The West Virginia Journal

Buying Gold makes one a Rebel.

There is instruction and example in the following incident narrated to us by a Pennsylvania friend.

An honest Schuylkill County German merchant, who had been prospered and had accumulated more money than he could employ as capital in his business, came to a patriotic banker in Philadelphia and said:

"I have got some moneys, and I want you to buy me some gold."

"Why, Schultz, what do you want gold for? That isn't a thing you sell in your store."

"I knows dat--but I want to make some money on de rise of gold. People say it is going up, and I tiuk I may make a tousand dollars."

"Schultz, you dear old fellow, don't you know that if you buy gold you will be a Rebel?"

"No!" said Schultz, with a tone of resentment in his wonder.

"Suppose you buy $10,000 of gold. Suppose that some morning you read in the papers in big letters: 'Terrible disaster to the Union cause! Grant's army routed and destroyed!! The Rebels marching on Washington!!!'

"I should say dat was tam pad news," excitedly interrupted the German.

"Yes, but wouldn't you say right off, dis, however, will put gold up--pad for the Union cause, tam pad, but it is good for my ten-thousand?' Don't you see, Schultz, that in buying gold you instantly make the interests of the Rebels your interests--that you bribe yourself to wish them to succeed, and to wish your country and your countrymen to fail? And if these unholy desires, Schultz, don't define a Rebel, there is no language to define one. Don't you see that buying gold inevitably turns honest patriotic, devoted men like you, away from the cause which they ought to support, and which they think they do support; but which they cannot support, because they have made it for their interest not to support it? Don't you see it, dear old fellow?"

"Be shure I do," said the honest man with gravity of manner and humility; "and I ax pardon of de war. Put de whole of dat in Seven-Thirties. My money goes mit my principles."--N. Y. Tribune.