Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-10-06

dollar that will turn into ashes in the hand
of widowhood or in the posse ssion Of the
orphan. Take a coin of the Roman empire-a
little piece of gold-and it is just as good to-
day as though julius Cesar stood at the head
Of the Roman legions. I do not wish to trust
the wealth of the country to every blast Of
public opinion. I want money as solid as the
earth cn which we stand, as bright as the stars
we have had such good luck with our notes; VIC
had SO much to eat and drink and wear that
some Greenback gentleman said: "Why not
keep it ur?"
want to pay debt to the Grecnback party.
endeavor to do equal and exact justice, and
Greenback party we could not have resumed,
and I will tell you why. The Greenbackers
went into every schoolhouse in the state, except
the southern states, where they would not al
low them to speak-they went onto every stump
and they told the people: "The grecnback is
talked and argued until millions of the people
began to despise the look of silver; they abso-
lutely hated the color of gold; they said, after
all the talk, "The greenback is the money of
civilization Finally, when we said: 'We will
resume, y the Greenback party had gotten the
so in love with the greenback that they did not
ask for gold. If they had asked for gold we
would not have had enough. Laughter and
applause.] So to-day want to thank the
Greenback party for what they have done; but
allow me to say in this connection that the day
OF your usefulness IS past. loud applause
Thousands Of men on our side gave wrong
definitions of money, and that helped to mis-
lead thousands Of people. They said, ''1noney
is measure Of value;" they said, 'smoncy is
device to facilitate exchanges" Well, that is
calculated to mislead anybody. The Green
hackers said, IF it is only device to facilitate
exchanges, why is not a paper device just as
good as gold device?" "Good."] You
could not answer it, nobody could answer it.
The trouble is that the first statement is un-
true. Money is not ga device to facilitate ex.
changes" but the coming Of money is device
to facilitate exchanges. Rccollcct the word,
"coining." The only reason that coming WAS
much there was, or else every man had to curry
pair of scales and be chemist SO the
coming of money is ''a device to facilitate ex-
changes" but the money itself is gold and
silver, the product of Nature herself. Zap
plause.]
Then they said, sA1oncy measures value as a
half-bushel measures corn, Or as yard-sticS
measures CLOTH" That is not SO. If it had
been SO the Grecnbackers would have been
right, because if "money measures value as :
half-bushcl or as a yardstick," Of conrsc it
makes no difference whether haf-brlshel or Il
the statement is not true. Money does not
"measure values as half-bushel or as a yard
STICK" and why? The half-blshel does not
measure value; the yardsticl1 does not measure
value. The yardstick measures length, not
valHc; it measures lace worth 5000 yard pre-
clsely as it does cent tape, and you know it.
A half-bushel does not measure value: it meas
ures quantity; and the half-bushel would meas
ure gold, and diamonds, and pearls, precisely as
1T does oats and corn. [Applause.l There is
another trouble about it. The reason it does
not make any difference whether a yardstlck, or
hoIf ov,o1O <ro11
you do not buy the half -bushel OF the yar<lstick
The man who owned the half-bushel at the CON-
mencement Of the trade keeps it after the trade
Is over. The gentleman in possession Of tic
yardstick before the purchase IS made keeps the
yardstick after the purchase is done. If it were
ference. [Laughter.] Now, then, my friends,
if there is a solitary Greenbacker here now in
the Democratic party, that once belonged to the
Republican party, l ask him to como Out.
[Cries of 'Hcar," 'Hear."] I ask him 10
admit that we are to-day a prosperous nation.
ask him to admit that to-day we have got
money enough. I want him to admit that all
amount of money does not make prosperity, but
prosperity makes money. I want him to admit
that when the country is prosperous then every
man trusts his neighbor, but if you buy pound
of sugar on credit you initiate the currency. Ii
you give your note for horse, then you initiate
the currency; if you give mortgage or a decd
of trust you initiate the currency; and every fel-
low that says "Charge it, initiates the cur
rcncy. daughter, and voice, "That's so.''l
So that in times of prospcrity-that is to say.
that. in times of general confidence we have "i
the money we want Suppose you should go to
{; man that owned a ferry boat, aud tDclc had
been no rain for six months, and the river
entirely dry, and the ferry-boat was upon the
sand with seams gaping open like Our aver
age Democrat hearing speech that he docs not
understands might say in that connection a
speech about the constitution daughter and ap-
"How is business?' and he should say, 'Dull;'
and suppose you tell him, "Now what YOU want
is more boats" LLaughter.] He would be apt
to answer, "I can get along with this one if ]
had little more water" [Great laughter.] |
want every man to think, and get that heresy
out cf his head, that government can make
money; and viii ask each one this question:
and have never seen any man who could an
swer it-now, honor bright, if the government
can make money why should it collect taxes?
just think about that IA voicc-''Who does
make the money?'] Sir, Nature makes all the
gold and all the silver, and the Nation coins the
sees it may know what it is worth. Applause ]
That is what understand by money, and all
paper that takes the place Of money is simply
promise to pay that money. IA voice, "7rhat
is all."l You cannot make money by resolving
Llaughter]; you cannot make money by, aw any
olution in a political meeting. [LauShter.]
Lord, Lord, I wish you conld. [Grcat laugh
teri wish this government could make money.
What rich nation we would &c. [LaugLter.l
If the government can make money Why does
it collect taxes? Why should the sun borrow
poor man working upon his farm the whole
year, through rain and shine, and storm: day
and night, and at the end of the year people
come to him and want 1925 taxes. If the gov
ernmcnt can make $1,000 bill in a second why
should it follow up that poor man? Voice
make money, and thatI could getmy share now.
[Great laughter.] regret that the Aladdin
palace made by the Greenback party consisted
only of gloriied mist. [Laughter.]
am sorry that its dome was only rainbow
of hope. Iwish it had been reality. I wish
the government could make money ont of paper
so that the luxuries of the world would be at
Americas feet. wish we could make money
so that we could put every poor man in pal
ace. wish we could make money SO that our
life should be continual and perpetual feast.
But the trouble is we can't; that is the trouble
Suppose man had bought farm for $40, ,O00
and given his note for it, and he lad bought a
college, and bought Mary a piano, and given
his notes; and at the end of the year, when the
interest became due, he gave his note, and the
next year the holders came to him and said,
"You must settle," and he said to them, 81
never had better time in my life than
while I have been giving these notes;
we have had more to eat than we
ever had before; the house has been
filled with music and dancing; I
have ridden in a carriage; I have
good clothes: now, why not let this go on?
[Laughter.] I am willing to orenew my notes un-
til Gabriel's trumpet stops the business"
[Greau laughter.] Upon my word, I am sorry
that that can't be done [laughter], but it can't.
We have got to work; We have got to dig in the
ground to raise oats and corn. So Tar as am
concerned, I had rather trust the miserly
crevices Of honest rocks for the money of this
world than to leave it to any congress ever as
sembled on earth. Applause: The gold
won't cheat you; it is its own redeemer. Zap
plause.] The silver won't fool you; there it is,
and when you have got it you know how much
you are WORTH Applause. We are a CONNER
cial nation, and hope the time will come when
the American flag will float in every part of the
world; and when that time comes We want
money that will 80 the world around. Proba-
bly, it will be paper, but behind every dollar Of
that paper want q dollar in silver Or guld.
[Applause.l ....,.
want American money to be so good that
whom von IA lie IT. 0ut 0f vOnr nOcket no matter