The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-27

so low as to make II take 16 ounces OF
silver for one of gold. Several members
of that congress insisted that, if that
was done silver would leave the coun-
try and that we would be doing busi-
ness very soon upon gold basis, and
with gold currency only. But, it was
done and, as those men predicted, sill
yer ceased to be the measure of values
in the United States. 1 don't say, Mr.
Harvey, ceased to be the legal meas
ure.'
1t was lawful to use the silver dollar
after that the same as before, but say
the people refused to use the silver dol
lar in making payments. Why? Simply
because they could sell the silver dol
lar and get more gold dollars for
quantity of silver dollars than the face
of the silver dollars called for, and so
man with the least grain of common
sense sold his silver, paid his debt and
pocketed the balance. Brother Harvey
in his book. says the coin was worth
21s per cent, the silver, away down to
1873, 215 on the dollar, or 2 cents, more
any way than gold. They changed the
ratio then and it was not changed again
until, perhaps, 1S53-am right, 1858?
the subsidiary coinage of silver. That
law was intended to keep the silver cur
rency, the little change money, in this
country. Up to that time, the silver
quarters and dimes were just as good as
the silver, and when was a boy, many
is the time I have seen the silver
smiths of the United States melting
down the quarters and dimes of the
United States because they could get
their silver cheaper that way than they
could by buying the bullion. That de-
pleted US, destroying the small change
of the United States, and the remedy
was simple one. 1t had already, as
remember it, been adopted by England;
it has since been adopted by nearly all
the civilized nations of the world, and
lately Japan has adopted it, if l am
right. I don't know but she would now
be called civilized since few weeks
ago. Oaughter) The way they man
aged to keep it in circulation was by
putting less silver into the silver coin,
that is in the half dollar, quarter dol
lar and dime, less proportion than was
to be in the regular standard dollar,
and they made the coin so small that
no one could afford to send it out of the
country, nor could smiths afford to
melt it, because then they could not
get silver as cheap as to buy the bullion,
and in that way they kept our sub
sidiary silver coin in circulation in the
United States. Now, have given this
simply, Mr. Harvey, because it explains
one of the provisions that crept into the
law of 1873 during it's progress through
congress.
European Influences.
| Mr.. Harvey-Nr. Horn says that
have no proof that the scheme was con-
cocted in London to demonetize silver
in the United States. When 1 was a
boy I went into court house one day
to hear criminal trial, and heard a
lawyer say, when a crime is com-
mitted and you want to detect the GRIM
inal, look for the man that is benefited
| by the crime" (Applause) Reasoning
by induction will more invariably lo-
cate the criminal than any uncertain
human testimony. Silver was demone-
tized in England, and in England only,
prior to the day it was demonetized in
this country. That was where the
movement started-that is another evil
/
Paris conference of 1857, at which Mr..
| John Sherman was present, therefore
have the right to say the conspiracy
I originated in London. Mr.. Horn says
| that the science of money is hard to un-
derstand. Ever since the money-lend-
ers of the world shackled the people OF
| the world they have taught the people
that money was hard to understand
| (applause); that it is one OF those diff
| ficult things, as Mr.. Horn once said in
his speech, cit gives me a headache to
think of it" Qaughter); and you are not
competent to study it or understand it,
and as long as they can make you be-
Iieve that they have you in their power,
as this debate later will disclose. You
who study chemistry and can under
stand the most difficult problems of
science-chemistry and other sciences
that would make bankers head dizzy
to contemplate-you, we are told, can
not understand the simple proposition
of money; that which you come into
the use of every day. Mr.. Horn has
only taught in this debate a proposition
that it is the interest of every selfish
money-lender in the world to advocate,
and he is here advocating it. Gap
plause) In 1873, when this treacher-
Gus act was passed, there was no specie
currency in this country. During all
| the years, from 1882 to 1861, when it
was actually in use and being tested for
it's merit, no one proposed to demone-
tie either of the metals. except some
money-lenders from Europe who pro-
posed it in 1854. (Applause.) But at
that time, 1873, when it was not in cir
culation and was not needed, the move
| ment was begun and contaminated.
And, as one congressman said when the
bill was offered in congress, I'VE are
not using gold and silver as money,
have not yet considered an act for the