The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-02-05

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debtors. The man who contracts to pay
back dollars, at given time, either IL
gold and silver, or both, but is compelled
to pay instead in gold, would suffer
heavily. If he had borrowed to the ex-
tent of his resources, he would be surely
ruined.
We hear a great deal now about Hard
Times in various parts of the world.
The cause is generally set down to over
production. We suspect, however, that
in a great many cases that is the symp-
tom and not the disease. Contraction
Of itself is fully sufficient to produce all
the phenomena with which we are now
confronted; low prices and reduction of
wages, to be followed If no relief is fur
nished by other disasters. As matter of
fact the production of gold is falling of
largely, and there is therefore, more or
less of contraction in progress. In this
condition it is proposed in this country to
increase contraction by the practical
demonstration of silver once more. There
are parties who would benefit largely by
the transaction. They are those who
have fixed property such as bonds, annui-
tants and money-lend ers. BY way of
illustration, the man with bond, in case
of contraction, would get more houses,
lands, cattle and labor for it than before.
In other words, the purchasing power of
the Dond would be increased. But the
parties so benefited form but a small por-
ton of the people of the United States.
Whether the whole country is to be sacri-
feed for them is the real question.
1t follows that any attempt to interfere
with the present financial status should
be earnestly and generally resisted. If
those who are intriguing for the substi-
tuition of the single standard of gold,
seconded by Secretary McCulIoch, should
succeed, they would in time raise a storm
which they would not have the courage to
face, and from which there is not much
doubt they would, on the first sign of
danger, stink away. The silver now forms
it were rampant around the gold in
the Treasury and the banks. If it were
removed a run for gold in both would
bring down with crash the commercial
and industrial fabrics. 1t may be admitted
that the system we have at present is not
perfect one. The gap just at the
moment between silver and gold is
widening. The real fact is gold is going
up, even with lessened output of silver,
seeing that prices are going down as well
as silver. But the question has inter-
national bearings which we cannot con-
troll. The Latin Union whose system of
finance is analogous to ours is to have a
meeting this month. The way will be
clearer when it is known what course it
will pursue. But even if no immediate
assistance should come of it we are abund-
antly able to take care of ourselves. Con-
traction may be precipitated in France
for political purposes, or the great fnan-
ciers may get the npperhand. But there
would be no reason if there should be a
falling away of the Latin Union, or of its
principal members, for loss of conf |
dence in the ultimate rehabilitation of
silver, for there is manifestly not enough |
of gold in the world to go around.
Instead of acquiescing in the elimina-
ton of the standard dollar from the coin |
age, our people-and it concerns all
classes but the comparatively small one of |
the bond-holders and money-lenders-
should insist not only that for the present |
the coinage of the standard dollar go on,
but that its legitimate place in the circu- |
lation shall be secured by the discontin- |
uance of the 81 and 50 shin. plasters. |
Perhaps even the the So paper note shonld
be forced to ego" also. Silver has not |
been accorded its proper place. There |
have always been financial intrigUers at
work against it. The focus of the opposi-
ton to it has always been New York and
the Eastern money-loaning centers, with
an occasional recruit from the West, such
as Hugh HcCulloch, of Indiana, whose
little bank, however, is his microcosm. We
wish the proposed Silver Convention at
Los Angeles every possible success. We
hope it will be able to illuminate the in
teresting problems which it proposes to