San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-11-02


finances has been made than this of
Bob Ingersoll. 1t contains no word
that would offend the produces Of the
best or worst of us, and everybody
should read the unique production:
We have had in our country mag
nificent imitation. We have built with.
in twenty-five years some 10000 miles
of railroad, and in order to build that
we spent about 81, 5,OOO,O 100000. Well,
there was work for everybody. We
had everything growing, and there was
prosperity all over tho land. Every.
body worked for everybody-every.
body wanttd to employ somebody else.
In the meantime the war came upon
our hands, and in that we spent 1O,-
OOO, 100000. For what? to build up?
No; to tear doyn. and destroy. Every
single solitary ddllar that was spent
was wasted by us. But, as matter Of
fact. we didn't spend the money-we
only agreed to. .Wescattered all over
the country certain ,notes which we
agreed to pay, and we have not got
them paid yet. In my judgement it
did not take as much patriotism to put
down tle.rsbellion as it will take to
pay the debt. A man can be brave for
a few Mbstes when he is right in the
line Of .Aa%tle. and when he looks and
sees that nobody else runs. ltis com
paratively easy to do that and be shot
down at the post of glory. 1t is COM
paratively easy to die Hr principle.
But it is mighty hard to live forit 1t
is hard work to get up at4 o'clock in
the morning and work till the sun goes
down, and do that for life.
l SAY we spent all this money, and
we had what they called prosperity,
and while that was going on the young
men left the farms, and said they did
not want to be farmers. They said
"We won't farm j; ; we will 60 to the
city, Every man that could get $500
worth of goods on trust became mer,
chant. They wanted to be dentists
lawyers, doctorS-something that there
was no work in. When they could not
do chat they would start an insurance
association, Then they sent their
agents all over the country to get your
property insured, to get your life in.
sured, and every moment you would
have the picture of coffin thrust in
your face to see if you would mt insure
Aud those agents would come and sit
down byyou and talk about your last
struggle with that monster-death
They got certain share of the premi
um, and they insured anybody. They
i insured consumption in its las
! hemorrhage. and the money flow
ed into the society. AS soon al
! the fellows began to die thu
company closed its doors. Then they
had fire insurance companies. Th'
agents of these also had share of thu
J premiums and | tell you that for sil
eight or ten years they would hav'
insured an iceberg IN perdition. The'
the merchants filled all the cars and al
4 the hotels and bars with runners ant
:, drummers. Every man that you me
had three carpet sacks filled with sam
e pies. Aud in the meantime we had tn
bankrupt law. SO that every man wh'
q could ut pay his debts might take the
}. benefit OF this law Then It all wen
q to the clerks, etc of the courts. | new
er heard of anybody getting more thar
3 per cent on any claim iu my life.
All at once-in 1S73-there came
crash, and the brother that had stal'
at home and worked on the farm sa'
in the paper that his brother who wa
president of a life insurance compao!
was vagrant aud vagabond. H'
4 read too that the railroad had failed
and that it was in the hands OF re
ceiver and that its bonds were worth
less as the first autumn leaves tina
grew on this earth. Then he began {
: think that he was doing well himself
: and the fact is that the men who cul
! tivate the soil are today the richest o.
the average. Of any eli-s Of men unde
our flag. Then We got hard time:
y Everybody who hal a mortgage as a
1 = l.