Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-05-29
VERMONT INVESTMENTS.

The st. Johnsbury Republican tells its
diff (Ala.I Coal and Iron company and
goes on TO say:
We notice that our State exchanges
are cheering up the victims by assuring
them that they wouldn't have lost their
money if they had kept it at home, and
by then going on to preach long SER
mons on the wisdom of investing money
here in Vermont. 1t strikes us that this
sort of thing is so foolish as to verge upon
idiocy. Vermont money ought to be
kept at home and invested here, of course;
but 1t is perfectly obvious to any one.
upon moments thought. that for the
average investor the average Vermont
town offers absolutely no opportunity
for the invest tment of his money at home.
How the unhappy capitalist can invest
money in home enterprises which do not
exist is not quite obvious.
Not great deal needs to be said at
this stage of the game as to the wisdom
or unwisdom of the investments Vermont
ers have made in the West or South.
The owners of the money did what they
pleased with it. as was their right, and if
they lost, they had to stand it. The gen.
eral public was very remotely, if at all,
concerned in the business, and the long
sermons to which the Republican refers
are not called for. Possessors of money
may be trusted, generally, to see that it
is put where it will come back, and all
the preaching of all the papers wont
make the majority of them more cautious.
So far the Republican is right, but it
does not seem to us exactly true that "for
the average investor the average Vermont
town offers absolutely no opportunity for
the investment of his money at home"
In the first place, there are in every town
farmers who want to borrow money and
to secure the loan by mortgages on real
estate. At the prices now prevailing for
Vermont lands they afford the best of
security; for, unless all signs deceive,
the value of these lands must increase
rather than decrease, so that the security
must grow better instead of worse.
Then, too, there are, or might be, manu-
featuring enterprises that would afford
cIldDcts lot llNtSlllltDls. Ill uliUN VI
our towns, some of them with water
powers and other advantages for manu-
featuring, there is nothing doing in this
line, but there might be. The trouble is
that there is no one in them who has
had training in manufacturing. If it is to
be carried on, some one skilled in that
line of business must be secured to man
age it. That can be accomplished in one
of several ways; capitalists can combine
ana hire a man to run their business for
t them, man may be found with some
capital and they can lend him more and
take a share in the business, or such in
ducements can be held out as will bring
into the town a man who has money
enough and the moneyed men can ther
put out their funds in supplying the man
f ufacturer with materials TO work up, OF
) his hands with tenements, or they car
1 carry on the businesses that grow up a:
,, supplementary TO almost any industry
There is scarcely any manufacturing con
Germ which does not require other manu-
: factures in its operations. \ shoe factory
i, for instance. demands paper boxes il
/ large quantities, besides packing cases
0 indeed, once start is made, there il
t hardly limit to the possibilities of ex
4 pansion. But before much progress i
J. visible in some of our towns the manu-
featuring spirit must be aroused. Tn
y multifaripus Industries which were
t feature of every sizable Vermont tow
: 80 years ago died out gradually with tn
# increase of means of communication ant
the consolidation of manufacturing il