W. D. Vincent gave this speech at the Clay Debating Club in Clay Center, Kansas, on February 19, 1886. Vincent proposes to make wealth more equitable by letting the government operate the system for making loans rather than banks. He believes that this would make mortgage rates fairer and limit the power of banks to control the amount of money in circulation. While given before the official formation of the Populist movement, many ideas expressed in the speech were supported by the Populists.