squeak. speak. roar!

3 Responses to “ Monday Monday. ”

1. # 1 Surind Says:
   June 16th, 2008 at 6:56 pm

   Cheaper Beer & Cigarettes For A More Emotionally Healthy Malaysia!

   Dear Bloggers, can we start a new campaign? also to request PR to lower the prices if they take over the federal gov.

   Cheers!
   [/img]http://www.mediamagnet.com/images/catalog/comps/5/57b93abb-ca86-41fd-aa70-32901ea4c9c7.jpg[/url]

2. # 2 nat Says:
   June 17th, 2008 at 6:18 am

   yeay spend time with polytikus time! :D

   i saw her speak, it was awesome - there was some heated debate and even a little bit of harranguement, but pt handled it all with supreme grace under fire :) :)

3. # 3 collosos Says:
   June 18th, 2008 at 1:09 am

   August 4, 2007

   How Money Is Created As A Debt By Private Banks - The
   Money Castaways

   The story I present to you here today has nothing with
   to do with web 2.0, new media or how to make money
   with your site. Today’s story is all about waking up.
   Realizing that something you have given for good and
   granted since you were born, may actually deserve some
   heavy rethinking ASAP.

   This is the story of how private banks force most of
   us into the vicious, enslaving circle, in which you
   have long been feeling trapped. Working your ass off
   for six days a week only to be able to pay the rent,
   the gas, the bills and very little more. If getting a
   mortgage to buy a house means signing a slavery
   contract for the rest of your life, maybe THERE IS
   something deeply wrong with the economics of our
   system and the way create debt out of money THEY DO
   NOT OWN.

   But you know what fucks us bad?

   Our ignorance.

   Unless you can understand yourself how economy and the
   monetary debt system works, you are bound to be a
   slave of whoever knows more than you.

   This is why I have decided to reserve today
   counter-information slot for something you can’t find
   an article or an opinion piece on any magazine or
   newspaper of the world: a simple story that explains
   to you how money is actually created and how bankers
   manage to sell it to you in exchange for extra money
   (the interest).

   They do not have the right, nor the math, to do
   that…. but unless you see the forest beyond the
   trees, and start showing that the emperor has really
   no clothes, bankers of the world will not stop doing
   what they have mastered so well.

   Thanks to Louis Even and Michael Journal (A journal of
   Catholic patriots for the Social Credit monetary
   reform through the education of the population and not
   through politicial parties), here is a great story and
   an opportunity to understand how money, debt and
   interests are created out of thin air right under your
   eyes.

   Read on

   The Money Myth Exposed

   The financial enigma resolved — A debt-money system

   1. The Shipwrecked Survivors

   An explosion blew their ship apart. Five survivors
   remained huddled on a raft which the waves carried
   along at their will. As for the other victims of the
   disaster, there was no sign of them.

   Hour after long hour their eyes searched the horizon.
   Would a passing ship see them? Would their make-shift
   raft find its way to some friendly shore?

   Suddenly a cry rang out: “Land! Look, over there, in
   the direction the waves are carrying us!”

   And, as the vague silhouette proved to be the outline
   of a shore, the figures on the raft danced with joy.

   They were five. Frank, the carpenter, was big and
   energetic. It was he who had first cried, “Land!”

   Then there was Paul, a farmer. You can see him front
   and left in the picture on his knees, one hand against
   the floor, the other gripping the mast of the raft.

   Next was Jim, an animal breeder. He’s the one in the
   striped pants, kneeling and gazing in the direction of
   land.

   Then there is Harry, an agriculturist who was a little
   on the stout side, seated on a trunk salvaged from the
   wreck.

   And finally there was Tom the prospector and a
   mineralogist. He is the merry fellow standing in the
   rear of the picture with his hand on the carpenter’s
   shoulder.

   2. A Providential Island

   Setting foot on land was like returning to life from
   the grave for the five men.

   After they dried and warmed themselves, their first
   impulse was to explore this little island that they
   had been cast on to, far from civilization.

