Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1895 — COMBAT WITH “COIN.” [ARTICLE]

COMBAT WITH “COIN.”

GREAT DEBATE ON THE CURRENCY QUESTION. W. U. Harvey vs. Prof. Laughlin—Former Champions Free Silver, the Latter Opposing; It —Thousands Hear the Di senssion in Chicago. , ■< v. * ;■ Silver Question Discussed. An animated and interesting debate took place in Chicago the other night between .7. Lawrence Laughlin, professor of political economy in the University "of Chicago, and William 11. Harvey, author of ‘'Coin’s Financial School.” upon the question whether the United-States should at once enter upon the tree coinage "<4l' silver at the ratio of 10 to 1, independently of the action of any other nation. I>r. Homer J. Thomas presided, and the spacious rooms of the -Illinois Club —were crowded to suffocation. Dr. .Thomas read the proposition Co be discussed as follows: “Resolved, that the United States should tit once enter upon free coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1. independently of the action of any. other nations.” Harvey, it was stated, would speak Tor at \ hour. in_the. a titan ativo a n‘d ■ Fros. Lnugldin an hour and a half in the negative, Harvey then having thirty niin"utes~for"Tejdimler. Both men were liberally applauded. In opening for the affirmative, Harvey said: “The first reason why I am in favor of independent action by Oils country is that we should not be subjected to the influences of the governments of Ktivope. When our forefathers declared their Independeueo from Europe, it was lo free tlieuiselves of the class legislation of those governments, justly dueed to poverty and thp prosperitj* of the United State* can In- ruined by hanging to tlie financial policy of Europe. t'hnn we can be reduced to the same conditions by financial legislation as a war Conquest would reduce us. If wo it re right, and our friends.. the mono-metallists mostly say: ‘We admit ld-metallism would be good if wo could get international bi-tnetnlHsm;' in- other words, they agree that there is.something radically wrong, but claim that we are tied to the financial policy of Europe, so, that if there was a war of conquest in this country by the monarchies of Europe, whose form of govornmont is different from ours, it would re--tluco us to u-.eondiUun that the people of those governments aro in, anil they Can accomplish the same purpose by iiusutoial legislation. tlnm there is necessity for independent action. Where there is necessity, there is a remedy. The governments of Europe are plutocracies. They squeeze the lemon for the people about every so often. A few control class loyis:;itjun and the masses are tlie hewers of wood and tho drawors of water for tlie titled few. Hike the farmer (who* goes out and robs the bee's nest, they rob the people and then give them time to fill ttremost again -before going out to roll it again. Wo have certainly not forgotten history giving reasons why our forefatiters established this government- ami that was the reason. •*‘\ow as financial legislation is one of the classes of o' ftsts 1e gi sly tto a by whi e h man y are robbed and a few are enriched; then it is one of the institutions of the European governments that we ns a nation should declare our independence of. That is the first reason -why indendenpent financial action should be taken by the Halted States. If they saj': ‘We must have the same money they have in order to carry on business with them,' mv reply is. ‘that tin; biggest business we ever carried on with tin; balance of the world, and’ particularly with Europe, was the time when they had silver as a money and we had neither.’ “This nation can have an independent financial system without any reference whatocor tp the hciiincc of tlie world, and can tarry on its own commerce by ocean and by land with the. other governments of the world notwithstanding. Wo do not now settle our balances with Europe in coin except on its commercial value and by weight. Our coinage lias nothing to do with it, primarily the balances of- 4rade»axe-settled by. trade. We give them our wheat and we take their silks and the balance that wo may owe them or they may owe us will ho settled just as merchants between importing points may agree to settle it. They can settle it in gold for so much [icr-menuyweight as measured In the money of either country or our conn- , try, or in so much (silver or so much copper, or so much of any other-merchandise may be agreed upon between them in their trade relations. There is no such thing as an international money. “What we are. contending for is tiio opening of the mints to free coinage of silver (they are now open to free and unlimited coinage of gold and have never been closed to that metal), and the establishment, of bimetallism on these simple and fixed principles that were adopted by those statesmen who had in view the interests of no class, hut of all the people. What we want is ldmetallism. And scientific bimetallism is this: “1. Free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver: these two metals to consHtiito