St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-08
ENDED AT LAST.

We congratulate the public on
what may be considered, we sup
pose, the discharge of the closing
gun in the Horr-Harvey debate.
These gentlemen have talked them
selves out Of breath, and now assail
the public eye with their written
statement and conclusion. One needs
but to glance at these summaries,
prepared by them with due delibera-
ton, and presumably containing
those conclusions of their eight days
talk which seem to them most i'm
portant and most firmly established,
to see the WorthleSsnesS of pretty
much all the discussion. The silver
papers print their statements under
the heading Harvey Downs Horr,"
and the gold papers publish it I'M
der the heading "Horr Downs Har-
vey,'' and there you are. When we
get to the statements of the prin-
cipals in this debate, they consist of
before he went on the platform The
only difference is that where these
gentlemen asserted before that the
propositions which they upheld were
true, they now insist that their
truth has been demonstrated conclu-
sively. All the nonsense about
money of the constitution "the
unit Of value in 1922 1.-The coinage
of silver prior to 1873" and all the
criminal effort to set class against
class and gather a harvest of pros
perity by sowing the seed of discon-
tent, is gone over once more For
this reason, as we say, the people
will be delighted that the farce is
ended.
The first question to have been set
tied in any such contention, the one
question on which all else depends,
and until which shall have been de-
cided all other discussion is point
less and useless, is not so much as
mentioned in Mr.. Harvey's conclu-
sion. Is it practicable for the United
States, acting independent of other
nations, to admit silver to free COIN
age at its minis at the ratio of Is
to 1? That is all that there is of this
subject, and that is the inquiry most
carefully evaded. 1t is as if the
farmers institutes all over the
Northwest should suddenly raise the
question whether it is not a crime
against the people that bananas are
not raised in this state instead of
wheat. 1t is as if the opposing par
to debate this question at the COM
ing state fair, and to scatter reports
of it over the country for the edit
cation of the multitude, without con-
senting to consider first whether or
not the soil and climate of Minneso-
ia will allow bananas to be culti-
waited here. The acts Of 1892 and of
1906 and of 1916 and of 1873, and of
all other dates which mark any
change in the financial policy in
this country whatever, are mere
waste material and lumber until we
shall have considered, like practical
and sensible men, whether or not this
country can enter upon free coinage
alone in 1895 without ruin to it's
credit and it's industries. Any con-
troversy which omits not only to
deal with this question, but to settle
it first, is worse than fruitless.
Therefore the Horr-Harvey debate
has settled nothing, and even done
little in the way of an education
of public opinion. The main is
sue was least in their thoughts.
All the other issues have been set
tied far more effectively by a revival
of business, and the gathering of a
big crop, than they could be on
platform in a thousand years.