The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-29

IL
Mr.. Horr-No, want it put down
just as it occurred. My friend Harvey
seems to think that because make a
statement that have taken right from
the minis of the United States, and be-
cause don't lug in the books and then
with a good deal of show say, 81 now
pass this book over to Mr.. Horr,'' that
therefore I don't make my statements
correctly. He has furnished a book
here which proves exactly my state
ment. His mistake am sorry he
made it, because if he had read care
fully he would not have made the crit
icisms on my statement at all.
Mr., Harvey-Excuse me, that is the
object in passing the books to each
other.
Mr.. Horr-If I make a mistake he
has the chance to go right and bring
me up as l have him this morning.
Now, this mint report which he hand
ed me shows that after 1870, up to
1874, in the entire mint at Carson
| City, there were only coined 1928 of
the old silver dollars. The mint re-
port will show that those were coined
from the silver accumulated in assay
| ing the gold taken to that mint. Ny
proposition was that not any of the
| silver produced in the country and sold
| by silver owners or taken to the mint
! for coinage was embraced in that
money which he says was coined after
1853. I have made it plain. Now his
report shows that there were 100000
| of trade dollars coined in that mint
after 1873, but I was talking of the
! coinage of the standard silver dollars
and accounting for their being coined
| when the silver in them was worth
more as bullion than as coin. Now I
submit to Brother Harvey that all his
statement on that subject is simply in
correct, and his own report here shows
that my statement is true.
Horr Says He Has Proved All.
! I now proceed to state that up to
this moment Mr.. Harvey has not said
one word upon the real question in de-
bate. He spent hours to prove that the
law of 1873 was conceived in sin and
brought forth in iniquity. I gave a
short succinct history of the origin of
the bill and the steps taken in it's pas
sage. He has not successfully contro-
/ verified single statement of mine. He
has nowhere proven any act of bribery
or the influence of money in a single
step taken during the progress of the
bill through congress. He or no one
else ever will, because there was none.
He has now printed long tables to
! prove that when the entire world, eX-
cept England, was attempting to con-
troll the price of silver by legislation,
they succeeded in keeping the legal
price within cents on the dollar of
the market or commercial price, and
that generally the variation between
! the market price and the legal price
! was only about two points l have
shown-and he virtually admits, at
least he has nowhere denied it-that a
variation of one-Quarter of one point
has thus far been sufficient to drive the
dearer metal from every country in
the world. But suppose we admit that
! by the concerted action of these coun-
tries, including all Europe, except Eng
land, they did prevent with the con-
ditions that existed in those days a
variation of more than two points be-
tween the legal and commercial ratio,
that does not help Mr.. Harvey in this
debate in the least. That does not
tend to show that the United States
government alone, with the entire civ
ilized world refusing free coinage to
silver, and when the difference between
the commercial ratio and the legal ra-
ito is Is points, can restore the old
ratios; it proves precisely the opposite
of what he claims. 1t proves that if
the combined action of the civilized
world, except Great Britain, with the
half civilized nations, all that have sill
yer and working to help them, could not
maintain a parity between the legal and
commercial ratios when the produc-
ton of gold and silver were nearly the
same, now, when the production of sill
yer has increased twice as fast as that
of gold, it is folly to claim that those
nations alone can restore that old
ratio. Mr.. Harvey admits as much
when he provides for cutting down the
size of the gold dollar. With all his
assurance he has not had the hardihood
to claim that the United States alone
can restore the old ratio.
*
Some Pointed Questions for Mr.. Horn
Mr.. Harvey am going to ask Mr.
Horn question before I proceed. The
table on production of silver for the
world shows the worlds production in
1860 to have been S40,S00,00 and that
the production increased each year till
1872, twelve years later, when it was
$65, 250,000. Here was an increase of
"a per cent in twelve years in the pro-
duction of silver. Now if you are right
why did not this increase break down
the price of silver from 1860 to 1873 ?
And before you answer I call your at
tention to the twelve years, 1872 to
1884, when the increase is So per cent,
per cent less than the previous twelve
years, during which time the price of
silver had fallen II per cent. Do you
want to answer it now, Mr.. Horn?
Mr.. Horr-No I will think over il.