UNLIKEXESS IX ORGANISMS. 145 



er, if only you remember the law that air and water 

 and money must run down hill. If the air above 

 Ohio and Indiana, if the air above that whole sec- 

 tion of our country which has defended our inflated 

 currency, were to pass a resolution that no currents 

 shall flow down its slopes, the effect would be much 

 the same as if America were to pass a law that no 

 currents should flow down its slopes towards London 

 and Berlin in the commercial atmosphere. [Ap- 

 plause.] 



This matter is out of the power of Congress ; but 

 one thing is not out of the power of our national 

 legislators. They can disgrace us. They can repu- 

 diate their promises, not as a whole, but ten per cent, 

 or eight per cent, of them. They can refuse to pay 

 in gold the principal and interest of government 

 bonds. They have done so already. Lord Beacons- 

 field said once of his opponents that their chief busi- 

 ness was blundering and plundering. What will be 

 the effect, if Congressional repudiation succeeds ? 



Let the financial promises of the nation be dis- 

 honored, let ninety cents be made legal tender in 

 place of a dollar in gold, and we shall find American 

 bonds returned from Europe. Capitalists there 

 would certainly refuse to take any more very sud- 

 denly. We know what the reputation of American 

 banking is, on the whole. There are illustrious ex- 

 ceptions. But the saddest hour I had abroad was 

 when I sat down on the steps of the Bank of Eng- 

 land, after having twice lost money by American 

 banking-houses, and wrote to my friends to send me 



