The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-27

monetary system Is arranged UPON
scientific principles then all money
should be legal tender. When so ar
ranged there can be no such thing as
deprecated paper money. (Applausel
Legal Tender Character.
What Mr.. Horr says about copper used.
as money during the Continental days
preceding the adoption of the consti-
tuition is trivial to be used in this argu-
ment. The first history of bimetallism
or permanent financial system for the
United States was that considered by
the constitutional conventions at the
end of the colonial days. Then states
men came together to fix for you and me
and our children to come after us, a
permanent financial system that would,
together with other laws free us from
the selfish and aggressive policy of the
European countries from which they
had declared their independence. Gap
plause) At the time our constitution
was framed the details governing the
concurrent coinage of the two metals
in our financial system was under dis
cussion in committees, and between
statesmen of that period. So while
these details were left to Congress,
after the adoption of the constitution,
bimetallic system was provided for in
that constitution. Article 1, section 8.
says: Congress shall have power to
coin money. regulate the value thereof,
and of foreign coins' Section 10 says:
mo state shall coin moneH or make
anything but gold and silver coin a
tender in payment of debts" 1t says
gold and silver (applause), not gold or
silver. (Applause) This is the con-
stitution.
The men who framed this cOnstitu-
ton then proceeded to give it the con-
struction intended. They gave to both
metals equal dignity, equal rights, ex-
cept to make the dollar of silver and it
the unit of value, in which the value of
gold would be measured, but with con-
current coinage with silver. They
gave both metals free and unlimited
coinage. Both were given full and I'M
limited use in payment of debts. There
was no discrimination made in the use
of the two metals, except that the unit
of value was to reside in the silver dol
lar and that gold coins were to be of
the value of so many silver dollars.
This is the exact language of the
statute, of the men who framed the con-
stitution and knew the construction
that it was intended that it should
have.
now read from a text book
on finance, by Roswell G. HOrr,
page AZ: 1.-The first unit of value in the
United States was the silver dollar. The
act of 1873 made the gold dollar the
unit of value instead of the silver dol
lar"
Mr.. Horn says in the issue of the New
York Daily Tribune of April Is, 1895:
1.-The law which originally made the
silver dollar the unit of value was en-
acted April 2, 1872 I have that before
me. 1t is entitled: 'An Act Establish
ing a Unit and of Regulating Coins of
the United States" In section 8 that
act provides for coming eagles each of
| the value of $40. The amount of pure
silver in the standard silver dollar has
never been changed He then says
| that the only change in the amount of
metal in the coins that have been made
has been by cutting down the size Of
| the gold coin. He then says: The man
! does not live who can successfully dis
pute a single statement that l have
made thus far"
! BimetaIIism Was Intended
Mr.. Horr-Now all this talk of Mr..
Harvey's is of very little Importance SO
far as l am concerned. L might admit
all that he claimed and then it would
not change my attitude on this ques-
ton in the least. What 1 say is that
when they passed that law they in
tended to establish bimetallism in the
United States. They did fix the silver
dollar as a unit of value, there is no
doubt about it.
Mr. Harvey again call the atten-
ton of the reader to the fact that l will
take care of Mr.. Horn on the relative
value of gold and silver when we get to
that question.
I want now to call the attention Of
the reader to the fact that for several
years our side has claimed that silver
was fixed in 1892 as the unit of value,
continuing to 1873, and it was strenu-
ously denied by the other side. And
now we come face to face with the
other side where they do not dare to
mislead and in the first joint debated
question in this controversy they are
forced by the truth to admit that Btu
grains of silver was fixed as the unit
of value Cloud applause by the act of
1892 and remained such to 1873.
Mr.. Horr-Who is admitting that?
Mr.. Harvey-The reading of the de-
bate thus far will show that Mr. Horn
has admitted it.
Now, why was silver made the unit of
value by the act? This was to be a
government of the people with it's or
ganic laws, it's financial policy and it's
statute laws intended to promote the
interest of the many, the poorer peo-
pie Silver was the money the plain
people used. The study of history
showed that the rich would take care
of themselves, and that the selfishly
riob 1.yaro o11roccivno opd 1uoro aver