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Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
as good to me as a gold dollar. We want a basis that will be good 
when we go to bed at night, and will be good when we get up in 
the morning, and will be good in a week, or good in a year, and 
that is good for myself and my children. 
Mr. Sloan: I don’t want to occupy the attention of the audience 
at all, and the questions I put to Mr. Field were simply to this ob¬ 
ject. I came up for the purpose of acquiring information. 
First. I desired to understand whether the speaker was in favor 
of increasing the volume of the irredeemable currency issued by 
this government. 
Second. Whether it was at some time, and if so, at what time, 
to resume specie payment, and whether it was thought that it was 
possible to have a currency in this country which would possess 
value, and be regarded as representing money which was never to 
redeemed in full; whether it was, as the speaker last on the floor 
remarked, that the government of the United States, or any other 
government on the face of the earth, by simply stamping on a 
piece of paper, that that is a dollar, could make it worth a dollar, 
so that it would pass current and take the place of a real dollar. I 
am not enlightened as yet upon these issues. If it is claimed that 
by merely stamping upon a piece of paper which can never be con¬ 
verted into any thing different, but simply a piece of paper, spoiled 
by writing on, that that makes money; that the government can 
make money in that way, then I think the government of the 
United States is very remiss and stupid if it does not, in the course 
of six months, make us all rich, for money can be made in that 
way very easily. f ■ , 
Secretary Field : I would ask the gentlemen if he supposes, how¬ 
ever much money the government of the United States makes, 
that it will give him or me a dollar of it unless we give in exchange 
a dollar’s worth of labor, or a dollar’s worth of products of some 
kind. 
Mr. Sloan : Why not? If the government can make money by 
simply printing a dollar upon it, why not distribute it and have 
distributing offices established through the country? If we can 
make currency and distribute it to every man in some proper ratio; 
if we can have a money based upon the faith and credit of this 
country, and it is an inexhausitible capital, we can be the richest 
people on the face of the earth, only put the government printing- 
