The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-10-10
If the Money is in the Country

why should there be 4 pressure! ih's
question is often asked by persons VINO arc
told that money being too rapidly aosoroea
nv railroads. the recent furry in the money
market followed as a consequence. Inc
Question is in clligcnt. OF course money
borrowed by railway company Is paao out
for labor, for iron, for timber, &c, ano' save
what may DO paid for foreign iron, Is IN inc
country. II in the country, why snoa'o
there be pressure!
The answer Is pretty much the answer 10
such an inquiry with regard to all panics ana
preS>urcs.
We must follow the money to see what
becomes of 1t. The lender hands it over to
the railroad officials. They eXpend II, rs
above explained, in construction and equip
ment. II finds it, way to the pockets OF
hundreds-for labor, timber. iron, provisions,
engineering, land-damages, &c, &c 1t goes
ont in small streams ut first, and they JOIN
and form larger oncs-i. G., men o! wealth.,
dealers in goods and supplies, find the larger
subdivisions of the aggregate accumuateu
in their pockets. Well, they use their seSera'
parts in many ways--in houses, me car
riages, improvements, etc. 1t goes INTO ne
hands of others, ard performs vast dea' OIL
service before it is returned TO the source OF
loans. And when it thus goes back 10 Tue
p)ucc where money IL loaned, it hnds that
former capitalists are broken, and IL must
90 TO new depo-itarie>. which are YET 10 De
schooled and liberalized, before it Is agalu
employed. aS it formerly was, in helping pup
lie enterprises or trade. That is, it returns
TO the Headquarters of large capital, where
things are disturbed. the house Is out OF
order, and time, greater or less i'll proportion
to The degree of the disturbance, is neceSs'l-
~ before it can he again employed with elh'
cacv and to the advantage of the country.
The reader has seen chip float INTO all
eddy. and there whir in the circlinS water
for long time before ii could ma us way
into the straight-runninS stream ana get
away. So it is with money devoted 10 en-
y-conductcd enterprises. lhosc
engaged in them failing to pay their credit
ors. the money swallowed up by theui
has 10 take this slow route to the pace
whence it came, with all The Incidental oe-
laws to which we have alluded. before II can
again perform the valuable service for which
it is intended.
Money in such case so to speak, goes OIL
on pleasure excursion, and takes us Tune,
unaware of the tighlncSs and pressure occ:i-
stoned by its absence.
But this intermediate condition of money
between the time of the disturbance which
its misrepresentation caused and its return 10
the source of loans has for its contemporary
\ general distrust, which makes men draw
their pursc-strings tightly and withhold
from the public service hundreds OF thou
sands of dollars. No wonder, then, that at
such a time there should be general cur
tailment of trade and manufactures. Ma
cbinery and articles of household economy
are manufactured In less quantity. Labor.
ers are discharged, trade suffers, the farmer
has not the means to buy fertilizers and 10
nav for labor, aud oil industry, all caIiingS,
society in all its phases, suffer with severity
proportional to the force Of the causes that
make them suffer.
This will explain, we think, to any one
how it is that the pressure lasts awhile al
though the expended money does still re-
main in the country.
1t is plain, however, that distrust is the
chief cause of all financial troubles. The
country ut this time is as solvent as 1t ever
was. There is no waste of money. 1t IS IN
the country. There is some unavoidable
tightness; but that will soon end if people
only give back to commerce and occupation
the money which, under panic, they with
drew. 1t will be Infinitely better tor them
selves and for everybody else that they
should do SO.