Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-02-08
The Balance of Trade.

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who frequented her bed side.
The Balance of Trade.
When the original thirteen colo.
MES banded themselves together in
a political institution, known as the
United States, its statesmen realized
that hard struggle was before
them as in every department Of
commerce the balance of trade
was against them-in other words,
they were sending more money
abroad for what they needed than
they were receiving from abroad,
This condition has been of vital in
terest to every new country and
even to some who count their ages
by the century. When any one or
any community arrives at that
period in its experience where more
money is coming in than going out,
they are certainly building strong
foundation for the future.
There is little in the experience of
the lives of nations that may not
apply with just as much force to
the lives and undertakings of the
individual communities. In fact, it
applies with almost equal force to
the lives Of the individuals them
selves. So closely is this principle
allied to the welfare of communities
that it is worthy of consideration by
the persons who are inclined to send
their money to foreign markets for
what they need. A better wav is to
keep our money at home. Really
this applies with greater force to an
agricultural community than to al
most any other. Let US illustrate
for the purpose of making ourselves
more clearly understood. Suppose
that in any county in Iowa there
was in active every day circulation
among its people the sum of $780,
600 in the month of January. This
sum is in circulation because it is
needed to conduct the business of
the community. If all of it was not
needed, a part of it would retire and
if more was needed it probably
would be forthcoming from some
source. We have now seen that in
the month of January the people of
the county have $4,000 to do bust
ness with. Suppose that during
the month its citizens sent 1926, 900
of this circulating capital to large
cities for machinery, sewing ma
chimes, clothing, groceries, hard
ware, barb wire, lumber or what
ever it may be they need. In send
ing to catalogue houses for these
supplies we are not oyerdrawing the
conditions as they exist, for as
strange as it may seem, people have
SO far forgotten the interests of
their home communities as to be do
ing this very thing. When this
$25,000 reaches Chicago, New
York, Boston and other large cities.
our imaginative county has only
$4,000 left as an active circulating
medium. They have cut their active
capital in two in the middle.
AS we said this condition applies
more infinitely to an agricultural
community for such a neighborhood
has only two ways of bringing
money into it. One of these, is the
marketing of farm produce-of its
crops. The other way we will
speak Of later. Our illustration as
we have expressed it applies to the
month Of January and as we have
said one Of the means farm com
munity has Of getting that $25,OOO
back again is in selling crops,
which they would not be in posi-
ton to do again for almost year.
They have depleted their active
capital by one half and will have
nothing to sell to get it back for
nearly year. We have said there
was another way Of getting this
$25,O0O back and that way is to
borrow it-hire some one to bring
it back into the community that we
may have it to use. What have we
done-split our capital in two in
the middle and sent it to distant
cities where we know there is no
hope Of its return for nearly year
unless we hire it brought back. On
the other hand, suppose we had
bought what we needed of mer-
chants in our immediate vicinity.
The $25,OOO would still be in our
community-it would still be circu-
lating among us and we would still
have our $4,000 active working
capital.
We see illustrations of this condi-
ton every day. How often do we
hear the remark that such neigh
borhood is a rich German locality
and such one a rich Scandinavian