Adventures of a Pioneer. IV

ADVENTURES OF A PIONEER.

EMBRACING THE STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS OF A LONG AND BUSY LIFE.

BY HON. JOHN M. HORNER, OF PAAUILO, HAWAII.

IV.— THE PANIC OF 1853-9.

These were our possessions and prospects when the first wave of money panic struck California, and swept over America with such disastrous results, from 1853 to 1859. It is said that during two months, in 1857, in New York, discounts at the banks fell off $24,000,000, and deposits $40,000,000; interest went up 36 per cent per annum, and there were six thousand failures, involving an indebtedness of $300,000,000. Yet, how small are these sums, when compared with the direct and indirect losses suffered by the whole people during those years of panic! The breaking up of business, the depreciation of property, the enforced idleness of labor and machinery, and the check to enterprise, — all combined to make up a loss impossible to compute; not counting the heartache and mental anguish arising from loss of business and homes. Men of families, wealth and enterprise, were driven from their homes and reduced to poverty, and in consequence, on the Pacific coast, self-destruction was resorted to, to end their misery. Some poisoned themselves, some shot themselves, some went crazy, — all

of which was brought on the people by our private currency system. This loss cannot be measured by dollars and cents; no power

but the Supreme can weigh the sufferings of the human heart. Upon the first appearance of panic on the Pacific coast, business

began to shrink, property decreased rapidly in value, money with- drew from circulation, depositors withdrew their money from the banks, business failures were frequent, larger interest was exacted for the use of money, more property was demanded as security for a given sum, laborers were turned adrift by the thousands, some becoming tramps; two or more families of the less fortunate were compelled to occupy one house in the towns, which before was hardly thought ample for one, and to get along with scant cloth- ing and still scantier food. At the same time thousands of tons of farm products were never sent to market, for there was no sale; good potatoes were ten cents per bushel, but there were no ten cents. All this happened in the Golden State of California, in 1854, where millions of gold and silver were dug from its mines every

month. Most, or all, was sent to San Francisco as soon as of it

produced, and tons of it were hoarded in banks, treasury vaults, napkins, old bonnets, and other places, thought safe to keep money, after drawing it from the banks. Gold was gloated over and wor- shiped. A man with a few hundred dollars in gold coin was inde- pendent, while the owner of scores of thousands of property was poverty stricken, and permitted it to be sold for taxes, and in some cases never redeemed it. Some with ready money held it for purchasing properties at the depreciated rates for which it was sold by the sheriff, and money could not be borrowed on real es- tate, however good the title. Money was plentiful, and perhaps more plentiful than it had been a short time before, but being private money, no power could circulate it, if its owners refused. These are facts forced upon the country by its I am writing from unwise currency laws. memory, but these things are indeliby engraved upon my mind. I was an active participant, I might say an acute sufferer, in those scenes. The large endorsements before referred to, now came on to be paid by us, and as endorsement creditors are exacting, money must be had. Products of the farm yielded no surplus in these panic timesfrom which we could draw. For the first time we commenced mortgaging our property, and at this time money could not be borrowed on our San Francisco real estate.

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We did succeed in mortgaging it to C. K. Garrison for $50,000, interest four per cent per month, compounded monthly and payable in advance. He drew on New York; we received the money there. One month's interest being $2,000 and payable in advance, we received of him only $48,000. It was about one- sixth of the amount we had paid for the property and the improvements, but it was enough, as it swept away the entire property. Thus slipped from us the property we had paid $290,000 for. Our $18,000 steamer went to pay a $7,000 endorsement. In parting with our flouring mill, we did a little better; but the panic continued so long, and was so heavy upon property values.that the purchaser sold it for $5,000. This property had been depre- ciated in value by the panic, $80,000. The Mission lands that had cost us $70,000, including improvements, went from us for an endorsement debt of $10,000. However, the squatters had done as much as the panic to render this property of little value. Our home farm of one thousand acres, which we had purchased four times, went off for an endorsement of $7,000. Property was seemingly so valueless, that no one wanted it; it was money, money; and nothing but money was wanted by cred-

