The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-23

Mr.. harvey Il saId TWO TO tour NIL
lions"
Mr.. Horr: Two to four millions
Four millions is out of the question
Two millions is just about as bad There
is not any truth IN either statement"
Mr.. Harvey: HAs 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 a short
period to bring US to the bitter cup of
disappointment and distress l know
that every four years the political par
ties have charged each other with hav
ing destroyed the prosperity of the pre-
vious four years"
Continuing, Mr. Harvey asked Mr.. Horr
not to refer 10 ''prosperity" of the country
from 1878 to 1850 The word tramp was
coined in 1873, and the United States
census shows that the depression has
been increasing at a disprOportionate
ratio. So has the number of penitentlary
conricts, persons confined in almshouses,
suicides, etc The prosperity that has
built up millionaires and multi million
aires aud strewed this country with mil
/ lions of tramps and paupers and men
/ who did not know how they were going
| to provide for their families in the COM
/ ing year [Applause.l a change in
relative production had no effect as long
/ as the minis were open to the coinage Of
! two metals. Applause
MI. HOrr: 81 have never said that the
cheap price of silver was not on account
of its over-production. Silver has become
| cheap in this world just the same as
wheat and iron and zinc and lead and
| other articles have been cheapened- Just
! precisely for the same reason all of these
articles have been cheapened by the
natural laws which govern the production
of every substance known to the pro-
ducers of the world"
Mr.. W. D. Wilcox of Chicago: "How
about gold?"
Mr. Horr: "Gold is the same. I am
| glad you asked. Gold has deprecated
in value in less than 100 years ten per
cent It is cheaper now than it was in
| 1878 Ali articles that can be produced
by inventions are cheaper than they were
before the invention was made Every
method which brings machinery into
! play and puts less human toll into their
production cheapens the article. The
! whole trend of civilization is to cheaper
human products, gold as we'll as silver
! and wheat. a large number of articles
today produced in the world have not
been decreased in value al all by the de-
monetization of silver, but simply be-
cause the laws of production have
/ crowded down the price. l can get to-
day twice as much gold for q days work
people in this country are paid in gold
for their work. So they were in 1860. Has
not gold decreased when you measure it
with the great commodity of human toll?
What l find fault with is the silver men
invariably leave out of their calculations
this article of labor, and the article OF
labor Is the greatest article known in the
civilized world. Cut down the pay of
labor and you paralyza the entire busi-
Of or1rr ,cfi he On xxyhn In q
work. especially in republic like ours,
are the men who consume"
MI Harvey: MIR. Horn says every
thing has cheapened, including gold.
To say that gold and products cheaper
| simultaneously is a contradiction. You
! buy gold by exchanging other products.
When 1t takes more property to buy gold
than formerly it has risen. Instead of
becoming cheaper gold has become
dearer, yet Mr. Horr's sophistry returns
that it has been cheapened. He says to
the laboring man: You can buy more
with gold dollar now than you ever
could and then turns to you and SAYS
that gold is growing cheaper all the
time"
This ended the debate and questions
were submitted.
Mr.. Horr: This question is presented
to me by John G. McRaith, treasurer of
!
of Chicago Is Mr.. McRaith here? I do
not quite understand his question. but 1
will read it: why is it That the work
ingman's opportunity does not keep pace
with his productiveness-if he produces
five times what he did twenty years ago,
ought he to get five times the pay?'
do not understand the last line. The
trouble with that question is that Mr.
McRaith assumes TWO or three things
that may not be true. Why is it that the
workingman's opportunity does not keep
pace with his increased productiveness?'
l did not know but what it did. If he
produces five times what he did twenty
years ago?' Well, don't know that he
does. Do you lay five times as many
brick as you used to lay thirty years ago?
Can man do that? did not know that
you could do that"
Mr.. Harvey: 'sDid not you state in
your argument the other day that the
productiveness had increased something
like tive times?
Mr.. Horr: Il do not know. But wheth-
er did or not, will say so now. But
did not say that each laboring man pro
: duced five times as much by any means
, l stated before and l will repeat it nov
: that every invention that is made may
Increase prOductiveness twenty times
but not of the man who works at HAND
labor. l stated the law this morning
that whenever such invention is made q
: part of the profits it should goto increase
the pay of the Iaborers. Part of it should
go to the cheapening of the substance
for those who consume it and part to the
: | inventor or manager to pay him for his
: invention and for running the business
Now, Mr McRaith, how much do you
get day for laying brick?"
+ Mr.. Harvey: "Mr. McRaith handed me
! that question Saturday and asked me u
+ see that it was put to you"
, Mr. Horr; as there anyone in the
audience who knows what bricklayers ge
4 here today for such work? I would ike
to know if any of these men who ar,
/ cheering me or Mr.. Harvey are brick