The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1899-03-02
REPUTATION AND DlSHCMOR
A Part Of Henry Ward Bccchcr's nes1

SGf1l0D3.
During the fat money and unlimited
paper currency excitement Of 1877 Mr..
Beechcr delivered u famous sermon OH
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 tanper with stand
nrds that the moral sense Of man is be-
wildercd and liberty is given to unprin-
cipled men at large to cheat, to be un-
faithful to obligations, to refuse the
payment of honest debts-whenevcr
that takes place, it is all the worse il
done with the permission of the law.
hate the devil riding on q law worse
than I do the devil riding without Il
law under him. Whoever tampers will,
established standards tampers with tho
very marrow and vitality of public
faith. y 4 The danger into which
we are running is hidden under tho
mystery of finance and the currency,
All money is but a representative of
property. AS now, by facility of inter-
kct, the need of one and the same stand
ard of money, uniform, universal and
unalterably becomes impcrious.
"Gold is the worlds standard Gold
is the universal measure of value. Other
kinds of money there arc--silvcr, cop
per, pnper-bllt 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 infcriority of different
currencies. Gold came to its supremacy
as q representative OF property by Tho
long-established consent of mankind.
Congress cannot change it for the
world, nor even for this nation, except
upon past transactions. It may ;;va
1mpunity to men to cheat conliding
creditors, but it cannot rule the value OF
currency in all future transactions.
'The crime of paying y debt in n cur,
rcncy inferior in value to that in which
It was contracted, base at all times and
anywhere, has D deeper guilt and a
baser infamy in our case. When in our
mortal struggle capitalists were solicit
ed to lend their money to US en- the faith
of the nation, we were too glad, most
grateful, for their aid. Then they wera
not grasping and swollen usurers. Oh,
no! They were bcncfactors. We re.
joiced in their bounty and gave thaalla
for their contiding faith in our national
honesty Now, our dangers past, We
revile them, finding no epithcts too vio,
lent, and strive 10 pay them, not gold
for the gold they lent our misery, but
in o dishonest measure of all inferior
metal.
"In the court Of the commercial
worlds conscience We shall be convict
cd Of cndcaVorinT tc cheat the men who
came to our rescue in the dark Cay.
This congress would not have existed,
nor any government Of the United
statcs. but for the strength given TO our
armies by foreign capitalists, and now
TO return their aid by Il base trc;,chcry
Is to deserve an infamy as deep as the
lowest depths Of hell. But woe to those
men, bull-hcadcd. without eyes, who nre
attempting to undermine the integrity
and simplicity OF the nation"