The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1857-11-06
THE CREDIT SYSTEM.
On this subject the New York Tribune
has the fnllo vino remarks.


has the following remarks:
The towering fabric of Mercantile Credit
lies in ruins, and its crash is destined to
shake the civilized world. Nowhere has
this credit been so destined, so bloated, as
with us, aud nowhere will Its fall cause such
pervadng disastery but its rami6cations are ev.
erywhere, and its dowofall must everywhere
be felt.
We must not be deceived by superficial
appearances. To say that the banks have
failed, would be to state the cause untruly,
dcceptively. The banks of the older States
are about all pertaining to our late balloon
of mercantile credit that has hot collapsed
Hardly anybody capable of owning hun
dred dollars worth ofproperty that he wants
to SELL would not be very glad to exchange
it to-day for average bank notes; specie only
is of greater value than they. Those who
have really failed, and whose failure has in
volved nearly all others, are the farmers, me-
chanics, labOrers and spectators or idlers
of the Interior and especially of the Far
West, who owe Ten to 4 thousand dollars
each to the merchants Of whom they buy,
cloth, tea and sugar, which sums they are
unable or unprepared to pay, and their insol-
vency reaches through the jobber, the impor-
ter, the hunks, &C., even to Europe, and
will draw down stately and venerable houses
in London, Birmingham and LYONS, The
aggregate of these unbaid astore. bills"
amount TO hundreds of millions of dollars,
and the whole rests on this city as n fulcrum
but pressps heavily ON everv side
New England could probably pay all she
owes if she could obtain nav from those who
owe her; New York could do as well if NOT
better: Pennsylvania and some other State.
perhaps rs well; but the fearful burden of
Western and Souther Indebtedness weighs
down all together. There il hardly mer-
chant reported as suspended" or "faiIedn
in our city who has not MANY more dollars
due him than he owes. but those who owe
him cannot collect from their customers:
,harafora .,nrot n,v him. tb.,.f,,. ha =. n,
nnt nav. ond ,h. ,p..;sht ~ th;s moun,o;n Of
;nsoiy.ncy h,s broisn down .Il tbat ;s
hanoo,h 4
W. ;,s;st ,ho, ,h;s ,rao, ,osson sh.u M,
bo n,;a,aoJ Tha io.Ssr. IN Ion thonssnd
ha,-rooms wbo 90 to.Sor curs;nc ,hs hanLs
40 hroLen have tbsmseIyes caussd wbatev.
~ ,h.ra nav ha of hanI ;nsoIvsnnv hv hur.
inc fond ana oIo,has ror tha;, fan;I;ss a, ~
na;abbo,;ng stores and moi nav;ng for tbem
wbsn rsonreid Fora;an dabt railroad loans
h.nL c,scnIo,;or all oe,,,d ba readily mo-,
bnt for ,h;s ,,hyr;n,h of norcsn,;Io ;nso,var'
cv which streichas from psmh,na and El
Paso 70 The hanks of tho Thames and the
Rhine
W. ,,co tho ,,rost fo,b.,r.n.o and oon
si5ara,;nn with regard to eY;stino ;ndsbtsd-
ness f..t ,hn boSLs, Tho mareban.s, the
dahtors of merrhon,s, hsvu all rpnsnnabIe
time allowed than, IN ret intu aolvant uos;.
t;on Hasle fsnac;tvs nanic wou,d nnlv
destroy assets. widen desoIatlon, and ioten.
sify calamity. let the ruins ba cleared await
PATIENTLY. soyinulv: bnt let the bnrnt child
reta;n some wbojesome and cbosteninu rec-
olIect;on Of The fire.. Credit there will be
becaueo there should be; paper currency
there will ever be. because that is the curren-
cy of civilization, commerce, and faith in
man; but credit for merchandise by New
York TO Minnesota or Texas: credit to any