Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-04-23
From.the Chicago Tribune.
The Result of Honest Money.

4
are illustrated by the difference be
tween trade, commerce, and pros
| perity, as shown in the Dominion Of
CaHara and in the Pacific States oi
the Union on the one hand, and il
the other States of the Union on the
other.
From the beginning, California,
Oregon and Nevada have rejected
the paper money of the Government
as the standard of values. They
have sternly adhered to constitu-
tional money, and never permitted
the false standard to be recognized.
Even at the. first, when ,greenbacks
were at par, and were everywhere
else accepted without question, Cal
ifornia refused to receive them ex-
cept as commodity, and the wis
dom of this policy has been shown
every day since then. When green
backs declined, it made no differ
ence in California; there, business
was done ON the real money-basis,
and it made no difference how high
or how low the paper money might
get, it In no wise disturbed the bu-
siness in California. When a man
there sold property for a thousand
dollars, he sold it for thousand dol
lars real money; and when a man
contracted debt for a thousand
dollars, he promised and expected
to pay like sum in gold. The
standard of values remained un-
changed; there was no declining
one way to-day and another way to-
morrow. The dollar was always a
dollar-no more, and no less There
was no gambling, or speculation in
the value of the money. There was
no bulling. .thesmarket to make gold
high, or bearing it to make gold low,
Gold never changed. So many
ounces represented SO many dollars
no more or less on one day than the
other. Greenbaeks were never rec
ognized as money, and were never
accepted except at their market
value in gold. When greenbacks
were worth go cents in gold, they
were accepted as equal in value to
so cents and no more. That system
has prevailed in the Pacific States
from the beginning to this time.
The results are obvious.
A year ago, when the panic pass
ed over the United States as de-
structive blast, destroying wealth,
sweeping away the accumulations
of years, and leaving In its. train an
unprecedented annihilation of cred
it, industry, and production, the Pa
cific States were untouched. They
had not dabbled in the unelean
things. They had not erected pa
per standard as variable as the wind.
The panic found them buying and
selling and keeping accounts in dol
lars, and not with fiuctuating and.
uncertain and irredeemable paper.
They did business in money, and
not with protested promises. They
dealt with property at its value in
money, and not fictitious values
founded on bets as to the value of
greenbacks at a future day. They
had no margins invested in the
chances in the rise and fall of pa
per; they dealt exclusively with real
money. There was no collapse there,
because there was no speculation or
gambling in the money invested
There was no shrinkage of values
because of the shrinkage of money.
The money of California remained
unchanged, and the property repre-
senting like money knew no shrink
age. While the banks of the rest
of the country closed their doors,
and even the saving banks refused,
for want even of deprecated paper,
to pay their depositors, the banks
of California were undisturbed, pay
ing all demands in coin. The year
has gone by, and hundred thou
sand mechanics of Pennsylvania
have been turned away from the
closed mines, mills, workshops, and
while all over the country labor has
been employed at half wages or half
time, the industries of California
have been undisturbed, and the sa-
wing banks of that State have on
deposit $63, 900, ,OOO-a sum equal to
the capital IN the National Banks of
New York City and exceeding that
of all the National Banks in Phila-
adelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans,
Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, and
Plttsburg combined. While the
National Banks of San. Francisco
have capital of two millions and a
half, the commercial banks, organ
lied under the State law and doing
business on a gold basis, have a cap
ital of $46, 100000. There has been
no panic, no disturbance, no prostra-
ton; there has been continued in
crease of production, of general
wealth, of commercial prosperity,
and all because California has never
done business on a paper standard,
and has preserved as the basis
of all her trade the money en-
ployed by the civilized world. What
is true of California is equally true
of Nevada and Oregon, whice have
in like manner retained the coin
standard of values.
Let any one compare these re
suits with that produced by the
twelve years. substitution and of a
fictitious standard of values in place
of a real one. Here are the debtor
class vehemently protesting against
any improvement in the currency.
T6ev say that when they contracted
this debt, or bought this property,
money was worth 55, go, or SIS cts.
on a dollar; now that money is worth
SO cents-on increase of their debt
of from 20 to 80 cts. on dollar; to
make that money worth par, will be
to add 25 to As per cent to the
amount on their debts. American
statesmen are broclaiming that the
only just remedy is to prevent
that currency reaching par, and to
put it back to go cts. on the dollar,
thus making money "cheap and
plenty" In California, money is
abundant Capital in any quantity
is to be found there, because an in