Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-01-12
oun Ion oYr1Cl.



The cour,e which the discussion OF
thi. currency question has takcn' rem
der. it proper for us to state some
what at length, our connection with
il. ...-
From the time when Florence mon
Az was thrown out at Chicago and At
s.. Louis, and It owners failed to re-
deem il at home in either exchange,
cold or currency, We have felt oursel-
YES to be in the wrong in remaining
silent when such large quantities were
forced into circulation here. 1t was
contrary to our political principles, and
our ideas Of right and wrong. But,
out Of respect to the house which has
Issued these bills, and believing in the
promises they made to use every effort
to place that currency upon - good 3
footing - the bills Of Illinois aud Wis
consin banks, We had forborne, long
after We were importuned BY parties
representing a respectable portion Of
the mercantile interest of the commu-
nifty, and who insisted upon it, that
we were doing wrong in refusing to
take decided action, we kept quiet, be-
ing induced thereto for the reasons
aforesaid and because there was q diff.
ference Of opinion among the people
interested a. to tho course TO be pursu-
ed and for the further reason that gen.
tlemcn Of this city who have been ma
ligned and abused a. being the instiga-
tors Of this movement and who were
friends of the house in question, and Of
this paper, had advised us from time
to time that We should consider the
circumstances Of business affairs gene
rally throughout the county that the
sudden and unexpected disturbance Of
financial matters had found money
men unprepared to meet their obliga-
tons, who were able to do so If time
only WA allowed.
We had heard, upon what We con-
sidcrcd good authority, a. early as the
goth Of October last, that Cook L. Sar-
gent were making strenuous efforts to
place Florence money in position
that would establish its credit that
they had gone East for the necessary
means to enable them to do so, and
they themselves stated that it should
be done, or retired from circulation,
within very short time, and we mere
" add, that this IS what the people
generally understood and expected, and
with us waited patiently to see accom-
plished.
The willingness Of the people and
ourselves to wait uncomplainingly, and
the active course that all people took
to sustain that house, and give their
money a good character abroad
fer all Of us cxcrted ourselves in that
bchalf-was understood by that firm,
who considered it as warrant to them
to forego any efforts to redeem their
pledges and to countenance them in
issuing, whatever quantity of the bills
Of that bank they might deem proper
or for their interest.
As consequence the only circula-
ting medium we had were the bills of
this bank, everything Of q good char
acter being speedily driven from circu-
lation. Being irredeemable at home
or abroad, it became entirely q local
currency. With it merchants could
not pay their debts, in fact, it was use
less for any purpose beyond the limits
Of its immediate vicinity. Cook 4
Sargent the owners Of the money, were
the first to discredit it by refusing to
receive it in payment of notes sent
them for collection.
Our merchants therefore, though
with an abundance Of what Cook 4
Sargent called money, ON hand, could
not pay their debts maturing through
the fall and their notes and drafts went
back East under protest. Asa matter
of course the credit of some of our
most sound and reliable merchants was
greatly injured, and they found it diff
ficult to explain to their creditors how
it was that selling their goods for cash
they could pay Of their debts Others
who we're determined to pay their
debts and save their credit .: all haz-
ards bought exchange wherever it
could be had, and at whatever price,
in some instances As high As 20 per
cent and when that could not be oh
tained, at = still greater loss, shipped
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