The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-07-22
The Greatest Stupidity of the World is TO
Use Silver and Gold as Money.

What is the essential value of the wOrld2 The
human life. Take this away. nothing remaining
has any value. Now how is the human life sus-
tainedf By the edible products of the land. Then
the land has an essential value. By these products
We live, not certainly by silver, gold, diamonds. etc.
Once established the fact that land is of a paramount
value, every government can issue paper money and
lend it to the proprietors on their real estates at 2 or
3 per cent and so enabling them to develop every
industry, while getting a good rent for itself.
Gold and silver have value because they are rare
and because to obtain them, long and hard work is
necessary. But all tins work is useless and absurd
as it would be absurd TO represent a king by another
king. a president by another president. q marquis
or millionaire by another marquis or millionaire.
The poorest man of the kingdom is able to represent
his king everywhere provided he has the intellectual
capacity and the personal dignity to do so properly.
1t is not necessary for him to be rich, or noble. a
knight, no, he is great and worthy as it is, great
and worthy the person that he represents. He
wants nothing, except his personal ability. That is
all. Then aince a paper note is sufficient to repre-
sent every value, why will we use silver and gold
The land is a value essentially; the representative
of land needs not to have value. Its value is the
thing represented by itself, as the dignity of an
ambassador is in the king or in the president that
he represents. Now good economy teaches us to
get our better ends by the smallest means, and the
most economical means to represent a value is the
paper note, a mortgage upon the real estate in other
words is the hypotheorian note. Such money would
be the best money of the world and consequently to
continue using metallic coin, except some copper or
nickel money for the small change. is the most
absurd of all errors in political economy.
/. Gold and silver cost very much and therefore
cannot be lent for less than at the rate Of 6 to 10
per cent. Very few industries can be performed at
a profit while paying such interest. Paper money
costs very little, and may be loaned so cheaply that
all industries may be developed by it.
II. If you lose metallic money, all is lost; missing
paper money. nothing is lost. Provided you re-
member the progressive number of your note. the
governmental treasury will reintegrate you at a due
time.
III. The transport Of metallic money is dangerous,
heavy and very difficult; in paper money every
transport is very easy.
". With the system of paper money every gov
eminent can pay its debts without expressing the
people with grinding taxes, as is usual; and these
are the greatest advantages q wise government can
desire.
Suppose in the Hawaiian Islands these is wanting
five millions of dollars by the owners of real estates
to better and more largely develop their industries.
If the government will print those five millions in
paper notes of 5 to 100 dollars and lend it to the
said owners at 8 per cent, will it not receive $50
thousand dollars yearly, while promoting the happi-
ness of the ~countryf Certainly.
OBJECTIONS.
/. But, while the world is not yet convinced of
these facts, this paper money will have no value out
of these islands, and in consequence the owner of
such money will suffer a large discount in changing
it into gold.
Such q difficulty is not peculiar to paper money,
but common to all kinds of money not excepting
silver or gold, by which you have not the advantages
CT the paper money. Some times 10 or u per cent.
is lost in changing silver coin to gold coin. How
much injury here from lack of good science If
you are wise the true science will enable you to
proclaim and defend the truth, which being stronger
than the prejudice, must be victorious in the end.
When the world realizes the fallacies of present
theories, there will be no more difference between
gold and paper; on the contrary the paper will be
preferred to the metal, and it will be the best way
to form a universal type Of money.
II. In the United States of America, and in
South America as in Brazil and Italy the paper
money was and is very detrimental; how can you
propose a detrimental system for all the world?
There is no parity of conditions, and therefore
the objection has no efficacy. The paper money Of
the above States is not a mortgage money, but
arbitrary money, that is to say that no person may
be sure that it shall be changed into a value of
metal or of real estate. On the contrary the paper
money 1 propose is a true value, because founded
upon the best value We have, namely the real
estate, which generally, in towns especially. is
daily increasing in value in proportion with the
population and their progressive civilization.
Take poverty away and you Will diminish crimes
and promote sound morality.
Always ready to answer to every opponent.
RYTHMICUs.