Indiana State Sentinel, Volume 27, Number 23, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 January 1878 — Page 10

which then promised the ipost abundant yield was nelecU-d for the purpose. "It wtwi tbe Jepreciatlu in the value of the Ereclous metals aud of money. sujpoHi to ave already revolted from the newsupplle of gold, which made him the conspicuous advocateof the demand that one of the metal

snould be demouetised In order to 'retire ss the situation.'" It appear, therefore, that K-ld, even ald. toe very Koa , oi a uervo Idolatry In oar pildst at tuis time, has com mitted tne luoLAl Bin 01 mutinuuu 1ICU been cursed aici ciraclset onlhat account by the uurcru htA i.toty chancers as well as its more uiode-C coir pan Jons, silver and paper. And If noir bo?n be piwioun raeuUs tiirentened to lncreiwe beyv the wisnes ana inter At.anf thinia4 thev tvould be earnestly Inquiring nU nctiemln Into some plan by which they eould demonetise gold and silrer alike, and BubstttTltedbinoads or some other scarcer ami more difficult commodity t 0b Uinutbebui4of specie pnymenu and the money in which all deuts one to mem snouia TtAlrf. T i lere remains . however, on e ot h er argument In connection with the aliesreu overproduction ana Inflation of tUver which i-eiuire attention. In the name of good faith It hrwi been urged here in thl body and elsewnere that, although silver I aoecifie.i as plainly a gold In all our financial legislation, yt it wan pro duced In such meager quantitie at mo noae oar national debt wan created that the parts natters of our bonds could not have reasonably supposed they were ever to recs-ive it in mymeu t of the name, notwlth.-taudiug the law expressly aald they should. In other words, it is an argument to relae the bondholder from tne absolute, definitely written words of the law on the ground that he conld not foresee that the government would ever have sliver enough to fulfill the law. This Is the highest, boldest note of repudiation ever heard In this country; an open admission of the law and an open, square demand for ltn viola Ion. No facts or surrounding circumstances at the time the contract was made can tor a moment Justify such a flagrant abrogation of its mom explicit terms but even If outside eond itlons, not .- xpressed In its face, could beset np now to detttttt it, I AMMert that the conditions aliened by the advo:aUs of this argument never existed at all. i assert that when the law for tne payment of the public debt was const raed by tne'fumoas act of March, 13, to mean payment In gold and silver both, the production of our silver mines for that year was ll,ft5,0-, and had annually averaged that - amount since ISM. It is contended that the purchasers of our bonds overlooked, when they were first Issued tne feeble supply of silver. Did an annual average production of nearly $i2,000,ou0 for tne pace of five years precedlug the act of March, iixK), likewise escape their attentlou, when they were framing that act in their own interest and to suit themselves? But again, by the refunding act of July 11, 187o, authorizing the issue of newooin bouds to be utituua for he original 4-20 bouds, making thereby tne new contract of that date, t waj agreed that the bonds Issued by virtu of that act should be payable in silver a well as gold. . During that very year, the year of the contract which Uto be enforced in all Its demands against tne flesh and blood of ik Dor, the generoui silver mines of the United states yielded tlJ,OJ0,WW. Was not this sam sufflclent to pat the authors of that enactment, the bondholders In Europe and America, on their guard against making a solemn stipulation to receive silver money in payment of their bonds, unless they intenueu at the same time to do koT miring the year 1S71 and 172 many hundred miUlous of oonds were Issued nudor the act of July 14, 170, and 'received in exchange for 5-2W. They were all payable by the express terms of the law either In silver or gold, at the option of the government; and tne production ot silver, when they were thus voluntarily received, amounted, according to our piinluK statistics in 1871, to rM.UiO.ixO, and In 172 to Jrt,7J0,0'JO.. It Is no doubt true that the product of these two latter years exalted the fear of a silver inflation which has alnce depened into the aboard panic now prevailing, but how can It with nurnew be preiened that the bondholder is released from receiving silver aecordih? to his agreement, on tbe gronud that we were not producing tnat metal w hen the Jaws governing the contract were enacted? An d if It was not eoiued in amounts as large tm it has been nine, yet It was well -known that Uie law made its coinage free and aniimitod, and no one has arlgUt tocomplalraof the enforcement of a law of which 1ih had mil kiu)wllKeHttli time his rhthls aud liabilities accrued. The argument lsnnsoundln law and nnsustalned by the facts. In fact, the entire movement demonetizing silver Is to be explained solely and alone on the principle of contraction; aud this brings me. In this connection, to consider more luliy that destructive principle, and especially to examine the policy and the effects of the law of January 14, 1S75, lor the resumption of specie payments by an enforced contraction of the uoii-interest bearing legal tender currency of the country. The law of February, 174, taking away sliver money from the people, and the law of January, 18TS, fixing the day, not less than a year In advance, when the greenback shall also perish, are twin monsters of evil, bora of the aame parentage and linked together for the destruction of all money save gold. In their discussion, therefore, they are entitled to a Joint recognition. ttir, In the entire catalogue of crimes against humau society not one cm be lound so awful In a 1 its consequences, both Immediate aud remote, as a government commits when it deliberately destroys the-money of Its own citizens. Wherever In all the regions of time such measures have been accomplished, the horrors of history have taken place. No shrinkage In the amount of money, no contraction of , the currency in the ha&da of the people was ever enforced by law to any considerable extent, except amidst broken lives, ruined hopes, d?pair, lost honor, and all the vices springing from the lowest depths of poverty and human misery. The worst Ingredients of war, pjstiltnce. and famine ail flow from the act of a government violently tearing from the bauds of the laboring masses the money they so much need. Murder, theft, robbery, prostitution, forjery, embeezlement, and fratvt of tvery hue and mien curse the land that is deprived of a fnll and sathclent circulating medium on which to give employment to Its totHm; men and women, lhe social statistic? of mankind will show that wherever the supply of mouey has been scant and labor poorly paid, or 16't entirely Idle, there the gallows-tree has borne most frequently its horrid burden ; there tbe Jails and Lhe penitentiaries and ail the hannts of Infamy have been msit crowded. The wellelothed and well-fed I'liaxisee may ostentatiously thank Uod that be is better than sucn M these, bat he Is not. When tbe strong hand of the government is engaged in aboiisbing money, and thus Interposing between the laboring man and the laboring woman .and their last chance for bread by honest work, their sins for self-preservation ' are less odious to their merci'ul Father than the prayers of the usurers who have driven them to ruin. It N said In highly Intelligent quarters thlt at thUhour therp are three millions of onr own people unemployed, who have no Other dependence lor food and shelter than the ' labor of their hands, and one-half of whom are now tramping from place to p aee for crumbs of 'charity.- Pitiable and dangerous spectacle ! It never happened before in this land of bounteous nature, nor woo Id It now but for the fact that in tneae later days a class has arisen In our midst hich la beneated by the scarcity of money, and tbe consequent destruction of all those great Industries which afford employment to Itioor. .Nor doe this frightful spectacle appeal alone to our sympathy with human misery, deep and Indescribable as that must be. The loss to the country la actual wealth arising from the absolute Idleness of three million persons is very great. It has been estimated that at one dollar per day as wages it would amount to enough In twe years to liquidate onr public debt. 1 he United States monetary commission make tbe following valuable observations In their recent import: "The worst effect, however, economically considered, of falling prices Is not upon exist ing property, nor upon debtors, but upon la borers, wnoiu it deprives oi employment ana consigns to poverty, and upon society, which It deprives of that vast sum of wealth which resides potentially In the vigorous arms of the Idle workman. A shrinking volume ot money transfers existing property unjust) v. and causes a concentration and diminution of wealth. It also impairs the value of exlst- . log property by eliminating from It that Important element of value con ferred npon it by the skill, energy and enre of tne debtors rrom wnom it is wresieu. i.utit does not destroy any existing property, while It does absolutely annihilate all-the values Erodocibl by the labor wblcn-lt condemns to UenetN. The estimate Is not an extravagant ooe that there are now in the United Hiatea 3 060.UUO persons willing to work, but who are idla because they can not obtain employment. This vaet poverty-stricken army la lmrreaslng and wUl continue to Increase as long as falling ?riee shall continue to sepnrate money espial, the fund oat of which wages are paid, from labor, and to discourage lis investment in other forms of Dropertv. Labor ,00-0 p- rating with tbe forces of nature, Is the source of a'l wealth, and to reach the highest deirrfe of ettectlveness. It must be chMrtl fled through the aid of capital and sup ported by capital daring the process of production and be msaiiured and paid In money, each alt of which is a stunt draft on all othsr forms of property, bearing a value In proportion to the number of such drafts. In order that any country may reach the maximum of

