The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-02-26
REPUTATION AND pIsHoNoR.
A Part of Henry Ward Beecher's Best
Sermona.

A Part of Henry Ward Beechers Best
Sermons.
During the fat money and unlimited
paper currency excitement of 1877 Mr..
Beecher delivered q famous sermon on
Thanksgiving of that year on the perils
of the day. In it he used this language:
whenever in any nation there is
such an attempt to tamper with stand
ards that the moral sense of man IS be-
wildered and liberty is given 20 unprin-
cipled men at large to cheat, to be uu-
faithful to obligations, to refuse the
payment of honest debts-whenever
that takes place, it is all the worse if
done with the permission of the law.
I hate the devil riding on a law worse
thar 1 do the devil riding without a
law under him. Whoever hampers with
established standards hampers with the
very marrow and vitality of public
faith. . The danger into which
we are running Is hidden under the
mystery of finance and the currency.
All money is but a representative Of
property. As now, by facility of inter-
course, all the world is one open mar
ket, the need of one and the same stand
ard of money. uniform, universal and
unalterably becomes imperious.
Gold is the worlds standard. Gold
is the universal measure Of value. Other
kinds OF money there are-silver. cop
per, paPer-but they all must conform
to gold and be measured by it and be
interchangeable with It. in fixed and
definite proportions. Gold is king in
commerce. All other money must rep
resent gold. No vote Of legislature can
change the nature Of commerce, the
nature of property, the nature Of its
representative in money or the relative
superiority or inferiority Of different
currencies. Gold came TO- its supremac- |
as a representative of property BIZ the |
iong-established conseTT Of mankind. |
Congress cannot change it for the
world. o eve for this nation. cxcppt
upon PAST transactions. It NAV give
lmpunity to men to cheat contfdfnc
creditors. but it cannot rufsthe aim,
currency in all future transactions.
1.-THE crime OF paying a debt in a rare
rency inferior in value to that in which
It was contracted. base at aii' and'
anywhere. has 4 deeper guilt and a
baser infamy in our case. Wien incur
mortal struggle capitalists were solicit
ed to lend their money to us on the fait1
of the nafion. We were too glad. most
grateful, for their aid. TheE 1ipy were
not graspiIg and swollen usarsrs. d.
no! They were benefactorS We. re-
ioiced in their bounty and gave thanks
for their coufiding faith in OUT national
honesty. Now. our dangers past: we Y
revile them. finding no epfthetst too 'vio4
lent, and stdve TO pay them, lot gold
for the gold'they lent our misery. but
in a dishonesr measure OF inferior
n
"In the court Of the eonuFerciaIsl
conscience we shall be ~runvict-I
of e~ndcavorf9g TO cheat the Tren Who'll
came TO our crscur in the DARK day..
This congress;voTrS not h1v"Cistel,, A
nor n ~govcrnrncut of thrr CEited1I
but forrh~xfr-rrth -a-urouur1i
'rmies by foreign capitalists, ard now
% return thei-aid hy n base. trercheryIE
3 to deserve III fEfTr1y as deep As the
.1west drnths Sf hcH- But WV to those1l
men. hlll-headErI,' without esszfoare
TO undermine the~i-11eEritvli
md simplicity 9TrFe nation" III