The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-04-16
SCARCITY OF MONEY.
MANY PARTS OF SOUTH AND WEST
HAVE NO MONEY.


Caused Bryan's Big vote-A Bad Cur
rency System-Farmers Have Real Griev
ances-Must BE Attended to Before 1900
Mr.. W. E. Dodge, one of New York
! most enterprising and philanthroplt
business men, was delegate from the
| New York chamber of commerce to the
business mems sound money conven'
ton 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 Washing
I ton In both capacities he had excellent
opportunities for meeting representa-
tlves from different states The follow
ing is part of his somewhat remark
able speech before the chamber of COM
merce when submitting his report of the
indianapolis monetary convention:
was surprised, sir, to find the as
sertlon 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 to bring relief from the terrible
condition of poverty and scarcity of
money under which they labored. They
felt that their condition was so extreme
and SO painful that any change would
De OF value, and when l came to look
into the matter and to talk in a friendly
and kindly way with them they all
confirmed the same feeling, which 1 had
found at long conversation in the
treasury department., in Washington,
that the circulation of the country is
quite out of joint, that the lungs and
heart are congested and that the ex-
tremities of the country are absolutely
without any blood
II found that there were great sections
OF the southern and western country
Where there was absolutely no money at
all, where the most primitive forms of
barter obtained, where everything was
most disorganized. One gentleman told
me that in his county, which was quite
rich agricultural country, bv some
happy accident $50 bank bill had
come down into the county, and that he
had taken horse and buggy and spent
four days i'll 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
1t to Richmond. There We're senators
who told me that their constituents
never saw dollar of money from the
beginning OF the year to the end, with
the result that they had constantly to 20
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. This was not in one section Of
the country only, but i'll large sections
We can quite easily understand that
where there is not sufficient money to
establish 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 HIM
gary, in southern Germany and in south |
ern France these difficulties were under
stood and appreciated years ago, and
agricultural banks have been founded
there, and they have doubled the yalne
Of real estate, and they have made the |
and the farmers rich and |
1.-The same thing has taken place in
scotland, as many of our friends know
Every town in Scotland with over 1 600
people has branch bank of some one Of
'hegreat banks of Edinburgh or glasgow
A man OF good character who wants TO
IT out fishing smack or buy anything
or his farm is able to go there, and if
lis credit is good he is able to borrow
money as cheaply as any merchant could
L has double effect. 1t is not onlv
living to those neighborhoods the money
nat they actually need, but it is edu-
atlng the people in thrift and prompt
less. l have talked with great MANY
Il my banking friends, who say that the
Whole thing depends upon the Character
Il the people; that the people are specu-
atlve and that nothing can be done for
hem. My impression is that if some
houghttul plan could r. suggested it
would be quite possible q educate all
ne agricultural people of the country to
Understand that man who is thrifty
nd honest and sober and prompt can al
rays III some way get some money, II
very hard thing-we do not under
tand 1t at all here because we have so
1uch money moving among us-but if
very time we Went to store we were
nable to buy anything except on credit
we had no money to pay down to en-.
Bile US to reap the advantages of cash
ayments, we should begin to be fretfnl
do hope, sir, that the thoughtful and
ood men OF the north and east will be
'llllng to take up this subject.
1T was brought out at the Indian
polls convention that after the first sad
'rlous mistake made necessary by the
OF the civil war we had gone
with makeshifts ever since. One hit
legislation necessary to bridge us over
particular crisis has been met with
lother With every issue of bonds and
greenbacks, and with every other
'rm OF currency, legislative enactments
ave been made, and they contradict
I'd overlap each other, and the business
the treasury is exceedingly hard and !
fficult.