was too late, I was a ruined man.

"My sons were forced to work in the cigar factory of the local branch of
the Trust; and I was obliged to apply for a patrimony from the
Government, as a veteran of the war for the emancipation of man from
slavery. On this slender pension I now live.

"Can anyone blame me for being a volunteer in the crusade against the
most insidious and dangerous foe that has ever assailed a land; a foe
that seeks to entrench itself by emasculating the citizens and degrading
them to a position of servants of mighty and intolerant masters?"

There is a pause. The aged speaker trembles with emotion.

"I am an old man, over seventy years of age, yet whatever vigor remains
in me will be expended in my last battle with the destroyers of free
government.

"What right has Amos Tweed, the Tobacco King, to tax me?

"I was born a free man; I fought to free an inferior race. Alas, I have
lived to see the shackles placed upon the wrists of my own sons. So help
me God, I shall strike a blow to make them free once more."

Overcome with the exertion of delivering his fervent speech, Hiram
Goodel totters. He would fall, did not the strong arms of Carl Metz
support him.

"Where is the man who can view this picture of patriarchal devotion, and
hesitate to give significance to the prayer that freedom may again be
the inheritance of the youth of America," demands Nevins in thrilling
tones.

It is apparent that the recital of the grievances of the members of the
committee is making a deep impression on every man.

Horace Turner, a farmer from Wisconsin, who had migrated to that state
when it was in its infancy, preferring its fertile plains to the rocky
hillside homestead in Vermont, is the next to speak. He is sixty years
of age, well preserved, temperate and fairly well educated.

"I can quote no higher authority than the Holy Bible," are his opening
words. "If in that book we can find authority for complaining against
tyrants; if we can find a prayer that has come down from age to age,
shall we not be justified in uttering it?

"Are these words from the Psalms meaningless? 'Deliver me from the
oppression of Man; so will I keep thy precepts.'

"There is vitality in this cry from the oppressed; because the oppressor
exists. You and I are both victims of oppression.

"I am a producer of wheat, the great staple of this country. You are all
consumers of my product. When I cannot make a living by producing wh