Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-11-08
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.
A Crushing Exposure of TildeHs Fal.
lacies and Nonsense Con-
corning 1t
An Extract from Col. Robert IngersoIrs Speech
in Chicago.

Col. Robert Ingersoll spoke to an i'm
mense throng, estimated at 10000, in
the Exposition building, on Saturday
evening last; and from his mastery
speech we make the following extract:
The next question prominently be-
fore the people, think the great ques-
tion is whether citizens shall be protect
ed ut home-is
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.
With that there is no trolble. We had
10 borrow money, and we have got to
pay it, and that is all there is of that,
and we are going to pay it just as soon
as we make the money to pay 1t with.
And we are going to make the money
out of prosperity. We have got to dig
it out of the earth. You cannot make a
dollar by law. You cannot redeem a
cent by statute. Yon cannot pay one
solitary farthing by all the resolutions
and by all the speeches ever made be-
meath the sun. You have got to dig
this money right square out of the
ground. Every dollar we owe is not
evidence of the poverty of this nation
The nation cannot make money. The
nation cannot support you and I. It
cannot support us. We support the IA
ton. The nation collects it's taxes from
rs. The nation is perpetual everlast-
ing pauper, and we have to support the
nation. The nation passes the aims
dish; the nation passes the hat and makes
MS all throw in our share to support the
Government, and everybody does throw
In except Tilden, as far as heard from.
laughter
Now then, We have some men among
MS who say that the Government can
make money. If the Government can
make money why should it collect taxes
from uss Why should it not make all
the taxes it wants? Why should it not
make ali the money it wants, take the
taxes out, and give the balance to us !?
Why should this Government, if it has
the power to make money, collect any
money from the people? But they tell
you that this Government has the power
to put its sovereignty impress it upon
piece of paper. If the Government
has that power, it DON'T take any more
sovereignty to make So bill than it
does to make a 81 bill. What is the
use of wasting sovereignty on 81 bills
Why not have $40 bills What is the
use Of wasting sovereignty on $40 bills2
Why not have 500 bills? Why not
have 81 100000 bills, and rybody
would be millionaire at once. Laugh
ter. IT the Greenback doctrine is
right, that evidences of national indebt-
edness are wealth-if that is their ar
gument-why not go another step and
make every individual note legal ten
der. Why not pass law that every
man shall take every other mans note :?
And then I swear we would have money
plenty. Laughter. No. my friends,
promise to pay dollar is not a dollar,
no matter # that promise is made by
the greatest and most powerful nation
on the globe.
THE PROMISE rs NOT THE PERFORMANCE
An agreement is not an accomplish
ment; and there never will come time
when a promise to pay dollar is as
good as q dollar, unless everybody
knows that you have got the dollar and
win pay it whenever they ask it. The
Democrats ought to pay every cent Of
the National debt. They lost the suit,
and ought TO pay the costs. They COM
menced the War, and they ought to
bear the expenses, but we in our patri-
otism are willing to pay our share, but
we want them to pay theirs.
We want no more imitation. We
simply want to pay our debts as fast as
the prosperity Of the country allows it,
and no faster. Every speculator who
was caught with property off his hands
upon which he owed more than it
was worth wanted the game to go On a
Little longer. Who ever heard of man
playing poker who wanted to quit when
he was the loser? He wants to have a
fresh deal He wants new sight, and
don't want any man who is ahead to
jump the game. They bought land,
they bought houses, they bought goods,
and when the crisis came they were
csnght with this property on their
hands, and they want another imitation.
They want another tide to rise that can
sweep this driftwood into the middle
of the great financial stream. That is
all Every lot In this city that
was worth So, 900, and that is now worth
$2,000,-you know what is the matter
with that lot? It has been redeeming,
il has been resuming-that is what is
The matter with that lot. Cheers. |
Every man who owned property that
has now fallen SO per cent, that proper
ty has been resuming. If you could
have another initiation tomorrow, the
day that the bubble should burst would
End thousands of spectators with
property on hand owing twice as much
for it as the property was worth, and
they would ask for another tide III Inc
affairs of men; they would ask for an
ether imitation, and what for? TO let
them out and put somebody else in. We
want no more imitation; We want a
simple, honest payment of the debt, and
10 pay it out of the prosperity of the
country.
But, says the Greenback man, we
never had as good times as when we
had plenty of greenbacks. Suppose
farmer would buy farm for $40, 900,
and give his note. He would buy
horses, carriages, wagons, and agri-
ssssitural indictments and Give his note