The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1891-07-08
SILVER DEBATE.

SILVER DEBATE.
ex-0oyernor Anthony and Senator Pe0ef
Discuss the silvse Question 1t Ottawa.
OTTAWA, Kan. june e7.-At the Cha
tsnqua assembly yesterday the lead
ing event of interest vas the silver
debate between ex.Gov. Anthony
and Senator PETER. Gov. Anthony
spoke first In taking up the silver
question he said tina. his desire WAS to
treat the subject fundamentally - .
business proposition. The question
was: "Shall we adopt free, unlimited
coinage of silver 81 equal to 81 grains
Of silver to be open to the whole world
without cost?" He thought not He
asked: "What makes value? How are
we to determine value? It depends
upon cost measured by the labor to Gre
ate It. There can be no rule set up by
the government in favor of any com.
modify against another. If we raise
more wheat than we can use. we are
entitled to all we can get for it. It is
The same with silver mine owners"
Here the speaker took occasion to
say to the audience that he owned 20
acres of wheat, the best in the state.
He asked what right of law had the
government to force him to accept sill.
yer in payment for it when its value
had been deprecated. He admitted
that congress had the right to regulate
the amount of the circulating medium
according to law, but it did mot have
the right and could not have it to regu-
late the prices of commodities because
of their liability to fluctuations.
The speaker said that the democrats
were sending around Senator Stewards
circular advocating the free and I'M
limited coinage of silver, but it must be
remembered that Stewart was the same
man who substituted for the recent sill.
yer bill a measure favoring the free
coinage of gold Then John Sherman
arose and said that he could not vote
for the bill because he was op.
posed to any bill which favored
any one commodity as against
another. If silver had ever become
demonetized it was in 1854. Its pur-
chasing power became greater. Gold
decreased as silver advanced and vice
versa The cost of producing silver
was s3.2 in Oregon; in Colorado, g. per
ounce; in Montana, 5a4. According to
other statistics the cost in Arizona was
sa7; California, 81; Colorado. 60.a;
Montana, 1873; Utah, 52.5. Yet q GER
tain element had the audacity to ask
that the nation have free, unlimited
coinage of silver and that the govern
ment allow the producer 129 cents,
which was only meant to enrich the
silver producer and not the laborer or
farmer. In Mexico an ounce of silver
costs A 3-s; in South America, A 5-s;
in Germany. %; in Australia but 16
Yet certain citizens asked that this gov
eminent institute a system of free and
unlimited coinage. which would result
in enriching the silver king instead of
the farmer.
Senator PETER said: II am not here
in the interest of the silver monopoly,
but for the people If we insist upon
using silver as one Of the metals for the
circulating medium we have the right
to do So The constitution provides
this. The constitution did not authorize
us to regulate the value of any commod-
ity but TO coin money and regulate its
value. Originally congress fixed the
law regulating the value ard kind of
metal which is to be used. We are now
proposing to change the law. We want
more money and we have q right to have
It. 1t makes no difference to us
whether the cost of production of silver
is 2K cents on the dollar or what it is
The masses lose nothing by it. The
point is that it is desired to increase
our circulating medium. regardless of
what the metal costs. If q citizen
should 60 to q merchant to purchase
any given article, it would concern him
little what the medium of exchange
had cost to produce it But his princi.
pal concern would be how far it would
60 toward purchasing necessaries and
how difficult 1t would be to earn q like
amount. It would make no difference
to him what kind of money it was,
whether paper, silver, gold or what 1t
was, SO that It was accepted In ex.
change for family necessar;es"
The senator here produced paper
dollar, an article not worth quarter of
a cent and asked the audience wha,
they would give for it He then pro.
duced a SO bill-only a piece of paper
of the same size-and asked what it
was worth. The echo came. $40
Yet the real value of the bills, the
speaker said, was nothing. and it there
fore was made evident that the real
value of money was faith in the ability
of the government to meet its obliga-
tons The people accepted money be-
cause they had faith in it, because of
the governments credit which had is
sued it
Speaking of the silver kings, Mr.. PET.
fer cared nothing for them. The labor
ing man was his chief concern. 1t was
his cause he had assumed to champion.
In order to show the influence which
concentrated in the hands of
few, could exert over the affairs of the
many, he referred to where a man had
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