material prosperity, certain conditions are lndispensable. All Its labor, assisted by the most approved machinery and appliances, must be employed, and the fruits ot industry must be Justly distributed. These conditions are only possible when capital is .absolutely protected against violence and free from illegitimate legislative Interference, and when the laborer is protected In his natural right to dispose of his labor in such manner as he may prefer. They are uturly impossible when the money stock is shrinking and tbe money value of property and services Is declining. Howsoever great the natural resources of a country may be, however genial Its climate, fertile Its noil, ingenious, enterprising and Industrious IIh Inhabitants, or free Its institutions, H the value of money is nrlnfclng and prices are filling. Its merchants will be overwhelmed wltb bankruptcy, its Industries will be paralyzed, and destitution and distress will prevail. . The instinct of self-interest Is the malnsprla of Industrial and commercial activity. It is the animating motive alike ot the capitalist and Of the laborer. Without it, no labor would be performed, nor would capital have an existence. If money capital Is withdrawn from productive enterprises, It is from tbe apprehension of loss and irom the name Instinct of thrift through whieh It was acquired. It Is natural that the money capitalist should exact from labor all be can la exchange for his money, and that the laborer should exuot all the money he can In exchange for his labor. What Is known as the conflict between capital aud labor, is not so much a conflict between other forms of capital and labor as It Is between money and labor. Indeed, the conflict between money and other forms of capital is m dlstiuetly marked and quite as severe as the conflict between money aud labor, and In that conflict otuer forms of capital suffer fully as much as labor, the . only difference beiag that they are better able to endure losses. Other forms of capital must be constantly converted Into money in order to pay wages and to meet other demands incident to industrial enterf rises. When tne stock of money Is shrlukng and prices are falling, th is ooirverslou can only be made at rates continuity growing more unfavorable, while at the same lime the products of tbe laborer for whose wages sac rlnces have been made are abo undergoing a shrinkage of money value. Thus loa and sacrifice are encountered at every turn, and the owners of other capital than money shrink from the friction of exchange, withdraw from productive enterprises, and only exchange as much of tbelr property for money as will suffice to meet the ueceasary expenditures of living, which are reduced to the most economical level, as It Is principal and not Income which Is being consumed. Little more labor will be em Dloved under these circumstances than Is

