Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-10-30
,NeERsoLL's REAL SENTIMENTS
Unpurchased and Unpreiudiced Speeches
in Favor of Silver.

Onpurcnaseu anu Unpfe1udlced Speecnea
in Favor of Silver.
In his famous lecture on myths and
Miracles" delivered in many sections
of the country, Bob Ingersoll thus
spoke of the silver question:
There is no man in the United States
with ingenuity enough to account for
the demonetizati ton of silver in 1881
There is not one. We need altogether
more money than we have.
eve need twice as much money per
capita to do the business of this coun-
try as is needed to do the business OF
any other country, and yet there is al
ways somebody that is crazy for fear
there will be more currency. I want
just all the money we can get that is
good, and silver is good enough for me.
All want of money is to pay my debts.
Yes, sir; and want the law to compel
the other fellows to take what take.
That is good enough for me.
II believe that every ounce of silver
that is dug under the American flag
should be coined free under the Ameri-
can flag. In my country they are most
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. I want law
so that he can pay the money when the
contract comes due with the money
that was money when he made the
contract. l 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. I want the free coinage
of all the gold you can dig out of the
mines and crevices Of the rocks, and.
want the free coinage of all the silver
you can win from the mines of Amer
ica."
There is no reason why Col. Inger-
soil should not have spoken his honest
sentiments with regard to silver in his
lectures with as perfect freedom and
sincerity as he declared his views of
religion. There is no cause to doubt
that he did so. There was not the
slightest 'inducement to influence him
to the contrary, and we have the con-
elusive proof of repetitions that he did
speak his honest sentiments then of sill
yer. For, in addition to the foregoing
quotation from his lecture on. 'Myths
and Miracles" we have also the follow
ing extract from his lecture on farm
ing, as reproduced from the Illinois
State Register and published in pa1nph-
let form by G. S. Baldwin, 1874 Madison
street Chicapo PAGE 8:
"For my part do not ask any interior
ence on the part of the government, ex-
cept to undo the wrong 1t has done. i do
not ask that money be made out of noth-
ing. do not ask the prosperity born Of
paper, but do ask for the remonetiza-
ton of silver. Silver was demonetized by
fraud. 1t was an imposition upon every
solvent man; fraud upon every honest
debtor In the United States. 1t a ssassin-
ated labor. 1t was done in the interest Of
ayarice and greed, and should be undone
by honest men. The farmers should vote
only for such men as are able and willing
to guard and advance the interests of
labor"
But Ingersoll was neither bought nor
bulldozed into making either of these
declarations. They represent the nn-
purchased and unprejudiced judgment
of his mind. The campaign speeches
which Ingcrsoll is now making in favor
of the gold standard merely represent
the $4,000 speech which Mark Hanna
pays him.