The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-22
FUNDS FOR FARMERS.
Crop Movement Causes Demand for
 Money.

Crop Movement Causes Demand for
 Money.
 Washington special to New Orleans
 Times-Democrat.
 There is a very close connec- tfon between the farmers of the country and the Treasury Department. especially at about harvest time." said Ellis H. Roberts, treasurer of the Unit ed States to-day Lust at present" he continued, i've are hearing a good deal from the agricultural classes. for they are beginning to move their crops and are calling on us for the funds neces- sary to get their products to the mar kets."
 The treasury officials say that this years crops are being harvested very late. They are able to judge Of this by the demands for money. which are one month behind the period at which they are usually received.
 I've are able to tell just how the crops are coming along" remarked treasury official to-day without once referring to the newspapers. Ordinarily, we begin getting demands for shipments of money for crop purposes about the middle of August, and 1t keeps up until the last of it has been sent to market. But this has been a very backward season, and we have only furnished about two-thirds of the money that was called for at this time last year. The total shipments of money on account of crop movements to date amount to S,O590OO. whereas. last year at this time they were s9,911.000.
 up to a week ago things were moving along very slowly, when suddenly there was decided improvement in crop con- ditions, and a big demand for money came in. The hurricane stopped this as suddenly as 1t began and the damaging rains that followed in the wake of the storm will probably delay crop harvesting for another week.
 Tt is a little early to state that the South and West can get along without the aid of Eastern capital in the move ment of their crops. The fact that very little money had been called for up to a week ago caused so-le people to declare that the West had enough surplus funds to look after the handling of its agricul- tural products, independent of the bankers of the East, who have heretofore done this for them. As the crops are getting ready for harvesting. however, the usual demands are coming in and Eastern cap ital will play its accustomed part in the movement. The great bulk of the money that is now being shipped consists of pa per notes of small denominations The first calls are already from the Middle West, and from the vicinity of large cities. They take a goodly quantity of one-dollar bills, and also lot of tows, flves and tens. Later on we get acquisitions for silver dollars and fractional currency, and then we know that the cotton plant CTS are getting in their crops. Two-thirds of the silver that we ship goes to the Southern plantations. The transportation of silver dollars, by the way, is done at loss to the government or Uncle Sam pays the freight on them. Many years ago Congress passed law requiring the treasury to pay the freight charges or shipments of silver dollars from the treasury or the hints. This was done ir an effort to encourage the circulation oi this class of money. The law is still fir effect, so that a Southern banker can have 100000 silver dollars delivered at his dool for $100,000 whereas, if he had the amount of paper currency shipped. he would have to pay a neat little sum for transporta. tion charges. Nine-tenths of the silver that circulates in the Southern States come from the New Orleans mint.