Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-10-29
Stauntotl Spectator.
I RATES or ADvERTISINa

Address-''St.untonr rspectssor - ss.urtou. w.
s they produce almost everything here /;
. and If they fail on one product they are
e sure of something believe they raise
more sweet. potatoes here than you do
in Virginia. But the great production
: mere Is corn, and its natural corollarv,
hogs. The farmers here market about
!, four crops or lots of hogs in a year !;
and notice tt at an average good farm
OF 22O acres will produce from 100 to 100
hogs year-and what hogs they are,
too! Besides, it will corn feed good
lot of cattle. ,..r.,
: The next great source of wealth is,
perhaps, the lumber interest. 1t is, in
deed. astonishing to see the amount and
excellence ofJthe walnut lumber. But
then you have as an offset your tobacco
and wheat crops-of course you excel us
10 the former, and in the quality, If not,
indeed. in the quantity of the latter. 81
! Another custom you have, which will
always make times hard and money
scarce amongst you, is the system of
petty but long credits. You buy nearly
everything, and get everything done by
mechanics and others on time and in
larger transactions you ask a neighbOr,
and generally the best friend to indorse
for you. When man fails the result is
that he owes every one-the mechanic,
the doctor, the church, and the mer-
chant-and still more he involves his
| best friend, who also owes his little bills
| around; but, in his frantic efforts to ex-
! tricate himself from the larger and more
formidable and unexpected liability, he
neglects these smaller claims; now they
| must wait, and they are the ones that
are least able of all others to wait for
their money. The result is there is
complicated and almost interminable
train of fdisappointments and hardships
that few five dollar bills promptly set
afioat would have averted in passing
from hand to hand in their debt-paying
capacity. We, here too, have system
of short credit of 80, 60, or 80 days at the
farthest; but at the expiration of these
days the money is paid almost as sure as
fate, and thus the money is kept moving.
There are also here larger transactions
effected on time, but security is given
by mortgage on property; and even in
ca-e of indorsers on note in bank the
inevitable mortgage Is sure to come in
as surety to the indorsers. We, too,
have failures in business and bankrupt
cies, but in nine cases out of ten, almost,
you will find that the insolvent owes no
small debts; he has paid promptly near
ly every dollar of his current expenses;
there are no tailor's, or butchers, or gro
GERS bills to howl over, but each at the
proper time has received his due, and
thus been enabled to meet his current
liabilities and carry on his business
smoothly. But on the contrary it is
found that the insolvent in question has
his liabilities in bulk; that he has ef-
fected loan secured by a mortgage on
real estate, and that the money is due
some Eastern man, or firm, or corpora
ton. and that there are but a few per-
sons affected by the misfortune, and
these few amply able to bear the loss. if
any lOss there be; for, in truth, in most
cases failures have been the result of con-
traction in the value of property and
business, and in most cases the mortga-
gee takes the property, without any real
loss, upon which his mortgage was
based. Thus you can see that home in
terests and industries do not suffer so
fearfully with us as l have known to be
the case under similar circumstances in
Virginia. The fruits of these long estab-
lished customs may seem trivial and in
nocuous to many of your people, but
you can never have free circulation of
money amongst you, with the resultant
encouragement, industry, and enter
prise. until you learn to pay promptly
your mechanics, merchants, profession
al men, chur- h dues, and all other cur
rent dues and this must be done, too,
at the expense of neglecting the pay
ment of large claims, even though a
mortgage should stare you in the face.
OF course the writer knows but little
about the triangular contest for Congress
in the old 7th district of Virginia. The
candidates are true and tried men, and
one would naturally conclude that the
successful candidate can have but little
influence at Washington on the finan-
cial status and future policy of Virginia,
and this is rendered more apparent
when we reflect that Congress has been
unable to agree upon any policy that is
likely to bring financial relief to the ma
ton.
Whenever asked about the financial
muddle in Virginia. | answer that the
old State cannot and a0iU not do any
thing that will bring discredit upon her
ancient and world wide renown, or that
will place her creditors in a worse con-
ditiOn really than they are now: that
she has been dismembered and impOv-
erished by the war, so that she is unable
to pay her debts now; and that the
seeming financial contest there is Moth
ing after all but an honest difference of
opinion as 10 the best means of pre-
serving her own honor, and of doing
justice to the utmost of her ability to her
creditors,-one feels sure of this so long
as that noble old Roman, Gov. Holiday
is at the helm of State.
| One word about our most beautiful
city of the West. We have population
of little over 100000. Our people are
industrious, enterprising, and generous
hearted. Every nickel was raised for
the yellow fever sufferers that ingenuity
and enterprise could suggest. Little
children raised large amount, and even
the prisoners in our Jail contributed one
or two dollars. This shows what the
| feeling is towards the South. We have
finished here county courthouse that
cost us 81 800, 900, and we are at work on
new State house that, when finished,
will cost us from So 000, 900 to So, SOC, 900.
Times have been hard with us of course,
but are evidently now improving.
.U Respectfully,
| GALEN.