The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-18

got land are TO have this money and no
body else. That, think, IS the first time
have ever known or heard of the literal
exemplification of thar passage of scripture
which SAYS that they shall take away
from the man who has nothing even that
which he hath and give it to the other
fellow
The people say there are 1000 600 tramps
in the Union-a little mistake OF abon;
l. 800 600, but that does not metter-whc
have neither food in their stomachs, nor
clothes to their backs, nor whereon TO lay
their heads, aud yet the government which
has driven them TO this extremity is not to
give them anything. No; IL is to make
their condition worse by endowing =
the people who have got wealth
with this great amount of money.
onsy want 10 say that il this proposition
should ever come to be voted on, where
have got anything to say abont il, | shall
move an amendment If somebody else
don't, that in the first place that we will
give houses and land and cloih and food
TO the men who have not got anything
and then see what we will do about the
balance of them If the government can
issue money without cost TO itself, why
not first give il 20 the men who have moth
ing and thereby establish condition OF
! practical equality among all the people?
Now il would seem 10 be enough 10 say
of this scheme that the majority of the
people of the United States are not in
| favor OF it. If all the land owners were IN
favor of it they would still lack majority
And it remains 10 be said that the large
proportion of the farmers of Ohio, Penn
sylvania, New York and the New England
actually lend money, and that millions of
the dollars they have dug out Of the sterile
| soil which they lave farmed they have
loaned to the Kansas farmer They are
! not, therefore in favor of IL. And you
/ Aho !
zon, that in Illinois, Infiana, Wisconsin.
Michigan and practically in Iowa and in
| all the states east Of Ohio, there is no or
! ganization having this purpose in view. II
| is limited to the section of country prac-
tically west of the Missouri river.
| II is proper TO note that this means a
Reputation of debts. | don't think that
is ia the minds or part Of the purpose Of
those who advocate it, but II is practically
safe to say it would follow Take such \
| large amount of money and add TO the
volume of money now outstanding and
debts existing today could be settled with
less money, that is to say with money of
value than the money for which they were
created
! 1t is worthy of note, also, that the pen
sions of The soldiers would be reduced cor
respondingly; and if this platform was to
be worked out fully and completely in the
matter of loaning money upon all the
! land, it Is safe to say no pension obligation
of the government, DO mortgage obliga
| tion, and no obligation of a financ ial char
acter whatever existing between men but
what would be reduced at least 40 per
cent of what il is now All this has grown
out of the improper conception. not only
of what the money is for, but what the
main purpose OF the American people IS.
So much talk has been had about debts
! that men have come to think that the only
| rF fHs.t Il To fn "A dats hot
the only and sole object of all the Amer
ican people engaged in farming is to pay
their debts. Congress may provide as
large a volume of money as it sees fit and
make it legal tender for all debts. so if
congress was so minded, you and | could
pay our creditors in money worth less than
money when the debt was CONTRACTED. 1t
is great power upon the part of C ngress.
but it exists according to the supreme
court.
But there is one thing congress can not
do. 1t can provide the money which the
creditor shall take for his debt, but it can
not provide what you or / or anybody else
shall take for the things we have to sell.
The people in the United States earn every
year enough to pay all the debts, individ-
ual and corporate, owed by the people of
the United States Why don't they pay
them? Because about 9s per cent of all
they earn goes to make up what we call
living: board, clot hes, schooling, all things
that tickle the palate, sustain the body
that stimulate aud make life pleasant
Aud off we should have money in this
abundant amount which would defraud
our creditors, when we came to Use it for
all these other and larger purposes of life.
we should realize how absolutely futile
was this exercise of congressional power
At the beginning of the French revolu-
tion the Assembly provided for the issu-
ing of assignments or notes based upon
the credit of the government and upon the
value of the the estates of the mobiles and
clergy which had been conhscated The
amount was made large. just as we bor
row upon our land; IL capitalized the land
at an enormous figure and issued notes up
on it. They went down, and issue after
issue was put out until finally he posses
sors of them found that they could not
use them to advantage. And thereupon
the French Assembly enacted that who
ever had land or grain or stock or any 9th
er thing to sell should take these notes for
it. Then in that great country there was
presented the remarkable spectacle of no
body having any thing to sell. So you see
that whoever breaches this idea of money
from the standpoint merely of payment of
debts has the whole pyramid inverted.
So grew this idea Of providing money
for the people who were in debt. But
everybody was not in debt. and consequent
ly more people had to be taken into the
scheme in order to be in the ma ajOrty; and
so it was enlarged to embrace all men who
own land. Then was added this other
scheme of loaning money upon wheat and
corn and oats and other products OF the
farm. 1t is safe to say that really nobody
believes in this scheme or any branch of it
How does it come then that IL has been |
put forthS How has scheme which in |
wolves reputation been put forth for the |
acceptance of an honenL people. A scheme |
totally unknown in all the world except |
the instances which have quoted, is to be |
thrust upon the people by means OF legis- |
lstion if this party could come into power |
How does it come that this party Is asking |
the suffrages of people upon platforms OF |
this kind? The answer is easy.
In the first place the Republican con-
gress dug out from under the feet Of this |
people the ground on which they stood. |
They not only increased the currency &C
cording to the population, but multiplied |
that By three. There was therefore no
further hope TO be had in that direction |
But there were men who fonnd they could /
get Offices. power and living They orig |
in 4ted this idea OF 3 third party upon "A |
scheme so truly subversive OF all exist ing |
institutions and things, 50 wide apart /
from anything declared for by either Of |
the old parties, that IL was pretty safe 20 /
say they would be SO far from them that |
they would not be contaminated by the |
approach Of either OF the old parties. And /
il Is worth while 20 see who it IS that com |
mend il to as. Is there any man in the /
United States who has a reputation for 4
business, for finance, for politics. for /
or any other thing who ad- |
vocates this schemef / speak With no dis |
respect whatever, bat / say that the men |
who originated it and who IN tne shape Of |