Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-09-25

any Other nAtlOn, ana especially I'M
Chinese, who are nearly one-quarte
of tho world. Laughter.l Fifth,
desire that dollar so issued shall new
er be redeemed. I see no moro rea
son why the unit of values should b,
redeemed or redeemable than tha
the yardstick with which 1 measure
my cloth, or the quart with which ]
measure my milk, should be redeem.
ed" Laughter.l
| That, fellow-citizens, isperhaps the
most succinct statement of the new
system Of American finances that now
steps into the arena to confront the
ideas that 1 have been expressing
aud that was put forward by Benja.
min Il. Butler of Massac achusetts
| Cheers and applause. Now, fellow
citizens, let us give this subject fail
consideration. As said q little
while ago, If the doctrines laid down
in what have read, and what have
stated, be true, if they be based OF
sound principles, then they are the
most important discovery in finance
that the centuries have ever known
and want to adopt them, you ough,
to adopt them, every man in the
world ought to adopt them If they be
true. Let US meet them with the fair
ness Of seekers after truth. Now the
fret question I put to this proposi.
lion, or to these propositions, is this
Can the government of the United
States by an act of law create real
moneys? Ifit can, all this may be of
value.
There we're three things our faith
ers put into the constitution which
they evidently believed Congress
could do. They said Congress shall
have the power to fix the standard of
weights and measures, and to coin
money, and declare the value of mon
ey when coined. Let US stop for a
moment and try to get down to these
fundamental ideas. What can Con-
gress do about q standard Of meas
nres Can ii create measures What
is a standard of measure? 1t is some-
thing which measurers scall extern
sion, length, breadth, or height.
Who made extension? Did Congress
create it? Did human law invent it !?
Extension is power of the elements
which belong to the universe, as in
dependent of human laws as the stars
above the earth are independent Of it.
(Applause. [ Can you conceive Of
such thing as . Legislature creating
length ?-unless, indeed, length Of
session. Laughter.
This is what the law can do. 1t
can take something that has length
and name it yard 1t can separate
that into three equal parts and call
each part foot; it can separate that
into twelve equal parts and call each
part an inch, but 1t can no more cre-
ate length than it could create the
universe. 1t can subdivide and name
the subdivision and the standard, but
it can create none of the elements
which 60 to make up extension. Ap-
plause. Try to conceive of some one
giving . standard Of extension which
has no length in itself. The thing Is
inconceivable. I challenge the intel
liRence Of any man who hears me to
think of such thing as measure of
extension which has no length in it.
self. Suppose you were to say that
the light which CLEANS from this
burner ehall bo called . foot. Sup
pose lady to cay, l will name the
fragments Of . moss-rose to be the
standard of . foot; does that mean
anything? 1t is inconceivable. No,
by laws higher than human legisla-
tion, length, depth, height, were cre-
ated men can only name, and declare
it q length, and 90 with weight. When
Congress came to tho business Of fix
ing a standard of weight it could not
create weight, but It could take !
piece Of metal-that has weight in
deed-and name it pound; It can
subdivide il into sixteen parts, aud
call each one an ounce, but 1t could
not create q weight unless the weight
was there. Applause.
Now let us get an idea of value.
This is little more complicated, .
little more abstract than length or
weight, but nevertheless what you or
believe by value, what the world
calls value is the same, and all quail
ties that enter into 1t are the same.
Your merchandise has value for the
qualities which are in il; your grain,
your products. all that go to make up
wealth, has value for the exchanged
Bile qualities in it, and in rule seek
ing measure for that value. ! ask
any man who hears mo tonight If it
be conceivable that you can measure
value by that which has no value In
itself applausel ary more than you
can measure length by that which has
no length, or weight by that which
has no weight?
l defy any man to describe that
operation Of mind by which you can
conceive a measure Of value that in
itself has no value. I recollect once
to have read a singular sentence from
Horace Greeley, from his book on po-
litical economy, in which he ssid he
did not know but it was possible TO
get standard of values that was not
40 costly as coin. "For instance
said he, 81 suppose gold yardstick
would be q very nice thing to have,
but it would be costly yardstick
think we might have one Of India
rubber, or of wood, or of iron, that
| would answer just as well If il
would measure Just as exact. Ger
tainly, we could but can you have
q yardstick that mas no length? II
you cannot, you cannot have q meas.
ure of values that has no value; It'll
inoonceivable [arplausel, aud the fla,
of law cannot give il value. Bnt thcr
some one comes in at this point and
saws, "that is all very well as matter
of philosophy: but I suppose Mr.
Garfield, you probably have a dollar
bill in your pocket and with 1t yot
can go and buy q shovel, cannot you
Do yon say, therefore, that you buy i
with something that has no value
How is il, does not every dollar bill
refute the theory yon have offered ?
Not In the least, If you will follow
me moment further.
What 10 paper-money, SO called
Is IL money? 1t is . title to money
q deed to money, but it is not money
Your farmer has deed for hundred
acres Of land 10 that the land? It'll
paper, but it is his evidence Of IT'LL
that he owns the farm. Suppos'
you wanted to buy his farm; yo,
look at his deed the first question
you raise is 1t genuine or counterfeit
II you find that 1t is genuine, that j
has been issued by the requisite au
thority, then You still you have an
other question. You see it calls 70
one hundred acres of land but yo'
send surveyor out; he traces tn
lines: he takes the angles; he make
the measurements, and when he ha
come back with his measurement AM
declares there 10 In the within bound
aries described one hundred acres Q
land. then the deed ia the evidence o
all Ii pretends to be. But II, whe
the ksurveyor comes back and say
there are but ninety -nine acres Of Ian
what do the figures or the dee
J amount to in the face OF the fact
Il Applause and cheers.] Suppose th
farmers In your agricultural district
should say we are in distress; on
] great need IL more land If We ha
J more land We could get ON bette
with our affairs; and now let us 2
J and get . law through the Gener
: Court which declares that every ms
NAV aurran60p nm his 6on1a and he