   A quick survey raised their spirit. The island was not
   a barren rock. Despite being the only men on it at the
   moment, judging from the herds of semi-domesticated
   animals they saw, there had been men here at some time
   before them.

   Jim, the animal breeder, was sure he could completely
   domesticate the animals and put them to good use.

   Paul found the island’s soil, for the most part, quite
   suitable for cultivation.

   Harry discovered fruit trees which would give good
   harvests if properly tended.

   Most important were the large forests with a range of
   wood type. Frank, without too much difficulty, would
   be able to build houses for the little community.

   As for Tom, the prospector, the island showed signs of
   rich mineral deposits. Despite lacking the tools, Tom
   still felt his ingenuity and initiative could produce
   metals from the ores.

   Each could serve the common good with his special
   talent. And all agreed to call the place Salvation
   Island, giving thanks to Providence for a reasonably
   happy ending to what could have been stark tragedy.

   3. True Wealth

   Here are the men at work.

   The carpenter built houses and made furniture. At
   first, they found food where they could. But soon the
   fields were tilled and seeded, and the farmer had
   crops.

   As season followed season, this Salvation Island, this
   heritage of the five men became richer.

   Its wealth was not of gold or paper bank notes, but of
   true value - a wealth of food, clothing, shelter and
   all the things to meet human needs.

   Each man worked his own trade. Whatever surpluses he
   might have, he exchanged for the excess products of
   the others.

   Life wasn’t always as smooth and complete as they
   could have wished it to be. They lacked things they
   had been accustomed to in civilization. Yet, it could
   have been far worse. All five had experienced the
   depression in Canada. They still remembered empty
   bellies despite stores being crammed with food.

   However, at least on Salvation Island, they weren’t
   forced to watch food rot before their eyes. And taxes
   were unknown here. Nor did they constantly fear the
   bailiff. They worked hard but could enjoy the fruits
   of their labour.

   So they developed the island, still in possession of
   life and health (those two greatest of blessings),
   thanking God and hoping for the day of reunion with
   their families.

   4. A Serious Inconvenience

   Our men often got together to talk over affairs.

   Under the simple economic system which developed, one
   thing was beginning to bother them more and more: they
   had no form of money.

   Barter, the direct exchange of goods for goods, had
   its drawbacks. The products exchanged were not always
   at hand when a trade was discussed. For example, wood
   delivered to the farmer in winter could not be paid
   for in potatoes until six months later. Sometimes one
   of the men would have a large item that he wished to
   exchange for a number of smaller articles produced by
   different men, at different times.

   All this complicated business and was taxing to their
   memory. However, with a monetary system, each one
   could sell his products to the others for exact
   amounts of money and buy from the others things he
   wanted when he wished, and when they were available.

   It was agreed that a money system would be convenient,
   but none knew how to set up one. They knew how to
   produce true wealth - goods - but producing money (a
   symbol of this wealth) was quite beyond them.

   They had no idea how money originated, and how to
   produce it. (Certainly, many educated men have been in
   the same boat - all our governments experienced the
   same predicament during the ten years prior to the
   war. The only thing the country lacked at that time
   was money, and governments apparently didn’t know how
   to get it.)

   5. A Refugee Arrives

   One evening, when our boys were sitting on the beach
   going over their problem for the hundredth time, they
   saw a small boat approaching with a solitary man at
   the oars.

   He was the only survivor of a wreck, named Oliver.

   Delighted to have a new companion, they provided him
   with the best that they had and they took him on an
   tour of the colony.

   “Even though we’re lost and cut off from the rest of
   the world,” they told him, “we can’t complain too
   much. The earth and forest are good to us. We lack
   only one thing. Money. It would make exchanging our
   products much easier for us.”

   “Well, you can thank Providence,” replied Oliver,
   “because I am a banker and, in no time at all, I’ll
   set up a money system guaranteed to satisfy you. Then
   you’ll have everything people in civilization have.”

