The Ohio Democrat. [volume] (Canal Dover, Ohio) 1840-1900, 1841-08-05
From Gouge,s JOnrnnnI OF banking.
.THE TIMES.


Ii il one Of the pecuhanttcs ofa paper mo-
ney system, that under 1t a country may
abound ia wealth, may oweDothing to torean-
ers, and YET eve,y man in il may he bankrupt.
This may sound strange 70 many readers,
yet it will be easy to demonstrate ii.
Suppose State 10 have within lis limits
one hundred thousand families, and each hmi-
ly 10 be worth ten thousand dollars Here
will be an aggregate Of property Of the value
Of one thousand million dollars.
Next suppose each head Of family 10 DIS
pose Of his own property on cieGn, ana pyr-
chase an equal amount from some ono else on
credit Here is an aggregate Of debts and
credits Of two thousand million doliars,
Then suppose tho circulating medium OF
Such a community to 30 Suddenly reduced in
smOuGt one half I'hfoush the shock that
would be gwen 10 confidence, prices would
fall more than one half Here then viii be-
but five hundred mI'Iio0 dollars worth Of pro-
u perty, with which to IiquidaIe two thousand
millions of debts ard credits. Each nan will
d receive five thousand dollars from his debtor,
and pay i'e Thousand dollars TO his creditor.
fe. when all Is gone through with, each nan
will owe five Thousand doiars, and have five
thousand dollars owing 10 hic'. Every Que
would then be bankrupt, although The Sut, the
bouses, and all tho other wealth Of the S;ate
would DO just what they were before the ''con.
traction" began
@lNc~ slch case as is here supposed, can.
HDt occur Ia practice. a trading natlOn Will
owe more or lesa 10 trraiGrers; and much az
we are III loPs with tie "cTedit eyt'-m," lgeyy
man viii not III pose o. Hil his prOprrty on cre'
dit, aud purchase M equal amount from Others
on credit. The case will how ever serve To
illustrate the effects Of "a flexible standard Of
value. In ereaier Of less extent. euch fleets
IRE produced by every construction o! our cut-
rency. Sometimes they fail 0n.oGc glass Of
commodities and somsllIpes Va anoher.
Sometimes on one part OF tie county and
somtines on another.-The rum ia not 50 gcG.
eral as in .he case we have supposed, but 1t IL
not therefore the less ellectua! with those mo
are the sictimss
In the former great barkrevvlsons Of 1919,
the distress in Penney yvsha fell frE9pay On
owners Of farms and 10" n lOts' Nov it fsis
rTore directly on the owners Of stocks OF va
tiols descriptions. The income of dltf'ercn,
citizens Of Fhadel pha, from tits single
source, have it is said sustained Feducuon
between one aud two million dollars per an-
mum. -
Of course such reduction in the iucome
-et. enc class Of aphaists; effects very sensiby
the ge#era operations of society. Confidence
being shaken; Other capitalists teario make lE-
veslments, and many OF the iaboring classes
have not profitable employment
Vet in defiance of all this, our city seems
fn ho ndv Me,
in all directions, end among them are not Iess
than seven or eight charches, including some
founded last year. 1t was nnl SO IN the reyUl.
sion of 1873 Then slop was put to nearly
all improvements.
We regret TO say that appearances with Us
are n some respects better than the re DHly.
For @R example:-jn conversation with
leading capitalist We learned that several
large store houses lie had 10 commercial
street, br ought him 40 rent, andyet he suffer-
ed them 10 be occupied by men calling them
selves merchants, because if they should re-
move it might be .thodgbt that the neigbbor-
hood was poor one for business, and then
others OF his stores houses would be yaeated.
AS a sign Of the times, this is decidedly
bad one.
Then again we learn that 10 some large mo-
"chanlcal establishments, Inc men, though ep.
parentty on fdt wages, receive weekly only
One-hsf. For the rest they have 10 trust--lhl
.4imes become better
/ Yet, mahy individuals uro doing better
business than they did 10 the years of great
imitation. We viii give one case,bv way Of
example. A certain manufacturing and com.
omercial firm, having abranch ia a city in one
of the south western STATES, thought it was
carrying ON "a most fourshing hade,,' in the
year 1896, '36, and '37: It's profits, aceor
ding to its books, amounted TO al eas, %, ,O00
dollars a year, which divided be,weed two
young men, who had but hide capital 10 COM
meuce With, was certainly dOdg "a verr fair
business. When tliey tried to collect what
was due 70 Them, all lbeis profits vanished, and
hsppy eioaeh we're lhsyt6 preserve their cap
ilai untouched. They SHOW doing much
less extensive, but fer more profitable business
than they did ia the years Of Imitation, and
this. wsdcubt not IL the case with mulliludes
sofolhsfss Indeed, our merchants generally
are said 70 Be m6ch less Dependant on the
haNhs lhan ia former years, and this is sure
sign L noI Of present, O. least Of coming
eforpsrisy.