THAT day, when the judge and lawyers got back from dinner, and arter Jobe and me had eat our lunch in the jury-room, they opened court agin, and the judge, lookin at me tired like, says:
“Mrs. Gaskins, the court is now ready to proceed with the case.”
So Congressman Richer’s lawyer got out a lot of papers and notes, and, showin them to Jobe and me, asked us if we admitted signin of them.
So he handed them to the judge, sayin that that was all the evidence he desired to produce, and as the notes had not been paid, as stipulated in the mortgage, he asked to have the mortgage foreclosed and the property sold, and judgment for costs rendered agin the defendant.
But when the judge said that if we had any evidence to produce or objection to make why the mortgage should not be foreclosed, now was my time to make it, I jist gathered up courage and says, says I:
“Mistur Judge, we have some evidence to offer, and I want to say a few words.
“We never denied that we signed that mortgage and them notes; we never claimed we had paid all we did sign.
[Illustration: “‘I want to prove to you, Mistur Judge.’”]
“Now, what I want to prove, Mistur Judge, is, that the reason we haint paid more of the notes was because times have been so hard, prices so low and money so scarce that we jist couldent pay any more than we have paid.
“I want to prove that we have paid every dollar we could pay, and that we have went naked and hungry, or nearly so, to pay what we have paid.
“I want to prove, Mistur Judge, that when we bought this farm, some sixteen years ago, times were better than now; that farmers could sell what they raised for more than now; and I want to prove that it has not been by any act of the farmers that times have been made harder and prices lower than then.
“I want to prove, Mistur Judge, that taxes haint got any less; that interest is jist as high as then; that it takes twice as many bushels of wheat for Jobe to pay his share of your wages, and the wages of the other officers in this buildin, as it did then. I want to prove that Jobe had to use wheat to pay you fellers that he could have used toward payin on them notes if prices had staid up or officers’ pay had been brought down.
“I want to show you that all you officeholders have helped to bring about this condition by your endorsin of men that made laws to destroy the greenback, to demonitize silver, encouragin high interest and money monopoly, and by your increasin of wages of officeholders or lettin them remain the same as they were when wheat was high.