Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-03-29
Financial FaIlacies.

VI Soioiipuo, OhAo'
Financial F~aIlacies.
From the st. Louis Business Budget.
The misconceptions, through ig-
norance, and the misstatements,
through deliberate intent to deceive,
of the causes of present financial
conditions, are numerous and result
in prolonging the depression. There
is no doubt that every business man
desires to act SO as to promote a re-
turn to prosperity al speedy as pos.
sible, but having limited time to be-
stow on the study of political and
financial matters of worldwide ex-
tent, he is prone to rely on the state
ments of others of his own business
or political way of thinking. The
effects are patent-the causes are
not SO easy to get at, consequently
a statement of anything that seems
plausible is quite apt to be taken as
pure gold, especially if it comes from
one of a kindred pursuit or of similar
political ideas.
When a monetary panic strikes
the earth and is felt from Cape Horn
to Bafin's Bay, and from New South
Wales to Finland, it is the result of
several causes that have been work.
ing for years to the same end. No
one cause can bring about such wide
spread disaster. But when a man is
striker with an aspiration for pollti-
cal honors with a 5000 salary at
tachment, he is quite apt to attribute
the ills of his constituents to causes
that are most liable to arouse their
prejudices and appeal to their party
bias. Newspapers, also, do not hes
itate to curry favor with their readers
and fatten their circulation by DELHI
crate fallacies, stated for no other
purpose than to arouse partisan feel
ing.
A cry is uttered by a party paper
or a politician, and it is taken up and
echoed across the country and be-
comes a part of the financial gospel
of many, when to analyze it in the
light of facts and truth, it proves to
be, at bottom, top and middle, the
rankest falsehood, and the shame oil
it is, it Is accepted by millions and
blinds them, both to their own detri-
ment and to the national hurt.
The causes and cures for the pres.
ent financial ills are as numerous as
friends remedies for a cold. Going
into causes-6rst, many advanced
the theory with much vehemence
that the excessive production and
use of silver as money was the root
of the evil, and that the only reme-
DIV was tho .epeal of the bullion act
and the suspension of silver coinage.
With the latter accomplished, trade
would revive at once. 1t was &C.
complished without bringing about
the expected results, but did pro-
duce some that were entirely unex.
pected. 1t injured business in sill.
cruising Mexico and Central Amer.
lea, thereby affecting this country
indirectly. 1t struck a blow at the
interests of many of our own States,
bu: on the whole, we believe it to
have been a good piece Of legislation
although it was folly TO expect from
it complete relief for the stringency.
Again, great powers have been
attributed to the tariff, both for good
and evil. The friends of high tariff
say that the agitation for lower duties
has demoralized business and
brought about the stagnation. The
low tariff advocates attribute all our
troubles to the excessive taxation
and restrictions of business by a high
tariff. One party says the cure lies
in letting present tariff laws alone
the other says it will be found in a
material reduction. Still another
party says, let whatever is to be done,
be done quickly, so that affairs may
be on a settled basis; then trade,
having uncertainties removed, will
revive. There is one factor they all
overlook in their representations,
and that is, that the ''hard times
are not confined to the United States,
but extend all over the civilized
world; that they did not originate
here, but on the contrary this coun-
try was the last to feel the effects,
and suffers the least OF them all.
The failacy Of our tariff legislation
being able to affect Europe, India
and South America must be appar-