Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-07-27
The RATIO
The Chicago Dehaters Discuss BimetallIsm
and silver Decentralization.

The Chicago Debaters Discuss Bimetalllsm
and silver Decentralization.
CHICAGO, July 23.-In the financial
debate between Messrs Horr and Har-
Vev Yesterday Mr.. Horn opened the
dispute with a written argument touch
ing the impossibility of maintaining
fixed ratio between gold and silver.
AS the result of experience all the civ
ilized nations of the globe had dis
carded silver as q standard money. It
was useless to exploit long tables of
ratios to show whether double stand
ard could be maintained. The world
had pronounced against silver.
Mr. Harvey defined scientific bimet-
allism to be the free coinage of both
gold and silver at an assumed ratio;
change in the size of the gold dollar
whenever the parity between gold
and silver coins should require; the
option to both individuals and the gov
eminent to pay in the cheaper metal.
He held that under these circum-
stances silver would not depreciate, be-
cause there would be an unlimited de-
mand at the ratio fixed by law, and
no man would sell his bullion below
the price at which he could
have it coined Mr.. Harvey submitted
table to show that from 1857 up to
1878 the commercial ratio had re-
manned remarkably close to the legal
ratio. notwithstanding the demonetiza-
ton of silver by England and other of
the great nations of the old world.
Mr. Horn said this matter of ratio has
little or nothing to do with the ques-
ton. The fact was that all of the civil
| lized nations of the world refused to
recognize silver except at its bullion
value For US to attempt free coinage
alone was another matter. Mr.. Horn
then took up the proposition of Mr.
Harveys book that making the dollar
of one-half present value would double
the value of every thing in the United
States except debts. Mr.. Horn pro-
nounced this absurd saying we might
as we'll say that if we cut our yard
sticks in two it would double the
amount of cloth in the country. He
said Mr.. Harvey seemed to be stuck
| on sweet 40 to l." In his book he
proposed to keep metal values at
parity by reducing the amount of gold
in the gold dollar. Carried to its le-
Ultimate results, the ratio would be-
come 10 to p or 80 to 1.
Mr.. Harvey proceeded to argue that
both gold and silver were the measure
of value until 1873. Referring to the
cutting of the yardstick in two, Mr..
Harvey said that the gold men had
doubled the yardstick in 1898.
Mr.. Horn, IN reply to the charge that
the decentralization of silver cut the
value of products in two, said that
if that were true prices would have
at once dropped SO per cent. The
fact was that they did not. If the
destruction of half the wheat crop
would raise prices four-fold, the de-
monetization of silver did not destroy
it. Returning to the attack, Mr. Horn
said that Mr.. Harvey did not care for
ratio. What he wanted was a cheap
dollar, and the cheapening of the
emoluments of labor. That was the
most prosperous country in which its
workingmen were best paid.
Mr.. Horn said it was in 1879 that we
resumed specie payment, and the only
money of final redemption was gold.
He asked: ''Was distress abroad in the
land from that on?' The fact is the
years from 1879 to 1892 found our peo-
pie better employed and at better
wages than in any other same mum Der
of years since this government was
formed
Mr.. Harvey: "As to the prosperity
of this country between 1879 and 1892,
you could not break down a great
nation like this in one year. 1t has
taken short period to bring us to the
distress" Continuing, Mr.. Harvey
/ 70
to the prosperity of the
country from 1873 to 1895 The ''word
| tramp was coined in 1879, and the
United States census shows that de-
preston has been increasing at a dis
proportionate ratio So has the num-
Der of penitentiary convicts, persons
confined in aims houses, insane asylums
and of suicides. The prosperity that
has built up millionaires and multi
millionaires and strewn this country
with millions Of tramps and paupers
and men who don't know how they are
| going to provide for their families in
the coming year. A change in relative
production had no effect as long as the
mints were open to the two metals
| Mr. Horr: 81 have never said that
the cheap price of silver was not on ac-
count of its over production. Silver
has become cheap in this world just
precisely the same as wheat, and iron,
| and zine, and lead, and other articles
have been cheapened, just precisely for
! the same reason. All of these articles,
as well as gold, have been cheapened
by the natural laws which govern the
| production of every substance known
to the producers of the world"
/ This ended the debate for the day.
KILLED WITHOUT WARNING.