The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-12-15
Mr.. Horner's Bank Bill.

Mr.. EDITOR What Mr.. Horn
er's Bank Bill proposes is simply
to create paper money basis in
place of the gold basis which we
are enjoying now.
If we were not trading with for
eign countries, and if we were not
obliged to import the necessaries
for our daily life, it would not mat
ter much what kind of money we
were having here amongst our
selves. But as it is, we must buy
and import from foreign countries
a great many things-the material
for the houses we live in, our
clothes, or the material for the
same-and even most of our food
cannot be raised here, but has to
be brought into the country. 1t
therefore follows that in all the
values which we have thus to pur-
chase, in the United States, or else
where, we must take into consider
alton and depend on that standard
of value which the United States
and other countries have adopted
for the balancing and regulating of
their values. This main standard
for regulating all values is gold,
and gold is also the standard of
values in this country.
Mr.. Horner says that the United
States has three kinds of money
gold, silver and paper-and all
three kinds are alike in value.
Now that is simply a mistake !;
they are not alike in value. Gold
is the only metal, the fixed value
of which has been agreed upon,
and silver, whether coined or not
coined, varies in value, according
to the demand for silver; varies in
just the same way as the values for
iron, wheat or cotton do.
Mr.. Horner says the third ma
terial that the United States make
money of is paper. Now this way
of expressing himself may seem
literally correct, but it is mislead-
ing, and I think it is clearer and
better expression if in this instance
we call paper money promissory
notes.
The United States issue promis-
sorry notes, and they are at present
taken by the whole world for the
full value of what is promised by
tirene. And why is it that they are
taken just as readily as if 1t was
the gold itself +? Because every
body knows that the United States
treasury contains in actual gold
and silver good deal more than
the full value of all their paper
money issued. That is the reason
why American paper is as good as
gold.
But if the Bank of Hawaii were
to issue paper money and throw its
promissory notes on the worlds
markets, it would be different, at
least if Mr.. Horner's propositions
were adopted. Ignorant people, and
such people who have but little ex-
perience in currency matters would
in the beginning take these pro-
missory notes for the full value
that they claim and are issued for.
But no foreigner would take them,
and as we have to buy our require
ments for the daily life from for
eigners, we very soon would be
told, 1--WE do not want your paper,
we insist on gold" And what would
follow then? The depreciation of
our paper money. What formerly
had been bought for 81 we soon
would need to pay 50, or So, or 81
for. A working man may be had
received $40 for a weeks work, but
if he wanted to buy provisions for
that money, he would perhaps find
out that he could only get So worth
of flour and meat for the money
which he believed to be and had
taken for $40.
Such is the great danger if little
Hawaii were to issue paper money
and not have the full face value in
her Treasury to meet her bank
notes. The country would be inn
minently endangered if the House
were to accept Mr.. Horner's Bank
bill.
It is beyond doubt that every
bank note could be paid on de-
mand. III. f. GLADE.