The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-04-17
Iron the Minneapolis Tribune.]

lFrOm the Minneapolis Tribune.1
The first of a series of three lectures on
the Financial Question was delivered at
the Metropolitan Opera House last evening
by w. H: Harvey. of Chicago. author of
Coins Fnincial School," and other works
of similar nature. The lecture dealt with
the history Of finance for 200 years prior
to the decentralization of silver in 1873. The
!; lecturer was introduced by II. D. Stocker.
Jr., with few words of praise, who added
that Mr.. Harvey's coming was through the
instrumentality of the younger element OF
the Republican party. The speaker was
slow and deliberate in utterance, dealing
with statistics throughout the whole lee
ture until the peroration was reached. In
order that the statistics might be known
to be correctly quoted, Mr.. Harvey asked
that committee be seated upon the stage
to inspect the books and passages quoted
Sidney M. Owen, James w. Lawrence and
Dr. r. b. Tier acted the committee.
The lecturer first began clearing the
ground by refuting charges which he said
mad been made upon his book by leading
newspapers. The Indianapolis Journal was
sald to charge that the preface OF the
Financial School, is forgery on United
states monetary report. Mr.. Harvey pro-
duced the report proof, the important
statement being that in the Roman en-
plre the fall kept pace with the shrinkage
of the money circulation.
He next sought to refute the charge Of
for saying that in 1873 the legal tender of
silver was taken away in amounts exceed
ing - by reading from the law passed in
that year. One of the elementary princi
pies of the financial question, he said is
the determination of what is dollar. He
defined dollar as that which is declared
by law to be a unit of account. Such a
unit can never, by the nature of the case,
be any more or less than dollar. Other
things may vary in relative value to It..
but 1t must remain dollar and full unit
Taking up the history of monetary 1egfs-
lation. he read from public documents to
prove that Thomas Jefferson was in.favor
OF silver unit and the adjustment of4gol6
In relation to it. In 1855 a report of the
Continental congress favored a silver dQl-s
lar unit, while in 1892 the congress of the
United States determined the value Of "a
dollar as so much silver. The country then
mad unlimited free coinage of both metals
without expense to the owners Silver, he
said is the money of the people. and, being
more abundant than gold cannot be corr
nered by money changers. -e.f sss,t e.s4gs
1t is less changeable than gold in value
because it's circulation is more general and
extensive among all the people. On the
other hand, gold is of small amount and is
heid almost entirely by money changers:
In 1884. he said the ratio of gold to silver
which had been fixed at Is to I, was
changed to 16 to 1, where it remained till
1873 \. So. So;
When gold is SO adjusted in ratio to silver
and the coinage of both is free, the lee
turer sa1d there is unlimited demand
for both, while the government holds the
option of which to pay out, fitting it's ac-
ton to the needs Of commerce. When the
two metals are free in coinage and full
legal tender no corner can be gotten upon
money any more than there can be on beef
when there is plenty of mutton. But in
1873 a knife was inserted between the ribs
of Uncle Sam by. the decentralization Of sill
yer, and it became possible to hear of 50
cent silver dollar. So long as the former con-
d1tlons prevailed a perfect parity maintained
itself between the two metals Although in
it93 and 1850 there was three times the. val
ue of silver produced in this : ceun@
try as of gold, the value of silver was not
weakened at all, and the parity was not
disturbed.
The speaker then took issue with a cur
rent statement that prior to 1873 there was
coined only $S,OOO00O in silver. That, he
said, was the amount of silver dollars sEO-
ined but the total amount of silver was
s143,00O0OO. The lecture was closed jbyI. q
burst of eloquence representing the serpent
of class selfishness, with it's tail in. India,
it's body in Europe and with it's head rails
ed in the United States, and with an urgent
appeal to patriotic citizens to fight the mon
ster. After the lecture a discussion took
place between c. ]. Buell. and Mr. Harvey
upon some Of the points of the lecture ::