The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-08-07
ABLE ORATORS SUMMARIZE.
MeSSrS. Harvey and HOrr Review the
Financial Debate.
BOTH RETAIN THEIR OPINIONS !
Though Holding Opposing Views Each
Contestant Has Proved to His own Salts
faction That the System He Advocates
is the True Solution

]
opsis of the summing up of the Horr.
Harvey debate by Roswell G. Horr:
The object of this debate was to deter
mine if it would be wise for our nation to
throw open its mints to the free coinage
of silver at the ratio Of l6 to 1 when the
civilized nations of the world refuse to
Join in such action My opponent pro-
posed to prove that such a course is adj
visable. l denied the advisability Of such
action.
W. His statement that the primary money
only is the measure of value he has not
even attempted to sustain. He based his
whole argument on the proposition that
the silver dollar was in 1899 made the only
unit or measure Of value. / have shown
eonolusively that our forefathers at
tempted to establish bimetallism and pro-
vided for two units of value, one of gold
and one of silver, always naming gold
first, and that up to 1884 the silver stand
ard alone was used That after the gold
standard came into use the silver dollar
has never been used as the measure of
value in the United States.
Mr.. Harvey next based his case upon
the assumption that the law of 1873 was a
crime, and stated that it had its origin in
fraud and it's birth through bribery and
in support of any one of these positions.
Thus he stands convicted by his own
statements of an effort to deceive the
people.
His assertion that option of the debtor
to pay in other metal causes the cheaper
metal to be used Is true, but such option
does not restore its relative commercial
value. On the contrary, it drives the
dearer metal out of use. History proves
/ that the use of single standard is the
only means by which both metals can be
! kept in circulation.
The gold unit is not responsible for tho
fall in prices. Mr.. Harvey utterly failed
to show fall in the price of II single
article which is not fully accounted for by
the cheaper cost OF production, improved
transportation or increased supply.
During tho discussion Mr.. Harvey cites
Roman history, with its many evils But
he inadvertently makes AN admission as
to the great value of banking facilities,
which refutes all his other assertions
against such systems. He says: 1T is
significant coincidence that the first glim-
mer of light only came with the invention
of bills Of exchange and paper substitutes,
through which the soanty stock of the prec-
ious metals were increased in efficiency"
]
this is IAN entire give away of his whole
rant and tustian against banks.
The condition Of the mass Of the people
of the United States has improved more
rapidly since 1873 than during a similar
number of years since the nation was
born. Mr.. Harvey endeavors to prove de-
ereRsing wages in the United States since
1878. He introduces only one statement
in support of his position; that was the
evidence of single man for one trade in
the city of Omaha. On the other hand to
prove that they are advancing introduced
the Investigation of United States Com
missioner of Labor Mulhall, who showed
that the average annual wages in manu-
featuring industries have risen from $2SS
in 1870 to 1863 for each person in 1890.
Mr.. Harvey virtually admits that the
action which he proposes will put this ma
tion on silver basis and drive gold out
of this country. l showed conclusively
that this would work injury to seventeen
million people who work for wages Mr.
Harvey has shown that benefits will come
to no person except silver mine owners
and insolvent debtors.
Following is synopsis of w. H. Har-
vey's summary:
The debate settles in my Judgment the
following propositions: That cold and
silver is the money of the constitution.
That the silver dollar was the unit of
value in our coinage system fixed by the
act of 1893. Mr.. Horr admits this. That
both silver and gold were the measures of
value of all other property until 1878, and
the debtor has a right to pay in either
metal. That the act of 1873 was surrepti-
tiously passed. That for all time of which
we have knowledge, gold and silver were
treated equally as money, and until 1873
the commercial value of the two metals
was substantially at parity with the le-
gal ratio That prices of all property are
substantially at the present time one-half
of what they would be under the bime-
tallic system. That all the silver coined
since Feb. l2, 1872 has been token money.
l believe those who read and carefully
digest the debate will conclude that have
made good all the propositions set forth
in my opening statement,
Mr.. Horr said that when gold or silver
was the unit the quantity in a dollar
could not be worth either more or less
than itself l refer him to recent market
quotations in New York when gold bull
ion was selling at a small premium, which
was accounted for at the time as purchases
made by gold syndicate to prevent gold
from seeking the mints,
1t was once supposed that labor saving
improvements and inventions would lessen
the necessary toll of man, and there was
promise of "a day to come when with lit.
tie labor all would be provided for, and
humanity as a whole would be benefited.
Has 1t had that resultP All will answer
that it has not.
And yet If there were no defect in our
civilization inventions would have the
effect first intended for them We are
sufficiently advanced in this respect now
to provide all the people of the world
with the comforts of life by one hours s
work each day by each individual, while
the remaining hours not devoted TO sleep
would be used in the promotion of human
happiness and the advancement of the
human race.