-Hufficleut to support the owners of capital on this parsimonious oasis, anu as a censequence the labor market will be overstocked, aud tbe competition between laborers will reduce wages to a starvation level. But .during this period, when property Is being sacrificed to meet current necessities, and laborers are being remitted to Idleness and destitution, money fattens on the general disaster." When, therefore, on . the 11th of January, 187.S, this government, having already destroyed nliver money, determined to destroy within the next four years it outstanding legal paper currency until there should ' be no more of It left titan could be redeemed in gold coin alone on the 1st day of January. ltfTtf, It became responsible for all the appalling consequences that have followed. An attempt to force the resumption of specie payments with gold and silver both as our metallic basis would be a cruel failure at this time; but the E reposition to contract, reduce, cancel and urn our present amount of currency until it harmonizes with the meager margin of gold which we can command has stricken the arm of labor with paralysis, dried up t he fountains of business prosperity, and placed hollow-eyed want In more than a million hitherto happy homes. The demonetlaatioa of silver was purposely accomplished before tbe policy of specie resumption was declared, in order to make mouey as scarce as possible in reaching by forced contractaon the single standard ot gold. We could reach the double standard easier than the single one, but the purpose of the motley power was 'the diminution of money In clrculatton, and It toetter accomplished that object by first outlawing silver and then aeeklnz the specie basis composed of but one metal. It can not be denied that great pmerers btM beeumsda la this Work of destroy Ing moneys, and all values, except, the ralue of money, which is made greater by being made scarcer and hE-ft-d,er to obtain'. At the date of tbe act of Jaonary, 1875, our volume of currency was already reduced in proportion to population lar below European nations, where labor commands barely sustenance watte. We bad nearly one-half Jess per capiU than Germany, England or France. Financial distress was even then upon an. Business wrecks were a float on every band, we bad tbe warnings ot the nine preceding years during which tbe money of our country had been diminished nearly 100,000,OW by contraction, and during which time the liabilities for commercial failures and bankruptcies had arisen from an av enue of about 111,000,1)0 J per annum to nearly $00,0l)0,000. A panic had Just swept over the the country with sufficient havoc and ruin to extort the admission from General Orant In bis message of December, 1873, that our volume of currency was too small for our bnslness, even at its dullest stages. We had less han 97,000,000, not, counting fractional currency, and yet ngalnst the supplications of every active business aud industry a still farther reduction was dictated, and has been effected to the extent of nearly one hundred millions. If, however, the law lor the enforced resumption of specie payments Is to stand unrepealed on our slat no books, then there still remains a work of destruction to be done la this country far more extensive, dangerous and full of wretchedness than we have yet witnessed. That law declares that "On and after the 1st day ot January, A.D. 1S79, th secretary of the treasury shall redeem in coin the United Htates legal tender notes then outstanding on their presentation for redemption at the office of the assistant treasurer of the United tttates In the city of New York, In sums of not less than 160." The term coin here used means only gold now, and the law, in order to enable the secretary of the treasury to carry out this plan for retiring tho greenback money from circulation, authorizes him to sell interest-bearing bonds to obtain gold and to use such surplus revenues as he may have on hand. - The government has undertaken two things; ffcst, tue shrinkage of the amount of currency, and second, the possession of gold In such quantity that the one can be converted into tne other. Tbe smaller, therefore, the quantity of gold that can be obtained, the greater must be the reduction of paper money in order to rjst dollar for dollar ou such ,a narrow metallic basis. It becomes important in this view to know what has been done under the law of January, 1876, In accumulating gold as a basis for specie payments a year hence. Many efloris have ben made to ascertain tbe exact amount of actual gold which this government now owns, none or which have been entirely successful, for the reason, that tbe sum Is so small, but It is perfectly safe to state, after deducting the amount due as Interest on bonds, that there are not this day fifty jnil' Ions of gold in the United 8tatci treasury and in all the national banks besides If resumption is to take place on that bat-is, the gigantic task of tbU poor pittance will be to k'uiud good for the redemption of 50,0i7.aj8.50 of legal tender notes, common 'y called green Dacks, and f-l, HiiiH of national bank note circulation, making In all tbe sum of Sillies 1,644150. Jt is very Slain, even to those who believe thattl In gold i sufficient for the circulation aad redemption of $.1 in paper, that our present condition of II In gold to about Sit In psptr must be radically revolutionized against the day fixed for specie resumption. What probability is there of any large Increase of gold In, tbe vaults of the treasury! Will specie resumptlen be reached within therresent year by leveling up the amount of gold in our possession or by leveling dowu the amount of currency la circulation f No oue claims that foreign nations will supply our want of gold. On the cout-ary. nearly all the produce of our mines goes to them to pay interest on public securities held abroad. But even If this government could turn the entire gold yield of every American mine into the treasury between this and the 1st day of January, 1879, tbe supply woaidfall far short of a specie basis for one-tenth part of our present, circulation. During the year that has Just closed. 1877, the gold coinage of our mints reached only the sum of t4,l7S,lW. 'lhe bulk ot this sum went abroad, a portion ot It is hoarded by private partlee, and a small fraction, perhaps, -found It way Into -the ooflers of the government. An examination of the report of the -director of the mint for 177 shows that the entire coinage ot gold in the United states to the present time amounts to but f!KJ.Lr.fi. This is tbe mow and comparatively small production of gold money in the long snsce t M years nearly the whole lifetimeof the Araerlcad republic; less than $1 ,UV i,0uu; ess than enough to pay for one single crop of agricultural products In the states of Ohio, Kentucky. Indiana. Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas sod Nebraska, and less than one-half enough to pay tbe national debt as It exists to-dsy. Is there no lesson of wisdom in these figures for the staesman of these times T They are the experience ot almost a century. Do they eicourge any reasonable being to tolleve that gold enough can be obtained by this government in tbe next twelve months to redeem its currency and to enable Its citizens

