The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-17

science and greed are great q menace to
a free people as anarchy itself. The same
honest, fearless law-abiding citizens, you
have chosen today that path which leads
midway between these two extremes, the
only path Of safety, of high and lasting ma
donal honor and patriotism. 1t is the path
OF equity and right. Your lamp is consci-
ence, your star is faith and your goal is alb
solute and perfect justice to all men; justice
which while it studiuosly protects wealth
does not forget the poor and oppressed; JUS
tlce Wh1ch pays every honest debt with hon
est money; but with money that shall be al
honest for the poor man as for the rich man.
for the debtor as for the creditor. for the
borrower as for the lender; a money which
snail with stability, fairness and honesty
measure labor and the products of labor with
as perfect justice to the producer as to the
mere hoarder of wealth.
would stir no storm of passion or hate
would rather counsel moderation and pru-
dence, but believe in that faith which ia
born Of conscience and Conviction. and when
conscience is once satisfied, man should be
firm, determined, uncompromising and IN
yielding until he is shown that he is in
error.
They tell us all the country needs is To
restore confidence believe myself that con-
ndence is one Of the chief corner-stones of
national prosperity. But confidence In what
In gold alone? No. In silver alone? No
In reciprocity alone? No. In tariff either
for protection or revenue alone? No. Not
In all OF these combined half so much as
confidence in the people. Confidence in the
hearts and consciences and souls Of the great
common, plain producing people of this coun-
try. | am frank to admit that the great
lack of confidence today is not wholly due
to bad legislation. 1t is no doubt in part
due to habits of feverish speculation. ex-
trayagance and lack of business integrity too
common in the day and age in which we live.
what seems to be a lack of confidence lis In
fact an overzconfdence Of mankind in the
mere virtue ot money itself We have gone
to the extreme OF materialism and have es-
teenled wealth greater than the source of
wealth. WehHye forgotten that the element
of our trueN greatness is in the heart and
brain and soul. the bone and sinew of the
honest people of America. We have forgot
ten the Creator IN our worship of the crea-
ture
One drop of Lincoln's blood is more potent
to the nations life than all of Wall street.
One breath of his immortal spirit is mightier
than the whole Rothschilds family. The
wealth producers are greater than the wealth
accumulators. Wealth producers, as rule,
are honest Wealth accumulators may be
wealth and not producers, they are more
likely to be dishonest than honest. The
humblest newer Of wood and drawer of water
is more sacred to the nations life than mill
ions of gold and silver directed to the ends
of legalized plunder and wrong.
The sources of wealth are more sacred than
wealth itself. Men are greater than money.
This is struggle between men and money.
The confidence l would see restored Is con-
fidence in the people, the source not alone
of all wealth, but of the nations life.
The life is more than meat and the body
more than raiment. 1t was to this source
Of national life that Lincoln turned in the
thick darkness of our national distress, and
the plain loyal sons of toll came to the
defense of home and liberty at his call. And
at the very time these brave and fearless
80 Hor
blood on Southern battle fields, the Shylocks
of the country were taking their pound OF
flesh from the nations heart; and the Shy
locks are not yet all dead.
The cause of true liberty has ever looked
in vain to the money lending and gold gam
bling classes AS well look for the motto
Liberty equality and fraternity In golden
letters upon the black flag that flies above
the pirate ship as to look to Wall street foI
the nations deliverance.
It's instincts are informal, it's throne is sa-
tanic, and it waves the whitening wand oi
famine over a land fertile in all that makes
a nation great.
1t is said that emergencies sometimes make
civil conflict came heroes statesmen and gen.
erals who were the children Of poverty and
obscurity, and out OF this conflict between
humanity on the one hand and greed, avarics
and oppression upon the other, will come
men from the plain people, brave enough and
courageous enough to plant the flag OF truth
and right upon the watch-tower OF true and
lasting liberty.
1t is impractcable and would be out Of
place at this time to enter into anything like
thorough discussion analysis OF the
great question which occupies the public
mind. This Is a. convention of men who be-
neve gold and silver to be the money OF our
constitution; indeed, as James G. Blaine said
'The money of the world anterior to the
constitution No argument is necessary to
convince you of the righteousness OF the
peoples cause. A few brief suggestions,
however may not be out OF place.
For number of years, beginning with 1872
and down to the present time, the financial
system of the world has undergone a most
radical and quite revolutionary change, re-
sulting in the almost complete retirement OF
that metal which constituted nearly one
half of the circulating medium of the world.
So far as our own legislation OF 1873 was
concerned, believe 1t to have been mad
yertent The United States was then on a
specie payment, and IT. seems to have made
gold the standard almost unconseiously, al
though silver at the time had greater bull
ion value than gold. This concerted action
of many leading nations Of the earth In de-
monetizing silver came about during series
of years in which the worlds population was
increasing and the natural and healthy de-
mands Of business required an increase
rather than decrease Of the volume OF mon
ey No man can cheerfully and conscien-
tiously study the subject and say that this
demonstration was because Of an increased
production OF silver From 1892 to 1894, a
period Of 103 years, the worlds production oi
gold exceeded that Of silver by one-half q
billion Of dollars. II you divide this 10a
years into four periods of time you find that
in the first period twice as much silver az
Of gold was produced; in the second three
times as much gold as silver; in the third
twice as much gold as silver: in the fourth
period from 1874 to 1894, only 10 per cent
more of silver than gold was produced. Nc
man. it seems to me in view OF this fact, can
claim that the demonetization Of silver was
because Of the Increased production of silver
There certainly was no need OF demonetiz-
ing it because Of inconvenience. as paper
based upon 1t could be used II necessary
AS far as the concerted action Of foreign
powers In this direction was concerned be.
neve it was due to the money aristocracy Of
the old world. The men who by reason oi
their wealth shaped and controlled the policy
of these nations. saw that silver was necee.
sarily. a. power In t6es hands sofx the pean]f
| less easily cornefed dnd conHoljsd ff51f R536