Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-23
COMING INTO HER OWN
The Silver Queen Rising From
the Dust of Desolation.
UPLlFTED BY THE PEOPLE
When Her Benifcent Reign Begins Anew
Prosperity VIII Be Her Hand Maiden.
Beautiful and Lofty Thought.

The State Herald reproduces by re-
quest this magnificent peroration of
speech delivered by Dr. r. M. Cunning
ham during the recent state campaign:
when the material things of this
world were created there were two sister
metals hidden in the bowels of the earth,
created and placed there by Almighty
God and endowed by Him with certain in
trinsic qualities-not values-of purity,
virtue, beauty and dura Utility, to come
forth as needed by man, Gods modest
creature, to be the joint queens of his in
dustry, commerce and business. Their
mission was to mix and intermingle with
the people, going together or alone, but
always keeping step in harmony and
peace, neither claiming superiority nor
excellence over the other. Their names
are silver and gold; silver, the more stall
wart of the two, is white, and gold, the
more delicate and beautiful, is yellow.
The durability of both, the ductility of
the one and the malleability of the other,
enable them to encircle the globe with
grdle of white and to cover the latter
with a canopy of yellow They loved each
other and the people, too; and the people
loved each other and both Of them. Thus
between them there was no jealousy and
the people trusted one as they did the
other. Alone or in company they Went
up and down the earth carrying JOY,
pleasure, prosperity and happiness to all
homes rich and poor, throughout the
land. But alas, alas! there was a seducer.
His name was Creditor. The beauty and
delicacy of gold enamored him. To her
he paid especial court, not because he
loved silver less, but because he loved
gold more Gold yielded, and from that
day to this has been at enmity with her
sister, silver. When rulers fall out SO do
subjects. The people took sides. The
rich and powerful enlisted In the cause
of the imperial mistress of Creditor, and
for years and years she has been their
pet and favorite. They, through the cor
ruption of parliaments, have given her
e-trinsic powers not correlated by intrin-
sic virtues. Her home is the gilded pal
ace of wealth; her companions the pre-
cious jewels of the earth; her raiment is
of purple and fine linen-spun, woven ana
made in the sweat of the masses; her
cheeks are fondled by hands soft and del
icate, for they know not labor; her smile
is seductive, her voice hattering, ner
touch magnetic; her eye sclntillates with
the fire of proud conquests over the poor,
and laughs for the Victories of the rich.
In times of war, pestilence, famine and
business depression she hides in the vel
vet-lined strong box of the money hoard
er and the creditor. Her food is the blood
of oppression and her jewels the tears OF
nations.
SILVER alone the queen of the people.
has since been slandered, debased and
despised. Her imperial sister desires
and grants her no virtues except as re-
f1ected from herself. In this ignominy
the nations of the earth nave joined.
Great Britain, the home of the aggressive
Anglo-Saxon, disowned her and cast her
adrift upon the world in 1876; Norway
and Sweden in 1872. In 1873, oh, shades
of our fathers, this great country, the
land of the good and great free ana
L. afAf IN fhA atrrtff
when her friends were asleep, shut her
out of her fathers house at the behest
and will of the first traducer. Then
rapidly followed the great nations of
the earth. Her crown was taken away
and she was reduced to a commodity to
be bought and sold by gold instead of
buying and selling with gold, thus CIV
ing to gold alone imperial dominion over
the land and sea of the industry, COM
merce and credit of nations. Since, gold
has ruled with tyrannical power. by
her single standard of value she has
doubled the debts of the world as meas
ured by commodities. one OF which is
her outraged sister, silver. The duty OF
the hour that challenges the interest
and patriotism of the nations of the
earth is to undo this great wrong Sill
yer, lying PROSTATE at the feet of her i'm
perial conqueror, whose foot is now
upon her breast and held there by her
worshipers, cries aloud for help and JUS
tice In this cry the voices of the toll
ing masses. the pleading of debtors, the
demands of organized labor the I'm
selfish patriotism of the world, are heard
to mingle. But gold and her worshipers
say no; wait until your commercial
value reaches the monetary value OF
gold, and then you will be entitled to
have companionship with goid.
Against this impossibility the wise or the
earth, the cries of the poor and the Ia
mentations of the debtor and the pa
triotic everywhere protest. Law, equity
and justice say do ii now. The unterri-
fed democracy. the masses of this great
country, say do it now. To these last