to do business on a specie basts? Is there anywhere In America or in the whole universe a new fountain of gold, pouring forth increased volumes, from which our parched and scanty resources may be replenished T The vfry reverse is tne fact; old fountains are drying up; thf lr streams are dtminUhiug; no wizard's rod can smite the earth and indicate where new supplies will break forth. But the requirements of the government for goid constitute but a sma'l portion of the demand. The American people at this time are

Mormoualy in dbt more than any other i I tople beneath the sun. Their I .ate and municipal debts of all kinds, ind their private debts to eacu other, nave been variously Mtlmated at from six to tn thousand million dollars. Every dollar of this vast indebtedness will call for gold coin after tbe lKt day of Jaanary, 1479. where are tbe people to obtain sufficient gold wltb which to ay their deou ana transact their business? he Question is one that may well terruy every man wbo owes his neighbor anything. for tbere Is not now, and never bas been at any one time, enough gold in circulation as money on the whole face of tiieetrthtomeet this demand. If, therefore, specie payments are In reality to be resumed In Jauuary, 1X75. the government bas yet to destroy at least two-thirds of it present paper circulation, and the people on this reduced basis, and under the gold standard alone, will be compelled to meet their debts and their taxes, which have undergone no diminution. ( Sir, here the bad faith of this governmeat toward the great mass of its citizens culminate. To the people in debt the destruction of their money Is the virtual Increase of thel' indebtedness to the extent of the money detroyed. If a man makes a contract to pay S100 ou a given day, and has Just that sura ot money in his possession at the date of the contract, he is doing business securely. If, however, S.70 are takeu from him by force, and he is left to meet his contract on one-half the amount needed, his bankruptcy necessarily follows. The American people were supplied with one amount of currency on which to control debts, both public and private, and they are now to have another and far smaller amount with which to pay them. They entered Into ail th.elr existing obligations -with comparatively plenty of money In their hands. By the laws of this government now they are first to be deprived of one-half their money, and then required to pay every obligation in full. The national debt was contracted on the basis of inflation, and is to be paid on the narrowest basis of the most merciless contraction. A thousand dollar bond, for which only i0 In goid was realized by the government, in its distress, at the time of its issue, has now t be taken u p and paid for with over a thousand dollars in gold by tbe tax-payers. The farmer who bought land with deferred payments; tbe mechanic who purchased a bouse and lot and made a mortgage for the balance of the purchase money; the buslnes man who uses hli credit as a part of his capital, have Mil fcund the weight of their obligations largely Increased by being deprived "oi the means of meeting them. They must be met, however, and property Itself, In the absence of money, changes bands from the debtor to the creditor classes in payment of debts. It changes hanos, too, at such reduced values that the business man Is sold out and clonal np, and homes are swept away, often for the want of a very small sum ot money. Hi nee the act demonetizing silver, supplemented as It nas been by tbe act for a forced resumption of specie payments, the property of the people of the United Htates has shrunk not less than 35 per cent, in value. What could be sold for f 100 Ave years ago can be Dought now for 865 on an average all over the country. This is a criminal confiscation of property amounting to not leas In value than 10,(Xi0,0U0,iA)0 when the estimate Is applied to every state and section alike. In this vast shrinkage of all values, arising from the Hhrtnaawe of money In circulation. Is to be found tbe immediate cause of that general bankruptcy and ruin which now fill the land with the sound of falling business houses, commercial failures, broken savings banksand tne lamentations of the poor wbo have been robbed of their hard earnings and of tbe opportunity to earn more. Under the influence of this policy nearly forty thousand business failures have taken piaoe in this country since February, 1S73, with liabilities amounting in the aggregate to over 11,000,000,000. The heart sickens in thinking for a moment of the sorrows, the broken bearts, the sbattervd hopes, the suicides whloh these figures represent. If the polloy of this government has been te inflict the greatest minery on - tbe Rreatest number Its success bas been complete. It is invaln to attribute such widespread disasters to ether causes. We sometimes hear them ascribed to wbat is vaguely styled overproduction. I would gladly know wbat la meant by this oracular term. Overproduction? What is it that we overproduce? Is there too much food, clothing, and other necessities of life? Has the soil yielded teo much wheat, corn, hay, cotton, sugar, rloe? The producer Is one who creates wealth, and overproduction would therefore signify too great an amount of wealth. It will be hard to convince, a sane mind that an overflow of wealth is the cause of depression and gloom, of financial calamities and rapidly Increasing poverty, and of laborers prayln. and praying In vain, for the privilege, enoe afforded to slaves, of working for the bare means of subsistence. Tbe mission of wealth produced by toil from the bosom of the earth is far different from this. Unless deprived of its natural functions by pernicious laws it brings abundant happiness to a people and establishes smiling content In their midst. But the cause most commonly assignee by the authors of our financial poliov for its baleful effects on the business and labor of the country is that the currency has been and Is yet in an Inflated condition, and that real prosperity can only be attained by its reduction to the gold basis. The evils of Inflation have been pa la ted in the darkest colors for years past, and on all occasions. I am not an Inflationist in any sense that wouid disturb tbe true interest of Vade and commerce, nor would It ever be necessary to discuss the question at all. if tbe contractlonist had only been willing -to let tbe volume of our currency remain at the point where the country prospered most and the people weie happiest, A comparison between the periods when our paper circulation was greatest and tbeyears of contraction . which have followed, is crashing to the advocates of the latter policy. During the whole four years of 1863, 1861, lbtt, and lKotf, when the volume of our currency averaged over a thousand millloas, tue business failures of the country reacbed.only 2,li77 less In number than occurred in any three months of the year Jush closed. Is this an argument against a full and-generous circulation of money? During the period whicli is now ' stigmatized as one of inflation the windows of business houses were not darkened, and business men did not go as mourners about the streets. The laborer aid not go home without bread to bis wife and children; helpless millions did not cower and tremble at the approach of winter for lack o! food and shelter; the public peace was not broken by riots in resistance to starvation wages; the courts were not principally occupied la enforcing collection sorealosing mortgages, ordering sheriff sales or in punishing the destitute and outcast. These are some things which did not take place. Others that did are equally striking. Good wag and good prices stimulated every laboring man's muscle, every business man's brain, and every power of mach nery into the highest and most productive v itivity. Hope and encouragement was in every heart. New farms were bought and cultivated ; new workshops were opened; new manufactories were e-tsbllshed; new towns and cities were founded, and old ones expanded and Unproved ; new railroads were built, giving employment te millions, and . bringing the remotest . and most obscure regions into immediate contact with trade and clvlllEAtion; newmin s of coal, iron and silver were sunk In the earth, whose contents in return assisted in the glad work of a universal. Individual and national prosperity. Am I to be reminded that this well known condition or general welfare and happiness was a delusion, that it was unreal ana could not last? Why was it a delusion? Were not its Comforts and blessings a reality to the American people? 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 Ha tan than was this picture of plenty and prosperity to those whose gains and proflM depended on tbe scarcity of money In the bands of the people, and consequent nard times. They began their work of spoils tlon in lttU, and they have made tbe downfall comlee. They have haunted these halls; trey ave thunuered at these doors; they have fortified themselves in tbe high places of this government, and, whether by deceitful persuasion, artful speech or open menace and assault, they have not ceased to bring blight and ruin to the people. . The very madness of avarice has impelled them from blow to blow. from act to act. The picture ot general welfare thatlbave drawn, indeed, did. not last. It has been defaced, torn, stamped under foot by the repeated acts of legislation Inspired by remorseless greed. Tbe people askea for ho such change. They never sent petitions here asking for auy of the enactments of the last 12 . years. They would have been glad to be let ' alone and to allow the natural laws ot trade and business to work out a safe solution of very financial problem. Load complaint is now made by thoughtless or designing persons' that tbe q seat ion of our finances Is under agitation Every act of legislation thus far nas been dictated by invested capital, and not

