The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1854-12-20

to our readers IN the city ana Stalt.
There is no truth more undeniable than 1t IS
the bounden duty Of every community to sup
port its mechanics. They are a worthy and IN
dispensable class Of men, and we find no town
or village fourishing without their aid. Indeed
their presence or absence is always true index
Of the condition Of the place whetherit is ad-
vancing in wealth and importance, Or sinking IN
decay. Whenever we pass through village
and hear the frequent sound Of the carpenter
hammer, the clink Of the blacksmith's anvil
that village, we say to ourselves, IS flourishlng
It cannot be otherwise, for the producers are
actively employed, and outnumber the consul
mers. Whenever and wherever this is the case,
the people are growing wealthy, and at the same
time training up the rising generation to habits
of industry and morality. Where, if village
pursue the opposite of this course neglects its
mechanics and supports those Of some foreign
town-those who can, will be compelled to go
to some other place, and those who are com
PEELED by the force of circumstances to remain,
will become idle and prohigate-they will cease
to produce and be consumers-in few years
they become beggars and their children igno-
rant and vicious.
If there is any truth in the assertion that We
ought, as nation. to give the preference to do
mestic manufactures, the fact is equally true
with regard to the community, both are sus-
tanned by the same arguments. 1t a merchant
would have around him substantial customers,
let him by every means in his power support
and foster the mechanics Of his village, and as
they become more wealthy their custom will in
crease, especially in those articles on which he
makes the greatest profits, for it is undeniable,
that as men become more wealthy, they also
become more luxurious, and no merchant will
deny that articles Of luxury always afford the
greatest profits. The habit of importing large
quantities of cheap and half made articles in
with our village mechanics, is short
sighted and wrong, both as regards the me-
chanic and consumer, and if the merchant would
look further into the operation of things, he
would find that he crossed the path of his own
interest by doing so. Let the merchant bring
the case to his own door, and he perhaps may
better understand it, suppose that every indi-
vidual who possesses the means land who uses in
his family four or FIVE hundred dollars worth
of goods per annum, should instead OF buying
of him at retail, go to some city wholesale es-
Enlistment and purchase his years supply
would he not in bitterness condemn such an IL
liberal course, and would he not say to him with
truth that he was warning against his own inter-
est, by destroying the business Of his town and
giving it to another, and that his littleness would
react upon him in double fold by the decrease
Of his property and business! So, in the case
above nstanced could the mechanic say the
same to, the merchant-we say, then, let all
classes support each other, and by mutual ex-
changes, keep that wealth at home, which, if
expended abroad tends to destroy
The business of your neighbor, and which in
turn destroys yours. /
HARD T1MEs-There is more truth than
poetry in the following, which we extract from
The Baltimore correspondence of the Washing
on Star:
Our country at present is in very bad way.
People have been living too high. Pride, that
by which angels have fallen, has a
earful responsibility, and must be called to
Tread account in answering for these sins.
ladies must appear in hundred and five hun
ired-yea thousand dollar dresses. a hand
,erchief worth less than So and S 5 is rare, and
s25 and even $50 is common. The beautiful
md fashionable Miss G. cannot be allowed to
tut do Miss A. Hence an emulation is engen-
Tered, stomachers of gems glitter upon young
lamsels until their fathers purses groan and
ny for mercy. Miss M. is out shopping, she
makes bills here and there, but a day of reckon
ng comes, and even now is at hand.
Fast young men cannot move upon the re-
scale. They have graduated in that
chool whose maxim is, $50 it while you're
'oung!' Broadcloth of the finest texture land
ii else in proportion, must be sported. Fast
,orses, dogs guns, and other appendages kept.
Good wines, brandes and similar Injuries can
lot be done without. To sum up all in nut
hell, these elegant gentlemen and exquisite
aides are emphatcally consumers. They do
othing, produce nothing and their gold, or
hat of their fathers, goes indirectly to Europe
o pay for articles which are absorbed in moth
ng. A FIVE hundred dollar veil, thousand
olar silk dress or a hundred dollar kerchief, !
when reduced to it's intrinsic substance-that is,
shes-has not more than nutriment enough to
ructify ten grains Of wheat By this system
f astliying, superinduced through false pride,
europe gets our gold and we get our dross Is
to be wondered, then, that people complain
# hard times and tight money market. Young
Gentlemen and young ladies, ponder upon these
hings! Think, while you are votaries of pride
nd apers Of abominable fashion, that your
athers may be writhing in mental agony, and
oaded, bowed to the very earth with pecuniary
Beauty may, for time,
hine attractiyely in borrowed plumage, but
when unmasked is repulsive. I would rather
wear garment Of lnsey -woolsey, paid for,
lave an easy conscience and be free from debt,
han wear the crown the Bourbons wore-a
ubject, yes, even slave, Of the importuning,
perhaps unfeeling creditor or merciless dun.
According to the Lafayette Ind. Journal,
he prisoners in the Jail at that place have a
oily good time every day. 1t says: Through
he kindness Of the jailor they have been pro-
'ided with violin, and one ofthe number be-
ng good player, they have frequent cotillon
parties, or stag dances, which have the adyan-
age of being select without that stiffness and
ormality peculiar to such entertainments in
higher circles. They have recently made
yaluable acquisition to their number. An tin /
Grant Snowman, who had fallen into the clutch /
IS ofthe law, and, owing to the tightness Of the
money market, was unable to pay the cost, and
vas Gagged to satisfy the insulted dignity ofthe
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