Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-07
MONEY TO MOVE THE CROPS
lOms Calculations About the Amount and
Weight If Paid in Silver Dollars.
BUSINESS or TRANSPORTING CURRENCY
low Money f. Carried Back and Forth
I'm the United states-Prae
ticany No Cold Moved
by Express.

80, conservation experts value this years
,eoord. breaking crops, we're TO be paid In
ulver coin. the round disks Of white metal
required would all 1000 freight cars, each
holding 1900. 900. weighing thirty tons
rhe weight OF the entire payment would De
1000 tons and Il would take 100 locomo-
tiyes to haul It In as many tWenty-caI
trains. The train crews would number AZ
least 800 men. and several regiments OF
,roops would be needed TO guard the bulky
reasure during its transit from the mint TO
he farmers.
The picture thus brought before the i'm
,0,nation Illustrates the difference between
lhe ancient and the modern systems OF
agriculture, Of transportation, OF money anu
~ exchange, Even so late as hall q cen
Jury ago no country in the world was ca
pable Of producing any such unthinkabiy
vast crops. and. even had they been pro-
Iuoed. they would have been unavailable
oscause IL would have been impoSslple
pither to move them to the consumers OF 10
provide the money to pay for them Back
In the days when coin was the only money
the TRANSPORTATION by sea Of enough cash
In silver to pay for this years crops Woula
have employed a notilla Of sailing vessels
while its land transportation would have
,een a big task for 100 caravans. Even In
cola its weight would be 1000 tons, and II
gould have taken at least that number OF
,eama of oxen or horses to haul II over the
rude roads that were then the best high
ways.
Today the chief problem furnished by the
treat crops is their transportation. The
paying for them is comparatively easy
through the working Of the modern credit
,ystem, nowhere SO we'll developed as In
The United States, there is always a much
smaller movement Of actual money In nan
ding the crops than might be supposed
drafts, checks and other commercial paper
representins cash being passed back and
forth in lieu Of the vertible notes and coin.
Yet Notwithstanding this convenient sys-
tenn there is a large and steady business
lone in the transportation of actual money.
Commercial paper is all right for exchange
but actual cash has often to be used In
IettlinE balances between banks and It Is
also needed for the payment of wages and
Tor small purchases. Because OF a well IN
a~erstood commercial law the currency In
circulation away from the commercial CEN
ters has a constant tendency to accumulate
In those ~centers, from which 1t must pc
redistributed In order to be available Tor
Its ordained work. This redistribution is
going on continuously, but Is much heavier
In the spring and fall than at other times
the movement being from the east to the
west and the south In the spring to furnish
his farmers and planters with currency
10 pay wages during the planting season
and in the fall to pay for the harvesting OF
the crops planted In the spring.
The transportation Of money this fall
began some weeks ago and will continue
several months to come. While those who
know do not like to give out Information
in detail. there IL no doubt as to the mag
aitude of this years shipments.
western Money working East.
II IA true that the deposits In the banks
Of the interior are larger now than ever
before and this has led some to suppose
that the currency to handle the crops could
he uroyiced largely by the banks upon the
ground. But many Of these banks have
tent their currency east In great guam
uties-as deposits in the New York banks
In order that It might earn an income By
beinr loaned out In Wall street and else
where. and now It must be shipped back t
the western banks before It can be PAID
out to the farmers. The only materia
difference in this matter between 1902 an'
previous years lie that formerly the bank
Of the interior were obliged to borrow th'
g. money to handle the crops; now. In man.
instances. they simply have to Withdraw
% their EASTERN QcpOolNS W q inv
Practically all the transportation OF cur
rency. either In coin or bank notes, Is Il
the bands Of the express companies. II I
somewhat generally supposed that the gov
eminent moves it's own money from Wash
inKton to subtreasuries and between thes
branch stores, but this 10 not 80. All tn
government money 10 moved by one expires
company, the head Of which holds a hig
place in public life.
Naturally the transportation of money /
one of the most important departments 1
this eonpany's business; 1t is by no mean
overlooked by the other companies, In fact
since they all do q big money moving bust
ness with the banks and other monetar
institutions. And all, Of course, pay niue
attention to the proper safeguard Of tn
money In transit.
No Gold shipped.
Curlously enough, though there is mo-
more gold In this country than ever before
there are practically no shipments of gol
for the purpose Of handling the crops
The shipped currency is all in silver dol
lars and bank notes, the latter bein
largely In small denominations. Often
shipment Of 800. 900 Will all be in 81 motel
This is because the farmer wants his none
In convenient form to pay out In wage
Nearly all the 81 notes 90 to western point
such small notes not being wanted In ii
south. There silver dollars are In create
demand. mainly because the negroes. vi
make up the great bulk OF the southern II
dustrial problem, like cart wheel dollAl
better than bank notes. Big shipment
are moved west as we'll A. south, howeve
and, Of course, tons and tons OF these shiI
ments are in half dollars and dimes. beside
nickels and cents, for making change.
Returning to gold for 4 moment, Il ms
be interesting 10 know that its transports
tion from the east 10 the west is exceed
ingly rare at any time. In 1898, durir
the prevalence Of the currency famin
some gold was 30 transported, and at II
teryals the yellow metal In quantities
sent from San Francisco 70 the east, b
ali ordinary currency shipments are col
nned to notes and silver. II seems tn
while the country as a whole has decide
In favor Of gold as its monetary standar
the people do not like 20 use Il as I
actual circulating medium.
The packing Of silver for shipment
much simpler than the packing of note
since owing to its great bulk and weight
every $1,000 weighing sixty pounds