Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-11-21
PRIMER0F FINANCE
CIRCULATING DOLLAR IS ESSENCE
OF BUSINESS.
a HomeIy illustration of ting Uses OF
Money, When II Is Circulated, MOI
HOarded. The HOarded Dollar In.
jureS the HOarder as we'll as
Others.

1t was circus clown, or a profess
sor of political economy, or some
philOsophizing statesman at the cor
ner grocery-it doesn't make much
difference-who years ago told the
tory of the debt Bill Smith owed Jim
Jones. And Jim owed Dick Brown,
and SO on, until twenty men were in
debted to one another. They met one
day, SO runs the old story, and Bill
paid Jim the dollar that was owing,
and Jim paid Dick, and SO on around
the circle until the original dollar
came back to rest comfortably-it
always rests comfortably when it
isn't owing-in Bill Smiths pocket
In the course of its wanderings it
had performed the service of twenty
dollars. And if the twenty still
owed one another it could keep on
going without limit until all the
debts had been atisfied-provided.
always. Bill or Jim or Dick or none
of the others decided to withdraw it
from circulation. Should any do so,
he at once creates panic in that
particular circle. Business stag
mates. Confidence departs. Bill mis-
trusts Jim's ability to pay, and Dick
mistrusts Bill, and the rest mistrust
each other. So trade ceases. Why?
Someone is boarding that dollar. And
the cry at once is raised that there
Is not sufficient money in the coun-
try to continue business. Each de-
mands his debt from the other, thus
creating run on at least nineteen
banks at one time. But there is just
as much money in existence as the
twenty had at the beginning. Bill
is just as willing to pay Jim, and
Jim Dick, and Dick his creditor. as
before. Trouble results from the
fact that the dollar has gone into
hiding; and creditors and debtors
are going to be uneasy until the fool
who arrested that dollar shamefaced-
ly starts it on its rounds again.
This is homely illustration, but
it fairly states the conditions of mod
ern business. Further. it represents
the manner in which all business al
ways has been conducted and in
which it is always going to be con-
Quoted. There never has been and
never will be enough actual coin in
existence in any one nation, or the
entire world, for that matter, to rep
resent all the real or estimated
wealth. In the nature of things
there cannot be enough money.
Wealth will ever outrun the dol
lars. The very essence of business,
Of trade, of commerce, is the circu-
lating, not the hidden, dollar. While
there is no statute to prevent, yet
Bill Smith or Jim Jones. or whoever
stops the progress OF that dollar in
that circle of twenty, really violates
a moral law. imposing a condition on
the others he has no right to I'M
pose. He hurts himself, too, as he
hurts the other nineteen, for his
prosperity and his chance of getting
that dollar again to pay the debt he
owes his neighbor depends on the
ability of the dollar to keep travel
ing. Eventually. also. he must loosen
his hold on the coin in order to get
from the others the things he him
self cannot and does not produce, but
which are necessary to maintain life.
So the dollar is bound to get in cir
culation again. In the meantime,
its retirement has worked no benefit
to him who boarded 1t and has SIM
ply brought harm to the others.
This Is a primer lesson In finance,
and yet there are some who have 1t
still to learn.-Tacoma News.