The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-07-08
The Debtor Class and the Creditor
Class,

Mr.. Hugh MeCulloch, one OF the high priests in
the contraction policy, ia letter to Cincinnati
committee, gravely declared that expansi on would
benefit no one bat the debtor class. just sol the
debtor class only being about nineteen twentieths
OF the people. or course IL would be wrong to do
anything to assist them. The interests of the one
twentieth must alone be considered CtnctRdtt
Enquirer,
The impression is common that the deb
tor class is the larger class. The fact is
otherwise. The wage-receiving classes as
a whole are creditors. To their employers
they are creditors till paid their wages
to the savings banks they are creditors
afterward; never debtors to any apprecia-
BILE number or degree, for it requires CAPT
to be able to be debtor. This alone is
q conclusive fact, since the wage-receivers
are always in large majority in every
community. But take the 100000 per-
sons engaged in agriculture, tout of the
l2,500,00O engaged in all classes of occu-
pations,) and make the evtravagant sup
position that every farmer or planter, being
head of family and householder, is in
debt, even then the remaining four and a
half persons in his house, and the 1885,
900 agricultural hired laborers, etc, are moi
debtors nor able to be, to anybody.
The other moiety of our occupied per.
sons consists of 1854, 1893 persons engaged
in professional and personal services, l..
l9l, 1888 engaged in trade and Transports
ton, and 2,707, 42l engaged in manufac
lures and mechanical and mining indus.
tries. Of those engaged in professional and
personal services it will not be pretended
that the ,O3l $3.50 "laborers not specified
in the census are debtors. Who trusts
them? Or the 10000 clerks, or the
bill posters and chimney-sweeps or the
10000 laundry men and women, OF
the $4,000 officials of government, or the
22,0Sl soldiers of the U. S. Army, or thu
10000 teachers, or the 100000 domes
tic servants and employees. Actors, artists
lawyers, physicians, and clergymen, hotel
keepers, etc., etc., doubtless are or may b,
debtors. but together they number but
mere 100000 possible debtors against 2,
100000 not possible debtors. So of near
ly 100000 engaged in transportation i
would be extravagant to class as possible
debtors more than 100000 bankers, trad
ers, etc. Finally of the ., 100000 engage,
in manufactures and mechanical and min
ing industries. the numerous operativ
class are nobody's debtors; barely 10000
employers may be able to use their credi
and be in debt.
Political demagogues are wont to oppos
specie payments on the ground that tn
debtor class is very large, the credito
class small, and that to resume is to max
the large class pay the small class far NOR
than they agreed to pay, The above fact
cut the ground from under the dema
gogues. The debtor class-thOse who ar
able to get present value for their futur
promises-is, lii fact very small class
Besides, q debtor class has its creditors i
great part within the debtor class itself, S
that what the same man lost, by pape
dollars bearing gold dollar values as deb
or, he would recoup as creditor. More
over, mercantile credit, which constitute
the great mass OF debts and credits, is fc
so short time, so few months, that L
possible velocity of approach to spec
payments would make debtors loss equ
to the risk OF mere fuctuation which ever
creditor now covers in every bargain, 1
long as no steps toward specie paymen
are taking and an irredeemable currenC
is permitted to convert honest trade risI
into gambling risks.