New-York daily tribune., 1854-08-25
TIE GREAT CALAMITY.


no electric fa.h to purify and renovste the heavy
atmosphere. We have days oi murky haze, almost
Of cloudiness; We have even east winds occasionally
for hours; but never little drop OF rain. Not
since June to the best OF our remembrance, have
we had anything worthy 10 be called rain, though
two or three petty showers afforded some dieting
refresbment to plants early in july. Spriags that
never failed before now az their la.t gasp; many
have been utterly dry for weeks. SInce the great
rain which closed the month OF April, we have had
nothing calculated to affect the sources OF springs
These, We think, have DOT been 50 low herea5olt
in thirty years as they now are
We shall probably have soon, but to little pur-
pose II will be too late for Corn too late for Po-
iatoes; too late for Garden Vegetables; too late tor
ckwhest. 1t will help Turuips where shere are
any be ful to Cabbsse, and may give late ani
scsIty supply OF Fall Feed; but il cannot ensure u
tolerable product of Butter and Cheese; it cannot
give US more than half crop Of Coru nor even 50
large yield OF Potatoes. In spite OF the bosnseous
harvest in WiscOnsn and part Of Iowa. in Texas and
most Of tie cOttougtO@iDg region, and OF the moder-
ate yield in Southern ONO. Northern Indians ana
Northern Illinois, shall have the shOrtet crop OF
Indian Corn gTown in the county this century With
two exceptions. Tie first was that OF l5lo, caused
by the rdiDary Geld OF the entire sessen-for
there was snow 10 June nearly ali New England
and frost in every month Of the year; roe second @as
that of 1896 produced by the wet. cold ami back
ward Spring. But in both of these years though
Com more deficient thau now. CT ass was good,
aud Potatoes better than this year. We doubt
whether the aggregate Of loss in either year was
greater than that which now confrouts
We estimate the total Com crop OF the United
States for this year at less than two thirds Of
average, or not above fifteen bushels per There
are thousands on thousands Of acres that will not
yield FIVE busbes-mauy, ia fact, toat will never be
harvested at all One heavy, general soaking rain
oD the lst of August would have added at Least One
Hundred Millions OF Dollars the aggregate value
Of crop for the current year. Tue total defcien.
cy Of the Corn crop cannot fall below Two Hundred
Millions of bushels, worth Que Hundred Millions OF
DOllars-tor much of our Corn is usually worth
seventy i've cents to dollar per bushel on the farm
where it is grown; and the loss Oh Roots Grass and
Vegetables cannot fall below another equal amount
In other words the Harvest If this year will be
worth to the country Two Hundred Millions of Dol
lars less than we had reason to suppose it would be
one little mouth sgo. 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 burden from their
shoulders to others. The aggregate loss is quite
severe ss if fire. flood or some terrible c-am.
ity had swept property worth Two Hundred Millions
Of Dollars co npletely cut of existence.
The magnitude of the loss can only be appreciated
upon reflection and comparison. The total cost of
~ ~ NlrC
Secretary Of the Treasury. at Two Hundred and
Fourteen Millions; but that was spread several
yeurs of general prosperity wnile Sixty Millions Of
it, ty means of National Debt, was cast upon the
future. The Great Fire in City in Dec. 1885
was generally held to have sensiby contributed to
the season OF disaster and bankruptcy which COM
menced the next year. Tne excessive importations
OF lSl6l7 and 1896 were und' ub.edly most infuen-
tal in bringing the tremendous commercial revuI-
sion which speedily iOowed yet it may DO well
questioned whether the Short Crops Of 1916 and '36
not the deeper ami truer of tboe
of calamity. NOr that the heavy import atoms
other than most untimey and uious; but their ill
effects were greatly intensified by the coincident de-
fceDcy OF our Harvests Such Inp0rta lions must
have caused trouble any how, but no such sweeping
devastations as were actua ly experienced, be-
cause Of the large demands to meet the cost
Of goods occurring simultaneously with our extreme
inability to pay. We needed all the food we pro.
duced, and had but few Millions worth of Cotton
and other non.edibe products wherewith to pay for
over One Hundred and Fifty Millions worth of Euro
pean Metals, Wares and Fabrics imported that year.
And it will be found equally impossible this year to
pay for all the goods already received from Europe
or now on the way. The means Of paying for them
do not exist and they must either be held over for
better times reexported ruinously dced or sold
to consumers who will never pay for them
Ia the face of this heavy vistaton-of Providence,
as many will say, though it might be more instructive
to call it visitation of mprovidence, brought upon us
by wreched system Of sem-b irbariau Guilty. atom
1ithOu, half powiDg soils just about haf lIing,
and not at ali draining irrgatins ihem-the ds,il.
eres are still devourug something like One Million
bushels Of Grain per day. converting the staff of life
into deadly anS crime-incitDg poison. Dear as food
now is, !. Is likely to be dearer, while Millions worth
per week is transformed into the most demoniac aud
mschiefmaking fluid that insulted the ,unty of
Heaven But for tlis we should even yet have bread
enough and to spare and might pay Europe promptly
for all the imports actually need. How long shall
this fearful waste and dey yastation-hs sacrifice of
.re sustenance Of the poor to bloodier idol than Mo-
loch-be protected and encouraged by law
s--
THE BOMBAHDMENT OF SAN JUAN,
We copy in another place the comments of three of