Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-07-10
The Scarcity of Money.


scarce, and many wonder why this is true con-
sidcring Tho inluslry Of our people and the
generous crops harvested every year. The
wouder to us is that money is not soarccr, and
that wo have any in tho country. II is not the
money an individual makes that gives him
wealth, but the money he saves. The same is
true OF States, counties and communities. We
may annually sell thousands Of dollars worth of
cotton, and if tho proceeds Of sale arc paid out
for supplies and fertilizers, and thus takon out
OF tho country, wo arc mono The richer, but
rather tho poorer in tho exhaustion Of our soil
aud our energies. II our pcoplo could only
realize this fact sufficiently TO change their
mode Of farming and mako their own supplies,
the result would be Immediately seen in an
increase Of wealth and prosperity. This is o
favorable time for reflection on This subject.
Wo arc in The midst Of destructive drought,
with large Indebtedness hanging over u.s.
The cotton crop has been cut of fully one third
and the corn crop is limited in area and badly
damaged, whilo the supply of old corn is less
lhaa over before known in this county at this
season. What can the result be but year of
hardship and suffering, ending with heavy
balance against us. Our people have laborcd
'"'"''J! "oN - 'hSy WcIc hCc VI NCOt, Tic
short crop would bc small matter; but with
no corn on hand, q small yield Of corn and cotton
probable, mass of debt for supplies hanging
over them, with their bacon, flour and groceries
for next year to buy, The future looks gloomy
What has brought about this condition of things?
The answer is, our failure 10 look on cotton as
surplus crop above tho supplies which every
farmer should make at home, and our cxtrava-
gancc in buying fertilizers, which should also
bc made on tho farm. We stated some time
back that from information gathered about
twelve hundred tons of fertilizers had hccn sold
at Seneca City, Westminster, Walhalla and
West Union, and IL we add two hundred tons
sold to our county at Fort Madison, Toccoa
City, Central and Pendlcton, low estimate
wo huvc fourteen hundred tons bought and used
in this county This, with cotton at ten cents,
will tako out Of The county about seventy thou
sand dollars, or fourteen hundred bales Of the
present crop. If VIC add taxes, ten thousand
dollars, and tho meat flour and corn shipped
and sold hero DO put at forty thousand dol
lars, wo sec that from the proceeds Of the
present crop one hundred and twenty thousand
dollars arc ut once sent abroad never 10 return,
all Of 1t but ten thousand dollars for articles
wc should and could make at home This csli-
mate does not include our own groceries proper,
dry goods, crockery, cutlery, tobacco, whisk oy,
notions and The numbcrless gmcrachs sold 10
our people, which, estimated at eighty thousand
dollars, (and tn ere is more than that amount of
merchandise in stock in the county now,) would
swell our expenditures abroad 10 two hundred
thousand dollars. Sell tho present crop and
send abroad two hundred thousand dollars of
the proceeds and how much will bo left in the
county? Is IL any wonder that money is scarce?
And does not the scarcity of money proceed from
our own extravaganza and mismanagcment rather
than from drought or small prices for our pro-
ducts? Suppose we should cut down our annual
expenditures tc fifty thousand dollars, and this
is in excess of what it was before tho war, then
We would retain in Tho county ono hundred and
fifty thousand dollars q year above our present
supplies, and in five years tho saving thus
effected would exceed tho assessed value of all
tho personal property Of tho county What
would then result? Tho answer is, internal
development Of our boun1lcss natural resources
in timber. mineral, water powers and other
things, and in the higher order of education of
our children. This surplus money could not
lie idlc, but would be invested in manufaco orics
Of all kinds, which would constantly increase
and in the improvement of our houses and
farms. Tho estimates We have made arc low
enough and tho results are plain TO oil. We
would like to get from all of tho merchants of
the county the aggregate sales made by them
for QUO year of bacon, flour and corn brought
from abroad, fertilizers specially, and of all
other articles of merchandise in general csti-
mate. Tho report would surprise our readers,
md they would see at once why money is scarce
We will refer to this and kindred matters here
after.