the primary -og-mhuinttoti money of the government “2. The silver dollar of 371(4 grains of pure silver to be the unit of value and gold to lie coined into money and the ratio to lie changed if necessary from time to time, if commercial parity to legal ratio shall lie affected by the action of foreign countries. “3. The money coined from both metals to be legal tender in the payment of all debts. “4. The option as to which of the two moneys is to lie paid in liquidation of debt to rest with the debtor, and the government also to exercise that option when desirable when .paying out redemption money." Harvey closed as follows: "Tills is a question of capital on one side and humanity on the other. Of sound, the sound of the clod ou the coffin, oil one side and sound money, the sound that has an honest ring of the people*! money in It. on tlie oilier side. It is a question of an English policy or an American policy. Which shall it lie 7" Prof. Laughlin’s Argument. Prof. Laughlin. replying for the negative, said in part: "There is no need of an amount of money equal to till tlie goods In existence. The measure of value is that in which tlie prices are stated and debts are paid,.provided the measure is also the legal tender In any country. It is evident that the quantity of measures is not so material as tiie unvarying stability of the standard. The necessity of an increasing quantity of money is growing less important with’ tho development ox the system of exchanges. From 1)2 to 05 per cent, of the transactions nre performed by this machinery without the use of money and investigations by tlie comptroller of tho currency show that 54 per cent, of the retail transactions are similarly performed without the ust' of the money.' “liut some one might say that tliis vast System must he liquidated in actual coin and money, so our business system" rests like nn inverted •pyramid or a vertex on a small reservo of coin. This is wholly untrue. Wo express the value of goods in terms of money, but then we really exchange them almost entirely by means of a deposit of currency. It Is not trtu that this system Is unstable like tbe inverted pyramid. Cheeks and deposits are not reason for the existence of a transaction. The redemption is ultimately in goods, not coin. Coin Is only the means of going from one set of goods to another. “The prices since 1873 have not fallen liecause of lack of money. Silver hup fallen about 50 per cent., compared with the very modest fall In the price of commodities. Silver does not have the same purchasing price as In 1873. Hence free coinage cannot be urgpJ os a Just means of paying a debt. More so-called redemption pioney, by the amount of $1,002,000,000 is in existence to-day compared with 1873, and yet prices have fallen and silver still more. Prices unmistakably have fallen because of the cheapened cost of production. Since we undertook the purchase of silver in 1878 it has fallen nearly one-half in value although we have purchased about $000,000,000 worth. It Is perfectly evident there is no nso in the United States acting alone to holster up the price of silver when we have failed even In concert with the Latin union. Free coinage of silver,nt*lo to 1 means a single silver standard oi sliver monometallism. To-day tho market rutlo between gold and silver is nearly 34 to 1. If we had free coinage there would be a premium of nearly eighteen Ounces of silver on the withdrawing of every bttiiee of gold In circulation. Free eolnIge of silver under aucb . eqndltlonss as exist to-day would mean the Immediate

adoption of a single standard. It would not increase the, quantity Of money. Since gold must he inevitably driven out, the free coin* age of silver would result in a diminution of the quantity of money. , “It Is usually supposed that free coinage of silver is In the interest of the debtor class. h T think it will be found quite the contrary. Bnt greater than ail objections is that of public dishonor and repudiation. No trick or sophistry can make the scaling of a debt to mean anything hut dishonesty and eheat--1 ng. Were free coinage- Ur -past*- it- means" "that every deposit in savings bank, every investor;' in loan associations, every holder of life Insurance, every recipient of pensioru;, would have their dues reduced one half. Is it possible there is something behind this scheme not really discovered? “The proposal for free coinage is in truth a hugh disease, horn in the .private offices of the silver kings, nursed liy speculators, fed by boodle, and as sure as there is honesty and truth in the American heart, it will die voting and be buriedlnihe same Ignomlnous grave wherein now lies the forgotten infant, once famous as the Hag Baby. Free coinage Is gi'eenhackism galvanized into life." 7 ' Contrary to the expected arrangement, the time for the rejoinder was divided into three" parts between Harvey and Laughlin. This splitting up of the time resulted in. the rejoinders being more in the nature of chaffing each other than serious nrgument. The meeting did not adjourn until after midnight.