A few years ago, I was rummaging through a used book-store in Phoenix, and I came across a very interesting book, whose title is, “Barnes Federal Code.” The sub-title is, “Containing all federal statutes of general and public nature now in force.” The book has 2831 pages, of which 318 are an index. The first 37 pages are a table of contents, plus cross references to where the statutes can be found, and even the dates they were passed into law. This means that 2476 pages encompassed the entire federal code in 1919. We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we?
On page 1403, under Title XXVIII, Titled “coinage,” (20 pages), every possible facet of coining gold and silver is listed, and laws which govern such. The book lists all the assay offices and mints, plus the salaries of the employees, their bonding requirements, and every possible facet of the coinage of the United States. It includes where to buy the bullion, what to do with worn coins, worn dies, and on and on. Title XXXIX is next, and is titled “Currency,” (five pages) Next, under XL is “legal Tender, (one page) and this says that gold and silver coins shall be legal tender. The book, actually has every statute in existence in 1919, and covers all areas which the federal government has authority.
Title XXVI is titled “Civil Rights.” It has four pages. How many thousands of pages, or tens of thousands of statutes currently cover “Civil Rights?” You guess.
Title XLIX is titled “Foreign Relations, (25 pages), and just imagine how many pages, reams of pages, hundreds of thousands of pages it takes to cover foreign relations currently. Under Thomas Jefferson, the State Dept. had but seven employees.
The statutes in effect in 1919 covered the Army, (135 pages), Navy, (83 pages), Coast Guard, ((20 pages), Postal service (78 pages), and interesting, under title LXIX, is “Food, drugs, and liquors,” (ten pages). That chapter has prohibition included, so the book was up to date. “Public Lands” is under XXIV, and has twenty pages. I’ll bet the public lands weren’t as abused and trashed then, as they are now. “Internal Revenue” is under title XXVI, and has 168 pages, however 90% of those pages are for various taxes other than income, which takes only 24 pages. The income tax of 1919, was but 1% of a very wealthy person’s income, and of course there was no Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, et al. Things were far simpler then, than now, huh?
“Debts due by, or to the United States,” covers nine pages, and considering that we are now the largest debtor nation in the world, just imagine the pages of nonsense, which covers that today. There are 18 pages on bankruptcy, and 17 on patents, trademarks, and copyrights. 148 pages covers the entire judiciary, including the Supreme Court, District Courts, Courts of Appeal, Habeas Corpus, fees, procedures, provisions, and even evidence. Imagine the box – cars full of papers and laws, which cover all aspects of the federal judiciary now. The Department of Labor has four pages, Department of Commerce 12 pages, and Department of the Interior, 17 pages. The Agriculture Department has but one page.
Indians and their affairs have seven pages, “Seat of Government,” which is Washington D.C., takes 21 pages, and covers all the parks, streets, aqueduct, and even the heating of the government buildings. The “seat of government” is supposed to be ten square miles, and was exceeded from this, perhaps shortly after this was written. D.C. and its bureaucrats now go miles and miles into Virginia, and Maryland, plus the extended bounds of D.C. proper, which are far larger than was Constitutionally authorized. What has 86 years given us? Think about it.
In the last 86 years, we have gone from a marvelous, self sustaining, exporting, world respected, powerful nation, with few problems, no debt, few taxes, and a huge industrial, innovative, inventive, manufacturing capability, to what we have now. Now, we owe everyone, and depend on foreign nations to continually buy our debt, just to stay afloat. We’re like a family who has lost their way, and is living on credit cards. When the cash advances and limits run out, what will they do? When foreign nations stop buying American debt, what will we do? While they haven’t stopped buying our debt, they have slowed appreciably, and are attempting to phase out of it, for obvious reasons. Will we print the debt and buy it our self, as it is said we now do? Would you loan money (buy debt) to that family who has no income, who is living on credit, and with no means to repay it? Probably not.
Comes then the United States of America, who makes little of what it uses, has a larger debt than any other nation, whose stock markets have been manipulated by government ever so long, and whose currency is being printed by the millions every day. Said United States of America, is involved in a no-win, no-solution war in Iraq and Afghanistan, is about to print hundreds of billions more in currency to re-build and support a city and its occupants, who were recently flooded out, and whose enemy has repeatedly threatened to destroy and kill millions of its citizens and major cities. Would you loan to such an entity?
The sole reason that foreigners buy our debt, is because (1) they want to sell to us, and (2) If they don’t, we’ll go down the tubes, and possibly take them with us, since the fiat dollar still clings (barely) to being the world’s “reserve currency.” Is there any currency in the entire world, which deserves to have the moniker of “reserve?” The word “reserve,” by dictionary definition, means, “”To keep back, store up, or set apart for a later use or special purpose.” How can an un-backed piece of paper with a former President’s face on it, be a “reserve?” I don’t know, but that’s what the world and its financial geniuses call it. Why isn’t the euro a “reserve currency?” While it is also being printed, and has no backing, at least it isn’t having its numbers multiplied to a degree even close to America’s dollar. Maybe the euro presses will run out of control eventually. Who knows? All I do know is that eventually, every unbacked currency in history has become worthless, thanks to the government which issued them. America will be no exception.
My Book, the “Barnes Federal Code” of 1919, is a peek backwards to a finer day. A simpler day. A wealthier day. A more prosperous day. A happier day. A day with sound money, small government, few laws, little crime, ( which wouldn’t last long with prohibition), and wonderful cities, theatres, transportation systems, and architecture. In 1919, there were no orange crate office buildings with windows stuck into them, nor characterless homes, stores, or even automobiles. Why was it all so nice? Because government hadn’t grown like a weed. Weeds, upon getting a start, instantly thrust a root down, down, down, so that if the weed is pulled, that long tap root stays, and the weed can grow all over again, and with more determination. Weeds are interesting, because of their needing no love, fertilizer, or even water, it seems. They just grow, and stay there with those long, deep roots. Washington D.C. and the federal government, is a classic weed. It has made the citizenry trust and depend on it for just about everything. It has spread its roots into every crevice and corner of the populace, and given handouts, which make people depend on it.
Government, headquartered in one of the richest cities on earth, Washington D.C., has gotten control over practically every facet of American human existence. From food, transport, housing, health, economics, education, and recreation; government controls it, administers it, and rules over it. The result is simply history repeating itself. The same phenomena has occurred time and time again, throughout the recorded history of man. All governments in history have failed to live within a budget, and striven to control everything in their domain, and with tragic results. Are we the twilight of the American civilization. I abhor the thought, and I hope the ultimate waits till I am gone. In the meantime, protect yourself.