Year: 1873

FURNAs.
cREDIT-SREEGE MERCHANTS,


Having in previous articles indica-
ted what we believed to be the propeE
way ont of the difficulty now pressing
the farming community, I. e. home
manufactures and diversity of pro-
duets. We now propose TO dwell light
ly upon another matter connected
Herewith, and one the onus of which
is uniIstIy saddled upon men whose
actions should be met with gratitude,
not repulsion and condemnation.


Let Us retrospect a little. There are
many here yet who pre-empted theii
land; who passed through the dark
days Of '59, and weatheEed the strin-
gent days consequent upon BLACK
Friday" and passed through the dark
valley of grasshopPeTs, when the land
was made barren, and gaunt starya-
ton stalked naked over our beautiful
prairies. Some passed through al
this, others. now among us, have re-
allied only a portion, while Others
still have borne the brunt of only in
dividuai ills, whose suffering must
have been great had not kind Prov
idence placed them near home mar
ket-a home market where few men
had souls that grieved 10 see men suf-
fer under circumstances over which
they had &c control. We allude tO
the credit system. To-day, perhaps,
no portion of our community are
more strongly censured for the pres
ent condition of the farming Interests
than the merchants. To comprehend
fully tie unfairness of this, we need
but to Temembe that no sane merch-
ant voluntarily offers or desires to sell
goods on tine; but on the contrary
the consumer is the one obliged, is
the one saved from actual or imagin-
arysuffering by the accommodation.
Viewed ia this light it is impossible
TO see why he should be viliified
and his business attempted to be de-
stroyed. The merchants Of this State
have bridged the way over terrible
chasms Of suffering, have put from
the lips of consumers the.bitter cup Of
want. In order to see this more full
IL let Us look into their ledgers there
we see on the credit side OF our own
little city not less than $75, coo at the
present writing, and this is a great
decrease from what ii has been in the
past. The interest which they have
to pay on this, compounded as they
are forced to at times, will not fall
short of Si0,0 600 annually; add to this
the Lack Of ability to purchase at cash
rates, aud we have anOth5r loss Of Gt
least s. 900, making 900, to this
may be safely added ten per cent for
bad debts and costs Of collecting, S.
039, making so, 600. The most ordi-
nary mind must see that all this must
be added TO the cost OF goods or no
man could transact business. Now,
all of this the consumer can have Oh
the cash system and only on that
system, for merchants cannot sell
goods without making living any
more than farmers can farm Tor moth
ing.


These ideas are suggested ny the
fact that the farmer is determined to
now 90 on the cash system and We
aver that he can do fully as well by
spending his cash at home as abroad.
1t is the most cruel Injustice TO have
received the benefit Of credit system,
10 have received aid in the hour Of
need, and then turn the cold should
er OH friends, and imperil their safe
ty. This has been seen by several
State Oranges, and the advice given
to first thoroughly try home merch-
ants. This is the council of reason
and fairness among men, and the on
~ council that will bring about pros
perity. Take into consideration the
above figures, the circumstances un-
der which they were made, and "do
as you would be done by"