The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-10-05

free coinage OF silver from the outset, and
I am free to say that after having OBJ
am more than ever convinced of the wis
dom of that legislation and of the futility
of the accusations by which it was assaileds
The people Of the 0OJ.atT.y that represent
hare lost their reverence for gold. They
have no longer any superstition about
coin. Notwithstanding all the declara-
tions Of the mOnometalists; notwithstand-
ing all the assaults that have been made
by those who are in favor Of still further
Increasing tbe v0IWe Of tss standard 6y
t0hich their possessions are measured, they
know that money is neither sCeGlth nor cdp-
itaI nor vGltEe, and that it is merely the Gre
alton Of the lGtO by t0hich all these are
estimated and measured. We speak, sir,
about the volume OF money and about its
relation to the wealth and capital of the
country.
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gold and silver were to be withdrawn sud-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 we're taken. Suppose
that all the paper money silver certih-
Gates, 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 Wycklife-
upon the POtomaC, to be spread abroad,
wide as its waters be. What would be the
effectf Would not this country be t9orth
erGctIy as mach as it IS tO-dayP Would
there not be just as many acres OF tdnd, just
as many farms, as many days Of labor, as
much merchandise and as much property,
Improved and WTimPTOUed, as there Is to-
dGyP
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 ener-
| gies languishing, civilization itself would
drop, and We should be reduced to the con-
ditiOn of nomadio wanderers upon the
| primeVal 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 a single man-gOld and paper and
| silver and he were to be moored in mid
Atlantic upon q raft with his great hoard,
or be stationed in the middle of the Sa-
hara desert without food to nourish OF
shelter to cover, or the means of transport
tatiOn to get away. Who would be the
richest man, the possessOr of that gigan-
tic treasure, or the humblest settler upon
the plains of the West with e dug-out TO
shelter him and with corn meal and water
enough for his daily breadl
Doubtless, Mr.. President, you search the
Scriptures daily, and are therefore familiar
with the story of those departed poiiti-
clans of Judea who sought to entRngle the
Master in His talk by 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 trib-
ute money" and they brought Him a
penny. He said: "WhOse is this image
and approximation" And they replied,
"Caesar's." And He said: "Render unto
Cesar the things that are Ossssr's, and unto
God the things that are Gods"
I hold, Mr. President, between my
thumb and finger, q silver denarius, or
"penny," of that anciAnt time, bearing
the image and supsrscriptIon OF CesaEs
, Is has been money for more than 30 CEN
turies. Imperial Cesar is "dead and
: turned to clay" He has yielded to q
mightier conqueror, and his eagles, his
> ensigns and his trophies are indistinguish-
able dust. His triumphs and his victories
2 are q school-boy's tale. Rome herself Is
but memory. Her marble porticos and
] temples and palaces are in ruins. The
3 sluggish monk and the lazy lszzaroni
8 haunt the senate houses and the Coli
scum, and the derisive owl wakes the
+ echoes of the voiceless forum, but this
Z little cOtem porary disc OF silver Is money
/ still because it bears the image and super
q scription of Cesar. And, sir, it will con-
8 tinue to be money for 20 centuries more,
Q should it resist SO long the corroding
= csnker and the gnaWing tooth of time.
Q But if one Of these pages here should take
= this coin to the railway track and allow
q the train to pass over it, in one single in
4 slant its functions would have disappeared
8 and it would be money no longer, because
d the image and superscription OF Cesar
e would have disappeared.
s Mr.. President, money Is the creation Of
d LGtU, and the American people have learned
9 that lesson; and they are Indifferent TO
t the assaults; they are Indifferent to the
? argument; they are Indifferent to the as
I persions which are cast upon them for
; demanding that the LGtO of the United
t States shall place the image and super
9 scription of Caesar upon sitUer enough and
d gold enough and paper enough to enable
z them to transact without embarrassment,
= without hindrance, without delay and with
3 out impoverishment their daily business
Z affairs, and that shall give them a measure
D of values that will not make their belong
: ings the sport and the prey of the specu-
!, lators.
T Mr.. President, this contest can have bn:
Q one issue. The experiment that has be-
gun will not fail. It is useless to deny
Q that many irregularities have been tOleF-
: sted here; that many crimes have been COM
s mitted In the sacred name of liberty; that
9 our public affairs have had scandaloul
g episodes to which every patriotic heart
: diveFts with distress; that there have been
9 envy and jealousy in high places; thai
o there haze been treGeheTOtGs and lying plat
= forms; that there have been shallow com
g promises and degrading concessions Ia
g popular errors; bat amid all these disturb
l. ances, amid all these contests, amid al
4 these inexpIicable alterations, the path oi
Is the nation has been steadily onward.
% At the beginning OF our second century
? We have entered upon new social anC
10 political movement whose results cannO
d be predicted, but which are certain to b
3 infinitely mOmentOus. That the progress
II will beupvard have no dOubt Through