Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-05-08
you MUST NOT ACETATE"
The Combines and Tyrants for Ages Past
Have Said This to the People.

The Combines and Tyrants for Ages Past
Have Said This to the People.
Congressman Wheeler, Of Alabama,
made some forcible remarks in the
house a few days ago. He has intro
duced bill providing that so long as
the gold standard is maintained in this
country the salary of all the officials,
including congressman, be reduced to
three-fourths the salaries now provided
by law.
In speaking on the bill Mr.. Wheeler
said:
Now, Mr. Chairman, we must either
reduce salaries or we must enact the
senate substitute into law, and thus
provide for the coinage Of silver. The
arguments in favor of the gold standard
were little more than the reiteration OF
the same scarecrow doctrines that were
sent here from Wall street to oppose the
silver-coinage law of 1878, and which
have been reiterated every time silver
coinage bill has been brought before
this body. The arguments were shown
to be fallacious then and the history OF
the last eighteen years has proven them
to be utterly without foundation.
A most distinguished member of this
body-probably the ablest lawyer from
! the state which he represents on this
floor and by far the ablest advocate of
the gold standard on this side of the
house, a gentleman for whom we enter
tain profound regard, gentleman
whom l saw in his seat few moments
ago-after the fallacy of those argu-
ments had been exploded, after every
principle and theory that he advocated
on this question had been refuted, cried
| out: "Stop all this agitation for the
free and unlimited coinage of silver"
Yes, the distinguished gentleman
cried, "You must not agitate." That
Mr.. Chairman, has been the exclama-
ton of tyrants in all ages-"you must
not agitate." (Applause.) When gen
tlemen resort to this ultimatum they
admit that their arguments are falla-
cies. Nero told the people that they
must not agitate;" Caligula told the
people that they must not agitate."
The gold-standard bankers Of New
York city, who now own substantially
i all the gold in the United States-so
much was shown by the late bids en-
the bonds-were able to purchase bonds
for gold to the amount of $102, 44S, $780,
55. while the 2O,0O0,000 people who live
south of the Ohio and Potomac rivers
were only able to purchase to the
amount of $222,OS6.
These gentlemen of New York insist
that this gold must be the only money
of ultimate redemption" They have
the farmers of the south and west by
the throat, and they say, you must
not agitate. If you do we will make
it worse for you; we control the money
of the land; we have power which you
cannot resist" and the distinguished
gentlemen who advocate the gold
standard policy, cry out, "You must not
agitate." "You farmers of the west,
you farmers of the SOUTH" cry the
bankers and monied men, 1--WE have by
our methods reduced the value Of your
products to one-half; and we have de-
graded you to mere toilers; we have ele-
waited ourselves to be money kings and
sovereigns; and now we say, You must
not agitate' (applause); If you agitato
this question we will make matters
worse for you"
The speeches Of these gentlemen are
merely a repetition of the exploded
theories which the Wall street and
Lombard street bankers and brokers
sent here in 1877 and 1878 to oppose the
silver-coinage law of 1878, and which
were reiterated by the same men when
they struck the final blows upon silver
by the bullion bill of 1890 and purchase
clause repeal Of 1898.
Every prediction made by these men
has proven to be false, and every pre-
diction made by the friends of silver
has proven to be correct and true.
They said the silver-coinage act Of 1878
would be followed by panic and dis
tress. We denied this and insisted that
1t would bring prosperity. We were
right and the gold-standard bankers
were wrong.