Litchfield enquirer., 1841-02-18
From de Men. York Express.
PH1LADEtFY, Feb. 9, A. D. 1871

To The Editors Of my old friend Mr. DUighfs !
pGper, that he used to take the teGd on q spell !
ago.
GENTLEMEN-l suppose you viii be consid- |
BILE wonderated to know what on 0irth led !
me from the track to Washington with the
old hero of the North Bend Cabin, and brung
me here-well I'll tell you.
and the Gineral was a drifting along
down from the west, and bowling and shak-
ing off the everlasting crowd of folks all the
way from the Ohio, till we struck along the
edge of old PenSytuGny, when we heard folks
beginning to talk about hard money! and paper
money! and resumption, and suspension, and
things Of that natur, when says I, 3" Gineral,
you may depend there is trouble trewing
somewhere along here, and if you say SO"
says |, "Tll jist quit you for spell and take
malter a little, and jine you at Washington"
WELL" says he, Major, seeing as how
folks begin to thicken amazingly around us,
nv calkilation is you won't be much mist,
but see that you git to Washington as soon
as possible, and in the mean time let me
know all you meet with worth hearing'-
and SO quit, and as the Gineral never wants
to know nothing more than the people know
themselves. send you this letter to print,
and you will please send copy ont to the
Gineral, so that he will know as much as 9TH
er folks do about it.
| got here last evening, jist after lamp
lighting, and took run round to most all
the Banks to see if could find any on 'em
open, but found 'em all locked up and
bright lamps burning afore the doors, and
good strong broad Shouldered Watchmen
standing at their posts with clubs and rattles
list for all the world as tho the Banks was
as full of specie payments as ever, and not
mite of difference.
1 stopt ard had leetle talk with one of
these watchmen, and says /, stranger, is
there no gitten in here to see folks!" "Not
tonight" says he, all the Banks are shet
up" "How you talk" says /, and so
streak'd it round to Squire Biddle's preme-
ses, for had notion if could only git
fair talk with the Squire, would lam pritty
much all about the matter.
found the Squire to hum, and ne was anna
zin' glad to to see me; and he and l went
right up into a room alone, where found a
good acarm Lehigh coal fire burning, and a ia
Bile kivered with papers; and he took one
chair and I another, and we went at It
suspended agin, larn." "Yes," says he,
"Major, the folks who wanted hard money
have got all the Banks had to give them !;
and as the Banks can't coin hard money, and
can only git it from the folks who owe them,
it turns out that, as the Banks have not got
the same power by the law to make folks
pay them as fast as other folks want it, the
pend must run dry for SPELL"
"But," says !, esquire, how on airth is it
that things work SO that one set of folks keep
drawing out of the spiggot faster than other
warnt so in Mr.. Adams time," says t.
SNOW, how is it?" This set the Squire
scratching his head and thinking-and to
give him time to answer, took the poker and
began poking up his Lehigh coal fire, to see if
there was any blaze in it and to rights says
he, major, what are you poking that fire
for! Do you expect to make it burn bright
"you will let it alone. Amt the room warm
enuf?" eyes," says I, sits warm enuf, but
little pokng wont do any harm, will it o.
"Wcll," says he. "you 60 on poking, and
you will see,"-and sure enuf, the more
poked, the darker the fire and coal got and
bime-by it all went out. SWELL" says
I, Esquire, this is plaguy odd kind of fire
of your'n," says I. "Yes," says he, sits
PennsyluGay coal; it wont stand poking, Ma
ior-if you let it alone. it will burn slowly
and surely, and give out comfortable heat
but if folks go to poking at it, it turns and
looks black at them, and gives them cold
shiver." e. +tl
swell, says I, esquire, want you to an
swer and explain to me now about this Bank
matter. How is it, says I, "that all your
Banks have suspended specie pay ments-all
broke-all gone to everlasting and etarnal
smash? Now, how has all this come about ?'
says /. t..
"Well," says he, Major, I'll tell you.-
In the first place, when you first entered this
room, didn't you find it warm and comforta-
BILE, and good fire burning !-didn': you
take up that poker and begin to poke with it
didn't | give you civil hint to let it
alone ?-didn't you continue poking and pc.
king, till at last the fire went out ?-and aint
this room now cold and dark, compared to
what it was! Now come here,"-and he
took candle and went up to the fireplace
and says he, "there is the coal yeti aint
burnt up-the fire has only gone out; can
put little kindling under it. and clap on the
blower, and in little while you will see as
bright and warm a fire as before-but where
is the use of kindling it up again, unless folks
will see the folly Of poking at it. 1t is just so
in Banking matters. tried it, for sixteen
years and over, and no people in creation
ever saw warmer or better fire than kept
up; it warmed all kind of folks, too; the
circle around it was wide enuf to admit eve
ry living crttur in the country, and all
equally felt the warmth. But then began
the p0king system. / tried every means to
prevent it, but it was no use-and then |
quit, and Mr.. Dunlap he tried it a; but the po.
kers were still ready-and no sooner was it
klndling up, when at it they went, poking
and poking--and the result you see and
now the question is, shall we have new fire
Minded, and what shall be the fiIel9 Shall