Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-02-15
Who Lose the as Per Cent.

IN NOT OF LEGAL ACTION'9
Who Lose tho as Per Cent.
The present disordered state Of mon
etary affairs renders it necessary, in
order to pay debts, or effect purchases
Of new stocks Of goods, outside the
city limits, that 25 per cent. be paid
TO convert the currency which circu-
lates here, into currency, gold, or cx-
change on the east, or even on Chica-
20. 1t il evident that somebody is the
loser Of this heavy percentage; and
the question which here arises Is, who
stands this shave, or, in other words,
who pays this unwilling tribute to the
issuers of this currency The buyer or
the onsumeriHaving paid considerable
attention to this matter, We have arrived
1t the conclusion that the load is i'm
posed upon both consumer and dealer
each has portion Of this heavy bur
den saddled upon them-each are
staggering beneath the weight Of the
daily increasing load. The day labor
or who tolls from morning till night,
and receives payment therefor in a
dollar shinplaster, is obliged to stand
shave Of from Is to 20 per cent. be-
fore he can convert his hard earned
dollar into provisions; the farmer, the
mechanic-all who purchase goods
with our local currency, are subjected
70 this direct taxation Of at least Is
per cent, and the merchant who pays
20 and rs per cent. for exchange stand
the balance.
Such il tho true state of affairs. l,
10 grinding the face Of the poor; taking
from the laborer nearly one-fifth of hi
hard earned money, distressing the
widow and the fatherless; stealing
from the poor large portion Of tina,
scauty pittance which serves only as I
slight barrier between them and starva
tion-more; it is snatching bread from
the very mouths Of the hungry and pla
cling it before::the issuers of wildcat rags
Who 10 accountable for this Not the
suffering poor; not they whom want
compels to labor for their daily bread.
No no!
And the merchandise man who
has purchased his stock of goods and
has come here to do an honest bust
neas-not to set up brokers' estab
lishment-how can he afford to pay
such enormous rates for exchanged l,
cannot be done and succeed. HI
therefore in self defence, is obliged t.
raise the prices Of his goods so that til,
purchaser will bear two-thirds of tn.
per cent. which he is obliged to pay il
order to sustain bis character and bus
iness reputation.
Another feature which operates pow
srfully against our interests ~ mer
camille community, 10 the fact that q
luscatine only IS miles distant, ex
change on New York il worth onl,
2 and 8 per cent. and all kinds &
goods are sold some fifteen or twent,
per cent lower than here, and this alon
detracts from our city an immena
trade from Muscatine and Cedar cour
tisA for farmers who have pork q
wheat to cell will carry it there, an
get for it good fnnds-such q
will take them out Of town keep o
their hands, or purchase goods at res
sonable figures.
These are stubborn facts-fact
which We would not mention, were
mot our imperative duty to do so-fac,
which are not only be considered bu
handled in such . manner ~ they d,
serve.
We hold the INTEREST," of this con
munity At heart; we must not bin
the eyes Of the people Is to the tru
condition. The loss Of IS per cent
diverting the trade from Davenport {
Auscatine, to Clinton and Lyons, an
The sooner the remedy is applied I
purge away the csuse Of our distres
the better. Beware! Act in time.