University of Virginia Library

LETTER IX.

The Major gives Notice of his Journey to Philadelphia
and New-York, to find out where all the Money has
gone.

My good old friend,—Since I wrote to
you last week, we have seen so much said in
the papers about money being so scarce in
York, and other places north,—some saying
it is all owing to 'Squire Biddle, and some to
Amos Kindle, and some to me and `the Goverment'—that
the Gineral wants me to go

right off and look into it, and put it to rights;
for the Gineral says if there is any ailing in
money in one place, it will spread jest like the
Colera Morbus, and if it gets to Washington,
we shall be in a bad way, for nigh upon all
on 'em here can't stand much of a squeeze.
The Gineral says he don't want to have any
thing secret about it, and that I must write to
him through the papers, for then all our folks
can read it at once, and won't pester him
about it.

I start to-morrow mornin afore day light.
I'll stop a day or so in Philadelphy, and see
how things go on there, and then look into
York. If I can only get a fair talk with some
of them 'ere folks in Wall-street, I'll get to the
bottom of it in a minit.

I know there is money enuff somewhere—
folks don't eat it—and what the Gineral wants
me to find out is, where the money is, and
what on earth is the reason folks can't get it
when they want it.