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On The Fourth Page Will Be Found A Letter From Dr. Denton, O...

On The Fourth Page Will Be Found A Letter From Dr. Denton, O... image
Parent Issue
Day
15
Month
April
Year
1844
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

On the fourth page will be found a letter from Dr. Denion, of this place to a meeting of Farmers in Adrián, showing bow very large a proportion of what ia earned in the whole community is consumed by those who had no part in its production. The facts and suggestions in this letter will interest every thinking man, whether he agrees with all the positions of the writer or not. por our part, we have not best owëd on the subject that accurate and systematic course of thought which is an indispensable prerequisite to enlarged views and stable opinions. That a very large proportion of the wealth of society is eat up by non-producer;?, is a fact obviáis to all, and we believe the proportion consumed by the non-producers is ou the increase, and the earnings of the laborer are trenched on more and more as the employments of society multiply, and population becomes dense. m At first view, we question the correctnessof some of the positions in this letter That the value of goods doubles by transportation from New York, added to the profits of the several merchants 'through whose hands they pass, may be true. But that any feasible plan can be devised by which the consumer can obtain his goods at any considerable reduction, remains to be provcd. We would suggest to our readers whó may wish to investígate the subject, to commence at the other end of the process, and say, here is a man who earns one dollar a day, or $300 a year. At the end of the year, what has become of it? What proportion has been paid out to non-producers - what portion lost, and for what has the borer received a fair equivalent? It is our opinión that the system of buying and selling on credit generally is one of the greatcst evils under which society labors, and consumes, directly or indirectly, ono fourth of all the earnings of community. Suppose a laborer wishes to purchase $300 worth of goods for his fainily, ifhe buys them all at retail, on credit, he will get no more goods than $225 in cash would purchase at once. Here is a dead loss of $75 from a years' wages. Then cast up the vast sums paid to constables, sheriífs, lawyers, clerks, judges, witnesses, jurors, arbitrators, appraisers, &c, for suits originaiing only in debt. Then add to this the immense amount of labor bestowed othervvise in the collection of debts, all of which comes out of the producers, and you will have an astonishing aggregate of consumption occasioned purely by being in debt. But as our other avocations preclude us from doingjustice to the subject, we will stop short at once, merely giving it as our opinión, that the Laborer who would thrive himself, and have his country prosper, as far as possiblc, sliould do business on thepay down principie, make his purchases as much by wholesale as he can, and cut DOWN THE SALARIES OP NON-PRODUCING OFFICE-HOLDERS TO THE LEVEL OP TUE IïiCOIUE OP PRODUCEBS.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Signal of Liberty