one by the people. Every agitation of the question in congress, until the present, has been made in the same interest and to gain additional advantages. The people thus far have borne their wrongs in tbe forbearing Hope that they would cease, and if now they rise at last and see to it that their rights are better respected, It is beoause the full measure of their patience Is exhausted. When their prostrate and suffering condition, however, is forced on the unwilling recognition of tne money power, we are often met wit li the impatient argument tbat it Is not for the government to make money for the people. I might content myself witn answering that it is certainly not for The goveroinent U destroy money for tbe people. Those who deny the right of tbe govern men t to reoUta the amount of currency in circulation overlook tt.e fact tht they have been dictating that very policy to be pursued for itaetuselves; only that they have always caused it to be regulated downward instead oi upward. Bnt what is the duty of the government in taiarecnrd? l It true tbat the people are not dependent on the policy of their government for money on which to do business? . Is It true, as often assorted .that in some way or other thone wbo are willing to work, or have something to sell, can always obtain money regard less of all financial legislation? No greater fallacy than this was ever put forward in defease of wrong and injustice. Money is the creature of government both as to quality and quantity, it exists merely by the assertion of law, and in no other way. Article 1, section 8, or the eoustitutlon of the United Htates, prevldes that "The congresR shall have power to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures," and section 10 of the same article denies all sucn powers te the states, thus making congress the exc:uslve creator of money for the American people. Without the action of congress not one dollar can exist In the United ttats. If the article called money, whether of gold, silver or paper, Is necessary at all in the transactions of lUe, here alone is the fountain from which It eiaaustM. How thea shall this hugh power be exercised? Hhall only enough lawful money be created. In proportion to the labor and other commodities which it la di-slgned to pay for, to give ten cents a day to the laborer, and flu for a horse; or shall It be furnished in sudcient