   A banker! A BANKER! An angel come down from the clouds
   couldn’t have inspired more reverence and respect in
   our men. For after all, are we not accustomed, we
   civilized people, to genuflect before bankers and
   those men who control the lifeblood of finance?

   6. Civilisation’s God

   “Mr Oliver, as our banker, your only occupation on
   this island will be to look after our money; no manual
   labour for you.”

   “I shall, like every other banker, carry out to
   complete satisfaction my task of forging the
   community’s prosperity.”

   “Mr. Oliver, we will build you a house in keeping with
   your dignity as a banker. But meanwhile, do you mind
   if we lodge you in the building that we use for our
   get-togethers?”

   “That will suit me, my friends. But first of all,
   unload the boat. There’s paper and a printing press,
   complete with ink and type, and a little barrel which
   I advise you to treat with the greatest care.”

   They unloaded everything. The small barrel aroused
   intense curiosity in our good fellows.

   “This barrel,” Oliver said, “contains a treasure
   beyond dreams. It is full of… gold!”

   Full of gold! The five all but swooned. The god of
   civilization here on Salvation Island! The yellow god,
   always hidden yet terrible in its power, whose
   presence, absence or slightest caprice could decide
   the fate of all civilized nations!

   “Gold! Mr Oliver, you are indeed a great banker! Oh
   honorable Oliver! Great high priest of the god, Gold!
   Accept our humble homage, and receive our oaths of
   fidelity!”

   “Yes, my friends, gold enough for a continent. But
   gold is not for circulation. Gold must be hidden. Gold
   is the soul of healthy money, and the soul is always
   invisible. But I’ll explain all that when you receive
   your first supply of money.”

   7. The Secret Burial

   Before they went their separate ways for the night,
   Oliver asked them one last question: “How much money
   will you need to begin with in order to facilitate
   trading?”

   They looked at one another, then deferentially towards
   the banker. After a bit of calculation, and with the
   advice of the kindly financier, they decided that $200
   each would do fine.

   The men parted, exchanging enthusiastic comments. And,
   in spite of the late hour, they spent most of the
   night lying awake, their imaginations excited by the
   picture of gold. It was morning before they slept.

   As for Oliver, he wasted not a moment. Fatigue was
   forgotten in the interests of his future as a banker.
   By dawn’s first light, he dug a pit into which he
   rolled the barrel. He then filled it in, transplanting
   a small shrub to the spot about which he carefully
   arranged sod. It was well hidden.

   Then he went to work with his little press to turn out
   a thousand $1 bills. Watching the clean new banknotes
   come from his press, the refugee turned banker thought
   to himself: “My! How simple it is to make money. All
   its value comes from the products it will buy.

   Without produce, these bills are worthless. My five
   naive customers don’t realize that.

   They actually think that this new money derives its
   value from gold!

   Their ignorance makes me their master.”

   And as evening drew on, the five ran to Oliver.

   8. Who Owns the Money

   Five bundles of new banknotes were sitting on the
   table.

   “Before distributing the money,” said the banker, “I
   would like your attention.

   The basis of all money is gold. And the gold stored
   away in the vault of my bank is mine. Consequently,
   the money is also my money. Oh! Don’t look so
   discouraged. I’m going to lend you this money, and
   you’re going to use it as you see fit.

   However, you’ll have to pay interest.

   Considering that money is scarce here, I don’t think
   8% is unreasonable.”

   “Oh, that’s quite reasonable, Mr Oliver.”

   “One last point, my friends. Business is business,
   even between pals. Before you get the money, each of
   you is going to sign a paper. It you will bind you to
   pay both interest and capital under penalty of
   confiscation of property by me. A mere formality -
   your property is of no interest to me. I’m satisfied
   with money. And I feel sure that I’ll get my money,
   and that you’ll keep your property.”

   “That makes sense, Mr Oliver. We’re going to work
   harder than ever in order to pay you back.”

   “That’s the spirit. And any time you have a problem,
   you come to see me. Your banker is your best friend.
   Now, here’s two hundred dollars for each one of you.”

