The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-09-09
M'CLEARY ANSWERED
HIS FAMOUS SPEECH TAKEN
UP SECTION BY SECTION,
A FURTHER REPLY TO HIS
SOPHISTRIES.

The next point made by Prof. Nc
Cleary is contained in the following
extract:
IF were to come to Red Wing and
try to persuade you to enter into an
experiment with me, the first thing
thatyou would ask is, Has this thing
been tried before?" If l say yes, you
would naturally ask where. This
method of coming Of money has been
tried before.
sin 1892. during Washington's adj
ministration, there was great dis
cussion az to our coinage, They con-
Guided that they would admit both
metals free. The ratio, however, was
one thing that perplexcd them. They
finally fixed the ratio Is to l, and the
that both metals would circulate to-
gethcr. They were mistaken, how
ever, for silver began to fall and gold
went Immediately out Of circulation.
At first we were satisfied with silver,
as we were very poor. AS we grew in
wealth, we commenced to look around
for some thing more compact. and we
then fixed upon gold. They began
studying the matter in 1916, and came
to a conclusion in 1o33-34 They then
changed the ratio and made it 1898
to l. In 1888 the true ratio was Is. SO
to /, but they figured that silver
would continue to fall, so that by the
time this law should become effective,
in 1884, 1898 would be the exact
equivalent to an ounce OF gold; %
they fixed upon that as the ratio. But
silver did not 60 down, but immedi-
| f11y MIC 1n
suit was that silver went out of circu-
lation.
The Professor here implies that the
slight difference that took place in
the value of silver in thirty or forty
years was due to some change in the
intrinsic value Of the metal. This IS
an error. 1t was due to the fact that
the ratio or relation between gold and
silver differed in different countries
on account Of difference in the laws
regulating the coinage of it. And
hence, there was tendency for the
metal to flow from the country where,
by law, it was worth the least, to the
country, where by law it was worth
the most. The Professor plays upon
the results Of this fact without hav-
ing fairness enough to call attention
to the fact itself. 1t is very evident
that if silver was worth at all the
minis of the world precisely the same
sum, it would be worth the same
amount all over the world. II every
government on earth agreed to pay a
dollar bushel for wheat, wheat, of
| MI hn l, dntl a -
bushel every where: for the reason
that no man would sell it for less to
the individual than he could get for
it from the government. But il one
government agreed to pay dollar a
bushe!, and another government
agreed to pay $l.O2 bushel,
then the wheat would naturally
flow from the country where it was
worth dollar to the country where it
was worth two cents more than dol
lar. And that is all there is Of the
Professors point.
| Inc Professor next says:
Now, we have seen tnat with the
free coinage" Of both metals, one
would be sure to retire. AT the ratIO
OF 10 10 l, Jue silver Went 10 the min is
ana gulu retired, and under the second
rdtlU gold went into circulation and
silver went out. Thus you will see
CnaL ut first we hau silver mOnUmetal-
llsm ana Then goid monumeJallism.
In 1919, congress-, to remedy this
mater, ordered the coinage OF one
uoilar goa pieces. They ulu this TO
help make change, DIS silver had en-
Jlrely reLlred. The people, however,
siuaIl, ana they were very easy TO lose
In 1893 they slowed. the problem. They
SAID, we have tried the Tree coinage OF
Lutii metals twice, and have tailed
twice. therefore, We Will try dill
ierenJ pan. We Will give Ully one
me tal lree coinage. In 1893 We pro
uuceu ov, 100 worth OF silver and Y6O,-
UvU,uvv worth Oh gold. Naturally they
gave Tree Coludge 10 tile one more
largely prUuuCeu, and the one tnat
wuulu be neeucu for larger Lransac-
lions. therefore, lney chose gold.
Now, IN 1873, Win the unlimited
coinage OF guIu, ana the limited com
aye VI SILVER, the matter worked very
satisfactorily. For tile first time, gold
anu silver worked Slue ny Slue. Just
before that Time, the silver dollar nau
gone out OF circulation so entirely
| GlldL IL Was u SlCdO Jul iOoACy. Ivy
had the half dollars anu the quartz rs
aud They served for change.
Then the war came and both re-
tired from circuiaJlUn.
This whole argument is again based
upon Il miscunceptlon or a mlsrepre-
sentation. Our readers are we'll aware
that prior to the civil war, there was
no development, worth speaking of, of
the silver mining interests OF this
country. 1t was not until the settle
ments had reached the Rocky Noun
tains, like Montana, Colorado, Nevada,
etc., that the prod uctlon OF silver in
| the United States amounted to any
cons de ra bic sum.
The total product Of silver in this
country for the twenty years from
1913 to 1863 was but $4,000, 600, or
about $l,O0O,C0O year. In 1864 the
exports Of silver were S2,796,0 64, as
against $50, 4S4, $50, OF gold. While in
1892 our exports OF silver amounted to
$12, $50, Alb, and our exports OF gold
were but $49o,S73. This shows the
great change due to the ope ming of
the silver mines Of the Rocky Noun
tain States. In fact, in spite Of all
the denuDciationS OF silver, and the
attemnt made bv Prof. McCleary and