The Iola register., 1891-01-23

Grande. a vast solitude from which have |
myself since that time voted to admit seven |
States into the American Union, neither |
harvest nor husbandry, neither habitation |
nor home, save the hut OF the hunter ana |
the wigwaM of the savage.
Mr.. President, We have now within these
limits, xtending southwark from the Brit |
ish pnSs ssions and embracing the states OF
the Mississippi Valley, the Gulf and the
Southeastern Atlantic, u vast productive
region the granary of the world, a majority
of the members of this body, OF the House OF
Representatives and of the Electoral Col
Iegr We talk with admiration Of Egypt
For thirty centuries its ruins, its cities, its
arts its religions, have been the marvel OF
mankind. The pyramids have survived the
memory of their builders nnd the SPHINX
still questions with solemn gaze the vague
mystery of the desert The great heroic of
Egyptian civilization. with its wealth and
mower the riches of its art, its creeds AMI
faiths and philosophers, was reared from
the labors Ot a few million slaves under the
last Of despots upon a narrow margin ~
miles long and ten miles wide, comprising i'm
ALL with the Delta of the Nile, no more
than lO,CO square miles of fertile land
who can ioretell the future of TINT region TO
which have adyerted, with its 20,OO miles OF
navig able water cours :, with its hundreds
of thousands of square miles OF soil, excell-
ing in fecundity al that of the Nile, when the
labor OF centuries, OF Ireenlen uftieT lht I'M
pulse of our institutions, shall have brought
forth it, perfect results?
DESIRE OF THE WET. ..#.
Mr. President. il is to that region, with that
populat on and with such n future, that the
political power of this country has ut last
been transferred. and they are now unani-
mously demanding the free coinage of sill
YER II is for that reason that shall cordial
IL support the amendment proposed by the
Senator from Nevada In doing so l not
only follow the dictates of my own Iudg-
ment but carry out the wishes OF the great
majority of my constituents, irrespective OF
party or political afli!iatiOn. have been for
the free coinage of silver from the outset, and
/ am free to say that after having observed
the operations of the act of 1873, am more
than ever convinced of the wisdom of that
legislation and of the futlity OF the accusa-
tions by which it was assailed The people
of the country that / represent have lost
their reverence for gold. They have no
longer any superStitiont about coin. Not
withstnnding all the declarations of the
monomrtalIists. Notwithstanding all the as
sauIts that have been made by those who
are in favor of still further increasing the
value of the standard by which their posses
sionS are measured, they know that money
| is neither wealth nor capital, nor value, and
! that il is merely the cre3ton OF the law by
which all these are estimated and measured.
| We speak, sir about the volume of money
| and about its relation to the wealth and cap
| ital of the country. ... ..
| Let me ask you. sir, for a moment what
| would occur If the circulating medium were
| to be d. stroycd. suppose that the SolG ana
! silver were to be withdrawn suddenly from
| circulation and melted up into bars and in
| gots and buried in the earth from which they
were taken. Suppose that all the paper
| money-sjlyer certificates, gold certificates,
National bank notes, Treasury notes-were
| stacked IN one mass ut the end of the Treas
| ury building and the torch applied to them
| and they were to be destroyed by fire and
| their ashes spread, like the ashes of Wyck-
| life upon the Potomac, to be spread absoad,
| wide as its waters he. What would be the
! effect: Would not this country be worth eN-
| actly as much as it is to-day: Would there
not be just as many acres of lrnu, Just as
many farms, rs many days of labor, as much
| merchandise and much property. I'M
| proved and unimprovcd. as there is today?
| The result would be that commerce would
| lnnguish, the sails of the ships would be
! furlcd in the harbors. The great trains
| would cease to run to and fro on their err
rands trade would be reduced to barter, and
| the people. finding their energies languish-
| ing, civilization itself would drop and we
| should be redu ed to the condition of
nomadiac wanderers upon the prmeval
! plains.
Suppose. on the other hand. that, instead
| of being destroyed, all the money in this
| country were to be put i'm the possession OF
| a single man-gold ond paper and silver
| and he were to be moored in mid-Atlantic
| upon "A raft with his great hoard, or be sta
| toned in the middle of the Sahara desert
| without food to nOurish or shelter to cover,
! or the means of transportation to get away!
| Who would be the richest man tile pOssessor
| of that gigInt C treasure, or the humblesr
| settler upon the plains of the West with a
dug out to shelter him and with cornmeal
and water enough for his daily bread?
sCRIPTURAL.
! Doubtless Mr.. President, you search the
Scriptures daily, and are therefore familiar
with the story of those departed politicians
of Judea who sought to cTtangle the Master
| in his talk bv asking him if it was lawful to
pay tribute to cesar or not. He. perceiving
the purpose that they had In view, said unto
| them: ..Show me the tribute money" and
they brought Him penny. He said: Whose
il this image and Superscription" And they
replied, "CRsar's" And He said "Render
unto Caesar the things that are C9sar's and
unto God the things that are Gods "
hold. Mr.. President, between my thumb
and finger. "A silver denarius, or penny" OF
that ancienr time, bearing the image and
superscrptiOn of Cesar. 1t has been money
for more than twenty centuries. imperial
Caesar is dead and turned to clay" He has
| Welded to u mightier cOnquerOr, anu MS
eagles his cnsgns and his trophies are in
distnguishabe dust. His triumph5 and his
victories are Il school boys tale. Rome her
self Is but "A memory. Her marble pOrticoS
and temples AMI palaces are in ruins. The
slugg sh monk aud the lazy lazzarOni haunt
the Senate Ouses and the coliseum and the
derisive owl wakes the echoes of the voice
less forum but this little contemporary
disk of silver is money still because
il bears the image and superscrptior
of Caesar. And, sir, it Will continue to bt
money for twenty centuries more, should II
resist so long the corroding cankcr and the
gnawing tooth of time. But, IL one
of these pages here should tax,
this coin to the railway track ant
allow the train to pass over it, IN
| one single instant its functions would have
disappeared and 1t would he money nt
longer, because the image and superscip
tiOn of Cesar would have disappeared. Mr.
| President, money is the cr'at on OF law, and
the American people have learned that les
son; and they are md .ffcrent To the assaults
they are Indifferent to the argument: they
; are ind ffcrent to the aspersions which ar
! cas-; upon them for demanding that the iaV
: of the United states shall place the imag
and supers cription of Cesar upon silve
enough and gold enough and paper enoug
to enanle them to transact without emOar
rassment, without hndrance, without della,
: and without impOyerishment, their dali.
business affairs. and that shall give them
measure OF values that will not make tHei
belongings the sport and the prey of tn
, spectators.
e ONLY ONE ISsrE.
Mr. President, this contest can have bu
| one issue The experiment that has begu
will not tail. 1t is useless to deny that man
g Irregularities have been tolerated here; tina
; many crimes have been committed in tn
2 sacred name of liberty that our public affair
b. have had scandllouS episodes to which ever
1 patriotic heart diverts with distress; tina
: there have been envy and JEALOUSY in hig
{ places; that there have been treacherou
, and lying platforms: that there have bee
5 shallow compromises and degrading CONF cs