   And our five brave fellows went away, their hands full
   of dollar bills, their heads swimming with the ecstasy
   of having money.

   9. A Problem in Arithmetic

   And so Oliver’s money went into circulation on the
   island.

   Trade, simplified by money, doubled. Everybody was
   happy.

   The banker was always greeted with unfailing respect
   and gratitude.

   But now, let’s see… Why does Tom, the prospector,
   look so grave as he sits busily figuring with a pencil
   and paper?

   Tom, like the others, signed the agreement to repay
   Oliver in one year’s time $200, plus $16 interest. But
   as the date of payment drew near, Tom had only a few
   dollars in his pocket.

   For a long time he had wrestled with this problem from
   his own point of view, without success. Finally, he
   viewed it from the perspective of the little community
   as a whole. “Taking into consideration everyone on the
   island,” he mused, “are we capable of meeting our
   obligations?

   Oliver turned out a total of $1000. He’s asking for
   $1080 in return. But even if we bring him every dollar
   bill on the island, we’ll still be $80 short. Nobody
   made the extra $80. We turn out produce, not dollar
   bills. So Oliver can take over the entire island,
   since all the inhabitants together can’t pay him back
   the total amount of the capital and interest.

   Even if a few (without any thought for the others)
   were able to, the others would fail. And the turn of
   the first spared would come eventually. The banker
   will take everything. We’d better hold a meeting right
   away and decide what to do about it.”

   Tom, with his figures in his hand, had no difficulty
   in explaining the situation. All agreed that they had
   been duped by the kindly banker.

   They decided upon a meeting at Oliver’s.

   10. The Benevolent Banker

   Oliver guessed what was on their minds, but he put on
   his best front. While he listened, the impetuous Frank
   stated the case for the group.

   “How can we pay you $1080 when there is only $1000 on
   the entire island?”

   “That’s the interest, my friends. Has not your rate of
   production increased?”

   “Sure, but the money hasn’t. And it’s money you’re
   asking for, not our products. You are the only one who
   can make money. You’ve made only $1000, and yet you
   ask $1080. An impossible task!”

   “Now listen, fellows. Bankers, for the greater good of
   the community, always adapt themselves to the
   conditions of the times. I’m going to require only the
   interest. Only $80. You will go on holding the
   capital.”

   “Bless you, Mr Oliver! Are you going to cancel the
   $200 each of us owes you?”

   “Oh no! I’m sorry, a banker never cancels a debt. You
   still owe me the money you borrowed. But you’ll pay
   me, each year, only the interest. If you meet the
   interest payments faithfully each year, I won’t push
   you for the capital.

   Maybe some won’t be able to repay even the interest
   because of the money changing hands among you. Well,
   organize yourselves like a nation. Set up a system of
   money contributions, what we call taxes.

   Those who have more money will be taxed more; the poor
   will pay less. See to it that you bring me, in one
   lump sum, the total of the amount of interest, and
   I’ll be satisfied. And your little nation will
   thrive.”

   So our boys left, pacified, but still dubious.

   11. Oliver Exalts

   Oliver is alone. He is in deep reflection.

   His thoughts run thus: Business is good. These boys
   are good workers, but stupid. Their ignorance and
   naivety is my strength. They ask for money, and I give
   them the chains of bondage. They give me flowers, and
   I pick their pockets.

   True enough, they could mutiny and throw me into the
   sea. But pshaw! I have their signatures. They’re
   honest. They’ll honor their pledges.

   Honest, hardworking people were put into this world to
   serve the Financiers.

   Oh great Mammon! I feel your banking genius coursing
   through my entire being! Oh, illustrious master! How
   right you were when you said: “Give me control of a
   nation’s money, and I won’t mind who makes its laws.”
   I am the master of Salvation Island because I control
   its money.

   My soul is drunk with enthusiasm and ambition - I
   could rule the universe.

   What I, Oliver, have done here, I can do throughout
   the entire world. Oh! If only I could get off this
   island, I know how I could govern the world without
   wearing a crown.

