The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-05-22
Both Sides of the Controversy
Presented In An Able
! Manner.
European Bankers Should Not Be
Allowed to Govern This Country,
Says Coin.
LauqhIin Contends That Free Coin
age Would Be a LOCALIZED
81 Fraud.

Chicago May 18.-A peculiar political
encounter took place last night hardly
paralleled in the West since the struggle
between Lincoln and Douglass just on
the eve of the civil war. The platform
combatants were two giants of the OPP
) posing side in the raging financial con-
ltroversy-J. Laughlin, professor of polit-
tcal economy in the University Of Chica-
Cleveland, and William H. Harvey, an
thor of Coins Financial School"
! Not half the people c1amoring to be
present could have been accommodated
tor the meeting of the champions. The
spacious rooms of the Illinois club on
stately Ashland boulevard were crowded
to almost suffocation when the president
of the club, DIR. Homer M. Thomas, an
nounced all in readiness for the dress
suit gladiators.
The proposition to be discussed was
read as follows:
Resolved, That the United States
should enter at once upon the free coin
age of silver at the ratio Of 16 to 1, in
dependently Of the action of any other
nation"
Mr.. Harvey, it was stated, would speak
for an hour in the Affirmative and Prof.
Laughlin an hour and thirty minutes in
the negative, Mr.. Harvey then having
thirty minutes for rejoiner.
Harvey Opens.
In opening for the Affirmative, Mr.. Har-
vey said:
"The first reason why am in favor of
Independent action by this country is
that we should not be subjected to the
influences of the governments Of Europe.
When our forefathers declared their po-
litical independence from Europe it was
to free themselves from the class legisla-
dbn Of those governments justly termed
plItocracies. If the people can be re-
duced to poverty, and prosper
ity can be ruined by hanging to
the financial policy of Europe, then we
can be reduced to the same condition by
financial legislation as war of conquest
would reduce us. If we are right and
our friends, the monometallists mostly
say, we admit bimetallism,' in other
words they agree that there is something
radically wrong, but claim that we are
tied to the financial policy of Europe, so
hat 4 -:
by the monarchies Of Europe, whose
form of government is different from
ours, would reduce us to the condition
that the people Of those governments are
in, and they can accomplish the same
purpose by financial legislation, then
there is necessity for Independent ac-
ton. Where there is necessity there
is a remedy. Suppose you were to say
to man of common sense, we are COM
PEELED to adopt the financial policy of
Europe, and he replied, the country is
going to waste and ruin and desolation
is spreading from ocean to ocean, and
demonstrates that the cause of it is our
adoption of the financial policy of Eu-
rope, and we say back to him, it makes
no difference, We are compelled to
adopt the financial policy of Europe.
"This answer would not be acceptable
to the hard-headed citizen Of this coun-
try. The governments of Europe are
plutocracies. They squeeze the lemon
for the people about every so often. The
few control class legislation and the
masses are hewers of wood and drawers
of water. Like the farmer who goes out
and robs the bees nest they rob the peo-
pie, and then give them time to fill the
nest again before going out to rob it
again.
I'VE have certainly not forgotten his
tory giving the reasons why our fore
fathers established this government
and that was the reason. Now, if finan-
\ ciaf legislation is one of the classes of
class legislation by which the many are
robbed and the few enriched, by which
the lemon is squeezed, then it is one CT
he institutions Of the European govern
pents that we as nation of people, re-
|lblican in form, should declare our in
dependence from Europe. If they say
we must have the same money that they
have in order to carry on business with
them, my reply is, the biggest business
we ever did carry on with the balance of
the world, and particularly Europe, was
The time when they had gold and silver
hs money and we had neither
ut is one of those peculiar arguments
hat wears its way into a mans brain
then reiterated and monotonously given
by the daily press that we must have
q same money that the other great
commercial nations have. We never
stop to Investigate. Itbelongs to that
catalogue of arguments that existed pri-
fr to 1892. when majority of the people
the world said that the world was fiat,
Ind few men, including Columbus,
contended that it was round. Those in
terested in purposely cultivat-
ng through ages an interna-
tonal money on lines marked out