The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-24
HUDSON PUT TO SLEEP
EVANS wOOLLEN DEBATED THE SILL
yERITE TO A ST~ANDsTTLL.
yersaries-Some Pertinent Cues
tions and Their Answers.

a debate on the money question, but he
knows it now. In the language of one of
the listeners, "Wooien cleaned Hudson
up SO completely that he would not make
a decent grease spot if squeezed in a hun
dred-ton compress" The debate took place
at the O. p. Morton Club, on Shelby street,
and was a three-cornered affair: that is,
there were two against one. John Gaylor
opened the debate for silver and was fol-
lowed by Evans Woollen. After two or
three rounds in which Gaylor was very
mush worsted, Hudson took the cause of
silver and when Woollen got done with
MIN, the crowd would not even stay to
near his final reply of ten minutes; they
had had enough. 1t was very amusing to
watch the face of Hudson when near the
close Woollen said: Mr.. Hudson still con-
tends that the law of 1873 was passed with
ont debate and came in the night like an
assassin. 1 say to him that he states what
Is not correct. The Congressional Globe
shows IA columns that is devoted entirely
to a record of the debate on that bill, and
further l will say to Mr.. Hudson that 1 can
prove to him by the records that the clause
accommodating silver was in the very first
draft of that bin as prepared by John j.
Knox. docs he dare dispute that?"
All this time Hudson sat motionless, his
race bearing a set expression that indicated
utter despair, but the final collapse came
When Mr.. Woollen, quoting from some of
Hudsons statements, brought UP the ques-
ton of the amount of gold in this country
and in England. Hudson had stated that
the act of 1878 was passed at the behest
OF England because that country controlled
the gold supply of the world and was in
terested in that metal, while this country
had a big production of silver and that it
Sh0I1l6 Ia va hanp aIra- a,,1
this statement in proof of his charge that
the gold men of England were back of the
money legislation of this country.
Now, L want to say to Mr.. Hudson
said Mr.. Woollen. that this statement is
about as far erom the truth as most of the
he has used tonight. l will
read mere from the United States treasury
circular No. 123, dated July l., 1896. 1t states
that the stock of gold in this country is
I = in 191,Uoo' and that the god of the United
Il don't take that statement as accu-
rate Interrupted Hudson"
MIR. hudson says he questions the truth
of the report. If he will not take the re-
port OF the officers of the United States
government as authority when it merely
further TO say on the subject (Applause.)
) opening the debate John Gaylor had
minutes and then relinquished the floor to
Mr.. Woollen with the question:: Why did
congress demonetize silver in 1873 when the
S1.02?'
Il will endeavor to answer the question:"
said Mr.. Woollen. by the legislation of
1884 this country virtually went to a gold
basis; and silver disappeared almost COM
pletely. You who can remember know for
a long time prior to 1873 silver was not in
circulation In 1870, when the government
was preparing for a resumption of specie
thought it wise to revise the coinage laws
TO meet the new circumstances. He APP
pointed John J. Knox to codify the exist
ing law and draft a new coinage law. in
going over the existing laws it was found
that there was a provision for the coinage
OF a silver dollar. but there had been no
silver dollars coined for so long that
the law was simply. obsolete. 1t was like
old lumber on the statute books and in the
new law 1t was simply left out, as it was
considered a useless incumbrance. AS to
the law being passed surreptitiously l need
three years and was debated time and
again. When the irst draft of the bill was
prepared copies We're sent to leading au-
thofitles on money all over the world, and
many of the letters that came back called
attention to the fact that the silver dollar
was dropped Mr.. Kelly. chairman of the
committee, called attention to the fact"
MONEY OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Mr.. Gaylor had spoken several times of
silver being the money of the Constitution
and in closing Mr.. Woollen asked him to
show wherein that was true. He dehed
him to show a place in the Constitution
where silver was mentioned as the money
of the United States. This Mr.. Gaylor ut
terly ignored, but when it came time. for
Mr.. Hudson to speak the question was
taken up and two passages from the Con-
stitution were read. The first was Section
8 of Article l, which provided that Congress
should have power to coin money and reg
ulate its value, without mentioning either
Sold or SILVER. The second was Section 10
of the same article, which provided that no
state should have authority to make any
money except gold or silver legal tender in
payment of debt. Mr.. Hudson held up
those sections as conclusive proof that sill
yer IS a constitutional money. He turned
to Mr.. Woollen and said that he could not
answer that assertion. 1t did not take Mr..
Wooilen long to explain that the section
a section that prohibited the States from
making. paper money legal tender and was
inserted because at the time of the adop-
own issue of scrip. and it was necessary
to limit to the metals the authority of the
tender.
A large part of the time OF Mr.. Hudson's
first argument was devoted TO an attempt
to show that the PoDocrats are the regu-
lar Democracy. He claimed that Jefferson
mad declared that silver was the money OF
the Constitution and then he came down
to, the time of Hendricks and first asked IL
all present would not agree that Hendricks
was a Democrat of the old school. There
was no dissenting opinion. Then Mr.. Hud-
copy of a portion of the speech of Mr.. Hen
convention Feb. q, 1878. The speech was
strongly in favor of silver so far as 1t went.
<AilOIS Olit lllillSS WAS lne statement mat
Mr.. Hendricks believed that the restoration
of silver would mean the payment of the
United States bonds in coin, which might
be either gold or silver, while under the
law at that time they could be paid only
in gold. Without considering the circum-
stances under which il was delivered. the
speech seemed to show that Mr.. Hendricks
was an ardent advocate OF the free coinage
of silver.
When Mr.. Woollen tackled the question
he put an entirely different face on the
matter. He showed that the speech was
delivered less than a month before the
passage of the Biand-Alliso law, and that
1t was directed entirely to the question of
restoring the legal-tender quality of silver,
which was restored in the Bland-Allison
law and has remained ever since. This
Killed that little speech as an argument for
the regularity of the present organizal don.
Taking up the question OF the compare
tive increase or prices and wages under
free coinage, Mr.. Woollen said. I'VE all
agree that II would raise prices. Mr.. Bryan
says so. That Is a vital point on which we
prices of all things will probably double,
but that means that the prices the con-
sumner will have to pay Will be doubled.
Now, why do prices 90 up faster than
wages? l will again take Mr.. Harrison's
thought: "A merchant can mark w the
price of his goods, but can a workman
mark up his wages?' "a voice, That's
pretty weak!D 1t may be pretty weak. /
then quoted Il man whom you have been
quoting. but / Will give you some better
authority. You all agree that the Sentinel
is correct on these questions. April 20.
1856, IL had this to say: The reason or the