amount to afford a Just equivalent for labor and for every other thing of value? On the answer to this question has depended the prosperity or the adversity of the American people in all the past; on It their present deplorable condition can alone be explained, and their future late foretold. A circulating medium being a recognized necessity of civilized nations, and its existence depending solely ou national authority, that government which, ror any reuson, fans to make a supply adeouae to the business nrosDerltv of its citi zens, violates that fundamental compact of amy wuicti must prevail in every iree pojiu cal commonwealth. Hot only, however, bas this government failed In this great duty, but the manner it has adopted to furnish the people with their limited and Insufficient supply of currency was conceived anu perfected by the owners of retired and inactive capital. The sys tem of national banking now. in use is the most elaborate and complete scheme for making the people pay tnoute to weaitn, in order to obtain a circulating medium, ever known in the financial history of the world. There Is not a del lar to-day lu the hands of the people on which tbev have not paid a tax f r tne privilege of having it pnt in circulation by the government. The national bank Is the middle man between the government and the people, and is enormously paia for do ing what the government ought directly to do itself. According to the report of the comptroller ef the currency there were two thou sand and eighty national banks October 1, 1S77, and they owned in even numbers $;fid,lJ00,9CJ of government bonds as the basis of a bank note circulation of f2l,OUO,00U. The Interest paid by the people on the bonds thus used to necu re a currency on which titranwict their business amounts to not less than $lB,0e0 ,800 personam. This Is tne tax paid tor tlie bank note circulation. - The bondholder has been made the banker of the country, and he Is banking on the interest bearing debt of the people. For every ill 00 of currency they pay him nearly 14 interest on the bond which secure that hundred. His advantagw, how ever, only begin with this bonus of sixteen minions. The report of the comptroller shews that, October 1,1877, the national banks had loans outstanding to the amount of S&li)O0.fNO. A'o oue will pretend tbat these loans are made on an average Interest ot lees than -10 per cent. This makes an interest account of eighty nine millions per annum, and this is an under rather tuan an oyer estimate. Of ether bonds, stocks, debts, real estate, specie, cur rency, clearlug bouse exchanges, United States certificates of deposit, aud all other resources, the property of the national banks, at the above dte, amounted to something over loll,0L0,0UU, which, at the low rate of 5 per cent., makes an additional Interest Income of ftS5fouO.ouo. 'l he following statement will there fore correctly represent the facts: October 1.177; National banks Resources Jl,711,0ut,WU0 Interest on resources paid by the people per annnm .. 110,000,000 In return for the establishment of this stu pendous money power -It dimply acts as an agent In transmitting the currency of the United Htates from the treasury to the people, Will auy one pretend that a cheaper aud more equitable mode of supplying the country with a circulating medium cannot be framed by our legislative wisdom? in tact can anyone for a moment defend such a system of monop oly and oppression 7 lie wno desires its per manence desires also the permanence of the national bonded debt. The two are inseparable. One rests npon tbe other. If ti e national banks are a blessing then our public debt is a blessing, for the debt FBpports the banks, i ma idea is embraced in the act of January, 1873. Provision is made in the third section of that act for an increased number of "banking associations" t be eased on an Increased number of Interest bearing bonds sold for that purpose. They are armed t' o by litis section with hostile powers against the legal tender greenback. With the aid of the secretary of the treasury they are author-, ized to exterminate this favorite money of the ptop e. For every 51ii Issued alter the date of the act of January, lb. 5, by the national banks then In existence er organized afterward t0 In legal tender -notes are to be withdrawn from circulation and destroyed until that currency is contracted to the' limit of e;J ,00i,(JOO. The purpose ot this legislation is to make the banks completely maeU-r of the financial situation and to subordinate all tbe wants and interests of tbe American people to their will and pleasure. And in order to facilitate this purpose tbe greenback dollar has been denounced with every epithet of contempt and derision known to the English language. I will not tau-e now to defend this great money In its contest with those who are bent on Its destruction. Its reputatioa in peace and )n war is known to all. The soldiers and the sailors knew it in the great hour of peril; their widows, their orphans, and their maimed and crippled comrades have known it ever since. The people of every class and of every party engaged In business and labor know that, in spite of all assaults, in spite of the fact that ths government dishonors it by refusing to take it for government dues, and in spite ol the fact tbat there Is not gold enough in the treasury to redeem it at ten cents on the dollar, yet to-dsy it ranks but three per cent, below gold in the money markets that" are most hostile to its existence. All these things are known and treasured np, and I do not dwell npon them now. riir. thus far I hate spoken In pointing ont what I conceive to be the vicious legislation of this country on the great and paramo ant question of its finances. There are two opposing ideas on this subject now thoroughly aroused into vigilance and activity. On the one hand is the vast money power in all its various developments of bonds, banks and loaning associations, and on the other are the great industries, tne active business aud the laboring people. The issue has been years in making up, out it is now Joined. Nobody need be deceived. All the widespread influences of capital are oraanlzed and combined. - The )olders of public securities in America and In' Europe work together, iney minx ana act in concert. The nattonnl banks of the United States have a solid organization to protect what they have aud to get as much more as possible. They are asking now to be relieved from paying taxes on their circulation and deposits, In order that they may enjoy their euormous profits free from all hardens for the support of the government. ' Associations of capitalists, engaged In obtaining mortgages at 12 per cent, interest on western f'rms, on account ot- J he scarcity tif money in that section, are not only striving to make all such m.-.rt-gtges payable in gold a year hence, bnt they are threatening tucse in pecuniary distress that they shall have no farther favors at the same rat.a unless they cgree in al ranee to pay gold In return for greenback leans. Tbe power of money in the midst of limes like these is very great, but 1 am much deceived in the people If they bave not turned at last in defiance and bold warning 'upon their oppressors. They are not In favor of repudiat ing a single dollar of their public or private debM. They Intend to pay everything they owe, but they intend to submit to no more changes of contracts,' violations ot obligations, and breeches of public faith, in order to increase their indebtedness or. te, take away their