   My supreme delight would be to instill my philosophy
   in the minds of those who lead society: bankers,
   industrialists, politicians, reformers, teachers,
   journalists - all would be my servants.

   The masses are content to live in slavery when the
   elite among them are overseers.

   12. The Cost of Living Unbearable

   Things went from bad to worse on Salvation Island.
   Production was up, although bartering dropped to a
   minimum.

   Oliver collected his interest regularly. The others
   had to think of setting money aside for him. Thus,
   money tended to clot instead of circulating freely.

   Those who paid the most in taxes complained against
   those who paid less. They raised the prices of their
   goods to compensate for this loss.

   The unfortunate poor who paid no taxes lamented the
   high cost of living, and bought less.

   If one took a salaried job with another, he was
   continually demanding increases in salary in order to
   meet the mounting cost of living.

   Morale was low.

   The joy went out of living.

   No one took an interest in his work. Why should he?
   Produce sold poorly. When they would make a sale, they
   had to pay taxes to Oliver. They went without things.
   It was a real crisis. And they accused one another of
   wanting in charity, and of being the cause of the high
   cost of living.

   One day, Harry, sitting in his orchard, pondered over
   the situation.

   He finally arrived at the conclusion that this
   “progress”, born of a refugee’s monetary system, had
   spoiled everything on the island. Unquestionably, all
   five had their faults, but Oliver’s system seemed to
   have been specifically designed to bring out the worst
   in human nature.

   Harry decided to demonstrate this to his friends and
   to unite them for action.

   He started with Jim, who was not hard to convince.
   “I’m no genius,” he said, “but for a long time now
   there’s been a bad smell about this banker’s system.”

   One by one they came to the same conclusion, and they
   ended up by deciding to have another conference with
   Oliver.

   13. Enslaved by Oliver

   A veritable tempest burst about the ears of the
   banker.

   “Money’s scarce on the island, fellow, because you
   take it away from us! We pay you and pay you, and
   still we owe you as much as at the beginning. We work
   our heads off! We’ve the finest land possible, and yet
   we’re worse off than before the day of your arrival.
   Debts! Debts! Up to our necks in debts!”

   “Oh! Now boys, be reasonable! Your affairs are
   booming, and it’s thanks to me. A good banking system
   is a country’s best asset. But if it is to work
   beneficially, you must have faith in the banker. Come
   to me as you would to a father… Is it more money
   that you want? Very well. My barrel of gold is good
   for many thousands of dollars more. See, I’m going to
   mortgage your latest acquisitions, and lend you
   another thousand dollars right now.”

   “So! Now our debt goes up to $2000! We are going to
   have twice as much interest to pay for the rest of our
   lives!”

   “Well, yes — but I’ll lend you more whenever the value
   of your property increases. And you’ll never pay
   anything but the interest. You’ll lump all your debts
   into one — what we call a consolidated debt. And you
   can add to the debt, year after year.”

   “And raise the taxes, year after year?”

   “Obviously. But your revenues also increase every
   year.”

   “So then, the more the country develops each year
   because of our labor, the more the public debt
   increases!”

   “Why, of course! Just as in your country – or in any
   other part of the civilized world for that matter. The
   degree of a country’s civilization is always gauged by
   the size of its debt to the bankers.”

   14. The Wolf Devours the Lamb

   “And that’s a healthy monetary system, Mr. Oliver?”

   “Gentlemen, all sound money is based on gold, and it
   comes from the banks in the form of debts. The
   national debt is a good thing. It keeps men from
   becoming too satisfied. It subjugates governments to
   the supreme and ultimate wisdom, that which is
   incarnate in bankers. As a banker, I am the torch of
   civilization here on your little island. I will
   dictate your politics and regulate your standard of
   living.”

   “Mr. Oliver, we’re simply uneducated folks, but we
   don’t want that kind of civilization here. We’ll not
   borrow another cent off of you. Sound money or not, we
   don’t want any further transactions with you.”

