The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-11-11
Mr.. INGALLS,.

Mr.. INGALLS,.
Tho Kansas Senator's Great Speech for
FREQ Coinage.
In the senate of the United States
On January IA, 1891. pending consid-
GRAFTON OF the financial bill. the ques-
lion being upon Senator Stewards
Tree silver coinage amendment Sem
ator ingalls,. of Kansas addressed the
senate in favor of free coinage. No
better Peoples party speech was ever
delivered.
The Topeka Advocate publishes the
entire speech of which the following
is an extract: Let me ask you. sir
for a moment what would occur if
the circulating medium were to be
destroyed. Suppose that the gold
and silver were to'be Withdrawn sud-
denly from circulation and melted up
into bars and ingots and buried in the
earth from which they were taken.
Suppose that all the paper money
silver certificates gold certificates.
national bank notes treasury notes
were stacked in one mass at the end
of the treasury building and the torch
applied to them and they were to be
destroyed by fire and their ashes
spread-like the ashes of Wyckliffe-
upon the Potomac. to be spread
abroad. wide as its waters be. What
would be the effect? Would not this
country DO worth exactly as much as
it is to-day? Would there not be just
as many acres of land. just as many
farms as many days of labor as
much merchandise and as much
property. improved and unimprOved
as there is to-day?
The result would be that commerce
would languish; the sails of the ships
would be furled in the harbors; the
great trains would cease to run to and
fro on their errands; trade would be
reduced to barter; and the people
finding their energies languishing.
civilization itself would drop and we
should be reduced to the condition
of nomadic wanderers upon the pri-
meval plains.
Suppose on the other hand. that
instead of being destroyed all the
money in this country were to be put
in the possession of single man
gold and paper and silver-and he
were to be moored in mid Atlantic
upon a raft with his great hoard. or
be stationed in the middle of the Sa-
hara desert without food to nourish or
shelter to cover. or the means of
transportation to get away. Who
would be the richest man. the possess
sor of that gigantic treasure. or the
humblest settler upon the plains of
the West with c dug out to shelter
him and with corn meal and water
enough for his daily bread?
Doubtless, Mr.. President, you
search the Scriptures daily and are
therefore familiar with the story of
those departed politicians of Judea
who sought to entangle the Master in
Ills talk by asking Him if it was law
full to pay tribute to Caesar 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 is this image and superscrip-
tionp" And they replied. .Casar's,"
And He said: Render unto Caesar
the things that are Caesar and unto
God the things that are Gods"
hold. Mr.. President. between my
thumb and finger. a silver denarius.
or penny" OF that ancient time.
bearing the image and superscription
of Caesar. 1t has been money for
more than 20 centuries. Imperial
Caesar is dead and turned to clay"
He has yielded to mightier conquer
or and his eagles his ensigns and
his trophies are indistiuguishable
dust His triumphs and his victories
are school boys tale Rome her.
self is but memory. Her marble
porticos and temples and palaces are
in ruins The sluggish monk and
the lazy lazZaroni haunt the senate
houses and the Coliseum, and the de-
risive owl wakes the echoes of the
voiceless forum. but this little con.
temporary disc of silver is money still
because il bears the image and super
scription of Cesar. And, sir it will
continue to be money for 20 centuries
more. should it resist so long the cor
roding canker and the gnawing tooth
OF time But if one of these pages
here should take this coin to the rail-
way track and allow the train to pass
over it. in one single instant it's func-
tons would have disappeared and it
would be money no longer. because
the image and superscription of
Cesar would have disappeared.
Mr.. President money is the creation
Of law. and the American people have
learned that lesson; and they are
Indifferent to the assaults; they are
Indifferent to the arguments; they
are Indifferent to the aspersions which
are cast upon them for demanding
that the law of the United States
shall place the image and superscrip-
tion of Caesar upon silver enough and
gold enough and paper enough to en-
able them to transact without en-
barrassment without hindrance with
out delay and without improverish-
ment their daily business affairs and
that shall give them measure of
values that will not make their be-
longings the sport and the prey of the
spectators.
Handy Money for Poor Men.
An examination Of the report of the