The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-08
ON CONTRACTION.
eENATOR WILLIAM NJ. STEWART,
VC NEVADA, HAS A FEW WORDS
TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT.
There Is Nothing Like 1t to Enslavc
Men and Make Them COwards.

At all times when both gold and silver
mines failed, then the world relapsed into
barbarism says Senator w. NJ. Stewart, of
Nevada. During the 1,400 years when the
$500 COO 600 of gold and silver in existence
at the time of Augustus, was being re-
duced to $l5OOooOOO, the darkness CT the
dark ages increased and the proud Romans
were becoming slaves.
l tell you there is nothing like contrac-
ton to enslave men. There is nothing like
contracting their money to make them
towards. How often have l seen in the
mining camps such a this: A
young man would come from the Atlantic
states, full of hope ond vigor; he would
go out prospecting for mines of gold and
silver and find none; he would come in
hungry; he would get credit for little
while; by and by, his boarding house
keeper would tell he must pay or leave; in
despair he would go out on the streets
and try to get grub stake" as they
call it, to prospect with; he would fail;
then he might with his high hopes go into
the saloons which were the only places
where he could stop; they We're all open,
camps; he could get no money; he would
sometimes be driven out from there into
the streets and kicked Then, by some
chance he would crawl back into the noun
tains and find a mine. Then he would
come into town, himself again. He would
stand erect. No dared to insult him.
He would lay down his life for his honor.
He was man again; no longer a poor,
crnging mortal, without a dollar He was
the bravest of the brave. How often have
l seen such a case that! You may take
any tramp and YOU may kick him from
your door. But you put $500 in his pocket
and you dare not do it,
The mode of creating slavery by con-
traction and taking money away from the
people is the most insidious method imag-
Unable However brave a man may be,
however Independent he may be of others,
however much he may be willing to defend
ms honor, YOU mortgage his farm and
leaVe his family dependent upon him and his
little children crying for bread, and he will
submit-he will become a slave Nations
have been enslaved by loss of money
Brave men become slaves for their suffer-
ing families. They will submit to any
condltlon that the money loaner may pre-
scribe. They will bow down and submit
TO anything. That is the danger of this
system of contraction going en- to sap the
courage OF Americans and their manhood.
1t Will make this people submissive as it
made the brave Romans submissive Who
would have thought, in the time of Au-
gustus, with the Roman legions before
whom the world trembleo and before whom
none could stand, that within few genera
tons they would be reduced to serfs, to be
sold with the land. It did not come at
once 1t came by degrees
see now the greatest difference in our
people Go out now among the farmers,
ana you will see them meek and sub
mlsslVe, trembling before the landlords
the rate OF 20 per cent, in some states in
ten Years We see the men, who have had
the spirit of this country, being destroyed
by this insidiOuS enemy, contraction By
the destruction of one-haf of the money of
the world the debts are doubled. Cortrac-
tlon IS the only way by which brave peo-
pie can he cnslaved
one thousand four hundred years of con-
traction, and then light broke in the west
Inc New World was discovered. The gold
ana silver from the New World revived
clVllzat1on in the Old When men got
money they again asserted their rights and
thelr dormant energies, that had been
crushed out by contraction in Europe, We're
revived.