The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-11-27
HAIL HALF PENNIES.
WILL THEY CROWD THE CENT PIECES
OUT OF THE FIELDi

The Organ Grinders and Professional Beg
ears VIII Have to Hustle-Even Church
Collections VIII Suffer, and 1.-TWO For
Quarter VIII Be One For 1e Ia.
It is tradition that the smallest coin
in circulation in the mining camps Of
the west few years ago was the dime,
and it was held to be such an insignifi-
can't coin that a miner who was given
dime in change felt insulted.
In the Mississippi valley the smallest
coin in general use was the . cent
piece. The price Of the cheapest tritie
sold In the shops was cents. Western
citizens who came to New York state
were amazed to see eastern people go
into the shops and buy cents worth
of yeast They were also surprised to
learn that great number and great
variety of things might be bought for
cent. They found the old fashioned
cart wheel American penny to be MIN
BILE and active coin east of the Allegha-
MES.
Probably there are few people living
except ooin collectors who have ever
seen half cent In the early days of
the republic there was such coin, and
so years ago thrifty Yankees used to go
to the shop and buy half cents worth
of candy for the children, or a half
cents worth Of tea, or half cents
worth of tobacco.
OF course almost everything was
much cheaper than it is in these days,
and half a cent would buy about as
much as 2 cents will purchase now. The
purchasing power of money at the time
of the American revolution is said to
have been four and one-sixth times as
great as it is at present. If the rate OF
pay In the army kept pace with the de-
cline In the purchasing power of mon
ey, the soldier who got $18 month for
carrying musket during the war of a
century ago ought now to receive $50 a
month.
Hard times have taken the American
penny by the hand and travelled with 1t
across the continent 1t entered the
western towns as shy stranger, but is
now much at home in them. Indeed it
is more In evidence than the round and
dignified silver dollar, while that for
merly exclusive aristocrat, the 81, 900
bill, is hardly ever seen.
It has lately been proposed to revive
the half penny and make 1t member
of the lively family of American coins
Some people oppose the introduction
of the half penny on the ground that 1t
will make the penny feel too proud. As
soon as the half cent makes its appear
ance the penny will go strutting about
with insufferable pride and vanity and
will entertain patronizing air for the
half cent
All the street musicians and all the
professional beggars are strongly op-
posed to the introduction Of the half
penny They are going to petition con-
gress not to coin it. They feel that 1t
will be great injury to their profession.
Where it now takes cent to get a
hand organ to move on 1t would take
only half cent in the future, and a
tale of woe that will now draw a penny
from the Golfers of Russell Sage will
6I6 1Ouk 10 IOWalOO0 W4oA4 OhAy q AeAAA
cent. The hand organ men and others
who follow beggary as chosen profess
sion say that the new coin will reduce
their receipts 80 per cent.
If they coin the half cent begging
will no longer be one Of the learned pro-
fessions," said battered but indignant
man who solioits aims.
The street musicians say that the
half cent will reduce the hand organ
men TO beggary. The beggars say that
it will compel them either to work or
starve
The ministers and plate bearers are
logically and intelligently opposed to it
because it will diminish the church col-
Lotions People who have been aoous-
toned to put penny on the plate for
carrying on the missionary movement
will give only half cent Half the
missionaries In India and China must
come home
The business of the little CONNECTION
cries will fall off. Where the owner In
happier days sold cents worth of pea
nuts or a cents worth of candy, he will
sell only half cents worth. And then
the children will want little chrome
with the half cent purchase. The re-
ceipts of the oonfeotioneries will be
likely to fall off 30 per cent, for, though
they will have more customers with
the new half cent trade, their aggregate
sales will be smaller.
Saloons which now sell one drink for
10 cents and two for quarter will sell
drinks at 1s16 cents apiece. Fifteen
cent cigars will be sold for 12H cents
each.
The half cent will destroy the deoi-
NAL system in prices. Eggs. oranges,
dry goods. bridge tickets, now sold 40
oording to the decimal system of prices.
will be sold hereafter according to the
fractional system brought In by the ON
nipotent half penny.
The penny in the slot machines must
go
1t will be a farreaohing financial re-
form. New York Journal