The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-03
HARvEY's REPLY TO WHITNEY

HARNEY'S REPLY TO WHITNEY
w. H. Harvey, author of Coins FL
nancial School" and other popular books
| on the currency question, has written the
following answer to Mr.. Whitney's
statement that the election of free coin
age President and Congress would
plunge the country into ruin:
son the election of a President and
Congress in November committed to free
coinage, the danger of panic..will pass in
day We will cross the danger line the
moment that fact is known. The next
day silver will begin to advance and gold
to decline. Declining, gold will come
out from hiding in n few days after the
election, hurry to seek an investment, and
go actively into circulation. 1t will seek
to. invest itself in things that are rising
for it will fall in value. This is law as
memorable as any of the certain laws of
trade. The wheat in existence is sure to
fall in value when it is known that a large
new crop is coming; the effect is felt be-
fore the new is harvested. So it will he
with gold when it is known that new
crop of money is coming.
at is enhanced gold that is boarded.
Depreciating gold will go rapidly into
circulation for favored investments in
the rising markets. BY the time the free
coinage act is passed the two metals will
have come together. Those who fear dis
aster from a timetable standard do not
understand what bimetallism is, or are
selfishly interested in promoting IA dear
money. Bimetallism is the right to use
money made from either of two metals:
when one is scarce the other is used II
gold is cornered the people use silver
If the production of one is lessened the
other is used. Bimetallism gives to the
debtor the option to use money made
from either metal If one is easier to get
than the other, or is cheaper than the
other, he uses it, and this shifts the de-
mand from the dearer metal to the cheap
er metal and restores the commercial par
ity Beef, pork and mutton are in com
petition with each other to supply the
demand for meats, and as this is the case
neither can rise unduly in value and
threaten the health of the nation.
Neither could gold rise unduly in value
as it has, and threaten the credit of this
nation, if silver were in competition with
Is rs money. The supply of the two
metals is limited. All the gold in the
world available for use as money can be
put in the first floor Offices of the Journal,
and all the silver in the world can be
stored in the same building. The United
States produces in Single year from its
factories and fields enough to require all
the silver in the world to pay for it.
Such nation can maintain the CONNER
cial parity between the two metals 1t
Is the lack of knowledge of the worlds
production of gold and silver before and
since 1913 that accounts for the errors
into which the Eastern people fall
Ito the statement that free coinage of
silver will drive gold out of circulation
the answer is, there is no gold now in
circulation. The bankers have cornered
it. The only hope of the nation is to put
silver in competition with gold as money.
The answer to the statement that the
election of II free coinage President will
cause run on the United States Treas
ury, and thus bring panic. is that if il
is the voice of the people that silver is to
be restored by the side of gold Mr. Cleve.
iand should he expected to tender in pay
ment. forsreprcsentative money presented
at theUnited States Treasury silver and
not gold. Our Government money calls
for coin and not gold, and coin means
either gold or silver If he pays out gold
and aids in bringing on a panic he will be
responsible for the panic, and not the peo-
pie. Mr. Whitney's statement of pre-
dicted ruin, is the threat of Wall street.
and is intended to brighten business men
and to intimidate the people. If it is
true that the money power can do what
Is threatened, it is a sufficient reason for
its overthrow and for treating it as the
enemy of the republic"