The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1895-07-20
OPENING STATEMENT OF MR.. HARvE,
Every Statement in His Little Book lie
Will Prove TO Be True.

Copyright secured by Azel f. Hatch of
Chicago)
The statement made by Mr.. Harvey
at the opening of the debate:
Il am here to defend the facts and
1 expect to make good in this debate
the following propositions: That silver
and gold are money of the constitution;
that the silver dollar was the unit of
value in our coinage system in this
country from 1892 to 1873; that gold was
measured in this silver unit and con-
current coinage given to it (gold); that
silver and gold combined constituted
the legal standard of value in this coun-
try until 1873; silver measured gold, the
two together measured all other prop
erty that the act of 1873 was surrepti-
tiously passed; that during the period
of 1892 TO 1873 the minis were open to
the unlimited coinage of both metals
into primary or redemption money, and
that both were treated as such; that
during that period the people had a
right to have either metal coined in
full legal tender money and chat the OPP
ton was with the debtor to pay in coins
of either metal; that this bimetallic
system made an unlimited demand for
both metals to be coined into money, in
creased the demand for these metals,
and so long as the law authorizing
any one to coin Biz grains of silver
and 23.1 grains of gold in a dollar was
in force there was no one willing to sell
either for less than a dollar; that the
option to pay in either metal caused the
cheaper of the two metals to be used
and transferred the demand from the
dearer to the cheaper metal and re-
stored it's relative commercial value:
that it is to the interest of the United
States to act Independently in the re-
mOnetization of silver at a ratio to
gold of l6 to l, without waiting for the
action Of any other nation that mono
metallism consists in the use of the
dearer of the two metals to the exclu-
sion Of the other as primary or redemp-
ton money; that monometallism is an
experiment on trial for the first time in
the history of the world, and began with
the period of 1873; that the gold unit as
the measure of values, with no concur
rent coinage of another metal to assist
in performing the functions of primary
money, has caused the fall in prices as
compared with 1872, when the worlds
prices of property were measured in
the money mass of both metals; that
the decline in prices, covering a period
of p years, has, as a rule, made all
classes of productive. mercantile and
manufacturing business improbable;
that it has worked a hardship and in
jury to debtors who until conscious Of
causes that continuously reduced the
prices of their property, have contract
ed debts during these % years. that
this fall in the prices causes a sacrifice
of property to purchase the dollars with
which to lquidate these debts: that in
the end no one is benefited by a fall in
prices but the money lender, the owner
Of money and securities payable in
money-fxed incomes; that the foregoing
facts and conditions produced by a
change in our money measurement Of
values. will impoverish the masses Of
people, and points. by reason of the dis
turbances it will produce to the over
throw of the republic.
ITO all unbiased men and those who
will lay aside their prejudices during
the reading Of this debate, I expect to
make good all the foregoing PROPOSE
tions. Every fact in the School that
Mr. Horn does not attack I shall take
for granted that he admits its truth. I
am now ready to proceed in the order
indicated in the School and as con-
templated by the rules of the debate