Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican): Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to DateHood, W. I. (William I.)
General
Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican): Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to Date
Hood, W. I. (William I.)
Gold; Interest; Money; Paper money -- United States; Populism
Q. “Well, haint paper money as good as gold—_now, since the election_?”
“I ’bject,” says Jim, and then he got up and argyed that my question was
leadin, &c., and the court decided that he needent answer it.
“We rest,” says Jim.
Then I got up and stated our case. Says I:
“Mr. Court, we will prove that Jobe Gaskins sold hay and corn to Billot,
the miller, to git the money, or a part of it, to pay this interest, and
took Billot’s note; that when the time come to pay it Billot offered to
pay it in paper money; that Jobe refused to take it, jist as the banker
refused; that Jobe sued Billot before Squire Reed for the amount ‘in
gold;’ that Mr. Patrick, who is now the lawyer a tryin to foreclose us
for not payin gold, was the lawyer agin us when we was a tryin to git
the gold to pay with. We will prove that the law made Jobe take paper
money or nothin, and made him pay the costs for tryin to collect gold.
We will prove that Jobe took some of that money the law made him accept
for wheat, and more jist like it, to the banker, and offered to pay his
interest; that the banker refused, and on this testimony we ask you to
render judgment agin Mr. Vinting, the banker, for costs, and make him
take this $63 in paper money that I now tender in open court as payment
of the six months’ interest due.”
At that I handed the $63 to the clerk. He took it and gave me a receipt
for the amount.
Then I put Jobe on the stand and proved that he had taken the same money
the law made him take for his wheat to the banker and offered it to him;
that the banker refused to take anything but gold; that he had tried to
git the gold, but couldent find anybody that had any gold, and that he
had done all he could to raise the gold and couldent.
I then proved by Squire Reed that Jim Patrick was Billot’s lawyer, and
had argued and proved by Sam Moore and Lawyer Buchanan and others that
paper money was money and was a legal tender for debts, and that Jobe
was beat in his lawsuit agin Billot and had to pay the costs and take
paper money.
Then I “rested.”
Then Jim Patrick got up and made a short speech, statin that “gold was
God’s money;” that He had hidden it away in the vaults of nature for the
use of mankind as money. He showed how Banker Vinting was a Christian
and one of our leadin citizens, and all he asked the court to do was to
inforce his contract agin Jobe Gaskins. He showed how all the bankers
and bondholders and other money-lenders was in favor of gold and gold
contracts; then he showed that it was dishonest for Gaskins to attempt
to pay that interest in any other kind of money than gold as stipulated
in the contract.
“It is in fact repudiation,” says he, and he made sich a fine argament
for gold and agin other money that I put on my specks to make sure it
was Jim Patrick, the same Jim what argyed so loud and long for paper
money and agin gold the other day, in our case agin Billot for wheat
money.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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