Morris tribune., 1895-08-07
THE BIG DEBATE.
Horr and Harvey Discuss the Free
Coinage Question.
Synopsis of Arguments Advanced at the
Closing Sessions-The New Yorker
Has the Last of the $4,000
Words.
Copyright, 1895, by Azel F. Hatch.

the art gallery of the Illinois club was occu-
pied when time was called for the closing ses-
sion OF the great war of words, and the walls
were lined with listeners eager to catch the
closing remarks of the contestants.
Twenty-four hours in all have been con-
sumed in the debate which ran through eight
days, and Ids 900 words in all we're spoken, ac-
cording to the original agreement The two
gentlemen still have $500 words each in which
to close. This is to be submitted, however, in
manuscript any time within seven days to be
inserted in the book which Is to be published
Resolutions were passed thanking the nli-
nois club for the use Of their house and ex-
pressing appreciation of all that had been
done by various ladies and gentlemen to assist
in the carrying on Of the debate resolution
was also passed thanking Messrs Horr and
Harvey for the mass Of information with
which they have presented the public since
the debate began Then the closing argu-
ments were commenced
MI. Horr led with the sweeping assertion
that in the few cases in which the figures
cited by Mr. Harvey were correct
they had tended to weaken his own
argument He then referred to Mr..
Harvey's statement, which the latter
had said was based upon the authority of Car
roll D. Wright. United States commissioner of
labor, to the effect that there were between
100000 and 900 unemployed men in the
country. In REPUTATION of these figures, he pro-
duced u telegram from Mr.. Wright expressly
| diSclaiming them.
The effect of this shot was spoiled, however,
by Mr. Harvey's explanation that these were
| the only figures that he had used in his
| book that had not been verified, and that
| Immediately after the appearance of the first
| edition he had written to Mr.. Wright and upon
receipt of his reply had erased the incorrect
| data from the stereotype plates of the book.
After this temporary depression, the silver
champion expressed his obligations to
every one who had assisted him in
the debate, from the judge and ref
cree to his fair stenographer. and
then resumed the thread Of his argument by
producing printed table showing the amounts
of silver coined annually from 1872 to 1873, for
the purpose of demonstrating the falsity Of the
| statement made by the monometallsts that
| for the first fifty years OF the present century
| the United States silver basis,
and on gold basis from 1868 to 1873
| The statement. he said, that gold did not
seek the minis for the first fifty years, and
that silver did not seek the minis for the last
thirty years prior to 1873, is not true He
quoted from the United States coinage laws,
| appendix of 1894 The stock of gold is there
given S390l, 900 900; the stock OF silver, So
90, 100000 On account of the great use of gold
| in the arts he maintained that there was not
enough of the yellow metal to answer the
needs of money.
Mr.. Horn maintained his previous state
ments that no nation alone can establish the
old ratio of Is to |. and he did not believe that
Mr. Harvey thinks any one nation can do it.
Nations by their laws do not fix the value OF
things They cannot do it if they try. The
actual value Of the two metals at the present
time Is wide apart The ratio OF Is to is to
day a thing Of the past Always from the
earliest foundation Of society the relative
value between gold and silver has been fixed
by the people of the world, and not by legis-
lation. Mr.. Harvey and agree that the free
coinage of silve will decrease the measure of
value used here in this country The burden
of his whole talk in this debate is that we
ought to have a cheaper measure; that the
unit is worth too much. So now we agree that
1t will change the measure Mr. Harvey
says that is what ought to be
done because, he says, the whole world
Is in debt and our country is on the
brink of ruin because the present dollar is too
valuable. That is a position in which differ !
from him. The debts of the day have all been |
contracted with the gold dollar the meas |
ure and to relieve the payment of them in any |
way by trick of this kind is Reputation
Mr. Harvey continued his quotations from |
statistics in relation to the worlds supply of |
gold and the bearing the arts had toward it. |
The more costly either gold or silver becomes, |
he said, the greater the demand among |
the rich for it for ornaments. |
Where the dearer is used exclusively for |
primary money it Is the one that is boarded. |
When gold and silver were both used as |
money in their own right silver was boarded |
by the plain people and was brought forth to
serve them in time OF need. Gold is principal |
ly boarded by the rich to serve purpose in
bulling the money market Hoarding of silver
by the people was beneficial: boarding Of gold
is an injury. The cause Of boarding in the
two instances is different. In the first in
stance it is to serve q natural law providing
for the future: in the second instance it is
commercial motive affecting injuriously the
community. This is one of the reasons why
silver has always proved the more stable
money
Mr.. Horr referred to Mr.. Harvey's habit of
comparing size as having something to do
with value, and stated that the amount OF
gold in the world all put in a cube hasn't any
thing to DO with how much it is worth He
accused Harvey of comparing things that are
not alike with each other, and when a man
does that, he said. he is always in the
wrong. Now, there is Disgusting the
issue between us. 1t is simply this Can we
benefit the people of this republic now by
making a dollar mean about half as much rs
it now means? Can we benefit them by max
ing 1t seem any cons derable amount less than
it now is by making it actually less in value?
We may disguise it as much as we will the free
coinage of silver on ratio of 16 to / means
silver monometallism.
Mr.. Harvey maintained that there will be a
q commercial parity between gold and silver
at the ratio OF 16 to |, If the law is passed put
ting both metals on an equal footing at that
ratio. What he meant by an equal footing is
that both shall have the right to enter the
mints free to be coined into money with 1922
grains of pure gold to be a dollar and 3714 !
grains Of pure silver to be dollar The ,
money made from both metals to be
full legal tender money in the pay
ment of all debts, and the debtor to have
the right to pay in either metal The supply of /
silver is limited. When a great nation like !
his whose normal capacity for the absorption ,
Of money in the transaction OF it's normal BUSH
ness is not far from 81, 900. 100000. opens its S
mines to silver it fixes the price OF silver I
The world over So long as the supply 1 !
If silver is limited, it is now no one
will part with it for any less than they can get
FOR it in the United States. Mr. Horr will say
TO this: The government does not buy the i
silver under free coinage. 1t stamps it and
lands it back to the owner worth no more
shan when he brought it to the mint +" What
he government has done Is this: 1t has given 7
o silver new use, and the use is what gives /
% tits value.
Mr. Horr closed the debate with an elo- !
luent peroration on the revival of business; Y
If the appeal OF Cuba against oppression; OF d
he ct ssipu Sitpatinn of tho S.outh Amer IS