The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-08-28
AENDRIxs WITTY SPEECH.
he Makes Humorous Speech on Money
to Morocco Manufacturers.

lshes the Following speech made by
Hon. Joseph G. Hendrix at the dinner
OF the National Morocco Manufacture
ers' association of the United States at
Manhattan Beach early this month:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen: / am
glad to see you, men of small brains
and large capital" I am glad always
to face successful men in an American
industry. You represent trade which
years ago furnished material for the
money instrument. There was leather
money once and plenty of it. You have
never set up any cry because of the de-
monetization of leather, never asked
redress for the "crime" of the abandon
ment of the use of leather as money.
You do not now ask for it's remonetiza-
ton.
Mr.. Stein-Nor for free tannage.
Mr.. Hendrix-No! Therefore, have
great respect for two people, the North
American Indian and the morocco man
ufacturer. Along these sand dunes from
Manhattan to MontaulS point the anti
quarian can point to great heaps of
shells where the old squaws used to sit
and practice the free coinage of wam-
pun. After awhile smart Yankee in
vented a turning lathe which trans
formed the clam shells into money too
fast. This led to the demonstration of
the Long Island clam. Iaughter.) The
poor Indian has passed off to the plains
and we hear no more of the free coinage
OF clans.
These are simply evolutionary steps.
You look back to the beginnings of
your industry and marvel at the
cation refines. Commerce requires ex-
act terms and measures. 1t insists upon
certainty, fixity in the standard of val
ues. 1t must have something upon
which it can depend. 1t has found out
that it must depend upon some one
thing. That is why it has veered to the
single standard. 1t has quit stepping
from one standard to the other. 1t
makes it's election. 1t votes for gold be-
cause of it's great value in small compass
and because of the fixity of that value.
So it is that one great nation after an
other, under the command of it's best in
telligence. has come to the gold stand
ard. 1t is because they have found it the
cheapest. best and most effective stand
ard by which to measure all values.
What does standard mean? What is
it's primary significance? 1t comes from
an old Latin word meaning something
to turn to. When you are in doubt you
go to the standard. l don't care what
line of business you are in or what
course in life you pursue, standard
governs it somehow or other. You ride
on q railway on a standard gauge, you
sit at a table of standard height, and
so on through the list. The standard
must be the thing it stands for. If you
have a standard of weight, it may be of
diamonds or precious stones, but it has
got to have weight-that is the first
thing. Ifyou have a standard of length.
it must have length, And when you
come to- the question of the standard OF
value, whatever it is made of it has got
to have value.
You can talk about the whole ques-
ton of finance in 100 different lights.
But this is the main point-you must
have a standard of value. That stand
ard must have value. We choose for the
standard the metal which f1uctuates the
least in value. That is the whole story
of the gold standard. [Cheers.1
Our friends out in Chicago claim that
the Gold standard is a British policy
which we are seeking to enforce in this
country. Did you ever hear anything
about British policy in connection with
the law of gravitation or British pol
icy of good health against bad health
good clothes against shoddy? There
are other countries in the world besides
Great Britain. We do not have to look
to Great Britain to know what is good
thing. TGreat applause We are old
enough and big enough to know good
thing when we see it. Ours is coun-
try that for 60 years has been under the
gold standard. You have never known
anything else. All you have was built
upon the gold standard. The greatness
and development of this country have
been attained under that standard. How
is the world lining up on this question
China, Japan and Mexico are for free
silver. Great Britain, Germany, France
and the great empires of Europe are for
gold. Where do we belong? There is
only one answer. Can anyone fancy
that our great population, made up of
10000, OO0 of the best examples of the
Anglo-Saxon race. mixed with Irish wit,
Scotch cunning, German thrift. is GO
ing to step from the high plane where
we stand to the lower one beneath?
What strange madness has come into
the American people to make it seem
possible that they could do thing of
that kind? Applause.