Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-04-23
SCARCITY OF MONEY.
Many Parts Of the South and
West Have No Money.
Business Conducted by Bartcr-A Re-
mnrLabic speech by ". Il.
DOdgc-Nhat Caused Bry-
ans Mig Vote.

Mr.. w L. Dodge, one of New York S
most enterprising and phlanthropic
business men, was delegate from the
New York chamber of commerce to the
business mems sound money conven-
tion which met recently at indianapolis.
He was member of the executive COM
mittee of the indianapolis convention.
A short time after he was chairman of
the arbitration committee at Wash
ington. In both capacities he had eX-
cellent opportunities for meeting
representatives from different states.
The following is a part OF his some
what remarkable speech before the
chamber of commerce when submit
ting his report of the Indianapolis
monetary convention:
Il was surprised, sir, TO find the
assertion made constantly by men from
the far western states and the south
and southwestern states that it was not
Mr.. Bryan and it was not silver that
they were in favor OF, but they needed
some change 10 bring relief from the
terrible condition Of poverty and scare
ity of money under which they labored
"They felt that their condition was 80
extreme and so painful that any change
would be OF value. and when came to
look into the matter and talk in a kind
~ and friendly way with them they all
confirmed the same feeling, which
had found at a long conversation in the
treasury department, in Washington,
chat the circulation Of the country il
quite out of joint. and the lungs and
heart are congested and that the ex-
tremities of the country are absolutely
without any blood.
81 found that there were great sec-
tons Of the southern and western
country where there was absolutely no
money at all. where the most primitive
forms of barter obtained. where every
thing was most disorganized. One
gentleman told me that in his county.
which was quite a rich agricultural
country by some happy accident $50
bank bill had come down into the coun-
ty, and that he had taken horse and
buggy and spent four days in visiting
all the towns in the county striving to
get it changed into smaller bills. but
had been unable TO do so, and finally was
obliged to send it TO Richmond. There
were senator's who told me that their
constituents never saw a dollar Of mon
ey from the beginning of the year to the
end, with the result that they had con-
stantly to go into debt TO the local
storekeepers. The local storekeepers
received their pay in kind. In fact,
everything was drifting back to the
old times before money was invented
And this was not i'm one section of the
country only, but in large sections.
1--WE can quite easily understand that
where there is not sufficient money TO
establish a national bank under the
very onerous laws at present in force
there is nothing else to take the place
The same difficulty has come up in other
parts Of the world. In Austria and Hun
gary, in southern Germany and in
southern France these difficulties were
understood and appreciated years ago.
and agricultural banks have been
founded there. and they have doubled
the value Of real estate. and they have
made the peasantry and the farmers
rich and prosperous.
THE same thing has taken place in
Scotland, as many Of our friends know.
Every town i'm Scotland with over 900
people has a branch bank OF some one Of
the great banks of Edinburgh or Glas-
gov. \ man of good character who
wants TO iit out fishing smack or buy
anything for his farm is able to 90
there, and if his credit is good he is
able TO borrow money as chcaply as any
merchant could. 10 has a double effect.
II is not only giving 20 those neighboI-
hoods the money that they actually
need, but it is educating the people i'm
thrift and promptuess. / have talked
with a great many Of my banking
friends, who say that the whole thing
depends upon the character of the peu-
pie; that the people are speculative and
that nothing can be done for them.
my impression is that if some
thoughtful plan could he suggested il
would be quite possible to educate ali
the agricultural people Of the country
20 understand that a man who is thrifty
and honest and sober and prompt can
always in some way get some money.
1t is very hard thing-.we do not under
stand it at all here because we have so
much money moving among us--but IL
every time we went TO store we were
unable 10 buy anything except on credit,
II we had no money 60 pay down TO en-
able us 10 reap the advantages of cash
payments. we should begin TO be fret