   “Gentlemen, I deeply regret this very ill-advised
   decision of yours. But if you break with me, remember,
   I have your signatures. Repay me everything at once —
   capital and interest.”

   “But that’s impossible, sir. Even if we give you all
   the money on the island, we still won’t be square with
   you.”

   “I can’t help that. Did you or did you not sign? Yes?
   Very well.”

   “By virtue of the sanctity of contracts, I hereby
   seize your mortgaged property which was what you
   agreed to at the time you were so happy to have my
   help. If you don’t want to serve willingly the supreme
   authority of money, then you’ll obey by force. You’ll
   continue to exploit the island, but in my interests
   and under my conditions. Now, get out! You’ll get your
   orders from me tomorrow.”

   15. Control of the Press

   Oliver knew that whoever controlled the nation’s
   money, controlled the nation.

   But he knew also that to maintain that control, it was
   necessary to keep the people in a state of ignorance,
   and to distract them by a variety of means.

   Oliver had observed that of the five islanders, two
   were conservatives and three were liberals. That much
   had evolved from their evening conversations,
   especially after they had fallen into slavery. And
   between the conservatives and those who were liberals,
   there was a constant friction.

   On occasions, Harry, the most neutral of the five,
   considering that all had the same needs and
   aspirations, had suggested the union of the people to
   put pressure on the authorities. Such a union, Oliver
   could not tolerate; it would mean the end of his rule.
   No dictator, financial or otherwise, could stand
   before a people united and educated.

   Consequently, Oliver set himself to foment, as much as
   possible, political strife between them.

   The refugee put his press to work, turning out two
   weekly newspapers, “The Sun”, for the Liberals, and
   “The Star”, for the Conservatives.

   The general tenor of “The Sun” was: “If you are no
   longer master, it is because of those traitorous
   Conservatives who have sold out to big business.”

   That of “The Star”: “The ruinous state of business and
   the national debt can be traced directly to the
   political responsibility of those unmentionable
   Liberals.”

   16. A Priceless Bit of Flotsam

   One day, Tom, the prospector, found on a small beach,
   hidden by tall grass at one end of the island, a
   lifeboat, empty except for a trunk in good condition
   lying in the bottom of it.

   He opened the trunk. Among the articles within, a sort
   of album caught his eye: “The First Year of Social
   Credit”.

   Curious, Tom sat down and began to read the volume.
   His interest grew; his face lit up.

   “Well, just look at this!” he cried out loud. “This is
   something we should have known a long time ago.”

   “Money gets its value, not from gold, but from the
   products which that money buys.”

   “Simply put, money should be a sort of accountancy,
   credits passing from one account to another according
   to purchases and sales. The sum total of money will
   depend upon the sum total of production.”

   “Each time production increases, there is a
   corresponding increase in the amount of money. Never
   at any time should interest be paid on new money.
   Progress is marked, not by an increase in the public
   debt, but by the issuance of an equal dividend to each
   individual… Prices are adjusted to the general
   purchasing power by a coefficient of prices. Social
   Credit…”

   But Tom could no longer contain himself. He got up and
   set off at a run, the book in his hands, to share this
   glorious discovery with his four comrades.

   17. Money - Elementary Accounting

   So Tom became the teacher. He taught the others what
   he had learned from that God-sent Social Credit
   publication.

   “This,” he said, “is what we can do without waiting
   for a banker and his keg of gold, nor without
   underwriting a debt.”

   “I open an account in the name of each one of you. In
   the right hand column are the credits which increase
   your account; to the left are the debits which
   subtract from your account.”

   “Each wants $200 to begin with. Very well. We write
   $200 to the credit of each. Each immediately has
   $200.”

   “Frank buys some goods from Paul for $10. I deduct $10
   from Frank, leaving him $190. I add $10 to Paul, and
   he now has $210.”

   “Jim buys from Paul to the amount of $8. I deduct from
   Jim $8, leaving him $192. Paul now has $218.”

