Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-10-20
HIS INCONSISTENCY.
Views of Colonel Robert G.. In
gerSOll Four Years Ago.

views of Colonel Robert G. In.
H. gersol Four Years Ago.
Colonel Robert G. InRersoll, who is
now on the stump for Mark Hanna and
the plutocrats, must have changed his
political principles. At the Tabor Opera
House in Denver May 20, 1892, he said
in public address:
II said would say one or two words
tonight on such vulgar things as gold
and silver. am as satisfied as am
that I live that the few-the few who
control the debts, the currency, the
money Of the world-have combined
other consciously or unconsciously to
make the debtor pay more than the cred.
itor has the right to ask.
1.-THE tendency has always been in
this world to put the burden on those
least able to bear them. In barbarian
countries the women have to. do the
work simply because they are the weak
er; that is all. And the Others, being
stronger, do not expend their strength
in working, but expend their strength
in making the weaker do the work.
'This is precisely the same in our
civilized society today. Between the
rich and the poor, if burden is to be
borne in this country, it is borne always
by the poor-always.
'"They are the first to suffer. Let the
blast of war blow in this country. Who
goes to the war? The millionaire? Not
one. Who goes? The great presidents of
corporations; The bankers? The men
who preside over our great vaults of
gold? Not much. The poor go. because
nine times out of ten the poorer the
man is the more patriotic he seems to
be. The poor bear the burdens of this
country and of this world.
"Only few years ago our money
was gold and silver-money that had
been the money of man for thousands
OF years. Our silver was demonetized
and gold made the standard.
''There is no man in the United
States with ingenuity enough to account
for the characterization of silver in 1873.
There is not one. We need altogether
more money than we have.
II believe that every ounce of silver
that is dug under the American flag
should be coined free under the Amer
lean flag In my country they are most
~ on the other side. They are with the
bankers-with the rich fellows. They
get together and say we want gold. A
man makes a contract to pay certain
moneys in five years. want law so
that he can pay the money when the
contract comes due with the money
that was money when he made the con-
tract. I do not think the few should
have the right to combine to increase
the value of what people call money as
against the debtor and in favor of the
creditor.
II know most people think itrequires
much more honesty to be ready to re-
ceive the money than it is to work in
rain, snow and sleet to earn money.
They think anybody could do that. And
l know another thing about money. It
is the most social stuff Oh earth. A dol
lar hates poor mans pocket and will
get out Of it some way, and it will Just
roll off into vault with lot of COM
panions.
ut is the most social thing in the
world. But Iwant the free coinage Of
all the gold you can dig out of the
mines and crevices of the rocks, and I
want the free coinage Of all the silver
you can win from the mines of Ameri-
Ca And if there are those who are not
willing to take silver we will not trade
with them. 1t would be a thousand
times better for us if we never bought
another thing from Europe