The news & observer., 1897-04-08
WHERE OUR MONEY GOES.
Savannah Morning News.)

Not very long ago the Morning News
stated that one of the reasons, and per-
haps the chief reason, why there is
complaint of the scarcity of currency in
the south is that all of the south's sur
plus money as sent ito the north to pay
for life and fire insurance, interest on the
bonds Of her railroads and losses in cot
ton futures. If the south could keep the
greater part of what her products bring
her she would be enormously rich within
very few years.
Our attention is drawn to this matter
again by the announcement that there
is to be a conference of southern insur-
ance men in Southern Pines, n. c., on
April %, the purpose of the conference
being to awaken an interest in Southern
insurance.
In the minds of some, the first thought
may be that the purpose of the conference
is a selfish one-that the insurance COM
panies of the south desire to work on the
sympathies of the Southern people with
the view of getting control of all the in
surance business of the South. Assuming
that such is the purpose, would it not be
much better for the south if the money
she pays out for insurance were kept at
home? It is stated, on what appears to
be reliable authority, that North Carolina
pays out in insurance premiums $1,000
600 annually, and gets back only $1,000
600. In other words, she is out 81 ,00O,-
600 year on the single item of insur-
ance. That money goes to the north and
helps to increase the wealth of the peO
pie of that section. 1t is safe to say that
the net profit of the insurance business
which the south does with the north a
mounts to fully $25, 100000 year. This
it not the abount of insurance money
which the south pays the north, but the
amount which the north keeps.
The movement to have the southern
people insure in southern companies is
a good one. All the business which the
south can do with her own people ought
to be done with them. The south will
be slow in getting rich il she sends all Of
her surplus earnings to New York and
New England.
All the great guarantee companies and
nearly all the firms which deal in stocks
and cotton futures are in the north. These
institutions take away from the south
many millions of dollars every year.
There is no good reason why such insti-
tutions should not be established in the
osuth, so that their earnings would be
invested in the south.
The reason why the rate of interest is
so much lower in New York and New
England than in the south is chiefly be-
cause the bulk of the currency accumu-
lates there, and it would continue to ac-
cumulate there, however many banks we
might have or whatever monetary sys-
tenn might be adopted, so long as the
north does all of our life and fire insur-
ance business, has all the guarantee COM
panies, and does all the trading in stocks
and cotton futures.
What we must do is this: We must
support home institutions. The millions
of dollars which we send north every
year must be kept in the south and in
vested in southern enterprises. 1t is for
our ablest men to say how this condition
of affairs is to be brought about 1t
must be brought about, however, or we
shall remain poor and continue to COM
plain of the scarcity of money while
the north will be rich and have more
money than she knows what to do with.