   “Paul buys wood from Frank for $15. I deduct $15 from
   Paul, leaving $203. I add $15 to Frank’s account, and
   it goes back to $205.”

   “And so we continue; from one account to another, in
   the same fashion that paper banknotes go from one
   man’s pocket to another’s.”

   “If someone needs money to expand production, we issue
   him the necessary amount of new credit. Once he has
   sold his products, he repays the sum to the credit
   fund. The same with public works; paid for by new
   credits.”

   “Likewise, each one’s account is periodically
   increased, but without taking credits from anyone, in
   order that all may benefit from the progress society
   makes. That’s the national dividend. In this fashion,
   money becomes an instrument of service.”

   18. The Banker Despair

   Everyone understood.

   All of the members of this little island community
   became Social Crediters.

   The following day, Oliver, the banker, received a
   letter signed by the five:

   “Dear sir! Without the slightest necessity you have
   plunged us into debt and exploited us.

   We don’t need you anymore to run our money system.

   From now on, we’ll have all the money we need without
   gold, debts, nor thieves.

   We are establishing, at once, the system of Social
   Credit on the island. The national dividend is going
   to replace the national debt.

   If you insist on being repaid, we can repay you all
   the money you gave us.

   But not a cent more.

   You cannot lay claim to that which you have not made.”

   Oliver was in despair. His empire was crumbling. His
   dreams shattered.

   What could he do?

   Arguments would be futile. The five were now Social
   Creditors: money and credit were now not more
   mysterious to them than they were to Oliver.

   “Oh!” said Oliver. “These men have been won to Social
   Credit! Their doctrine will spread far more quickly
   than mine. Should I beg forgiveness? Become one of
   them? I, a financier and a banker? Never! Rather, I
   shall try and put as much distance between them and me
   as I can!”

   19. The Fraud Unmasked

   To protect themselves against any future claim by
   Oliver, our five men decided to make him sign a
   document attesting that he again possessed all he had
   when he first arrived on the island.

   An inventory was taken; the boat, the oars, the little
   press, and the famous barrel of gold.

   Oliver had to reveal where he had hidden the gold. Our
   boys hoisted it from the hole with considerably less
   respect than the day they had unloaded it from the
   boat. Social Credit had taught them to despise gold.

   The prospector, who was helping to lift the barrel,
   found it surprisingly heavy for gold. If the barrel
   was full, he told the others, there was something in
   it besides gold.

   The impetuous Frank didn’t waste a moment; a blow of
   the axe, and the contents of the barrel was exposed.

   Gold? Not so much as a grain of it! Just rocks —
   plain, worthless rocks! Our men couldn’t get over the
   shock.

   “Don’t tell us that he could bamboozle us to this
   extent!”

   “Were we such muttonheads as to go into raptures over
   the mere mention of gold?”

   “Did we mortgage all of our possessions for a few
   pieces of paper based on a few pounds of rocks? It’s a
   robbery, compounded with lies!”

   “To think that we sulked and almost hated one another
   all because of such a fraud! That devil!”

   Furious, Frank raised his axe while, in great haste,
   the banker takes sudden flight towards the near-by
   forest.

   20. Farewell to Salvation Island

   After the opening of the barrel, and the revelation of
   his duplicity, nothing further was heard of Oliver.

   Shortly after, a ship, cruising off the normal
   navigation route, noticed signs of life on this
   uncharted island, and decides to cast anchor a short
   distance offshore.

   The men on the island learned that the ship was en
   route to America. So they decided to take with them
   what they could carry, and return to the United
   States.

   Above all, they made sure to take back with them the
   album, “The First Year of Social Credit”, which had
   proven to be their salvation from the hands of the
   financier, Oliver, and which had illumined their minds
   with an inextinguishable light.

   All five solemnly promised to get in touch with the
   management of this paper, once back in America, and to
   become devoted and zealous apostles of the Cause of
   Social Credit in their country.

   Originally written by Louis Even and entitled “The
   Money Myth Exposed

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