San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-12-18

years, contrary 10 tue expectations Ol
those ignorant u the subject OF finance,
and the predictions Of such as claimed
To be experts In I'll financial matters.
Although business has been duh and
sIAgnAnt and pr ces depressed, there
has apparently been no actual dear h oil
MONEY In the union. There has been no
run by deposiIOrs upon the baDks--nO
percepIibls falling of In deposIis. ana
no su, pensions aud failures Of banks.
such rs usually emphasize monetary re-
yul.ions, yet the monetary srringrncy
l. Ms severe now ss IL was Ia 1883, While
prices are more depressed Than they
were In 1851.
TINS monetary crisis IA peculiar In
many Of It's aspects. In 1883, when IL
began, there really apI cared no cause
for II, 40 lar MS The financial and COM
mtTCiHl con iIiun al the country WAS
concern q; and for that reason. Ii WAS
uniyrr-a ~ predicted that IL would turn
out 10 br equal aid would soon pass
away. The circumstance that no banks
were forced 10 cluse, even temporarily.
much lrss TO go inIO liquida Ion, 10 pc
culIar to the present monetary crisis,
snd seeIns TO negative the very idea OF
n crisis.
IL Ia vastly important to determine
the causes Of The business deprest ion
and monetary stringencS that has al
fIcI, d The country ever since 1883, be-
cause diagnosis should prrcede all at
tempts TO apply remedies TO the disease.
Il b. peTiudIcIiy Of financial crashes has
found many advocates, and been sup
ported by very plausIble arguments,
our, In my opinion, this alleged per obi
city 10 based only upon sophistlcal ar
guments.
Tine most marked peculiarly OF the
present business depression and re-
duced prices Of farm products, Is that IL
extends to and embraces all nations
with respectable commercial relations.
IL is felt rs severely In Maine as 10
Texas, and 10 aCuIely In Florida as IL 10
IN Oregon, England, France, Germany
and Austria, without any apparent
cause, have felt the stringency Of the
money market and the stagnaIiOn OF
business, as keenly as have the people
OF the United States. This fact demon
sIrates that there is nothing topical
about this monetary stringenCy, and
that IL proceeds from general causes,
which exist In all commercial nations.
In all former financial criseses, with
which the United States have been a.
ficted, they originated from domestic
causes and were mainly local In their
operation and effect, never directly AZ
feCtiDg foreign nations.
The present financial crisis is word
vide. The circumstance proves that IL
WAS PRODUCED by general causes, and IL
behOoves Statesmen in every nation
carefully to investigate these general
causes, with the view Of removing or
cOunterRcting them. so far as IL is prac-
Iicable TO do, by legi-laf ion.
In my Judgement, the decentralization
Of silver caused The present world wide
monetary distress. As is with the mid
ding and the laboring classes among
all nations and the chief cur
rency, Ii has been employed IT,
purchasing gods from foreign rations
uniil OF late years by England, France
aud The United States.
The u. mUniIiZxtion OF silver was. 10
,ubsianoe Ms we'll Ms 10 effect, a sweep
q financial revolution, reaching
brough nil CONNIE cial transactions AMI
'iealWgs. Ii is worthy OF remark, that
IL crusade against silver originated
with, and WIS prosecuted BY. the gov
rnmenIs Of the nations, that Joined In
The movement, but that neither the
tnasses Of the people, nor the mercantile
class had ever expressed any dissstiefac.
ion with silver money. There Can be
ut little doubt that the movement in
.uRuraTrd BY the governments Of the
nest commercial nations Ia the world
,HaInst the Use Of 81 yer money wAs
prompted ana encouraged by bond hold
rs AID bankers in order TO enhance tue
Unru asing capacity Of gold. the supply
t that metal being susceptible Of Dur
~IuaIl increase, and thereby Of Augment
.ug their own wealth and influence
he IL fluence Of such Inrn, as the Bar
mgs aud the Roth cbilds, with the caUi
ne VI Eur pc Is very potent, special.
V. In ali governmental measures of
financial character; Tor the reason, thai
nese men art supposed Ia be prOtici. nIs
IA matters OF finance as we'll as IN.
.UurCe from which these governments.
~ the event Of a war, must Obta u the
money required la its prosecution. An
.'irntly, money WAS boarded for he pros
-,utiOn Of wars, and laid Idle for years.
'ecause loans upon bonds were un-
Snown. but In modern times nation's
cary on war by mOrtgaging TO money
end.rs the future revenues to be de
lived from the taxes. There is not
n all Europe n single nation
,ble to pros cute war without negotist-
ing loans from the great bankers
md this circumstance gives great 10
huence TO these rich bankers. fhe de-
,uonitizatiOn Of silver WAS brought
about BY these wealthy bankers, who
we're actusted BY q dread OF the conse-
quenoea, that might flow from the out
put from the rich silver mines disoov-
cred In Nevada and Colorado. and
which were representa- to br inpxhaus
title. | an evil hour, the United States
not perceivinR that the decentralization
of silver would cripple one Of her pro-
ducts and depress the value Of silver.
relatively to gold, agreed to join the cru
SADIE against silver. II the products OF
American, Looms and American iron sugar
and wool, are to be protected by the
levy OF customs dulles on foreign art
cles, II strikes me. that the silver, dug
out OF American mines, should not be
placed under the ban Of our own laws
SIMPLY TO crafty parcel OF European
bankers Intent upon shutting out Amer
lean silver. The fly walked into the par
lor OF the spider and was soon enmeshed
and reduced to belplessness.
Bi-mets lam has prevailed from the
dawn OF history, In every nation. with
the exception Of Sparta. where the
money consisted exclusively o. iron. The
constitution OF the United States de-
clsres that gold and silver shall consti-
tute the only legal tender; yet in the
very teeth OF this constitutional deoiara.
tion and In the teeth OF The well known
fact. that silver was very considerable
product OF American mines the United
States helped TO degrade silver and ia
cripple one 81 her chief product. Ii
was short sightedness carried ont to the
fullest extent, and we have been reap-
Iug The fruits OF u ever since 1888 In The.