The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-03-09
Ghe1ntelIia
A FINANCIAL STORY.
something About Robinson Cruz
SOe'S Money.


sOe's Money.
,r,om the New York Tribancl
The Hon. David A. Welles story, win
dozen illustrations by Mast, will be pub
li.bed tomorrow, by Harper & Brothers.
Iti,a narrative which takes up De Foes
.,orv at the point Of the arrival OF the
English sailors on the island, when the
inhabitants began to need a currency
They first used C6wrie, collected with
considerable labor about the island; this
currency was increased, and business
took a fine start, when some enterprisinH
fellow found heaps Of cowric on neigh
boring island. ,,o,
Finally, the secret OF the whole matter
gradually leaked out. Other people DE- DC.
sides the original three shrewd fellows
found out where the supply oil :owr ,I.s
came from, and made haste TO Visit ~, ;"e
remote island, provide themselves T p",
money and put it in circulation. but
The more money that was issued me more
~a. wooded 10 supply the wants oil trade,
"n,;i ~ I,.t il took fOur.hOrse wagon
In"j 81 cowries to buy bushel OF wheat.
TTaa ,Lc hubble burst. Stock Compa-
a tmS olI failed. Trade became utter
~ W. s,ocnnr, The man whom Robinson
Grusoc had made Secretury'of the Island
Treasury thought he could belp matters
by issuing a few more cOwries, but it was
M me, The shrewd
and idle fellows who had first found the
cheap supply Of COwries had taken very
GOOD care to keep the substantial valua-
Bic things-houses, lots, plows, grain, &C.,
which they had received in exchange.
They had, in fact, grown rich by robblng
the rest Of the community. The COM
munity, however, were too courteous TO
call them thieves, and in conversation
thew we're usually referred to MS shrewd
fnanCiers, and as men ahead OF their
time. The concluding act OF this curious
island experience was that the formerly
90 highly priced money became depre-
Grated to such an extent as TO possess
value only MS a material for making lime.
The people accordingly, by burning, made
lime out OF it, and then, in order to make
things outwardly cheerful, used the lime
as whitewash.
Soon they discovered gold, and in
troduced it MS currency, but not without
objection. In the next generation, Rob
inson Crusoe and the other sufferers by
the cowrie experiment having died, pa
per currency and imitation came into
fashion. Some OF the most popular books
which we're published about this time on
The Island had the following suggestive
titles: "A National Debt National
Blessing" "Don't Pay rs you Go, a sure
Way to Get Rich;" quilting at your
Boot.straps the best Way TO Rise in the
World" and the like. This experiment
was popular, and the new principles Of
trade were generally adopted by enter.
prising men. But the great triumph OF
"representive money" was when the
foot -and.mouth disease attacked the cattle,
and there was no milk to he had. There
was IN immense public meeting to de-
mand that the "Lacteal Fluid Associa-
ton" at once issue more milk tickets.
That night the babies were all supplied
with milk tickets in the place Of milk.
Milk tickets hot, milk tickets cold, milk
tickets sweetened, milk tickets plain, milk
tickets with their backs painted green and
interchangeable with milk tickets draw
ing cream skinned from other milk tick
cts. But strange to say, the babies, one
and all, with that same sort OF instinct
i've perversity which induces children OF
a larger growth to refuse to accept shams
ior reality, and be grateful in addition,
refused to take TO milk tickets. The up
roar OF the night preceding was as moth
ing to the disturbances OF the night follow
ing, and morning dawned upon an unrc-
freshed and troubled population. As soon
as the necessary arrangements could be
made, another meeting assembled. But
the meeting this time was composed OF
babies, backed by their mamus and nurs-
es. There was no theory in their senti-
ments; and though young in years, one
and all felt that they had lived long
enough to know what their fathers appar-
emily did not know-namely, the differ
ence between milk and paper. The reso-
lutions voted were brief, but to the point
and were, substantially, rs follows:
First, that the exiglencies OF the times
demanded more milk, and not more milk
tickets; second, that the way to get more
milk was to have more cows; third, that
the way TO get more cows was to 50 to
work aud raise them, or raise something
telsc equally valuable, and then with this
something else buy cows; fourth, that
there are certain eternal veritics against
which il is useless for either babies or
men to contend. A committee was ap-
pointed to procure mill Of the gods, to
grind up those who disbelieved in the
last resolution, and the meeting then nd
journed.