Ethical 231 



drought, and a collapsed boom, but the more 

 subtle manifestation of doing business under false 

 pretences. 



It was then that the moral weakness of the com- 

 munity showed itself. The silver question was the 

 topic of the hour. The leaders of the movement 

 for what was called the " rehabilitation " of silver 

 published pamphlets and small books by the mil- 

 lion. These were easily read and digested. For 

 many years the theories of the Silver men had 

 attracted little attention. Now, of a sudden, these 

 theories, in the mind of the crowd, became demon- 

 strated truths. A French philosopher, Monsieur 

 Gustave Le Bon, says that Napoleon was of opinion 

 that the one figure in rhetoric of serious importance 

 was repetition. The Silver men were sharp enough 

 to grasp this truth. They kept on saying that if 

 Uncle Sam passed a law making silver legal tender 

 for all debts, at the ratio of sixteen ounces of silver 

 to one of gold, their debts — and they were all in 

 debt — would straightway be cut in half, silver at 

 that time being worth as a commodity in the world's 

 market about half the face value of the dollar. 

 Men's minds were so inflamed, and their greed so 

 quickened, that ordinary arguments were of no 

 avail. The Gold " bugs," as they were called, tried 

 to stem the tide with dignified remonstrance. " We 

 can't have too much silver," said one street orator ; 

 " I never had too much silver — did you ? " Such 

 talk passed current as wit and logic. I pointed out 

 to a man that the debts of Uncle Sam to Europe 

 were contracted on the understanding that they 

 were to be paid in gold; that in obedience to a 



