Year: 1878

| autumn leaves that grew on thlS eafIn
Then he began to think that he was do


ing we'll himself; and the fact is that the


men who cultivate the soil are to day the
| richest, on the average of anv class o


men under our flag. Then we got hare


times. Every body who had mortgage


as an adornment to his property has


suffered. Now they say the way to ge


back-the way to have prosperous times


again-Is to again go in debt Suppose


| bought farm for s. 600 and gave my


note for it; and then | bought horses


and wagons and gave my note and
bought piano for Mary and gave my


note, and sent James to school. and gave


my note. and they all run year. Wba'


a magnificent time | could have for that


year! Then when they come around and


wanted me to pay the note, | would say


II will give you little notes for the inter


est and let them run another year. =


What splendid time | could have for


another year! Finally, when they come


and say they have got to have the money


what would you think if l were to say to


them Il never had better time in my


life than when | was giving those notes
! All that is necessary for universal happi


ness and peace is to let me keep right on
giving my notes" | say to them the


reason OF hard times is because they have
lost confidence in me. They say that the


reason they have lost confidence is that
| have not got the money.


Now, it is precisely the same with an
individual that it is with the government


| say here to day that every farmer ought


to know that he can't make something


out of nothing The United States Gov


ernment can't make money. 1t can make


what it calls money. 1t has not the pow


er to make it; it has the power to make


you take it. In other words, it has the


power to make every creditor take it and


nobody else. If you go to buy bushel


of wheat and you have got fiat" money,


the man can say, 81 will take one dollar


in gold for that wheat, but | want five


dollars, if you pay in fat money" How


are you going to prevent him? The


money you have got is good simply be-


cause it promises to pay Now it is pro


posed to have money that we will


promise not to pay. If nonsense can go


beyond that, | can not conceive the route


or path that it will take. Then if Con


gress says you must take it, Congress


must fix the price Of everything 1t


must fix the price OF wheat; it must Fl


the price OF making speech in a lawsuit;
it must fix the price of every article, or
else it can not make its money good.


But some gentlemen say that Congress
has the power to make money, and |
want to ask them one question | want
you to think about it: If this govern.
ment has the power to make money, why
should it collect taxes from US? Why
don't they make it and let US alone? IT
this government can make a dollar or a
thousand dollar bill just that quick


slapping his hands together, why should
they make US labor day and night. and
make US pay taxes to support them? .? If
the government can make money, let
them make it and let US alone. But, in
comes up here into this county with the
bayonet. and compels you to pay taxes.
1t is like the ocean trotting around to
borrow a little salt water, or like the sun
trying to get the loan of a candle from
some poor devil that has worked weeks
to make that candle So | say to them,
il they can do it, let them do it.


Very well, il the government can make
how much can it make? How
will | get my share ? How much is it
going to issue? Some say, Enough to
produce prosperity" But how much
they can t tell Some say they are going
to pay up the bonds and bring money in
that way into circulation and then bust
ness will be prosperous But | say bust
ness will be prosperous when the country
is prosperous But if you get too much
paper and it goes down, who loses it p
The man who has earned it and happens
to have it in his possession-that is the
man who losses it. You need not be
afraid but what the smart people-the
people on Wall street-will take care Of
They require their toll from
every man that goes by their way; but
the farmer-the laboring man that has
worked, and has been given some of that
loses his labor, unless that
money is worth as much as it was the
day he received it. But they say there
is not money enough. | say there is
l wish | could get it
We don't lack money. The banks have
got plenty of money a certain portion
of the people have money. We are lack
ing coll.terals-that is what we are lack
ing You can get all you want on call in
New York at one and half and two per
cent and do you know why you don't |
60 and get it? Because you haven't got
the collaterals; and if we are going to
pass a law on this subject | would like |
to have Congress pass law furnishing US
But it will not do; there is
no foundation to it When that money |
gets out it has all got to be paid.


Call it fiat" money-call it what you
please; the reason that a gold dollar is |
worth dollar is because you can buy the |
results OF the same amount of labor that |
it took to dig that gold and to mint it,
including all the fellows that hunted and |
didn't find it. If you sake piece of pa
per and say that it represents s. or SO |
it only represents it becaUsA there is a
promise to pay that money-it is only !
good when you believe that the man or
government that made the promise is |
good and you cant go beyond it Sup !
pose you could blot from your mind that |
there was such a thing as gold and silver
what is a dollar, just leaving gold and /
silver out? You have got fiat" bill |
hat says it is SO. and it is valuable be
cause it never will be redeemed Gold |
and silver is valuable of itself When | |
take $40 gold piece and go to England,
| have to sell it the same as | would
bushel of corn, and all that spread eagle
nonsense doesn't add one solitary farth-
ing to its value And when sovereign |
comes here from England, we don t care
anything about the beautiful picture Of
Queen Victoria, or any other girl 1t is
worth so much and DO more. But they |
say that it is the stamp of the govern
ment that makes it valuable Why not |
stamp them tens, thousands, or millions,
and let US all be millionairs 1t won't |
do We will never get prosperity in that
way Slowly steadily and surely our
money has advanced: slowly, steadily, |
and surely the world has had more and |
more confidence in the industry, and |
honesty, and the integrity of the Ameri |
can OpOnle and to that extent orr money |