is extinguished. If the Father deigns to touch with divine
power the cold and pulseless heart of the buried acorn, and
make it to burst forth from its prison walls, will He leave
neglected in the earth the soul of man, who was made in
the image of his Creator? If He stoops to give to the rose-
bush, whose withered blossoms float upon the breeze, the
sweet assurance of another springtime, will He withhold the
words of hope from the sons of men when the frosts of
winter come? If matter, mute and inanimate, though
changed by the forces of Nature into a multitude of forms,
can never die, will the imperial spirit of man suffer annihil-
ation after it has paid a brief visit, like a royal guest, to
this tenement of clay?

Rather let us believe that He who, in His apparent pro-
digality, wastes not the raindrop, the `blade of grass, or the
evening's sighing zephyr, but makes them all to carry out
His eternal plans, has given immortality to the mortal, and
gathered to Himself the generous spirit of our friend.

Instead of mourning, let us look up and address him in the words of the poet:

"Thy day has come, not gone;

Thy sun has risen, not set;

Thy life is now beyond

The reach of death or change,

Not ended-but begun.

O, noble soul! O, gentle heart! Hail, and farewell."

Such was the rapidity of his advance as a profound political debator and captivating orator, that in a little over two years from his first appearance in the House of Representatives his speeches were read in every state of the Union, while upon a variety of themes he had charmed audiences in many cities, among which were New York, Chicago, Denver, Omaha, and Washington.

In the same brief space of time he had risen from the ranks to the leadership of the Nebraska Democracy, and was their candidate for U. S. Senator.

LAST SESSION OF FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS.

In the last session of the fifty-third Congress, Mr. Bryan offered an amendment to an inter-state commerce law, by which he hoped to modify in future such decisions as that of Judge Brewer of the United States Court, in which he decided that the

railroad rate law of Nebraska was constitutional, but the rates were not reasonable.

I want to insert on the second page of the bill, in line 38, these words:

"And in determining the reasonableness of rates the Commission shall allow profits only on the cost of reproducing the roads and rolling stock at the present time, regardless of the original cost, regardless of the amount of indebtedness, and regardless of the amount of capital stock issued, whether real or fictitious."

I have no doubt that this will cause a smile on the face of some of the representatives of the railroad interests, but yet, sir, that is the basis upon which profits are calculated in the private occupations of the country.

And I am simply asking that you apply to railroad companies the same principle that must be applied to every man, woman, and child who goes into business, but who is not fortunate enough to have a monopoly of the business.

CURRENCY.

The subject of the currency being before the House, December 22, 1894, which he had so elaborately argued in former sessions, was handled "without fear, affection or favor," under the mottoes: "I was derided as a maniac by the tribe of bank mongers, who were seeking to filch from the public their swindling and barren gains."-Thomas Jefferson. "So persecuted they the prophets which were before you."-Matthew v:12.

The introductory sentences were equally emphatic. Mr. Bryan said:

Mr. Chairman, I desire, in the first place, to call attention to the extraordinary circumstances which surround the presentation of this measure. This is the closing session of the Fifty-third Congress, and nearly half of the members of the House will retire in about two months. Yet the President of the United States has asked this Congress to pass a bill which changes the entire character of our paper

money.

I doubt if you will find a parallel in the last twenty-five years. I doubt if you will find such a repudiation of the theory of democratic government. Why do we have platforms? It is in order that the people who vote, knowing the policies to be pursued, may express themselves on those policies, and select such agents as will carry out their pur

poses. If that is the purpose of platforms, if we believe
that what power we have really comes from the people, and
if we believe that they are competent to govern themselves,
what excuse can be given for proposing so important a
change in the monetary policy of the country, without ever
having submitted the question for public consideration?

Has any President ever proposed before to annihilate the
greenbacks? Has any party ever declared for it? Have
any campaign speakers ever presented that issue to the
American people? And yet after an election, one of the
most extraordinary elections ever held in the United States,
after a political defeat without precedent, the defeated
party in control of Congress is asked, before it retires, to
please turn over the issue of all paper currency to the
banks. More than that, the Banking and Currency Commit-
tee at once takes up the question and certain people are in-
vited to come and be heard.

More than carrying out the spirit of his exordium, while contesting with ten of his colleagues, who occupied half his time. with questions and interruptions, he came to his conclusion, in the style of intrepidity defiant.

