Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1895-07-20
OPENING STATEMENT OF MR.. uoNr
Coins Financial school" Is Full OF Er
rOrs. lie Declares.

Coins Financial ~chooi" is FuIl Of Es
roTS, lie Declares.
The following is the open statement
Of Roswell @. IIorr in the debate begun
this afternoon between him and " f.
Harvey of Coins Financial School"
Judges and Gentlemen--It is agreed
between Mr Harvey and myself that
previous to entering upon the general
discussion each of US shall make a
brief statement defining in general
way the position he proposes to occupy
III this debate. The question which We
are about to discuss is one that is not
only receiving Very great attention
among the people Of the United States
but it is one that is also receiving some
attention from the nations of the oll
world. The question involves the kind
Of money that shall be used by the
United States and has to do with laws
with which we affect the great business
interests Of this nation. The question
OF finance is a very complicated one
and there are some fea +ures of it about
which the ablest men Of the world have
been differing for years.
The foundation for the discussion up
on which we are about to enter is d
small book published by Mr.. Harvey.
my opponent. and entitled Coins
Financial School" The real aim ana
object of that book is to convince the
people of the United States that this
government alone should at once enter
upon the free and unlimited coinage of
silver upon the old ratio Of 16 to l. The
wisdom of such a course I dispute MI
Harvey will Still maintain the affirm
atlVe of that issue. | will state in the
outset that from the beginning to the
end Of the book there is hardly a prop
ositlOn made to which / give my as-
sent. l propose to controvert many
things which are stated as facts and
shall attempt to prove that the entire
theory as set forth by the author if
adopted by the people Of this country.
would lead only to business disaster
and financial ruin. / do not remember
to have examined a book carefully in
which | found SO few statements that
! consider worthy Of belief and | cer-
tainly never saw 50 many absolute er-
rorS crammed into so few pages.
NOT OPPOSED TO SILVER.
] am not here as an opponent Of b-
metallism. | believe in the use Of gold
tent that can be done Oh sound bust
ness principles. My position upon this
question has been too frequently stat
ed within the last five years to be mis-
understood ] believe that both gold
and silver are the natural money Of
the world; that in all the larger trans
actions gold is better adapted tO the
needs Of the people than silver; that
all the small business transactions Of
human families for many years have
been and always should be conducted
with silver | also believe that i'm an
transactions Of the nations Of the world
between themselves the two metals
should be used in the settling of bal
anceS, but only at their commercial
value. | also believe that in the bust
ness Of our nation the people should
never attempt to use either metal eX-
cept at its actual value only in cases
where one metal may be used an Il
token Of money and be made redeem
able in metal at its commercial value.
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT.
| have always entertained the hope
that the business men of the world Vet
would come together in an internation-
al convention and agree upon some
basis whereby gold and silver can both
be used as the money of final settle
ment among the people of the entire |
world. | am very clear in my idea that
until some such arrangements shall be
made it would be simply suicide for
this nation to adopt a system of free
coinage of silver upon the old ratio. a
ratio which all the civilized nations of
the world have long since discarded
/ do not believe that any one govern
ment can fix the value upon any two
metals and name a ratio which Will be
accepted by the people Of the world
or of the country itself so that the two
metals will be used side by side. Con-
sequently, if our nation alone should
attempt any such action, it would sim
ply place our country upon a silver
basis and the attempt would end in
silver monometallism. ! believe that
the law of 1873, which Mr.. Harveys |
book denounces as 'crime, was hon
estly conceived, openly advocated and
passed by the American congress after
fun deliberati ton and because the peO- |
pie at that time who held seats in the
American congress believed such a law
ought to be enacted. I do not believe
in the teachings of this book, that this |
nation is on the verge Of financial ruin, |
or that starvation is staring our people !
in the face | shall deny most EN-
phatically that the great majority Of |
the people of this country are in debt |
and shall insist that three-fourths of |
the American people today are credi
tors and not debtors and that conse-
quently the system which Mr. Harvey |
advocates would work great injury to |
the vast majority Of American citizens. |