Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-10-03

fiourished and by which they developed
our country. Shall this great people
be bound hand and foot by the audac-
ity, the aggressiveness of few able
men and let them become the perma-
nent rulers where now they only bear
temporary sway? We should not be
Americans if we permitted it.
"A trust is consultation, COM
hine, of many interests that has for its
object the benefit of the few, antagon-
izing aud breaking down the interests
of many. Under the specious claim of
a cheaper and better service. they turn
thousands OF men adrift, blight three
communities where they aid one and
thus go on consolidating. combining.
breaking. crushing, destroying as they
go. The individual man no longer, or
is fast ceasing TO play part in the
affairs of the commercial world of the
closed: he becomes stakeholder by
force of circumstances in great trust,
drops his independence, his rulership
OF his own business and becomes an
an adjunct. a part. a detail.
as member of this money octopus. 1t
needs but to be looked at and into to
show the men of affairs that if not OPP
posed, if not fought, if pot. battled
with. it will soon have their independ-
ent commercial ventures i'll its tenta-
icles.
I'VE are told today that if we antag-
onize the trusts. if we fight their ag-
sressivcness, their crushing tactics, we
Want 10 haul down the flag of the Phil
ippines--that we want to destroy the
fame of our great country. No one
niagnate of these great concerns saw
fit, when the cry OF distress went up
from a people now our own, to lend
their aid, their dollars, or themselves
for the cause; but individuals stood
forth and praise be that in many cases
love of country, love of patriot
given.
''The money question is also a vital
one. 1T has ever been a contest ne
tween the government and wouldbe
self-appointed agents. Since the for
nation of our government, the battle
has gone ON over what should consti-
tute money and how much money
should be in circulation. Money, we
all understand, is but Il some thing eN-
pressive of value. The public must
have something in a tangible circulate
ing shape to express their transactions.
Thai something is known as money,
expressing value. In every state on
one side is a great mass of people; on
the other a body of men struggling for
supremacy, who are ever ready to take
up the troubles of the country and
from their standpoint administer a
remedy. Today. in this country, as a
hundred years ago, this same class has
s,riyen to take the making of a cur
rency from the people, from the coun-
try, from its representatives in con-
srsss.
The democratic party holds that
the government, and the government
alone, may issue currency, may coin
its money. The democratic party has
eyer.held that ii needs no brokers, no
commission agents, between it and the
people: that it was government pre-
negative, right belonging to the gov
eminent alone. On the other side in
tliguing men are found who want. to
strip the government of that power.
1T has ever been their aim to make a
currency that should be as scarce as
possible, with which to carry on the
business of the country. They wanted
that they should regulate tine amount
of money, aud then fix the price at
which the people could have that mon
ey. Every artifice that cunning, that
subtlety could command has been eN-
erted to reduce its volume. We find
silver pushed out of its rightful place.
We find a determined effort to substi-
tute an interest-bearing note for nom
Understanding note.
I'VE claim that the government, and
the government alone, has the power
TO coin and issue expressions of value.
This is a rightful and just ground, and
one for which our party has always
stood and will continue to stand. Gov
eminent coming of money and the is
suance of circulating notes are alike
solely a government function. The
government should declare what shall
be money and what shall be its volume.
Issuance of circulating notes is no
more within the province OF private
banking corporations than is the coin
age Of gold and silver, or the issuance
oil government bonds. Banks of de-
post and discount are as necessary to
business as the circulation of the blood
is to the body, but they should not be
allowed to issue any form of paper
currency.
II believe this embodies the demo-
cratic principles and rightly tells the
position of the democratic party. The
democratic party is a party of conser-
vatism, n party of security, party
that stands forth for the maintenance
of every honest contract, and will raise
Its hand against any effort to break
down or Destroy
A Narrow Escape.
Thankful words written by Mrs
Ada Il. Hart. of Groton, S. d. "Was
taken with bad cold which settled
on my lungs; cough set in and finally
terminated in Consumption. Four doc
! tors gave me up. saving could live