6139008-History-of-Money

another place where a sale was effected, only four people were allowed to bid. Telephone wires were cut to preventpeople calling the sheriff... I have never heard speeches which were more to the point, or which seemed the result ofmore mature deliberation. The farmers were generally conservative in political and social points of view; they had beendriven by the relentless sweep of events into a militant position. The farmers themselves talk of this Conference as ahistoric occasion. They say from the platform and to each other, "We are making our Declaration of Independence asthat other glorious declaration was made in Philadelphia, in 1776."The delegates drafted a program and marched to the Capitol to present it to the Senate and the House. They asked thathalf a billion dollars be appropriated for immediate cash relief, with local committees of farmers to administer it. Theyalso sought government regulation to cut the profits of food processors and other middlemen, so as to raise the pricesfarmers received for their crops and livestock. And they wanted no more evictions. These proposals were read on thefloors of the Senate and House, and handed to President Hoover. But Congress and the President rejected them. Twomonths later farm debts were still rising. As one farm after another went on the auction block, Ferner Nuhn sent to theNation in March 1933 this eyewitness account of a forced sale in Iowa: A raw, chilly day. The yard of the farm, churnedblack in a previous thaw, is frozen now in ruts and nodes. Where the boots of the farmers press, a little slime of waterexudes, black and shiny. Through a fence the weather-bleached stalks of corn, combed and broken by the husking, standghostly in the pale air. The farm buildings — machine-shed, chicken-houses, big-houses, corncribs — sprawl and gatheragain in the big, hip-roofed red barn, and strike a final accent in the thrust of the tiled silo. The farm is kempt and has agoing air; there is nothing run-down about it. The fields spread away, picking up other farm clusters sections off —remote, separate, dim under the big gray sky. One feels the courage of the isolate units, each swinging its big segmentof earth. Perhaps they call for too much; perhaps the independence is doomed; but something of worth will be gone if itgoes.There are 300 farmers here. It is a Quaker community, long established, conservative. The farmers are mostly middleaged,very workaday in overalls, sagging sweaters, mud-stained boots. They talk quietly in their slow, concrete manner,move about little. They are neighbors of a farmer who can no longer pay interest on a $2,000 mortgage. These farmershave known him for years; they know he would pay if he could. They know the debt and the interest are three times ashard to pay off now as when the mortgage was given. Some of them know that soon their own property may beendangered by defaults. They know that this particular mortgage was given on stock, and that the farmer has offeredthe stock in settlement. And they know that the mortgagee refused the offer, demanded a sale instead — a sale ofpersonal property, as provided by law.... The mortgagee stands off at one side, with his attorney,. They are talking withthe auctioneer. The farmers look that way once in a while, and while their glances are not friendly they show no openanimosity. The auctioneer comes away. Some farmers surround him; they want to be reassured that no household goodswill be put on sale. The auctioneer reassures them. The farmers nod grimly; that much has been accomplished anyway.There are no leaders, no haranguers, no organization. In fact, this is the first affair of the sort in the county.There is a movement toward the barns. The auctioneer mounts a wagon. The first thing offered is a mare. It is ratherstrange that live stock is offered first; the usual order is machinery first. The defaulting farmer stand silent holding themare; he is a man almost elderly, quiet, staid-appearing; and he stands embarrassed, smoothing the mane of the mare.The auctioneer goes through his regular cry. The mare is sixteen years old, sound except for a wire cut and a blue eye.What is he offered, what is he offered, what is he offered, does he hear a bid? He tries to make it sound like an ordinarysale. But the crowd stands silent, grim. At last someone speaks out. Two dollars.. Two dollars! unheard of, unbelievable,why she's worth twenty times that! The silence of the farmers is like a thick wall. The rigamarole of the auctioneer beatsagainst it, and falls back in his face. The farmer holding the mare stands with his head hanging. At last, without raisinghis eyes, he says, "Fifteen dollars." This is a ne wand distressing business to him, and he is ashamed to make a bid ofless than that."...do I hear twenty, a twenty, a twenty? Why she's worth twice that much." The auctioneer is still going through themake-believe. He keeps it up for five more minutes. A pause, and a voice speaks out, "Sell her." It is not loud, but thereis insistence in it. Like the slice of a plow, with the tractor-pull of the crowd reinforcing it. The auctioneer hesitates, givesin. The silent, waiting crowd is too much. "Sold." After that there is less makebelieve.Three more horses are offered. They are knocked down to the farmer,with no other bids, for ten dollars, eight dollars, a dollar and a half. Thefarmer is learning. The machinery comes next. A hay rack, a wagon, twoplows, a binder, rake mower, disc-harrow, cultivator, pulverizer. A dollar, fiftycents, fifty cents, a quarter, a half a dollar. Sold to the farmer. His means oflivelihood are saved to him. But the tax and mortgage sales went on. Between1930 and 1935 750,000 farms were lost through foreclosure and bankruptcysales.He keeps it up for five more minutes. A pause, and a voice speaks out, "Sellher." It is US war veterans leave Capitol without answers to grievances placedbefore the government. The destination of those who defended freedom and the Constitution? Homelessness — while theinternational banks called the Federal Reserve sent our gold to Germany, building Hitler's military clout for WWII. Ironyand abuse of power of the greatest kind. US veterans, black and white together, fight with troops intent on evicting themfrom the outskirts of the Capitol.The Hidden History Of Money & New World Order Usury Secrets Revealed at last! Page 305