Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-01-23
PRICE AFTER BEEcHnR.
Our Piucky Iowa Broad erIm In Re.
ply to Some Of the 1vookIyn
Preachers Wall Street Sermons
Washington dispatch 10 the N. 7. Herald
RESPONSE TO TIE Cr.rRGy

ply 20 some OF the 8T0okovO
Preachers Wal, street Sermons
Washington dispatch 10 the N. =. Herald.
A RESPONSE TO THE CLERGY.
In the House to-day, Mr.. Price, OF
Iowa, addressed the committee of the
whole in the advocacy Of the remon-
citation of the silver dollar. He
claimed It as thing which did not
admit Of doubt that at the time when
silver was demonetized the silver dol
lar of 4l2h grains was more valuable
than the gold dollar, and on that
point he quoted from the speech OF
Mr.. Hooper, Of Mass. (who had re.
ported the measure), to the effect that
the silver dollar, being worth $l.Os
in gold, 1t could circulate concurrent
ly with gold. He argued thatit was
to the interest of the United States
to make both gold and silver legal
tender for all debts, public and pri.
vate, particularly now when the
country was such large producer OF
silver, and he attributed the great de.
probation of real estate in Germany
to the demonstration of silver by
that government. He contradicted
tho theory that the vast increase in
the production of silver in this coun.
try had been the cause Of the fall In
the value Of that metal and alleged,
in denial Of 1t, that India, Japan and
China alone had taken in the course
of trade, during the last year $685.
100000 of silver, which was about
So, 10000 more than the entire sill.
yer product Of the world.
CRITICIsING THE CLERGY.
lie proceeded to quote from and
criticise recent sermons by Mr.. Beech.
er and Mr.. rockingham. In regard
to the first, he said, from the reckless
character of his talk we are led to
conclude that he is just the kind of q
man that Burns had in his mind when
he said: .....
Some books are lies from end to emil
And some great lies Were never penned;
Even sa, ministers they have been kennsd
Aud nail It With the scripture. E.
MIR. Beecher informs us he contin.
ued, that gold is the standard in Asia
Africa, Europe and America, and
thatit is universal unchanging stand.
ard, while the facts are that 768, 600
600 of people use, exclusively and en-.
tirely, silver as their standard, 1877
100000 use both gold and silver, and
only about lOO,OOO,OO0 use the single
gold standard. ..... -...
FALsEHooD OR IGNORANCE.
Now, said he, am justified in say.
ing that the reverend gentleman in
making that sweeping statement ei
ther wickedly stated what he knew to
be false or else advertised himself te
the world as consumate ignoramui
upon the question? He quoted Mr.
Beecher as describing those who were
in favor Of the demonstration of sill.
yer as "bull headed, without eyes en-
deavoring to undermine the integrity
of the nation, and deserving an infa
my as deep as the lowest depths Of
hell" He also quoted him as asking
whether the men in Congress knew
what they were there for. Yes, said
Mr.. Price, what are we here for
Why do we not vacate our seats anG
give them to such men as this rever
end gentleman, whose record is sc
| clear, whose reputation so unblemish
ed, who has never been before thu
the church and the world in any
equivocal position3 He would b,
the man to fix all this, for he certainly
has an experience in a certain direc.
ton which no man who supports Till
silver bill can boast OF. But it 10 ,
little surprising that His Reverence,
should consign us to hell, for, If tn,
papers report him correctly, he ha
abolished that institution. Laugh
ter. Iii possible, however, that OF
this subject, "the wish is father to tn,
thought" produced by personal con
siderstion. Laughter
MR.. FRoTHINGHAM.
AS to Mr.. rockingham, he remark
ed that whatever else the gentleman
might lack he certainly did not lacl
"Froth," and the titles Of his sermon
"Pictures of Silver" made up from
the verse, "A word fifty spoken /
like apples of gold in pictures of sill
ver," reminded him of anothe
preacher who, declaiming against tn
fashion in which the ladies then wor'
their hair, in topInots, took for hi
text the verse, "In that day he VIII,
shall be upon the house top and hi
staff in the house let him not com,
down to take it away" and by takinl
the last syllable ofthe word housetop
and prefixing it to another part Of TIL
verse made it read, "Topnot com,
down." Laughter.
In conslusion he said, we are labor
ing to get back to the dollar which
has been tried in every condition ant
under every variety of circumstance
in this country, and has not beer
found wanting. We are directing
our footsteps in the pathway Lighted
by the lamp Of experience. We ART
not pioneers. We are only seeking
for the old paths made luminous By
the footprints of the fathers of tn,
Republic. They beckon us onward
they say to us, "This is the way wall
We in it." lie who has been a watch
full student of history cannot mistake
the way. five be attentive listeners
we may hear from every passing
breeze that is waited to us from tn
marts of commerce, from the field o
the hushandman, from the hum of tn,
loom and from the ring of the anvil
words of encouragement to pursue
steadily the silvery pathway tina
shall conduct our nation to the goa
of financial prosperity.