Page:Coin's Financial School.djvu/86

68 Objection was raised by the audience to free admission. was asked to admit people only on tickets, so seats could be procured, and to charge $2.00 a seat. This agreed to with the understanding that the proceeds should go to the "soup houses" cf Chicago, and this announcement was made just before the lecture for the day began, to take effect the next morning.

had entered by a private door, and just at 10 o'clock came forward on the platform.

He was met with a question at the beginning and it soon delevoped that it was to be a day of questions.

Professor Laughlin, head of the school of political economy in the Chicago University, an avowed monometallist, whose question had the attention of the whole house, said:

"You have stated since this school began, that so long as free coinage was enjoyed by both metals that the commercial value of silver and gold had never differed more than 2 per cent, and that this difference was accounted for by the disturbance of the French ratio and the cost of exchange. Am I right in so quoting you?"

"You are," replied

"Now, is it not a fact," said the professor, "that several times prior to 1857 silver coin sold at a premium as high as 8 per cent over gold?"

"Yes. That is true," replied

"Then why did you make the statement you did? And if what you now admit is true, then is there not liable at all times to be a wide margin between gold and silver which free coinage cannot control?"

"Professor," began with a smile on his handsome, young face, "I hardly think you are serious in