The Detroit times., 1915-04-27
SEEING AMERICA FIRST.
BY FRED c. KELLY
Copyright, 1915, by Fred c. Kellyl
Found IN Diary:

| Found In Diary:
Western money Is not like eastern money
Just as silver dollars curiosity IN the east.
paper dollars almost equally rare in the
west BY the time a banknote has travelled
by easy stages from the east 20 the west II looks
so soiled and seamy that the first banker 10
get hold OF IL is ashamed 70 pass IL out OF his
srilled window, IN due course II Is shippei
back East
The traveller in the west. IL he has any mon
sy left AZ all. Is weighted down with silver
dollars He yearns 20 spend them Just for re
lief from the sheer physical strain OF toting
them about. Likewise he itches 20 spend his
gold money lest he lose Il. And II by chance
be should get hold OF little bunch OF bank,
notes he hastens 10 spend them too because Of
their unsanitary appearance.
Thus I, Is that money seems 10 move Just
| about twice freely In the west In the
east. The eastern tightwad OF today becomes
the western speadthrift OF tomorrow. There
is little about western money for one TO cling
TO-
You ask n cashier In n hotel or store 10
change ten dollar bill and he Is just as likely
as not 70 hand out ten silver dollars He may
offer you gold piece and only five pieces OF
silver. but IL he chooses to shove out stack
Of heavy. bulky. clicking silver money. he doe
so with entire nonchalance One afternoon /
saw q woman shopping with wee little lace
purse and wondered all the rest Of the day
where she would have carried her change she
bad had occasion 20 break a $50 bill
The next time l have 500 AT one time. I
shall get IL all In bin and then ask a hotel
cashier 70 change it--just for the experiment OF
the thing II he takes q notion 10 give me 90
silver dollars and one half dollar and quarter
ard dime and q nickel. he viii do 80. I ara
certain Of that And having done 20. he will GO
right ahead figuring at HIS ledger without crack.
ing a smile. IL win never occur 10 him that
there IL any reason why man shouldn't carr
90 silver dollars and few subsidiary coins IN
his change pocket
Many q hotel cashier OF course has only Just
a moderate sense OF humor 20 start with-oniy
q trifie more than II be were the room clerk
Just as money travels more freely In the
west western people travel more freely also 7,
10 the exception to find western man who
has not been across the continent. Yet east.
erners who have never seen the Pacific are
common enough This 10 partly due TO the
time easterners. But that IL only one reason
Towns are farther spart In the west and, nat
urally. the farther apart they are the greater
the distance one must travel TO go from one
rule that the distance between towns or IN
fact between any given points. has a great deal
70 do with how far apart they are. BE that a.
Il may. westerners are accustomed TO distance
and think no more OF travelling 500 or 1000
miles than a New Yorker does OF journeying to
Brooklyn for Sunday dinner with relative II
Is usually necessary TO travel 500 miles 70 get
TO any place a. all And IN some places have
In mind you would not be any place even after
you got there.
] can give an idea Of the western view Of
travel oy quoting something that was told me
by Congressman Stout OF Montana
One day number OF years axo" related
Stout, Il found that by dint OF work and econ.
omy had accumulated about $1,000 In ready
money. That evening my wife and held a
long conference about what TO do with IL We
thought OF various investments. railroad stocks
real estate and 50 on. and had about decided
| To buy some town lots In a new section Then
all OF sudden II popped into my head that We
mad rever been 20 New Orleans The nert
morning inquired and found out thar our III s0,
would take the entire family from Lewiston
Mon. 10 New Orleans and return. That seemed
! 70 settle the question OF what 70 DO With the
money 10 the satisfaction Of all concerned Two
days later We all set out for New Orleans
/ There was no reason In the world vhy We
should 90 there except that we had never been
here But a. We had become westerners that
Twas reason enough