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Annual Report of the 
believe that above all things we should not strive to take advantage 
of our neighbors by law: Certainly, if we undertake to out wit 
politicians by law, we do what the old saying forbids us to do, 
“Fight the devil with his own weapons.” We should be content 
to stand where nature puts us. There I am willing to stand. 
Mr. Carpenter. I have a few words to say. I have always been 
a free-trader in money as well as everything else, and so far as inter¬ 
est is concerned, I believe that mankind misses it terribly in getting 
it up as high as ten per cent. If one-fifth part of the people had 
all the money and went to loaning it to the other four-fifths, in 
seven years, three months, and three days, or thereabouts, they 
would have all that money back again, and the four-fifths would 
owe the one-fifth the original amount. It eats itself up once in 
seven years, three months and three days. And that is the reason 
for the panics that come around as often as the rise and fall of Lake 
Erie, what we call the seven year’s tide. Once in seven years one 
part of community is wiped out. Hence I am for free-trade in 
money. I believe it is satisfactorily demonstrated that no people 
can stand over three per cent, in a commercial sense. But in refer¬ 
ence to this circulating medium, I will say only one word on that. 
I have always been considered considerable of a hard-money man. 
I don’t object now to greenbacks, if I could get them. The great 
trouble with me is I cannot get as many as I want. But what is 
it that makes the value of greenbacks? We know very well that 
it is not in the pitch, tar, green paint or silk of which they are 
composed. But the value of all bills is predicted upon faith. Faith 
they say is the substance of things hoped for and not seen. But so 
long as you have faith in a bank-bill and it passes, you are all right. 
And if anybody else don’t have the same faith in it, there is a run 
on the bank, and down it goes. 
When Lycurgus ordained that gold and silver should have no 
value whatever, and that nothing but iron should have any value 
whatever, then they had no faith in gold and silver because he had 
ordained that gold and silver should have no value. And they cer¬ 
tain^ had no faith in iron because they could not use it and they 
never did. 
And when Louis XVII of France, ordained that they should 
alloy his gold with 30 per cent, of alloy, it did not pass because 
they had no faith in it. Even if it is gold and silver it rests on 
