Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1864-04-22
..Pablie Debt aad Private Expenditure .


a Consssn. Reader, y in communication,
which l0r Convenient reference we pub.ishinan adj
Joining column puts to series Of questions, based
upon recent article Of oure-to answer which
questions 10 such way as TO make this matter
taeagt0 persons who possess SO little taiaIaarity
with the esenentsot pobdcal economy as "a en-
slant Reader would require treatise instead 0i
snewshsDer article. But, nevertheless, We shall,
as he seams greatly excited about il, do thehest we
can with the space at oureommand, and take them
in their order
/. This question is based on thernost patent and
notorious Of all economical fallaeiissthgt aieTfg
iseapitsi. tits not 20. 1t is meaiiasn Of ex-
change, as counters might be. or cowries Of wana-
pun or beads are in rlany countries OF as green
backs sre in this. The part played ty comm com
merce is much the same as that played by a good
road It enables men to exchange their copInod-
tiles more readily than they would otherwise do
bus exchange would B0t cease Il Il were not IN eI-
steRce Il would simply be more less convenient.
in point Of fact in America and EngsgEI very at
Ills coli is eyer used Tho medium OF exchange
is mainly cheeks and bills Consequently, i /
had Sl,099in money, It d simply a s5gR that am
entitled to receive on demaRda certain portion q
the real wealth Of the naton--Its food, clothing,
machinery and buildings. III draw this share or
portion and consume text IL or 5gsaF L, or
throw It agay-the country is less rich BY IRE
cisely thatquantity The money that give up on
receiving Il does not retsore it, It merely cen
yeys 70 another person the night to replace what
have consumed, by taking IS much mere himself
from the same source. IAe transaction Iiay be y
lustrated in this way am entitled 70 one-fouFth
Of 900 bushels OF corn IN Chioago and deser-
mine that I viii draw ny share and use It, go
to a VINE merchant n New u orz. and take from
him rs much ciayet as he may think the 259 bnsh-
els ofcorn are worth, and give hima written or
der fInonev) for the corn then invite party
offriends, and We drinS the vine the merchant
sendsto chicago and draws Gae eaFn. low do We
stand then The merchant has thecarnandI have
nothing. In other words, outot he equivalent os
fiYe hundred bushels Of corn, here remains SIM
! ply two hundred snd 6isy bushels. There has
4 been transfer ot the corn, DIJtle WINE i have
/ consumed destroyed IS not replaced. Asa sCon-
slant Reader very lHdelously remarks tlle mon
ey that we spend may 60 On tor ages dong lts
useful work, no matter what come Of the things
on which We spend it but if We kept consuming
\ without producing rs much as we consumed. or
/ while producing less. we should before maaF
| ages find ourselves with plenty OF money and
/ nothing else or 20 recur to or former liiustra-
tion, With magnificent roads and nothing 70 trans
port over them
n every cent spent for articles Of personal
consumption Is so much Withdrawn from the cap
ital Of the country and lost how long would lttake
TO destroy the whole capital Of tire country ana re-
duee the nation to beggaTy
We arswer-if production were to cease at the
| same time, the natlen would be reduced 70 peg
gary in from one to two years and the worst q
EItweuld be that we fear that its heggaFy woilie
profit it little All that is consumed is lost toreE
er, but inasmrch as we 60 on producing every yea
as much atNe consume, if no more, We get richer
! instead Of poorer five get on without coHsu-
ming anything at all we should Of course get rIci
still faster II our correspondent is IN business
and can avoid purchasing 'groceriesand cothiHg'
| and add what be would have spent Oh the CON
nodites to his capital. he VIII readily zee that M
business. and consequently we hope, his pronts
would Increase in greatly accelerated ratio. "
may say the same thing with regard to the sllS
and pianos In fact the whole advantage OF ma
ehlnery over manual labor lies in the fact that |
consumes less while producing more than men : :
It needs neither clothing, groceries or silks and
consequently more profitable 70 the community q
a worker thanmen wouldbe. flour correspondent
60 into business with capital Of SIC 009-sag
manufacturing busiuass-he draws his share
the real wealth Of the country, IN buildings, fa'
materials. and food aai clothing for hls ahorers
These things are real capital, created by the la5o
and QJstaeace of other laborers and capitalists
} Suppose his profits are % per cent, or n otae
Words chat after haYing supported himself an
: his workmen, and repaired his buildings and M
E ehinery, he has 81 000 year surplus ms st'
nlus consists in cloth he exchanges II fornone5
E The money he may either spend IN silks ana Ie@e
r ry-tha, Is, coAssme II or he may add il 70 n