice to mankind; equality before the law.’ And let human rights and human liberty be our ever-burning beacons of guidance.”

Then followed the member from Sandusky County. He took up the feature of the bill that favored the exemption from taxation of money deposited in the county treasury. He showed how a tax on money always fell on the borrower in the way of increased interest; how, if we take taxes from money and give the people a safe place to deposit, thousands of dollars, now kept out of circulation and hidden in the homes of the people, would come out and be used in the channels of trade to the benefit of all. He then appealed to the legislators to be men and patriots, and to spurn with contempt the influence of the lobbying money-lenders and corruptionists.

Many others spoke in favor of the bill, and only one or two offered any opposition. It was evident from the beginning that the opponents to the measure were routed, and when it came to a vote the bill passed with only fourteen votes in the negative.

When the result was announced the scene on the floor and in the galleries was one of joy beyond description. Liberty, long chained, had broken her bonds. Men grasped each other’s hands, and women wept with joy. They saw the dawn of the new day of liberty—freedom from debt.

The bill passed the Senate the same afternoon and became a law on the 18th day of March, 1898.

The news was telegraphed all over the world. The county treasurers of Ohio were instructed to begin on the first Monday of April to receive the people’s money on deposit and to loan the same to the people at four per cent.

In every county seat, in almost every town, post-office or store, around nearly every fireside, the new law was discussed. When the first Monday of April came scarcely a man could be found who did not thoroughly understand this “law for the common good of the common people.” As soon as the doors of the banks were opened, men began to draw out their money, carry it over to the county treasuries of the State, deposit it and depart for home. Others called at the county treasuries, signed mortgages bearing four per cent. interest, and borrowed money to pay off their mortgages, held by the banks, drawing seven or eight per cent. interest, returning home feeling a thrill of new life and new hope.