By E. Mason
Ah,
little gold dollar, republican name,
Let
peace be thy motto, and freedom thy fame;
May
all use thee kindly and not hide thy face
Like
misers and bankers in some lonely place,
But
gain thee by labor or calling that’s just,
And
part with thee freely whenever they must;
Let
labor’s adore thee as both kind and civil,
Though
bankers may make thee the root of all evil.
‘Twas
labor that caus’d thee to leave the gold mine
‘Twas
labor that made thee in splendor to shine,
‘Twas
labor that coin’d thee and fashion’d the mold
To
shape thee so nicely a dollar of gold.
Since
dollars and labor are nearly allied
In
payment for labor they should be applied;
And
all who will labor six days out of’ seven,
Gold
dollars in payment should always be given.
‘Tis
cheating of’ labor when misers do hold
And
store up so useless those dollars of’ gold;
‘Tis
knavery that bankers should keep them in gabs,
And
substitute for them a vile trash of rags;
A
bill made of’ paper, pure gold to alloy,
To
build up the rich and the poor to destroy.
Unknown
to our fathers who fought for our freedom,
Forbid
it ye younger who doth now succeed them.
Arise
then ye freemen, use liberty’s hand
And
drive this vile paper from liberty’s land,
And
let the gold dollar be coin for the poor
And
circulate freely to every man’s door,
Awake
up to freedom and not be controll’d,
Submit
not to bankers to pocket your gold.
Put
down the whole system of legalized knaving
And
down with the brokers who now live by shaving.
Now
look about the country and see those that shirk
Too
idle to labor, too lazy to work,
Bank
bills are their hobby, they live at their ease,
And
make a new issue whenever they please;
They
sport on the intr’st of’ bills they have lent,
Whose
capital value is not worth a cent.
And
cheating so common, the nicest inspector
Is
forced to keep by him a bank note detector.
Then
freemen use wisdom, be free when you can
Drive
all the small paper from liberty’s land,
Send
back to the bankers all notes under tens,
And
draw back the specie to make you amends;
And
henceforth refusing this paper disgrace,
Gold
dollars and silver will soon take their place.
Our
country will stand on a footing more civil,
And
freemen rejoice at the downfall of’ evil.
The
preceding poem appeared in the October 3, 1849 issue of
The
Bradford Reporter, of Towanda, Pennsylvania.
