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

Chicago, July 1.-THE second days
session of the Horr-Harvey silver de-
bate began at the Illinois Club at 2 p.
m, and was continued to 5 p. m.
Judges Miller and Vincent presided.
Many notable persons we're present. Mr.
Horn opened the discussion again.
Wealth and Poverty.
Mr.. Horr-Gentlemen In opening
the discussion to-day desire to call the
attention of my friend to the fact that
he read an essay here yesterday upon
the condition of the world during the
fifteenth century, especially up to the
discovery of America, 1892. lie read
that statement without it's having been
called out at all by me, as I had not
attacked that part of his book. But he
made such an elaborate effort to show
the condition of things in the world
from 1400 to 1880, that I have taken
little pains to find out, if I could,
whether there is any truth in the rep
reservations that he makes, and find
that history leaves him in as bad
condition in this as it does in regard
to the bulk of the statements in Coins
Financial School," In the Economic
Interpretation of History" page 81,
Rogers says, in speaking of the statute
of laborers of 1495, it is considering
the cheapness of the times exceeding
liberal. At no time in English history
have the earnings of laborers, inter-
preted by their purchasing power, been
so considerable as those which this act
acknowledges" At that time Rogers
shows this purchasing power of wages
was substantially so per cent higher
than for the average for the $50 years,
1851 to 1910. In agriculture and
Prices" page As, Rogers says so cheap
were the means of life during the fif-
teenth century and so good relatively
speaking was the rate of wages that
even the farm hand would have found
little difficulty in emancipating himself.
Mr.. Harvey-What year was that?
Mr.. Horr-That was in the fifteenth
century, that was the time when you
say everything was going to the bow
vows. Hyndman, in his Historical
Basis of Socialism" doubts whether any
European community ever enjoyed as
great, though rough, plenty as the
English yeoman, craftsman and labor
Hr of the fifteenth century. Nautilus
agrees with Rogers in his rosy picture
of the closing days of the. fifteenth CEN
fury.
Later, I shall show that in his treat
ment of the present, as of the past, Mr..
Harvey stands as the exponent of the
rich and not of the toilers, whose well
fare should first be considered by the
legislation of the state.
That Monetary Commission.
Mr.. Harvey--When among the fly
leaves of the School yesterday, to as
sist Mr.. Horn in getting out of them
left him meditating on verse from the
Bible while I passed on to the preface
of the book. I volunteered to explain
the preface without waiting for it to
be attacked, because gold standard
papers all over the United States had
charged that it was a forgery; that no
such quotation as was there
used was ever made from the
report of any monetary COM
mission or any other official docu-
ment, and to show that the gold STAN
dard papers, as usual, were wrong, and
the School" was right, read from the
report of the United States Monetary
pose of entering into an argument on
political economy Of the year 400 to
1900, but simply to show that all Of
my friends from New York and else
where who had accused me of forgery
were wrong. Now, 1 am not going to
argue with Mr.. Horn that the monetary
commission did not know what they
were talking about. He shall not get
me at any point in this debate to divert
my mind from the regular argument
and logical arrangement of the de-
bate. When man can put together
words that would convince an unthink-
ing working man that he was better off
to-day by far than he was in 1872, and
can convince a farmer that he is
getting higher prices now than he was
in 1872, I would expect him to convince
a crowd who are not studying history
that prices rose during the dark ages
at the very time that they were falling,
and that laboring men were faring we'll
at the very time when they were work
ing as the serfs of the lords of Europe.
Wheat and Wages.
Mr.. Horr-Gentlemen 1 want to say
that I am surprised that my friend, aft
er taking so long a time yesterday to
prove to the people of the United States
that the year before the discovery OF
silver in the New World silver money
had become so scarce that the people
were on the verge of starvation-afte1
devoting so long a time to it that he
should now accuse me of trying to di-
vert him from the regular work before
us when it is the very work he himseIt
introduced. 1 propose now to clincT
this business by reading from Prof
George Gunton, the author of wealth
aud Progress" who is a man perhap!
as well acquainted with the laborini
classes and with their history in TIT
past ages as any man that lives to-day
q nersnn Whnm know Intimately Il.