Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
267 
or ten; and yet they were men of about the same age and probably 
about the same capacity. 
What would the Professor have said here last fall, if he had seen 
the uprising of the people over the transportation question? Per¬ 
haps he would have brought the Dartmouth College case in here. 
But our courts have decided that it was the business of the Legisla¬ 
ture to regulate railroads. If so, how much more, after Government 
has coined the money, and given it a value which it has not of itself— 
how much more is it the business of legislation to protect us against 
collective capital ? Most assuredly it is the bounden duty of the 
Government to fix the value of that money it has coined and 
stamped, and that alone can be done by fixing the rate of interest. 
I claim that the rate of interest must be brought within range of 
the producing class, the farmer, the manufacturer and all classes 
that are industrial. Capital to-day gets more than its share of 
the reward. When the Government entered the market and paid 
more than seven per cent, the capitalists said you can’t have our 
money unless you will repeal the law and give us the right to take 
ten per eent. But now, Government having gone a long way be¬ 
low seven per cent, do these same capitalists ask us to put the inter¬ 
est down correspondingly? No. Capitalists have their iron grasp 
upon industry to-day, by the unjust power of money, and this is 
one of the greatest evils that overshadow the people. 
Capital is being concentrated, and Millionaires have made for¬ 
tunes, while industries of every kind are languishing throughout 
the land. When will we, by healthy and wholesome laws, surround 
and control capital, by a proper rate of interest, as we have estab- 
lised the principle that legislators have the right to control railroads. 
We do not say that the Potter law is perfect, or anything except 
that the general fundamental principle has been established by the 
courts that the railroads are the creatures and subjects of law, and 
we ask that the same thing be established in regard to money and 
its power of accumulation. 
Mr. Robbins. I claim that I am more interested in this question 
than any other man in this house. I think I am between these two 
fires myself. I came here expressly to read a paper, and I saw this 
convention was opposed to my reading the paper, and I have not 
read it. 
Secretary Field. Dare Mr. Robbins look me in the face and say 
