Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1893-08-13

How a Deficiency OfCurrency Was
Supplied i'm a Mining Town.

cence:
All this talk about deficiency of
circulating medium in Nevada, Colo
RADIO and other silver producing cem-
munities calls to mind an interesting
experience in Candelaria, Esmeralda
county, New. 1t was in 1880, when
that camp-made famous by the
Northern Belle mine, which paid
from the grass roots to the thousand
foot level, and disbursed hundred
dividends before it levied an assess
ment-was still in a fiourishing con-
dition. On the day of my arrival in
Candelaria | deemed it incumbent on
me, according to mining town ethics,
to invite party of friends to join me
in a social glass. The invitation was
accepted as a matter of course, and
to settle the score / tossed a twenty
dollar gold piece on the bar. After
the libation the barkeeper, who wore
a buckskin suit, a broad brimmed
SLOUGH white hat and sixshooter,
proceeded with great elaboration to
count my "change. First he put
down So So in silver, which he said
was all the coin he had in the till,
and made up the balance of SID. %
due me in sight drafts, time checks,
promissory notes and store orders on
account of wages. 1t took ten pieces
of paper tic cover the sum of Sl5.25,
the smallest being for 60 cents and
the largest for So. 60, and the sisners
were all strangers to me, whose signa>
lures | had never seen before. Quite
naturally l objected, and the gentle
man behind the counter, at glance
recognizing that l was tenderfoot,
courtsously explained that he had no
other change. He said that all the
regular" money in the place had
been sent to Frisco to pay for whisky
and bacon and beans, so the boys had
got up little plan of their own to
meet the emergency. So many stages
were being robbed by Milton A. SHARP
and his accomplices that the express
company refused to send its treasure
boxes to the camp under any circum>
stances, and the discount for time
checks issued by the mines and mills
was about 3 per cent. After Traver
got killed on account of transaction
of that kind, the discounting scheme
became unpopular and the scheme of
the boys" was inaugurated. The
mon employed in the mills and mines
had habit of ascertaining the
amount of their small bills around
town for shaving. for liquor, for to-
bacco or other necessaries, and would
have their months wages divided up
into small checks to meet the requir>
ments of their several creditors
These checks would be indorsed and
would at once become a portion of
the circulating medium of the COM
munity.
If man should be so thoughtless as
to take large check he could easily
have it changed into small ones by
indorsing it to Talbot Root, who
would issue sight drafts on himself
for any amount required. Thous>
ands of dollars of that kind of
money" circulated in the town, and
Gin the shuttle" it was known that
som of it was not genuine-thatt the
signature had been forged-yet no
close scrutiny was attempted. 1t
was good enough money for Candle
laria, and was accepted at PER by the
faro bankers of Belleville, and the
saloonkeepers of Columbus, Even
Aurora, then the county seat, did
not reject it, and Charley May used
to utilize it in paying off jurors and
witnesses from Furnace canyon and
Pickhandle gulch. As the great
body of this "circn'ating medium"
had no standing OF rc>oa..tion oat-
side of the county it was never sent
abroad and the stock was never de-
pleted; so the business of the COM
munity was carried on with perfect
ease and comfort. In an unlucky
hour the merchants induced Yering-
ton & Bender to start bank. At
once the courtesy checks" and SAC
colnmodation drafts" were retired.
Hard times ensued, for hard money
was demanded on all sides. The
camp has never seen a happy day
since. Faro banks cut down the
limit to So 90 and finally turned up