The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-09-17

Hen Democrat HnGa q z6OC1nllSt-~A
"Reminiscences Of 1s9e
Editor Independent: Born in 1855,
| spent my early years on a farm near
Barry, Pike county, Ill. My father
: died when I was two years old, and
such home education as l received was
from my mother, who was descend
ant of the Fitchs of Norwalk, Conn, a
ty pical Puritan family. My early
training was religious, and in my coll
ltge days | became member of the
Baptist church, and was a worker in
the Sunday school and " M. C. A. |
was taught, and at that time believed,
that there was only one kind of JUS
t;ce and one kind of honesty. |
Judged all of the past and all of the
future by present standards only. 1t
took me long time to unlearn this
error.
Arrived at manhood settled in
Chicago to practice law. had al
ways voted the democratic ticket. In
1895 became interested in Coin
Harvey's agitation of the silver ques-
ton and in the wider question of mon
ey and credit generally. read ev-
elything on the subject that | could
lay hands on and became land still
remain) an ardent supporter of the
money planks of the democratic plat
fern OF 1896. That memorable cam
paign of 1896 was for me, as for thol-
sands of others, a turning point in
life. engaged in almost constant pr
vete discussions in those days with
men that thought were good and
honest and not Influenced by selfish
motives nor by politics. To my amaze
ment | found that nearly all of them
were in favor of sound money, but
could under no circumstances be in
duced to state wnat sound money was.
Men who in ordinary matters boosted
of their franllness to the verge of brd-
tality would tremble in their knees
and begin to call names when closely
pressed to state what they meant by
honest money. Men like John Nj.
Palmer, Cassius M. Clay and others.
who had been fire-eating abolitionists
ard had faced the cold steel to destroy
four billion dollars worth of lawful
slave property, and had then by an
amendment to the constitution forced
9 dozen states to repudiate their pub
lie debts, collapsed at the taunt of re-
and could only echo the
parrot cry: Sound money is honest
money, honest money is sound money.
and atheists Of all shades
from Moody to Ingerso.l, who would
not quail III the presence of an Omnip-
0tent God or devil, as the case might
be, were cowed bv the mysterious So
cial power of wealth, and with bah
bling tongues advocated indirect for
gerry and nOte-raislng un0er the eu-
phemiStic name Of sound money.
also had occasio in my own expert
eLce to feel the iron hand of plutOc
racy under the velvet glove of theor-
etical demo racy. became SO accus-
tened to being called an anarchist and
that the words lost all eff
feet on me. | became an avOwed ad
yccate of dishonest money and was
willing and anxious to explain in de-
tail what meant by it.
In those days saw the streets OF
Chicago bedecked with the national
flag in new form-not the plain stars
and stripes, good enough for any man
but with tail piece sewed onto it
bearing the legend Sound money"
had in my earlier days served a term
Ii the Illinois national guard, and
prided myself on being veteran. L
had learned to feel something of SOL
iier's respect for the nag as a symbol
D. unity. had once held the folds OF
TRAIT beautiful flag up in my hands as
| took the oath of enlistment, but there
HAS no tail piece on it then. If the
sight of sound money flag made
ny blood boil, worse yet was to come
Mark Hanna originated his flag day
and the next thing saw was
he holy stars and stripes with the
features of a mortal being right across
he middle of them. The face of Will
am Mckinley constituted the princi-
pal part of the flag. Then was brand
ID indelibly on my mind the ugly fact
n carefully concealed by the plutoc-
'ecy as long as possible, viz: that we
ire not one nation, but two nations;
" have not one flag, but two flags;
here is not one kind of honesty, but
:wo kinds Of honesty: not one kind of
Justice, but two kinds.