means to pay it. They demand, too, that certain specific wrongs shiil be redressed: 1. Those for who at I ipealc demand the restoration of the silver dollar exactlyas It stood before It was touched by the act of ' Febnary, l73. They desire that it aba I have unlimited coinage, not fearing that It will become too plenty for their wants, and that It be made a full legal .lender, telleving that it is aa good now with wnioh to pay all debts, public and pi ivate, as it was during 81 yean of American history. - 2. They demand the repeal, unconditionally, of the act of January 14. UJ75, compelling a resumption of specie payments in January, 1879, boldlnjc that the question of a return to a specie basis for our currency should be controlled entirely bj the business Interests of the country. They do not believe that the country abould be dragged tb rough tbe depths of ruin, wretchedness and degradation iu order to reach a gold staadard for the benefit alone of the lucerne class -s. 5. They denund tbt tbe national banking system be removed aal a circulating medJim provided by the overnment for the people, without taxing taem for the privilege of obtaining it. And they ask that the amount thus placed in circulation shall bear a reasonaoie and Judlclou proportion to the business transactions an i tbe population of the United Htates. ' They demand that the currency clrculateti on the authority of the government shall be made a legal tender in the payment of all debts, public and private, Including all dues to the government, well knowing that it will then be at par with gold or more likely at a premium over it. 6. They demand that hereafter the financial policy of the country be framed permanently in their Interest; that they shall not be discriminated against in future legislation as in past, and that their pnisperity, and not the mere growth of Income to retired capitalLtts, shall be the primary duty of the government. In my Judgment, these demands are Just and moderate. I Implore senators not to suppose tbat they can be disregarded with safety; If they are rejected now t bey will be renewed hereafter with still greater determination and perhaps with others added. I plead for the financial credit of the government, it rests ou the popular will alone, aud that will can no longer be defied or menaced with impunity. The people are tovereign, and they can bind and they can ioosen. If the money power Is advised with wisdom it will stop and retrace its steps. It confronts a power; now mightier - than Itself; a free people at the ballot box, inflamed by a sense of Injustice and oppression. Ii, however, it is ioined to its golden idol : if its heart is hardened and its neck stlflened by its vast possessions; if the burning lust of avarice has made It deaf to the voice of reason and blind to all human experience. It will push on In Its career until it works Its own destruction ; for, sooner or later, the people, irrespec tlve of party names, will unite In their own defense and establish Justice. They have been slow to believe that there was a deliberate purpose to degrade and impoverish the great producing cla ses, but they are being rapidly educated now. The condition of the country Is a teacher whose awful lesson Is engraven on all their hearts. They have also recently read the proclamations of the great organs of the money power, removing all disguise as to tbe meaning of our financial legislation and the misery it has created. In t he columns of one they have read that - The American laborer must makeup his mind henceforth not to be so much better off thRn the European laborer. Men must be content -to work for low wsgea. In this way the worklngman will be nearer to that station In Hie to which it has pleased God to call him." In the columns of another organ of consolidated capital they have read the following revolting entlments: . "There reems to be but one remedy. It is a change of tbe ownership of the soli, and the creation of a class ef land owners on the one band and of tenant firmer on the other; something similar in loth cases to what has long existed nd now exists lu the older countries of Ejurope." And in every, form In which the English language can be used the American people, and especially the people of tbe west, have been notified, not that their consent will be asked, but that they will be compelled to submit 1o the legislation which results in this British system of baronial landed estates, a dependeut tenantry and pauper wases for the worfclngmen. Hir, I have no word of menace te utter on this floor, but In behalf of every laborer and evM-y owner of soil whom I represent, I warn all such as value their investments that when these doctrines of despotism are sought to be enforced, this fair land will acain be con -ruined in agony, mid the fires of liberty will blaze forth again, as they did a hundred years ago, in defense of the natural rightH of man. May tbe wisdom of our fathers and benignity of our Ood avert such an Issuo. but It It shall come, it infatuation has seizes our hearts, tbe result will only add one more Instance to the long catalogue of humau crimes and folly, where avarice, like ambition, overlaps itself, and in its unholy attempt to rob others of their possessions, loses its own.

