Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1895-08-09
The Debate a Waterloo.

The result of the debate is q Waterloo
for the goldbugs. From the very open
ing of the discussion Mr.. HOrr failed
to make the points expected by his
friends, while the friends of silver
were pleased to observe the ease with
which Mr. Harvey handled the sub
ject- Mr.. Horn announced that he
should attack each and every PROPOSE
ton laid down in Mr.. Harvey's book,
would show that the silver dollar was
not the original unit of value and that
the law of 1878 was not passed sur
reptitiOusly, was not crime, bat was
fully understood and openly discussed
throughout. During the debate Mr..
Harvey showed that the act was fraud
ulently passed, and Mr.. Horr refused
to reply. and simply retreated from
the question.
1t was part of the tactics Of the
aggressor in the Horn Harvey debate
TO deal largely in Misrepresentation,
ridiculc and abuse. We speak of the
agent sent out by the New York Trib-
une rs the aggressor in the debate, be-
cause the proposition which brought
about the debate was that he should
undertake to prove that the statements
given for fact, and the arguments bas-
ed upon them, which Mr.. Harvey used
In his Coins Financial School, were
fallaciOus. He undertook TO do this
by placing unwarranted construction
upon many of the points he attacked,
and by misquOting and otherwise deal
ing in practices of the small bore
stump orator when referring to the
verbal arguments of his opponent.
When Mr. Harvey undertook to give
his reasons for the charge that the de-
monetization feature of the act Of 1873
was surreptitiously put through Con
gress by questionable methods on the
part of n few individuals, his antaSon-
iSt made bold bid for applause by
the declaration, in n tone of voice indi-
eating the most profound Indignation,
that the American people were as hon
est as any people on earth. and he
would resent the imputation against
the integrity of the large majority OF
their representatives in Congress.
Mr. Horn knew that the words of his
opponent warranted no such Inference
as he claimed. but he was talking for
the unthinking. He knew that preju-
olced readers would satisfy themselves
by following his side Of the debate
only, and that his virtuous denial
would be taken as proof that the de-
batter on the other side had been guilty
Of an outrageous assault upon the as
sembled honor of the nationals he
would have Congress considered. And
all through the debate he made use OF
ike tactics.
We were told with the regularity of
n refrain about President Jefferson
stoppins the coinage of silver. while
the act of 1892 was in force This ''set-
tier" as the gold people regarded it,
was put to Mr.. Harvey with the evil
dent prestige Of an annihilator. But
the answer only showed the shallow
ness OF the pretext. That President
jefferson did not suspend the free COLI
good reason that he did not have the
Car power 10 repeal an act OF Con
gress he was sworn to see executed,
but simply through the treasury the
management of the mint was directed
to coin the 90 cent, % cent and lesser
ccins-because the country needed
larger supply of these than of the dol
lar coin. A schOOl-boy ought to have
known that in that early day the re-
peal OF an act of Congress by a PreSi.
degt CT Secretary was an unknown act.
1t was left for Mr.. Carlisle to redeem
silver certificates in gold, while the act
Of Congress is explicit that these paper
notes only represent cOin-fOr conven-
fence in circulation. Jefferson did not
understand how to do such things
possibly because the house of R0thS-
child Belmont-NIOrgan had not been
eyoluted at that day. And then JEFF
fersOn Lad helped make the cOnStitu-
ton. and had n personal as well as Of
fetal respect for it.
We have some respect for a pure and
simple gold an-particularly the sim
ple-but for those who wilfully distors
history there is nothing but the con-
tempt that dishonesty ought to inspire.
1t is as plain as the calendar of the
years that silver was the staple money
of the United States at the formatiO
OF the constitution and for eighty years
thereafter. Even when the gold dis
coveries of 1910 made that metal album
dant, did the people know practically
anything about any distinction. If the
business of the world demands the de-
struction OF silver. say so and advo-
cate it on its merits, but don't lie about
plain statutes which the known prac-
tice of the government and the face of
the national coinage demonstrate to be
the fact.
Gold and silver-not or-is the money
declared by the constitution, and able
lawyers, as able as any on the Supreme
bench, hold that the act Of 1873 Is an
unconstitutional usurpation by Con-
gress, so far as it demOnetizes silver.
The State to-day cannot under the CON
stitutiOn make gold the exclusive legal