will utterly bankrupt themselves fighting if that should be necessary.

And though we may try to deceive ourselves our own material interests are now very closely allied with those of the allies, for they are enormously in our debt. We are vitally interested in the successes of their armies. Also we may as well recognize ⚫ that if it should come to a question of success for them or failure for the want of a few hundred millions more of credit in this country, ordinary business sense would dictate that we give them that credit quickly.

Therefore, if Mr. Hirst's dire predictions concern the allies our financiers will be interested in the prospect that soon they may have to arrange further credit for them, for the purpose of safeguarding the heavy investments they have made already in their chances of a victorious war.

The above I quoted from the Washington Herald. At the same time similar articles appeared in the press generally. More than a year before in a speech in the House I stated the impossibility of Europe to make payment of its debts, and again in my July 5, 1916, speech I made the following statement:

"The Government itself has created the Money Trust in the banks by giving to them the financial control of the country. The Government loans its credit exclusively to the banks, which are private, and the owners as selfish as any of us in taking advantage of every opportunity to scalp profits.

“In addition to having the exclusive privilege of borrowing from the Government, the banks hold approximately $25,000,000,000 deposits belonging to the people. They use the deposit as they please and scalp profits off the very people who make the deposits as well as off all others. They use these deposits also to speculate in foreign markets. Europe, however, will soon administer a lesson to us that will not be forgotten. Europe is on its last legs so far as this fake financial system is concerned and in the near future will repu

diate and cancel by decree of the people there through their governments over $100,000,000,000 debts. Europe is bankrupt already, and all that remains is for the nations at war to recognize the inevitable.'

Already, in less than two years from the time that I first made the above statement, Europe has tottered under the load of debt, and we have come to the rescue by loaning it large sums of money. Mind we, that it is stated that the money we loan to Europe does not go out of the country. Where then does it go? Europe was owing Wall Street speculators several billions of dollars when we joined the war, and the loans we made were used largely to pay these speculators, so now again the speculators may give new credits to Europe, and they will expect our Government to make Europe more loans to pay the speculators.

Again quoting from my speech of July 5, 1916:

"It is plain to see from the statement of the condition why vast sums of money are paid by the special interests to secure publication of false and deceptive articles to excite a fear in the American public, and a demand for 'preparedness' of the kind only that the trusts wantthat is a big army and a navy without any modifications of economic practices. Fundamental economic reforms they oppose in the most drastic way. The trusts would seek when the time comes, to use the Army and Navy to enforce the claims of the trusts against the bankrupt nations of Europe."

When I made the above statement I did not think that they would be able to get our Government to loan the bankrupt nations the money to be paid to the speculators. Even at that, since we decided to send armies across the seas to war in foreign lands, it was wise to make the loans, whether they are ever repaid or not. The mistake was not in making the loans,

but in allowing the special interests to create a condition that forced us into the war.

My Democratic friends, you have the vain hope that special privilege, having obtained enormous benefits at your hands, is going to be grateful for the past favors that you have showered upon it and assist you in retaining control of the Government. They will furnish you campaign funds, as they do to both the dominant parties, but it makes little difference to them which of you have the power as long as it remains with either under present conditions. You are to learn, having done all you could for it, that you are no longer necessary to its business, except that now that you have passed the most important laws that it wanted, you are forced to follow it up, and are estopped from complaining through your portion of the press and on the stump or from entering any protest whatever when the time comes that your eyes will be open to the oppression the plain people are surely destined to suffer because of your falsely so-called "beneficial legislation."

You have missed the opportunity of your lifetime; one not likely to ever come to you again. The time will come when no Democrat who boasts of the achievements of this administration will be considered worthy to hold any public office. You have gone "cross-roads" with some of the most vital principles laid down by the great Thomas Jefferson. You may boast of him as a great Democrat, but none of you who have been active in fastening some of the hardships of this administration upon the people can boast of yourselves.

Secret Influence

For a long time the special interests have had a political tact that has been very successful for the rich. I have been conscious that the Money Trust and the

correlated trusts were not working alone; that there was ever present in our political parties an element or elements that were at its disposal, and in every election formed a nucleus around which it could gather the forces subject to its mercenary manipulation and thus for selfish purposes always, control in the matters of most vital interest to the people.

I knew it must be so, for the mass of the voters, though not informed as well upon these subjects as they should be, are nevertheless too intelligent for a majority of them to vote in election after election contrary to their own interests unless that they are made to believe that there is some issue whose paramount importance transcends their own material welfare and the greatest good to the greatest number.

Such political elements exist in all great cities and in every section where large numbers of voters are controlled and delivered in elections by interests supported by vice of any kind, and especially the liquor traffic of those localities. While this element is most powerful in the cities it is not confined to them alone, but extends into all sections. In most hamlets are to be found voters whose suffrages are at the disposal of these powers that prey upon the human weaknesses without any other consideration.

Such a political element exists also where any large number of voters or their parents, are of some foreign nationality and are misled on that account to give their support to unworthy candidates because some prominent leader among them ask it.

Such a deleterious element also exists in any community where any considerable number of voters stake everything upon a single issue without taking into consideration the general balance of things.

It also exists where votes are cast in blocks according to the personal interests of high dignitaries, whether in lodges, churches or other organizations, and even with clicks formed within political parties.

It is by splitting up the people in the manner I have indicated that special privilege has found it easy to control the administration of the Government. The people split up against their own interest, which works to the advantage of special privilege-gives it control in a political way-enables it to pass laws to favor its own interest.

The special interests keep abreast of the times so far as information goes. Soon as they saw that a considerable percentage of the people were investigating the sharp business practices of the speculators they knew that their graft on the economic system would cease unless they could split into numberless smaller groups the people in their business interests as well as they had done in their politics. So the corporations began to scatter small holdings of stock, bonds and other interests in the special interest corporations, encouraging the wage workers, farmers and all small property owners to put what little cash they could spare in buying these small interests. In that way they expect to unite with themselves the small holders for the support of special privilege.

The banks in the same way get out amongst the people as many small holdings of stock as possible in order to have the small stockholder support the parasite banking system.

The new Liberty Loan was offered in the same way and with the same idea, in the hope that the plain people would all get a little of the loan so that they would believe themselves to be interested in keeping up the system. The big interests would be willing to take every dollar of the