The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1895-07-25

the ablest of men of The word have been
differing for years.
The foundation Of the discussion upon
which we are about TO enter is a small book
published 10y Mr.. Harvey, my opponent and
entitled Coins Financial School The real
aim and object Of that book is to convince
the people OF the United States that this
government should alone enter upon the
free and unlimited coinage OF silver upon
the Old ratio OF Is 70 l. The wisdom Of
such course | dispute. Mr.. Harvey will
still! maintain the affirmative Of that issue.
Will state in the outset that from the be.
ginning TO the end OF the book there Is
hardly proposition made 10 which give
my assent. | propose 10 cOntrovert many
things which are stated as facts, and shan
attempt to prove that the entire theory set
forth by Its author. II adopted by the peo
pie Of his country, would lead only 20 busi.
ness disaster ana financial ruin. ! DO not
now remember ever to have examined
book carefully in which | found so few
statements that | consider worthy OF be-
lief, and certainly never saw so many abb
Solutc errors cr2mmed into so few pages.
Il am not here as an opponent OF b.
mctal.iSm. ! believe IN the Use OF gold and
silver as money To tho fullest extent mar
can BE done on sound business principles.
My position upon this question has been
too frequently statCd withia the last hye
believe that both gold aud silver are the
natural money Of the world: that In all the
larger TRANSACTIONS gold Is better adapted
20 the necessities of the people than silver;
that all the smaller business transactions or
the human family for many years have
been and always should be conducted with
silver. ! also believe that in all tranSac-
ti0ns Of the nations of the world. between
themselves. the two metals should be used
In the settling Of balances, but only ar their
commercial value. | also believe that in
the business Of our nation the people should
never attempt 10 use either metal, except
that II be at equal value, only in cases
where one metal may he used as token
money and may be made redeemabe In
metal AT its coin valce.
Il have always ent, rtaincd the nope that
the business men of the world void yet
come together and agree upon some basis
whereby gold and silver can both be used
as the money Of final settlement among the
people OF the entire world. | pm very clear
in my idea that until some such arrange
ment shall be made, 1T would be simply
suicide for this nation to adept a system
or the free coinage Of silver upon the Oh
ratio, II ratio which all the civilized nations
Of the world have long since discarded. l
DO not believe that any one government can
fix the value Of any two metals. and name,
ratio which will be adopted by the people
Of the world, or of the count Y itself. so
that the two metals would be used side by
side Consequently If our nation alone
should attempt any such action, 1t would
simply place our country upon silver ba-
sis, aud the attempt would end In
silver Recommendations.
IF we are compelled TO decide between
gold monometallism and silver I.,JEometal.
lism, then | am decidedly :. favor or
adopting the standard used by the civilized
nations Of the world l do not believe that
silver has ever been demon tied anywhere
in the world. l believe that the law OF
1913, which Mr. l!Grvev's book denounces
as a crime was honestly conceived. open
ly advocated and passed. by me American
congress after full deliGerG ton, and be-
cause the people AT tr2t IKE who held
seats in the American sSagrsss believed
that such a law ought TO 90 enacted. ! do
not believe in the teachlLss OF this book,
that this nation is on the serse Of financial
ruin, or that starvation is staring our peo-
pie in the face. l helIeTe IL our nation
should adopt the course advocated in this
book we would seriously injure the entire
wage-earners OF The United States. ! be-
lieve we would destroy the confidence OF
the business men OF the world in our In
teSrity as n nation, and that we would pre-
cipitate such a financial panic as our coun-
try has never before seen.
II shall deny most emphatically that the
great majority of the people Of this couh-
try are in debt, and shall insist that three
fourths of the American people are to-day
creditors and not debtors, and that conse-
Guently the system which Mr.. Harvey au-
J vocates would work great injury to the