The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1895-07-26

feople hept In Ignorance.
Chicago,|Suly 20.-The crucial point
was reached to-day in the Horn Harvey
debate. 1t was near the end of the ses-
sion. when Mr.. Horr. breaking away
from the long-continued discussion of
the circumstances surrounding the en-
actment of the law of 1873. stated com
pactly his version of the existing condi-
lions of the debate and then pumped
the main question: ought we again to
throw open the mints of the United
States to the free coinage of silver?
Mr.. Harvey was evidently taken by
surprise, but stood by his guns and in
sisted upon proceeding with his at
tempt to prove that the decentralization
of silver was accomplished with a sur
Righteousness that was criminal
Here is what Mr.. Horr said prepara-
tory to springing the chief issue:
There are things about which Mr.
Harvey and myself differ and some on
which we agree. He thinks our faith
ers established a single measure of val
ne. and that measure was Bin grains
of pure silver, and that gold was made
a simple companion metal of silver, and
that it's value was to be all the time
measured by a silver dollar. I believe
those early patriots attempted to es-
tablish q measure of value of metals,
gold and silver, and that they supposed
they had hit upon a ratio which would
secure the use of both gold dollars and
silver dollars. side by side. We agree
that up to 1884 the measure of value in
actual use in this country was the sill
yer dollar. I assert that in 1884 the
ratio was changed; the gold dollar was
made smaller. He admits that. 1 as
sert that when the gold dollar was
cheapened, it became the actual meas
ure of values in this country and re-
NAMED so up to the suspension of spe-
Gle payments; that the silver dollar,
though still legal measure of value,
was not used in this country as the ac-
tual measure after 1884. He denies that.
We both agree that from 1862 to 1879
the domestic business of this country
was done by using the greenback dol
lar as the measure of values, which
was during none of these years equal
to the value of either the gold dollar
or the silver dollar He states that in
his book, and we both agree.
ON A GOLD BASIS.
Now mark-we both agree that in
1873 the coinage of silver dollars was
stopped by law and that since 1879,
since the resumption of specie pay
ments, the domestic and international
business OF this country has been done
on gold basis. We agree that Great
Britain has been on a gold basis since
1916; no dispute about it. 1 claim that
Germany ceased the coinage of silver
in 1871, and he claims that it was not
until later in 1873, but we both agree
that since January /, 1874, Germany
has been entirely upon a gold basis. We
agree that the nations which compose
the Latin union, towit: France, Bel
GUM, Switzerland, Italy and Greece,
are all of them gold standard coun-
tries. There Is no dispute between us
that British America and Australia are
also gold standard countries. We agree
that Mexico, China, Japan and several
of the republics of South America are
silver standard nations.
There Is to-day no nation on the
face of the earth that is actually using
double standard. The actual measure
of value in each of the countries of the
world is either gold or silver alone ex-
cept in some countries where depreci-
ated paper money is the only circulat-
ing medium and metal money is bought
and sold as commodity, just as was
the case in this country during the sus-
pension of specie payments.
Mr. Harvey claims that the law of
1873 was secretly and fraudulently
passed. He won't deny that he claims
that. I have denied it and still deny
1t. l say there is not q grain OF truth
in such statement. But we both
agree that the law was passed and Is
in force to-day.
THE IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Now the important question before
the American people at this moment,
and the one we are here to discuss, Isl
Ought the law to be repealed? Ought
we to again throw open the minis of
the country to the free coinage of sill
yer upon the old ratio of 16 to l, when
the actual ratio of value in the mar
kets of the world is fully 80 to ~"
MIR. HARVEY RESUMES.
Mr.. Harvey-When 1 have read the
printed record of what Mr.. Horn has
just now said, it will be time enough
for me to take up new subject, 1 am
not done with the present subject yet.
The act of 1853 served the purpose of
the men who were seeking to over
throw our constitutional standards of
money in this way. In 1858, on ac-
COulll VI the SApOIldllOll VI OuE SILVER
coins, by reason of the French ratio Of
1914 to l being less than ours, 10 to /,
Congress, preserving the silver unit,
ordered by act that the fractional sill
yer, 80 cents and less. should be cut
down in size to the French ratio to
stop it's expectation. The silver unit
was preserved, and could be preserved
without even coming a single one of
them. 1t would regulate the other
coins all the same. Now the fractional
silver had its legal tender character
taken from 1t, because it was not of
full weight 1t was not made full
weight because of the expectation, and
1t was not made non-legal tender be-
cause it was not OF full weight await
ing further consideration whether we
would go to the French ratio as a
whole or not.
$50 that when the bill in 1873 was
being considered at the time when no.
body was thinking about coins and
very few knew anything about 1t, these