The herald., 1895-07-17
HORR AND HARVEY ON COIN
"A Ten-Day Go-as-You-Please
Talking Match
1T HAS BEGUN AT CHICAGO
FI0rr Denies the Wisdom of Unlimited
Silver Coinage
On the Other Hand Harvey Defends Facts and
Figures in Coins Financial
1T HAS BEGUN AT CHICAGO
Associated Press Special Wire.

CHICAGO, July 16'-No such big
Talk has ever been planned before, it is
claimed, as the ten-day-go-as you please
match between the chosen repl esenta tives
of opposing sides of the money question.
Roswell G. Horr and William II. Harvey,
which opened today. 1t was about p.
m. when the witty eX-congressman from
Michigan, now resident in New York, and
Shapp, Colorado newspaper man, now
resident in Chicago, sgnified to the
Judges and select audience present by in
vitation at the Illinois club on Ashland
avenue that allI was in readiness for the
successive talk and word broadsides that,
with three minute rests, were to last
three hours day for ten successive days.
The Judges are Hen. G. Henry Miller and
Judge A. W. Vincent.
Following is the opening statement of
Roswell G. Horr in the debate begun this
afternoon between him and W. III. Har-
yey of Coins Financial School:
Judges and Gentlemen: 1t is agreed be
tween Mr.. Harvey and myself that pre-
vicus to entering upon the general discus
sion. each of us shall make brief state
ment defining in general way the po
sition he proposes to occupy IN this de-
bate.
The question which we are about to dis
cuss is one that is not only receiving
very great attention among the people of
the United States. but is one that is also
receiving some attention from the ma
tions of the old world. The question in
wolves the kind of money that shall be
used by the United States and has to do
with laws which will affect the great pusi-
ness interests of this nation. The question
OF finance is very complicated one and
there are some features of it about which
the abest men of the world have been
differing for wears. The foundation for
the discussion upon which we are ABOUT
to enter is a small book publ shed by Mr..
Harvey, my opponent, ana entitled Co1n
Financial School.
The real aim and object OF that book is
to convince the people OF the United
States that this government should at
once enter upon the free ana unlimited
coinage of silver upon the old ratio OF 16
to l. The wisdm of such a course | dis
pute. Mr.. Harvey will still maintain the
affirmative of that issue. | will state in
the outset that from the beginning to the
end of the book there is hardly PROPOSE
tion made to which | give my assent. |
propose to controvert many things which
are stated as facts and shall attempt to
prove that the entire theory set forth by
its author. if adopted by the people OF
this country would lead only to business
disaster and financial ruin. i do not re-
member, however, to have examined
book carefully In which l found so few
statements that | consider worthy OF be-
lief, and | certainly never saw SO many
errors cIammed into so few pages.
l am not here as an opponent OF bimet-
allsm. / believe in the use OF gold and
silver as money to the fullest extent tnat
can be done on sound business principles.
My position upon this question has been
too frequently stated within the last five
wears to be misunderstood by any one. |
believe that both gold and silver are the
natural money of the world that in all
the larger transactions gold is better
adapted to the needs of the people Than
silver; that all the smaller business trans
actions of the human family. for years.
have been and always should be conduct
ed with silver. | also believe that in all
transactions OF the nations of the world
between themselves, the two metals should
be used in the settling OF balances, but
only at their commercial value. | also
believe that in the business of our nation
the people should never attempt TO use
either m etal except at its actual value,
only in cases where one metal may be
used as token money and be made re
deemabe in metal at its commercial
value.
| have always entertained the hope that
the business men of the world would vet
come together in an international con-
vention and agree upon some basis
whereby gold and silver can both be used
as the money of final settlement among
the people of the entile world. | am very
clear IN my idea that until some such
arrangement shall be made it would be
simply suicide for this nation to adopt Il
system OF the free coinage of silver upon
the old ratio, ratio which all the civil
lied nations of the.world have long since
discarded. | do not believe that any one
government can fix the value upon any
two metals and name 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. Conse-
QuentIy, if our nation should attempt any
such action it would simply place our
country upon a silver basis and the at
tempt would end in silver monom etallsm.
If we are compelled to decide between
gold monometallism and silver mono
metallism, then | am decidedly IN favor
OF adopting standard used by the
civilized nations of the world.
do not believe that silver has ever
been demonetlZed anywhere in the
world. | believe that the law of 1873,
which Mr.. Harvey book denounces as u
''crime" was h0ne]tly conceived and
passed by the American congress after
full delioeration and because the people at
that time who held seats in the American
congress believed that such a law ought
to be enacted. | 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. | believe il our nation should ADOPT
the course advocated in this book it would
seriously injure the entire wage-earners o.
the United States. | believe we would
destroy the confidence of the business
men Of the world i'll our integrity {
nation and that we would precIpitate sucl
financial panic as our country has never
before seen.
/ shall deny most emphatlcaly that the
great ma jority of the people of this coun
try are in Iebt, and shall insist that thI ee.
fourths of the American people are today
creditors and not debtors, and that con
sequently the system which Mr.. Harvey
advocates would work great injury to me
vast majority of American citizens.
Will state still further that if this bool
which we are going to debate is true
then | am all wrong. 1t seems to me tC
be devoid of business sense from the be-
ginning to the end, and | hope to be able
to prove that in language that shall be Sc
PLAIN and explicit that my fellow citizens
will be satisfied that | have accomplished
my task. Understand me- in few
words: / believe that the American ma
ton should have Just as good money a.
any nation uses on the face OF the earth
believe that every dollar paid to a boo
man for his daily toll should be worth a
much as the dollars paid to men who ar,
rich. | would have the money whIcl
measures values the most stable that car
be devised, and | would insisttthat buyer
and sellers shall as near as posslb bic be re
qured to use the same measure OF value
and shall insist that reputation in all it
forms is disgraceful and dishonorable il
ha of ind