The Greatest Slaughter in Prices of OVERCOATS

Ever known in

OHM

. Ua V 1 1A MflAdSilAfl fiuim AimUkAlniinln f W hiiAi mIm flitAM

.law lluIC I CbCIICU IIUIII UUI VI IIUIGOCIIG .lilaliUlaUlUI J UTCI - ; For (Hen, Boys, Youths and Children, With Instructions to Reduce and Sell at the Following Prices:

.Lot 5775, " 521. " 4741, " 6SIt, " 8707, - 6TW, m, M 6837, " " WM1, M 6XM, M WHS, Vermont flrev All-Wool Felt Orercoftts.. All-Wot I Hint KsQcy Far Beaver-.. Heavy txir Heaver... Fancy Fur fceaver-.. Far leaverFancy F tir lieaver-.. Fancy Stripe Fur Beaver .-...... .

Fioe tfrowa Commonwealth For Beaver. Flme KU ck Commonwealth Far Reaver-... Fine Blitrk (Jommnuwealtti Fur Beaver - Fine hlpck Commonwealth Far Beaver.....

Fine Olive Commonwealth Far Beaver, Langley Far beaver- - Lanpiey Fur Beaver - Bchuatx-1 Far Beaver, (Imported)

W1t, 6961,

Jast received;, 75 Overcoat In Black, Blue, Brown and Olive Beaver, (In Slaters. Hani A Bhaw mat Overcctlngs) at f 10.00 each, worth $15.00 at wholesale the past season. . IN OUR YOUTHS' DEPARTMENT WE OFFER

Lot 575W, Verroot t Grey, at-. 67tfl, All wool Felt.au " 4a21, Oxford For Beaver, at. 6m. Fancy l or Braver ' 737Kly6lan Fur Beaver- " 6)27. Fancy Fur Beaver. " 49S8, Langiey Far Beaver.

IN OUR BOYS' AND CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT WE OFFER

Lot 87W, Chlld'8 Vermont Grey. t7S7 vermoi.i urey. " 6117: Child's Plaid tJnton. M 14771. Bovs' All-Wool Felt Overcoats. 4A19, Boys' Oxford Fur Beaver . " 5006, ;hild's Fur Beaver 6075, Fancy Far BaTcr....... " ei'.W, Boysf F:incy Far Beaver.. . IMVT Rnn' W:i.rtrv Enr TtplTor The above Partial iTloe list, (not one-fourth

.to any one wanting an uvercoat

REDUCTIONS ON HEAVY SUITINGS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT,

T make mm far our Imneite Spring

Who! MMng JStores !

NORTE PENITSYLVA1IIA STREET,

lo Weot "TtoHlxiertorL Street-

WBAT THE PAltiu SAT.

The Indianapolis Weekly entinel is the beet weekly paper .published ii the state. Lewiaville Democrat. . The Sentinel is still ftirniftiink the most news of any paper in the city, t is especially valuable in this season of the year tor its reports of markets. Odd Feuov3' Chronicle. Tbe Indianapolis "Weekly Sentinel is a large and ably conducted democratic paper, full of state news and correct in its market reports. Every family in the county sught to have it this year. Rochester 6enune. Tbe Sentinel, both daily and weekly, u an excellent paper. When our citizens sfnd out of the state for their news, tbey not only com mitt a blander, bat work against the interest of the democracy. Tipton Times. EXTRAORDINARY OPFER. Only- 81.30 will pay- for die Weekly Sentinel and tbe Sentinel new map of Indiana, bath postage paid, or Ropp'i Emjt Calenlatar a work that no farmer, mechanic or business man ahaald be without, sent In place of map, if desired. Address SENTINEL COMPANY, Indianapolis, Ind. YOORIIEEV SPEECH. IS cent a dozen will pay far (his great speech. Demaeratn, don't let any republican neighbor be without an opporw tnnlty to read If. Address SENTINEL COMPANY, IndlasapoHs, Ind18G0. 1878. H- M, LEE. Ho. 34 "W. "Waskington St. ''Bo. 7 Odd PelW Hall. Bo. 250 Virginia Avenue. Bo. 1 Madison Avenue. The Inducement re offer In the ray of Team, Coffee, Sugars, Spices, Canned Goods and Dried Fruits, Is tbat 1st. We buy entirely from first hands. 2d. We have but one price.' ' 3d. We buy. and sell entirely for cash. 4th. Having a large established trade our goods are always fresh. 5th. The customer pays but one profit direct from "the importer and refiner. 6th. Eighteen years' experiy ence enables us to say we thoroughly understand the quality of the goods we handle. this City at the S 81 J 3.00, former price - 8.75, il.00, - S 8.75 4.00 750 10.00 12.00 18.00 15.00 17.00 21.00 21.00 23.00 21.00 21.00 21 .00 20.00 24.00 . ft.75. " 7.50, 8.50, ' . 10 00, M 12 60, M 14.00, " 15.00, " 15.00, w 15.00, " 15.00, " J MO, " 15.00, ' 15.00, 18.0j, ' .4 2.M, formerly f 8.00 3.10. ZJbO 6.t0 7rf 8.00 4.50, 60,6.50, , 6.(0, 12.00, 10j!O 15.00 .11.75, formerly 12.25 2 00, 2.25 SbO 8.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 600 8.10 8.50. ....... 8.76, 1JXJ, , 6.00, , 6.00, of onr stock) If taken advantage of will save Slock, wbleh la being Blannfaclnred.

H. H. LEI.