The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1854-09-20
And still the skypis

i fI1P :
! mosnhere. We have days Of murky haze, al
most Of cloudiness, but never one little drop
rain. Not since June, to the best OF our re
mem brance. have We had anything worthy te
he called rain, though two or three pretty show
ers afforded some fleeing refreshmentt to plants
early in July. Springs that never failed before
are now at their last gasp, many have been ut
terly dry for weeks. Since the great rain which
closed the month Of April, we have had moth
mo calculated to affect the sources of springs
These, we think, have not been SO low herea
: bout in thirty years as they are now. -.
We shall probably have rain Soon butte ,lt
tie purpose It will be too late for corn, too
late for potatoes, too late for garden vegetables
too late for buckwheat. 1t will help turnips
where there are any, be useful TO caooage, ahe
may give US late and .scanty supply OF tai
feed, but it cannot ensure US toleraole Produc
of butter and cheese, it cannot give us more
than half crop of corn, nor even so large
yield of potatoes In spite OF the DounteouS
harvest in Wisconsin and part of Iowa,n Texas
and most of the cotton growing region, and q
the moderate yield in southern Ohio, northern
Indiana and northern Illinois, we shall have
the shortest crop of Indian corn grown IN this
country this century with two exceptions. The
first was that CT 1916, caused by the extraor-
binary cold of the entire season-for there was
snow in June nearly all over New England and
frost in every month"; the second was that OF
1886, produced by the wet, cold and backward
spring Butin both of these years. though corn
was more deficient than now, grass was good,
and potatoes better than this year. We doubt
whether the aggregate Of loss in either year
was greater than that which now confirms us.
We estimate the total corn crop of the United
States for this year at less than two-thirds OF
an average, or not above fifteen bushels per
acre. There are thousands on thousands of
acres that will not yield five bushels, many in
fact, that will never be harvested at all. One
heavy, general, soaking rain on the 1st of Au-
gust would have added at least one hundred
millions of dollars to the aggregate value Of
our crop for the current year. The total def
cheney of the corn crop can not fall below two
hundred millions of bushels, worth one hun
dred millions of dollars for much of our corn
is usually worth seventy cents to dollar
per bushel on the farm where it is grown, and
the loss on roots, grass and vegetables can not
fall below another equal amount In other
words, the harvest of this year will be worth to
the country two hundred millions of dollars less
than we had reason to suppose it would be one
little month ago. This loss will not all fall on
the farmers, they will be partially compensated
for deficiency of yield by enhancement of price,
but that merely shifts part of the harden from
their shoulders to Others The aggregate loss
is quite as severe as if fire, flood or some other
terrible calamity had swept property worth two
hundred millions of dollars completely out of
existence.
The magnitude of the loss can only be ap-
preciated upon reflection and comparison. The
total cost of the Mexican was computed by Mr.
Corwin, when secretary of the treasury, at two
hundred and fourteen millions. but that was
spread over several years of general prosperity,
while sixty millions of it, 10y means of nation
al debt, was cast upon the future. The great
fire in our city in Dec, 1885 was generally held
to have sensibly contributed to the season of
disaster and bankruptcy which commenced the
next year. The excessive importations of 1916
II and 1856, were undoubtedly most influential
in bringing on the tremendous commercial re-
vulsion which so speedily followed; yet it may
be we'll questioned whether the short crops of
1918 SO were not the deeper and true cause of
those seasons of calamity. Not that the heavy
importations were other than most untlmely
and injurious, but their i'll effects were greatly
by the coincident deficiency of our f
harvests. Such importatlons must have caused
trouble any how, but no such sweeping deyas- :
tations as were actually experienced, because '
Of the large demands to meet the cost of goods 5
occurring simultaneously with our extreme in
ability to pay. We needed all the food we pro- e
1uced. and had but few millions worth of !.
lotion and other non edible products wherewith
o pay for over one hundred and fifty millions f.
worth of European metals, wares and fabrics ii
imported that year. Audit will be found equal a
y impossible this year to pay for all the goods
lready received from Europe, or now on the
way. The means Of paying for them do not h
xst, and they must either be held over for better
ines, re-exported, ruinousy sacrificed, or sold Il
0 consumers who will never pay for them st
IN. Y. Tribune 81
1t is exceedingly amusing to peruse the raj is
wing calls put forth by the democratic press, m
II the purpose of getting the various factions j.,
omprising that party together. Here is spe- u u
linen, taken from the Harrisburg (Penn Il
telegraph, Of the Goth ult:
Free democrats, remember, that gov. Bigler L
dvocated and signed a bill granting the use g
our prisons for the confinement of fuei- %
We slaves; that he recommended an act per- =,
hitting masters to carry their slaves through y,
pennsylvania; that he pardoned Albert, the
GLORIOUS kldnapper, that his official journals at
Philadelphia and Harrisburg, are strongly Pc
| favor of the Nebraska Kansas infamv; and
lat he has repeatedly said to leading demo- 10
rats in Harrisburg, that he approves of the tn
rlnclples of that measure.
Nebraska democrats, remember, that on the tn
ay of his denomination, speaker Chase heard de
ov Bgler say, gentlemen, if the democratic
invention pass resolutions in favor of the Ne. p
raska bill, it must nominate another candi- VI
ate, tor will not endorse and run upon such p
PLATFORM ty
Antl-Jesult democrats, remember that GOV. M
'gler was the means of placing Campbell at tn
he head of the post office department; that he +.
as appointed several of the same faith to i'm e.
9rtant offices; and that he or his particular til
lends have selected catholics to preside over OF
the democratic State conventions, since he
as elected governor. a er
Lager Beer democrats, remember, that GOV II; IN
lgler has written letter to doct. John Patrick
edglng himself to sign any constitutional pro- of