Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-07-25

.-Tnere are some things abonf whicE Mr.
Harvey and myself differ and some about
which we agree. He thinks that our fore
fathers established a single measure OF
value; that that measure was 311L grains
Of pure silver; that gold was made n simple
companion metal OF silver and that Its
value was to be all the time measured by
q silver dollar. l believe that those early
patriots attempted to establish a measure
of value out Of two 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. Beside. we
agree that up to 1884 the measure of value
In actual use In CHS country was the silver
dollar. / assert that In 1884 the ratio was
changed, that the gold dollar was made
smaller. He admits that. i Insist that
when the gold dollar was ~cheapened 1t be-
came the actual measure Of value In this
country aud remained so up to the sus-
pension of specie pay inents; that the silver
dollar. though still a legal measure OF
value, was not used In this country as the
actual measure after 1884. He denies that.
We both agree taht from 1862 to 1879 the
domestic business of this country was done
by using the greenback dollar as the meas
ure OF values, which was during none OF
those years equal In value TO either the
gold or the silver dollar. He states that
In his book. We both agree
"Now mark. We both agree that In 1873
the coinage % silver dollars was stopped by
law, and that since 1879, since the resump.
ton OF specie payment. the domestic and
international business OF this country had
been done on a gold basis. We agree that
Great Britain has been on a gold basis
since 1916: no dispute about it. l claim
that IN ceased the free coinage OF
silver In 1871. and he claims that IL was
not done until later-in 1SI3-but we both
agree that since Jan. 1. 1874, Germany has
been entirely upon a gold basis. We agree
that the nations which compose the Latin
U~nion-France, Belgium. Switzerland, Italy
and Greece-are all of them to-day gold
standard countries. There is no dispute be-
| tween us that British America and Aus
| tralia are also gold standard countries. We
| agree that Mexico. China and Japan and
several other republics of South America
are silver standard nations.
No Doubis-stnndard Nntien.
There is to-day no nation on the face
OF the earth that Is actually using Il double
standard. The actual measure OF value In
each OF the countries of the world Is either
gold alone, or silver alone, except In some
countries where deprecated paper money
is the only circulating medium and metal
money Is bought and sold as a commodity.
just as was the case In this country dur
ing the suspension Of specie payments. Mr..
Harvey claims that the law of 1873 was Sc
| cretly and fraudulently passed. He won't
deny that he claims that. That / have de-
nied and still deny. i say that there Is not
a grain OF truth In such n statement. But
we both agree that the law was passed and
| Is In force to-day. Now the important ques-
ton before the American people at this
| moment, and the one we are here to dis
cuss, Is this: Ought the law TO be repealed?
Ought we TO again throw open the mints OF
the United States TO the free coinage of
silver upon the old ratio of i6 to !, when
the actual ratio of value in the markets OF
the world Is fully 80 20 IT,
Mr.. Harvey: When l nave read the print.
ed record of what Mr.. Horn has just now
said, 1t Will be time enough for me to take
up n new subject. / am not done with the
present subject yet. The act of 1853 served
the purpose OF the men who were seeking
TO overthrow our constitutional standards
of money in this way. In 1853, on account
OF the expectation of our silver coins. by
reason of the French ratio Of 1914 to /, be.
ing less than ours. 16 to /. congress. pre-
| serving the silver unit, ordered by act that
the fractional silver fifty cents and less
should be cur 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 this fractional silver has it's
| legal tender character taken away from IL,
because Ii was not OF full weight. 1t was
| not made full weight because of the ex-
| portation and It was made non.ie sai ten
der, because IL was not of full weight.
awaiting further consideration whether we
| could go to the French ratio as a whole or
not. so that when the bin Ia 1873 was be-
ing considered at a time when nobody was
thinking about coins and very few knew
| anything about II, these men who were
| steering the bill said:
1--WE are rt -enacting the act o. 1853.
1 prt -. nanft no nnuYhing an ahnng sha, VI
| and that is what they made senators and
| congressman believe they were doing. ex-
| cept that they were going TO reduce the
size OF the silver dollar, TO put us on the
French ratio. but talking to men who
knew nothing about blmetallism or the pre-
vious history OF coinage, the act of 1873
, served that purpose TO get the language In
the bill concerning the fractional coin and
the preceding clause that had the dollar In
| II, into language OF the act OF 1873. SO that
| all they had to do was TO strike out the line
that had the dollar In 1t In the words OF the
act OF 1853. which was a free coinage dol
lar, and there you had an act without any
free coinage silver Ia Ii.
This bill was passed In the senate on
Jan. II. so that the morning papers Of the
18th would contain any news, IL there were
any, showing that the fundamental laws of
the government had been changed.
The only reference that appears In the pa.
| per Is u press ltieSIdIu IIOfH asUlDStOD,
which says this: "Mr. Sherman called up
the bill to revise and amend the laws re-
lating to minis. assay offices and coinage
OF the United States, which was amended
as passed" That Is all, not another word.
! One OF the money metals of the United
States. as is now conceded. was struck
| down by the bill the constitution had been
| overthrown: the ao"~. .hat had regulated
all other coins had been abolished. A great
war debt to be paid off and one Of our
money resources for paying II had been de-
strCyed. (Long continued applause)
| No information of that fact was con-
veyed TO the people through the newspa-
pers Of the country. tApplause) The re-
porters at Washington did not know II.
| The money Of the people that had served
them well was destroyed, and now ! chal-
.enge Mr.. Horr to show me anywhere In
the newspapers of the United States dur
Ing the passage Of the bill which he says
has no faint of fraud attached to IL. where
the public knew that a bill was being con-
sidered by congress that was TO destroy
as money one-half of the money metal OF
the country. or that they had passed such
a bill. / have charged that II was passed
secretly. The fact that a fundamental law
OF the government had been reversed and
that no information of II had gone to the
people whose government Il was, either
before or after the passage Of the bill.
/ until IN vvaa dtQonyard vu