The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-07-17
BATTLE OF THE METALS
The Merits Of Gold and Silver
sa44 Brilliantly Discussed.
TEN DAY TALKING MATCH BEGUN
@x-congressrnan Horr and william II.
Harvey Meet In IN OratoricaI Contest
as TO the Relative Merits of the Two
Metals Is Medit M, OF Exchange.

k0giuent OIL New YORK, hHu William II.
Harvey, the author OF COINS Financial
School" was opened yesterday before a
seleot audience at tho Illinois club OH Ash.
Hand avenue.
Both Int.do brief preliminary addresses.
Mr.. Horr speaking for gold standard
and Mr.. Harvey for free coinage Of silver,
The audience was impartial applauding
the telling points Inade by each contestant
hherally.
Tho debate proper began by Mr., Horr
ssking his opponent to tell plainly il there
was ever any such school held as that de-
Ecribed in tho book .tCons' Financial
School, Mr.. Horr snid: II find all through
tho book large number Of statements at
tributed to very considerable mum ber of
business men Of Chicngo, and am In
formed that these men never one Of them
uttered a single word attributed to thonl.
III the book is written as an allegory /
would like my friend to state why he did
mot use, as all literary men have alwnys
done, the names of fictitious individuals7"
Mr.. Harvey-"Thc school is an allie
CORY 1t marshals the opinions of the
two sides of the controversy, SO that one
In Imagination can see the conflict of
opinions and the contest as it proceeds.
1t puts in thu mouth OF the gold standard
advocates their well known views, fairly
stated, with which the country had been
Hooded up to the time the school was
wrltton. Tho strength of tho book was
intended to be in the fairness Of stating
these views. The fact that little boy In
knee pants was the instructor of the men
was supposed to be sufficient to fix the
story as allegorioal.
Mr.. Horr-"Now come to the motto of
the book, which Is this: i thank Thee,
oh, Father, Lord Of heaven and EARTH be-
cause thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent and hast revealed them
unto babes Docs my friend desire to in
Hmato that the kind of finance which he
teaches Is something that babes will un-
derstand, but that people who know any
thing will never be able to comprehend"
Mr., Harvey-"Mr. Horr misinterprets
She meaning OF that verse The word
babes is intended to mean the pure of
mind and unselflsh. 1t Is in that sense
that 10 Is used in the Bible, and means
that those pure of mind and unselfish
can see clearly those things which the i'm
pure Of mind and selfish cannot see or un-
asrstand."
Mr. Horr-"I submit that that motto
dpos not give an excuse for boy because
hs is In knee breeches to stop telling the
truth. II does not give the boy any right
70 mlsrepresent IhotS.
Az this point the contestants discussed
81 some length the definition of money.
Coming to the money system OF the United
6tates Mr.. Horr said;
''The first law that was ever passed in
che United Statos ON the subject of money
was July 8, 1886. That was two years
after the subject had been discussed in
every shape and form by the people and
press of the United States. 1t was re-
solved that the money unit of the United
Etates of America be one dollar, that the
smallest coin be of copper, of which two
hundred should pass for one dollar. That
o. all the law there has ever been on the
subject and all that has ever been said
about 1t anywhere So we had first tho
money of the daddies, of copper, no doubt
about It, Now comes the next important
legislation upon this subject: Resolved,
that the standards of the United States of
America for gold aud silver shall be eleven
parts fine and one part alloy. Originally
that was the weight of alloy In all coins of
she United States. Afterwards we reduc2,'
the alloy SO that it was one part in ten"
Mr.. Harvey-"What Mr.. Horr says about
copper used as money during the Conti-
mental days preceding tho adoption of tho
constitution Is trivial to be used in this
argument. After the adoption of the con-
stitution bimetallio system was provided
for In the constitution. Section 10 says:
No state shall coin money or make any
thing but gold and silver coin tender in
payment of debts 1t says gold and silver,
not gold or silver. This is the constitu-
ton. The states surrendered to congress
the right to separately coin money, but
expressly retained the right to the use of
silver and gold as money, neither as token
N1....- tl..Nus
vsr is now coined representing gold, but
both as money in their own right"
"The men who framed this constitution
then proceeded to give it the construction
Intended. They gave both metals free aud
unlimited coinage. Both were given full
and unlimited use in the payment of
debts There was no discrimination made
In the use Of the two metals except that
the unit of value was to reside In the sill
ger dollar and that gold coins are to be of
he value of SO many silver dollars.
hpaniel Webster said: Gold and silver
@ Che money OF tho constitution. The
constitutional standard of value Is estab-
kshed, and cannot be overturned. To
aFerturn 1t would shake the whole sys.
bem. Gold and silver at rates fixed by con-
gress constitute the legal standard of
value In this country, and Mother con.
tnblish any other standard or dispose Of
this
Mr. Horr-'My friend Harvey thinks
she government of the United States orig
mated In 1893. l had supposed this gov
eEnment commenced on July L. iTT6. In
1857 congress resolved that the standard
Of the United States Of America for gold
and silver, both together, should be eleven
parts fine and one part alloy. That was
precisely as they had decided before. They
were organizing new system of money,
something that had never been known on
the face Of the globe making money his
tory. Is that trlvialY Why, 1t was the
important act of the age. Why, 1t was
the basis of theeentire action of 1902
Mr. Harvey--"The straits to which the
colonies were put between l776 and 1890,
when wo rs a government known as the
united States went into operation, were
those of expediency, but no permanent
system was adopted. The American con-
kfess, at Its second session, enacted the
law Of l792, and section of that act Is the
one that settles this question by which
only silver unit was provided for.'i
Mr.. Horr-"Now, all this talk Of Mr.
Haryey's is of very little Importance as far
as am concerned. What / say is that
whom they passed that law they intended
70 establish bimt tallism in the United
atates. We did not use the gold standard
At all up to 1894. Tho gold dollar was
worth more under tho first mintage thai
tho silver dollar consequently we di,
have-and he Is right about it-the silys