Year: 1878

. which did not take place. Others tha
b did are equally striking. Good wage
u and good prices stimulated every Ia
. borng-man's muscle, every busines
o mans brain, and every power of ma
Q chinery into tho highest and most pro
ductivc activity, Hope and encour
q agement were in every heart. New
b farms were bought and cultivated, new
}, workshops were opened new manu-
= factories were established new town
: and cities were founded, and old one,
v expanded and improved new railroad,
!, were built, giving employment to mill
, ions and bringing the remotest and
most obscure regions into immediate
contact with trade and civilization
, new mines Of iron, coal, and silver were


sunk into the earth, whose contents in
return assisted in tho glad work of q
universal, individual, and national pros.
perty. Am TO be reminded that this
.-~h 49, - -.. sis.;.... 80 g, ..-@t -


fare and happiness was delusion, that
il was unreal and could not lastY Why
was 1t delusion2 Were not its com


forts and blessings reality TO the
American peopleY But why did it not


last But one answer can be given


The money power determined it should


not last. The garden OF Eden before


the fall was not more hateful in the
eyes OF Satan than was this picture of


plenty and prosperity TO those whose
gains and profits depended on the


scarcity OF money in the hands of the


people and consequent hard times.
They began their work of spoliation in


1866, and they have made the down
fall complete. They have haunted


these halls; they have Numbered at


these doors they have fortified them.
selves in the high places of this Gov.
ernment, and, whether by deceitful
persuasion, artful speech, or open mem
ace and assault, they have not ceased
TO bring blight and ruin to the people


The very madness Of avarice has inn
PEELED them from blow to blow, from
act to act. The picture Of general wei


fare that | have drawn, indeed, did not
last. Ii has been deiaced, torn, stamp
cd under foot by the repeated acts Of


legislation inspired BY remorseless
greed. The people asked for no such
change. They never sent petitions
here asking for any Of the enactments
Of the last twelve years. They would


have been glad TO be let alone aud TO
allow the natural laws Of trade aud
business TO work out safe solution
OF every financial problem. Loud com
plant is now made BY thoughtless or
designing persons that the question Of
our finances is under agitation. Every
act Of Legislation thus far has been die
tated by invested capital, and not one
by the people. Every, agitation ofthe
question in Congress, until the present,
has been made in the same interest and
to gain additional advantages.


The people thus tar have borne their
wrongs in the forbearing hope that
they would cease, and il now they rise
at last and see to It that their rights
are better respected, il is because the
full measure OF their patience is ex.
bausted. When their PROSTATE and
suffering condition, however, is forced
on the unwilling recognition Of the
money power, we are often met with
the impatient argument that il is not
for the government 10 make money
for the people might content myself
with answering thatit is certainly not
tor the government to destroy money
for the people. Those who deny tho
right OF the government to regulate
the amount OF currency in circulation
overlook the TACT that they have been
debating that very policy to be pur'
sued for themselves; only that they
have always caused 1t to bo regulated
downward instead of upward.


But what is the duty of the govern


meht in this regard Is il true that
the people are not dependent on the
policy of their government for money
on which to do business2 Is il true,
us often asserted, that in some way or
other those who are willing to work.
or have something TO sell, can always
obtain money regardless Of all finan.
cial legislationY No greater fallacy
than thus was ever put forward in do.
fense of wrong and injustice. Money
is the creature Of government both as
to quality and quantity. 1t exists
merely By the assertion of law, and in
no other way. Article !, section s, Of
the Constitution OF the United States
provides that "The Congress shall
have power to coin money,
regulate the value thereof, and of for.
eign coin, and fix tho standard OF
weights and measures" and section 10
of the same article denies all such
powers TO the States, thus making
Congress the exclusive creator of mon.
ey for the American people Without
the action of Congress not one dollar
can exist in the United States. II the
article called money, whether of gold,
silver, or paper, is necessary at all in
the transactions OF life, here alone is
the fountain from which 1t emanates
How then, shall this high power be
exercisedg Shall only enough lawful
money bc created, in proportion to the
labor and other commodities which il


is designed TO pay for, 10 give ten cents
a day TO the laborcr and $40 for n
horse or shall it be furnished in sufli
cent amount to afford just equiva.
lent for labor and for every other
thing Of valuc2 On the answer to this
question has depended the prosperity
or the adversely of the American peo-
Pile in all the past; on it their present
deplorablc condition can alone be cx.
planned, and their future fate foretold.
A circulating medium beng a recog
mead ,a.ossity nf nivilf1ad natinna