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I am a little afraid of saying what I thought of say- 

 ing, because since I came to the platform Bro. Dysart 

 has scolded me for what I said a week ago in Cam- 

 bridge. He said I took a doleful view of things. I 

 don't know that I do that, but, my brothers, I do feel 

 that there are some things that you want to look at. 

 I was going to say especially my farmer brothers, but 

 I won't. All of my brothers, we want to consider the 

 question of who owns the pocket-book. Your pre- 

 siding officer asked me what my subject was to be, and 

 I said, " Don't give it, let me come to it easy." I was 

 afraid to give it away, because there is not a proper 

 understanding of this pocket-book business. I know a 

 gentleman who understands it perfectly. I was once 

 in his family long enough to get an insight into their 

 methods. In his library was a book laid out on the 

 desk in which the family expenses were kept. The 

 pocket-book, his wife told me, was kept in the same 

 room, and when she wanted to buy something she 

 went and took that pocket-book, and took out what 

 money she needed, aud went to the book and put down 

 that she had spent so and so, a dollar or five dollars, 

 or whatever it was. The husband did the same thing 

 exactly. I was interested in one incident that occurred 

 there. A voung son was goin^ out of town into a 

 neighboring town, and as he started away the father 

 called him back, and asked him, "Have you plenty of 

 money to go to the neighboring town?" "Yes." 

 " How much have you?" He told him how much he 

 had. It was just enough to take him to the town and 

 back again, and his father said, "Go and get a dollar, 

 William, and put it in your pocket; you don't need to 

 spend it, but I want you to have it, you will have more 

 self-respect." That was the secret of it, he wanted his 

 wife to have that same self-respect. 