itors, but money was not to be had. It had ceased to circulate

except to a very limited extent. Although my endorsements did not exceed $40,000, the high rate of interest and other expenses forced from us over $70,000 before they were fully satisfied, and that money was raised by the sacrifice of property sold at one-sixth of what it had been worth the previous four years. If the payment of the endorsements had been demanded before the panic, we could have paid them without embarrassment; in fact, had the panic not come, the endorsed notes would have been paid by their makers. The above briefly shows how the property was produced, and approximately how it was rendered almost valueless by the panic,

that curse to enterprise and industry. We had no fears or thoughts that the laws of our country, which force all business to be done with money, all taxes, tariffs, debts and dues to be paid in money, had not provided amply the money necessary for doing all the business of the country, even should private parties hoard theirs; but by bitter experience we learned that there was no pub-

lie money, and the private money had been withdrawn from circu- lation.

How cruel! Oh! how cruel is our Congress to leave the coun- try subject to the curse of money panics, when, in my opinion, a simple law would prevent them. Let us reflect. We have been writing in review lessons of prosperity and adversity which may be of value for future reference. Although our labors and struggles above referred to related only to temporal matters, yet spiritual things were not altogether neglected. My brother and I had erected a schoolhouse in a cen- accommodating our neighborhood, and hired and tral locality, for

paid a teacher. To this school all were welcome. In this house we held church every Sabbath during our prosperous years, and for a long time after. Prayer meetings were frequently held even- ings in the houses of different members. Some "Mormon" Bat- talion boys, and some ship Brooklyn families, had settled around us. We baptized some good people of other faiths, who left for Utah upon the first opening. In fact, the Battalion boys had married, and, I may say, all the more faithful Latter-day Saints in our set- tlement left for Salt Lake at different times. We were not left altogether, as elders were frequently pass- ing to and from missions. Brothers Amasa Lyman amd C. C. Rich, from San Bernardino, sometimes visited us; also Brothers Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Addison Pratt, George Q. Cannon, David Cannon, Joseph Bull, and many other worthy brethren whom I can't now name, whose society we enjoyed. I never was a lover of money in a miserly sense. I did love

to make a success of all business in hand. When I had money, it gave me more satisfaction to assist the elders and others requiring help than to use it for my own personal gratification. I never mourned over the loss of my property, as many losers did, but endeavored to forget, and go ahead again. I have sor-

rowed and regretted repeatedly that I did not do my duty with it more completely while I had it; but I must attribute it to ignorance or procrastination, not selfishness. I should have paid, and could

have paid a tithing on $25,000 as readily as the $1,500 I did pay. I can account for the delinquency only as above. At that time I was too humble, too happy, and too thankful

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to my heavenly Father to have refused in my feeling to have paid my debt to him. I fully realized it was my obedience to the counsel of his servant in sending me to California, and his continual blessings, that had placed me in the enviable position I then en- joyed. One other thing I have also regretted. President Brigham Young wrote advising me to be cautious, as reverses frequently visited people doing large business, and suggested that I send up $30,000 to the Trustee-in-trust, as a precautionary measure, that would serve a good purpose as a future help, if mis- fortune should overtake me. The above may not be the exact language of the President, but it is his meaning, as I understood it. From ignorance, procrastination, or misfortune coming so quickly, or something else, the wise counsel was not acted upon, my misfortune came suddenly, and as unexpected as thunder from a clear sky. It was from a deficient supply of money — a cause no one dreamed of, or thought possible, as four million dollars of gold was known to come into the city every month from the mines alone; but, being private money, it could not be circulated; hence, so far as business was concerned, it was dead money. "Get out of debt, while times are good, and keep out." I

fear some of our brethren will be as slow in acting upon this wise counsel as I was in obeying the counsel given to me. Those who neglect this counsel will lay themselves liable to suffer some of the pangs of hard times, as I did, probably losing homes and property. Hard times are sure to come, since money panics are some of the fruits of our present money system. Under it, hard times always follow good times. This being true, a worse money panic than the American people have ever suffered may be just ahead, and is feared by some government officials, bankers, and many other business men. It will surely come, if Congress does not administer a timely preventive remedy. If we are out of debt, and have no bonds or endorsements holding us, hard times may injure our business, but our homes and property will be safe. The loss of my property and business placed me financially where I had commenced, eight years before, as noth- ing of much value was saved from the wreck, except my experience. My prospects were dark, cloudy and discouraging. I gave up my