The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-16

Senate was held last evening in the
Y NJ c. A hall President Towse, af-
ter a few remarks, introduced the
speaker of the evening, Prof NJ. NJ.
Scott, who gave a very able talk on
the silver question, presenting argu-
ments for and against the unlimited
coinage OF silver.
Professor Scott commenced by say
ing that two or three years ago he
made a trip to San Francisco on the
Australia. Among the passengers was
gentleman well known in financial
circles, who after a general discussion
on the vessels run and such matters,
when the silver question was brought
up, remarked that he knew nothing
about money as an abstract, but could
pie in the United States were now dis
cussing the question on all sides who
did not know so much about the mat
ter. and as he had been asked by the
some of the arguments on both sides
No political result will ever settle the
matter one way or the other; what
was needed was that the X ray of COOL
scientific men should be brought to
BEAR. instead of the torchlight of fan
atics.
We of the nineteenth century have
been accustomed to such common
things that we do not realize that
they can be used as a circulating me-
dunn. Take, for instance, sugar in
these Islands. 1t can soon be converted
into paper, which will carry a person
anywhere he wants to go. What people
want is a medium that is convenient,
pretty, and which amounts to some
thing that can be carried in a small
space. Single standard and double
standard all agree that such an article
is gold as it contains all these neces-
sary qualities. In all these qualities
gold is much preferable to silver For
the last twenty-five years there has
been a quiet revolution in the none
tary world till in the present year of
eighteen hundred and ninety-six every
commercial nation has the gold stand
ard.
Thirty years ago there was six hum
dred million dollars of gold and silver,
three hundred and thirty million in
gold and the rest in silver. One-half
of the currency has been stricken out
and the other half has taken it's place
In eighteen hundred and sixteen the
ratio between gold and silver was fiji
teen and a half or sixteen to one. II
one-half of the currency is not in cir
culation the price of the product will
be cheapened, and if there is twice as
much currency people will have to pay
double the price formerly paid. Both
moneys will f1uctuate. The silver men
claim that since the demonstration of
silver the price of gold became appre-
ciated and the price of products depre-
ciated. The facts in both cases are
true as arguments can be brought to
substantiate both statements.
If all the European countries adopted
the compensatory law there would be
an equalization, but such is not the
case. The United States produced two
hundred million of dollars of silver, nor
more than twenty-five million would
be exported and that would go TO
China Japan and India which are great
sinkholes for silver. At the time when
the double standard was in all the
countries the Mexican dollar was worth
more than the American, which was
equivalent to a gold dollar, by pre-
MUM of six to eight per cent. In
China it was even at a premium of
eleven per cent. The single standard
cannot fix peoples tastes. England
attempted to throw silver out so as to
appreciate the value of gold. HOl-
land adopted the silver standard in
eighteen hundred and fifty-twO. but is
now returning to the gold standard.
England. Austria, Denmark and Nor
way and Sweden are all gold cOun-
tries.
Surprising that the free coinage of
silver should be passed by the L. S.
Senate, what would the consequence
be? People would buy bullion in those
countries for fifty-twO cents on the
dollar, and would import it to the
United States and have it coined for
dollar Another result would be that
all the gold would also be exported
from the United States, and it would
become a silver country. Persons, es-
peCldily udHuldClulS1S, NOuio SiNC
promissory notes payable in gold and
would get their returns in silver and
would not know where they were at.
1t would be foolish, almost criminal,
for the country to authorize unlimited
1t is very difficult to make
choice, although he does not agree with
the principles of the Republican party,
yet | believe in their stand on unlimit-
ed coinage part of the platform. Yet
the unconscious depreciation of silver
has caused depression in the prices
of products Wheat or corn may not be
but manufactured goods have
been.