The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1897-04-02
SCARCITY OF MONEY.
MANY PARTS OF SOUTH AND WEST
HAVE NO MONEY.

Business Conducted by RarteF-A Remark
able Speech by W. e. Dodge-Tells New
YorR Chamber of Commerce What
Caused Bryan's Big vote-A bad Cur
renoy Systcm--Farmers Have Real Griev-
auces-Must be Atte s.led to Before 1900,
Mr.. w. Il. Dodge, one of New York's
most cnterprisins and philanthropic
business Men, was delegate FROM the
New York chamber of ce,nmercs to the
business men'a Sound money conven-
tion which met recently at Indianapolis.
He was a member of the executive com
mittee Of the indianapolis convention.
A short time after he was chairman of
the arbitration committee at Washing
ton. In both capacities he had excellent
opportunities for meeting representa-
tives 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.
81 was surprised, sir, to find the as
sertion made constantly by men from
the far western states and the south and
southwestern states that 1t 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
be of value, and when came to look
into the matter and to talk in a friendly
IND kindly way with them they all
confirmed the same feeling, which I 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, by some
happy accident $50 bank bill had
| Verne down into the county, 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 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 go
into debt to tho local siorekeepers. The
local storckecpers received their pay in
kind. IN fact, everything was drifting
back to the old times before money was
| invented. This was not i'll one section Of
the country only, but iii large sections.
eve 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 III south
ern France these difficulties were under
stood 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 il
Scotland, as many of our friends know.
Every town in Scotland with over ,00(
people has branch bank of some one o.
theRreatbalkso Of Edinburghor Glasgow
A man Of good character who wants tt
fit out fishing smack or buy anything
for his farm is able to go there, and il
his credit is good he is able to borrow
money as cheaply as any merchant could
It has double effect. 1t is not only
giving to those neighborhoods the none,
that they actually need, but 1t is edu
eating the people in thrift and prompt
ness l have talked with great man,
of my banking friends, who say that TIN
whole thing depends upon the characte
: Of the people; that the people are specu
lative and that nothing can be done TO
them My impression is that if SOM
thoughtful plan could be suggested i
would be quite possible to educate al
the agricultural people Of the country Il
understand that man who is thrift.
and honest and sober and prompt can al
t ways in some way get some money. l
is very hard thing-we do not under
stand it at all here because we have $
much money moving among us--but
E every time we went to store we wer
unable to buy anything except on credit
if we had no money to pay down to ell
able us to reap the advantages of cas-
payments, we should begin to be fretful
do hope, sir, that the thoughtful an
good men of the north and east will b
D willing to take up this subject
1T was brought out at the Indian
apolis convention that after the first sac
: serious mistake made necessary by tn
exigencies of the civil war we had gon
on with makeshifts ever since One b
of legislation necessary to bridge us Owe
(. particular crisis has been met wit
d another. With every issue Of bonds an