If the President is determined to make our financial bondage still more oppressive than it now is, let him carry out his purpose with the aid of a Republican Congress. If we can not relieve the people, we can at least refuse to be responsible for further wrong doing.

We are told that the President will not approve any bill which carries out the pledge of the last national platform in favor of the coinage of gold and silver without discrimination against either metal or charge for mintage, but is that any reason why we should join him in making the restoration of silver more difficult for the Administration which shall succeed his? It is useless to shut our eyes to the division in the Democratic party. We who favor the restoration of silver deplore the division as much as our opponents; but who is to blame? Did not the President ignore the silver Democrats in making up his Cabinet? Has he not ignored them in the distribution of patronage? Has he not refused to counsel with or consider those Democrats who stand by the traditions of the party? Did he not press through Congress with all the power at his command the unconditional repeal of the Sherman law, in spite of the earnest protest of nearly half the Democratic members of the two Houses? And did he not join with the Re

publicans to defeat the seigniorage bill, which was supported by more than two-thirds of the Democratic party?

Did he not oppose the income tax, which a large majority of the Democratic party favored? Has he not in fact joined with the Democrats of the Northeast time and again to defeat the wishes of the Democrats of the South and West? We desire harmony, but we can not purchase it at a sacrifice of principle. We desire to live on friendly terms with Mr. Cleveland and our Eastern brethren, but we can not betray our people or trample upon their welfare in order to do so. If the party is rent in twain let the responsibility rest upon the President and his followers, for no other Democratic President ever tried to fasten a gold standard upon the country or to surrender to the banks the control of our paper currency. Let the fight go on. If this bill is defeated the people will profit by the discussion it has aroused. I have confidence in the honesty, intelligence, and patriotism of the American people, and I have no doubt that their ultimate decision will be right. [Loud applause.]

PACIFIC RAILROAD.

February 1, 1895, Mr. Bryan said:

Mr. Chairman, I shall avail myself of the brief time allowed and run over the principal points to which I desire to call attention, and then put in the Record some extracts from the Pattison report which I shall not have time to read. This bill affects mainly two classes of people, namely, those who have been guilty of defrauding the Government in the management of the roads and those who for the next fifty years will pay the rates charged by these roads for transportation, and, as a bill should describe the purposes embodied in it, I think the title of this bill ought to be made to read as follows: "A bill to so amend the eighth commandment that it will read, "Thou shalt not steal on a small scale,' to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children of somebody else unto the third and fourth generations, and for no other purpose." [Laughter.]

For one generation the patrons of the roads have suffered from extortion, and the pending measure would extend the injustice for two more generations and at the same time condone the crimes of those who have been in charge of the roads. In behalf of the inhabitants of the transmississippi region I appeal to you to foreclose these liens, squeeze the water out of the stock, reduce the roads to a business basis, and allow the Western States to secure reasonable rates for their citizens. [Applause.]

GOLD BONDS.

A bill being before the House to authorize the issue of gold bonds and retire United States notes, Mr. Bryan unfurled his standard bearing the defiant inscription: "Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."-Daniel iii:18.

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Maine will not come
out and say that he wants to destroy the greenbacks, but
he wants to keep them idle in the treasury so that some
future Congress can destroy them if it wants to do so. If
those greenbacks are good, why not pay them out for the
expenses of the Government? They are there in the treas-
ury. We have enough of them. We do not need to issue
bonds for the payment of our expenses.
We have green-
backs enough in the treasury now to pay any deficit that
can possibly occur until the receipts of the Government
equal its expenditures, according to the estimate of the
Secretary of the Treasury.

He offered an amendment as a summing up of his views. reads as follows:

Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed as surrendering the right of the Government of the United States to pay all coin bonds outstanding in gold or silver coin at the option of the Government, as declared by the following joint resolution, adopted in 1878 by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, to-wit:

"That all the bonds of the United States issued or authorized to be issued under the said act of Congress hereinbefore recited are payable, principal and interest, at the option of the Government of the United States, in silver dollars of the coinage of the United States, containing 4121⁄2 grains each of standard silver; and that to restore to its coinage such silver coins as a legal tender in payment of said bonds, principal and interest, is not in violation of the public faith nor in derogation of the rights of the public creditor."

It

MEMORIAL SENTIMENTS.

During his official career, no occasion more appropriate for the utterance of immortal truth could have occurred than memorial services for a distinguished son of North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, there are things in this life more valuable than money. The wise man said three thousand years ago,