The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-02-17
The Difference.

IL IOrelgn enemy SnOulu Senu Meet
of war vessels to the ports of the United
States, and demand tribute or bounty
of $1,000. 900, 900, to be paid in annual
installments, what an indignant up
rising of the people there would be.
How the press would swell the head
lines and double-lead the editorial in
dignation!
How the high-salaried preachers
would eloquently protest against the
invasion!
How public orators would lift up their
voices with burning words of appeal!
How members of Congress would
grow stern and resolute, and, forgetting
party ties, join together in voting with
out stint men and money tc repel the
insolent invader!
How patriotic and statesmanlike
would become the President, in his ap-
peals to the loyal-hearted people to
rally to the support of the Government!
How men would pour out of the
workshops and the farmer-boys quit
the harvest field to take up their rifles
in defense of their country!
How herocially and devotedly would
men, women and children sacrifice
their home and lives to resist the
enemy!
The cry would be, ,millionsfor defense,
but not one cent for tribute,
Why?
Because it would be robbery!
Because it would be an insult and IN
dignity!
Because it would be wrong and an
outrage!
And because the amount of the
tribute would be in itself monstrous!
What would be said of people that
would not resist such an invasion?
They would be called poltroons and
towards!
They would be reviled and scoffed
at by all mankind in all time to come!
All, but how is it, ye fools? For fools
ye are!
Listen!
From 1861 to 1865, when the country
was in the very throes of civil war, in
stead of landing fleet of war vessels, 9
few rapacious, money-loving Shylocks
conspired together to rob the country
of 81, SOC. .OO0,O 900,
A7ld then haze done it,
Aye, without the aid of a single iron.
clad, without firing single shot, with.
out shedding even adrop of blood, they
have wrung from the people of this
, country. without giving in return the
equivalent of single penny. $1,000,
: 600, 900!
Aye, they have actually robbed and
!. ptuaadered the people of the monstrou;
, tribute Of $1,000, 900, 900!
And that, too, legally and ldacfa4lIy!
Instead of iron-clads and armies they
! have used money in the shape O
: brides!
With money they have debauched th'
public press, subsidized pulpits, bribet
Congressman, Cabinet officers and Pres
idents, and thereby obtained the enact
4 ment of laws which have enabled then
to extort from the people the enormOu
and incomprehensible sum of fftee'
3 thousand million dollars!
How?
Why, by conspiring together durin,
y the war to depreciate the value of tn
Greenback currency; by conspiring to
gether to put up the price of gold, s
{, that with one dollar in gold they coul
buy from two to three dollars of Gov
IL ernment paper money, and then ex
9 change that for bonds at par. By S
70 doing they compelled the Governmer
to submit to shave, or discount, {
III about 500, 200, 900, represented in si1
IF percent. gold interest bearing bond'
ii ir on which amount they have been draw
d. ing semi-annual interest on an averag
10 10 of fifteen years.
to In other words by asurioas sntere
ne lover and above the established rate
sn =, six per cent? they have taken frol
d, the people in the shave of intere
ne money on these bonds 81 500, ,0O0, ,00
By tegaiized robbery they have take
q from the people what the combine
s. world with all its armies and iron-claG
y could not get at the point of the bay
al net.
- And this is not all! They have grow
so bold and brazen-f faced by their su
as cess that they propose now to perpe
IL IN uate their bond system, so that for 8
Il, time they and their descendants CT
10 live off the hard earnings of labor!
81 Oh, patient and long-enduring pc
ne NE pie!
ne When will you rise up, and, in Il
On might and majesty of your strengt
go take these worse than thieves and ro
o. bers by the throat, and make them gi
eo up their plunderP
ne When? Chicago Sentinel.