Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-03-20


THE MOST UNREAsoNING APPEAL
That l have heard to-day comes from the
honorable gentleman from the Twelfth tMr.
Gorman.) He makes his appeal and asks the
men who SO nobly stood by the new revenue
bill to stand by this. 1t is true the gentle
man, with the calmness and l may say with
the good sense that distinguishes him, made
no spread-eagle speech nor imprisoned APP
peal, but he forgot to give any reason why
they should do So believe can give a rea-
son why they should not, and the reason, /
believe, is obvious to anybody who Is at all
familiar with the history of the State. When
we cannot look further than an Italian vege-
table garden of the Mission Dolores, when
ever we cannot rise to look beyond the
green fields of Alameda, then | say it is
a good policy to build Chinese wall around
the CITY of San Francisco, and to prevent
stock gambling, as it is called, or stock spec
ulations, and TO invite the honest granger to
contribute his mite for the support of the
metropolis. There are countries beyond
California; the great State of Nevada is
tributary to us in everything the territory
OF Arizona is tributary TO us; Idaho is a ter
ritory tributary to US, and Washington ana
Oregon, for many and vast interests that
are fostered there. There are none
more important IN the past and likely
to be of more vast Importance in the future
than the mining interest | have said that
every industrial pursuit involves more or less
speculation. 1t is true as much, though in a
larger degree, of the miner as it is of the
s,ockherder or farmer or wheat-grower, the
vintner or the manufacturer, and there is not
branch of business in the whole world that
is not affected-whether it is mining for gold,
silver, copper or quicksilver. | do not say
we can by this bill suppress it, but we can
lay untold difficulties in the way that amount
to almost suppression. | think there are to
this, as to most questions, two sides. To
show you further let me recur to part of
the history of this State In 1S60-61 the
world drew its supply of copper mainly from
South America, and scatteringly from other
countries. In that year there was rise in
copper; whether it was on account of the
war or not, | do not say, but it certainly was
notion account of what we call gambling speeu-
lations. A few individuals in this State fol-
lowed that pursuit, and enormous fortunes
have been gained and tremendous works
have been reared. Great mining enterprises
have taken their rise from that, and q great
many of the Senators may have engaged in
them for aught l know. AS soon as
the people at large realized that there
was profit in the speculation, the unthinking
mass rushed in and blindly placed their
money where there could not have been the
remotest chance for them to get a cent back
Now, | ask the gentlemen representing the
Worl1ingmen's party Except Mr.. Kane, who
has already taken sensible view of this easel
has the laborer been injured by that specula-
ton? Why not stop it? The industry is
still going on, TO modified extent, and what
has created the industry here except capital,
aggregated through speculation in interests in
these mines? will go further, and give you
an example. In the years 1912 the manu-
facture of borax was almost monopoly in
English hands, the greatest supply being
drawn from Italy. If L remember right it
ranged in those days at a price between 80
and 40 cents per pound, but [ may be mis-
taken as to that. In this wonderful State of
Nevada, which has done the laborer so much
harm, according to the gentlemen who are in
favor of this bill, they found vast fields
of the salt; a tremendous amount of capital
again flows into the State of Nevada for the
purpose of developing these resources. They
were developed, labor was engaged, large
works erected; persons who were at first en-
gagged in that pursuit reaped large gains, but
that class of persons who went into that bust
ness without understanding it, again lost
their money. Was the laborer injured by it?
Was the State injured by it? Is not that
speculation Why don't the Legislature rise
up and put stop to it? In this State, but
very short time ago, the people speculated
upon the amount of produce and grain-men
imported grain bags before they were
the partial failure of one crop
upset three or four business houses. Do you
see the bad effect of growing grain? These
men were in business it was speculation ;
we ought to stop it.
When the coal oil lands were discovered in
the State of Pennsylvania, there was never
before seen such speculation in the United
States, and which reached to the furthest
ends of the globe. [ would like to see the
gentleman who would tell me that there was
no speculation in that. The fortunate finder
of wells became as wealthy as anybody !;
those who had oil lands, or supposed oil lands,
became wealthy, and the miner and the
laborer, and every poor man who had nothing,
found work, and almost attained aff1uence
from it.
THAT WAS SPECULATION,
And wise q legislators, such as we believe
we are, should have to stop all that. | would
like to beg these gentlemen who are in favor
of this bill to tell me if the advent Of every
3 old-hunter, and every merchant, and every
laborer, and every mechanic lured to this
State upon the discovery of the first nugget
by Marshall at Coloma, was not a speculator
in the widest sense of the term? Was not
that speculation? What has this speculation
done for this State 1t has made it great,
for it is the result of the acquisitive spirit of
man, that impels him to use his means for
the purpose of further gains. l concede that
there are men looking to these gains merely
for selfish purposes that they try to acquire
it only for the purpose of having power, or
for the purpose of indulging in pleasures, but
think there are other men who
and nobler desire-that of benefiting
their fellow-men. I would be the last
to claim that man need only to become
rich, be it by work or speculation, to wither
all the better and nobler impulses in his
heart. am the last to think that the mo-
ment man buttons his pockets over his
gains he shuts the door to kindness and
humanity, and neighborly love and charity.
If we were less envious of those who have
been more fortunate than ourselves, | think
we might be more charitable in our judgment.
This is what underlies the whole spirit of this
bill. 1t is the yellow envy of not having had
realized-this sacred hunger
after gold unappeased. If the author of this
bill had been successful, do not believe we
would have heard of it, and he would not
stitution into force, which is the duty of all of
us, but to wreak his vengeance upon those
who have not injured him. will not say he
injured them, for l know nothing about it.
l claim, Mr.. President, when you compare
stock speculation to gambling, thatit is like all
gambling, and 1 defy any Senator to look
into his heart and say that it is false, when /
state that the sin of gambling lies in losing.
have never yet heard a man preach against
stock gambling, or anything else, if he hap
pened to be fortunate. There are two things
which have called that up more forcibly than
anything else. 1 want you to compare the
failure of Adams & Co., when every loafer
and every vagrant sought the aid of his fell
low men because he had lost his thousands
in that failure, to the cries of those people who
have been ruined by j. c. Flood & O'Brien,
because they have forced their points upon
them. Why, Mr.. President, I know some
thing of that Of my own knowledge. l have
never asked single one of the so-called min
ing operators to give me his counsel advice
or aid in stock gambling but I know that
thousands have rushed there for the purpose
of being advised, and those thousands are as
unthinking in that as they are in any other