The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-10-16
COL INGERSOLL ON FINANCE.
4 strong Plea For Honest Money.
THE FALLACIEs OF THE GRBENBAcK
AGITATION EXPOSED IN A CHARAC-
TERIsTIC SPEECH AT MALOiJE.
From an Occasional Correspondent.

MALONE, n. T., Oct. 4, 1873
Col. Robert g. Iagersoll, in his ad-
dress before the County Fair Assoei.
alton, spoke as follows upon the linan-
cial issue:
We have had in our country u
magnificent initiation. We have
built within 20 years some $4,000
miles OF railroad, and in order to
build that we espent about So, coo, 00O,.
000 Well, there was work for eve
rybody. We had everything grow
ing, and there was prosperity all
over the land Everybody worked
for every5ody-everybody wanted to
employ somebody else. In the mean
time the war came upon our bands,
and in that We spent Sl0, GOO, 600, 900.
What for! To build up? No; to
tear down and destroy. Every sin
gle, solitary dollar that was spent
was wasted by Us. But, as a matter
of fact. WI. .aid9'tspend the money
we only agreed to. We scattered all
over the country certain notes which
We agreed to pay, and we have not
got them paid yet. In my judgment,
1t did not take as much patriotism TO
put down the rebellion as it will take
to pay the debt A man can be
brave tor few minutes when be is
right in the line of battle, and when
he looks and sees that nobody else
runs. 1t is comparatively easy TO
do that, and be shot down at the
post Of glory 1t is comparatively
easy to die for a principle But it is
mighty hard 10 live for it, 1t is hard
work TO get up at 4 o'clock 10 the
morning and work until the sun goes
down, and do that for life.
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 didn't want to he farmers. They
said We WON'T farm it; we will
go to the city" Every man that
could get $500 serth Of goods on
trust became Q merchant. They
wanted to be de niisis, lawyers, doe
tors-somelhing that there was nc
work in. Wien they could not do
that they would start an insurance
association. TneI they sent their
agents all over Ihe country to ge:
your property insured, to get your
life insured, and every moment you
would have q picture of = coffin thrust
in your face TO. see if you wouldn't
insure Aud those agents would
come and sit lown by you aud talk
ebout ycur lf.st struggle with that
monster-deeth. They got e certain
share of the premium, and they in
sured anybody They insured con-
sumption in the las hemorrhage, and
the money flowed into the society.
As-soon as the fellows began to die
the company closed its doors. Then
they had fire insurance companies.
The agents of these also bad share
of the preniums. aud | tell you that
for six, eight, or ten years they would
have insured an iceberg in perdition.
Then the merchants filieei all the csrs
and ell the hotels and bars with run
neIs and drummers Every man
that ycu met had three carpet sacks
filed with samples. And in the
mee nj ime we had the Bankrupt law,
so that every man wns couldn't pay
his debts might tske the benefit OF
this law. Then it ali went to the
clerks, &c, of The eeeyts | never
heard of ANYBODY eet;iag more than
three per cent. on any claim in my
life
All al oncs-in lS7S-there came
a crash. and the brother that had
staid at home and worked on the
farm saw in the paper that his broth
er, who was President of o life insur-
ance company. was a vagrs Mt and a
vagahond. He read, too, that the
railroad had failed, and that it was
in the hands of Receiver, and that
its bonds were ss worthless as the
frat Autumn leaves that grew on
this earth. Then be began TO think
that he was doing well himself /; and
the fact is that the men who culti-
vate the soil are to-day the richest,
on the average, Of any class Of men
under cur Gag. Then we got hard
times Everybody who had a mort
gage as an adornment TO his proper
ty has suffered. Now they say the
way to get back-the way to have
times again--is to again
go in debt. Suppose ] bought a
iarm for S., 900 and gave my note for
it and then | bought horses and
wagons and gave my note ; and then
bought piano for Mary and gave
my note, sud sent James to school
and gave my note, and they all run
q year. What a magnificent time l
could have for that wear. Then