The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-07-15

Island TO Niagara, there never has been, we
dare say, more generally liberal expenditure
for the comfortable reception of the public at
our summer watering places than has been
staked upon the expected business of the pre-
cent season. At cur popular seaside resorts,
and q the various choice localities Of our sum-
mer birds Of pleasure, ol1 places and new,
among the hills, mountains, lakes, rivers aud
springs q the Interior, hoteliheepers aud board
inghcae prcprie,ors, greet and small, have
WED with each other In their preparations for
. brisk season and a GOLDEN harvest Aud what
10 the result General diss ppoIatmen, and COM
pMatively empty houses The season has
hardly commenced when the carnival should
be At its height. What aalays our summer
birds of passage 70 the sesstore, the lakes, the
springs and the mountains Whittier have
they flown.
These hriefioquiries may Ice hrieay answered,
although they cover a werk OF interesting
facts, Suggestions and admouitions. The
principal and the more mandate causes
Of this present unpromising state Of things
al our summer resorts are-the speculative
bubble Of ls53--the war, the drought, the pes
thence aud famine, and the financial reac lion
Of 1854 the hard times with the middling
classes In squaring up their accounts for 1855,
and the attractions Of our Atlsntic steamers
and "Trip TO Europe 10 our wealthy people,
60 whom Saratoga he's become . thrice told
tale Newport perfect bore, and Niagara
vulgar locality Of suspension bridges. locomo-
tiycs, saw mills and pail factories.
The bubble OF 1853 vas blown up chiefly by
our New York Crystal Palace II was the adj
ditional feather which breke the canel's back,
in the impetus which II gave to our foreign
imports and to our domestic sales and coaoump-
ton Of foreign goods; and in the correspond
ing impulse given 10 the prices. Of houses and
lots and ali sorts OF speculations In real estate
stocks and kite-fying experiments. Rents
went up, new buildings went up on every
hand, labor went up. Money was abundant
credit was abundant, and there was abundance
Of employment and subsistence for all classes
Extravaganza followed, In fashionable "trip
peries and folles; while the yellow fever, in
New Orleans and along the Mexican Gulf
drove thousands of wealthy Southern people
to the North for the summer. Our seashore
fashionable csravansaries were crowded, and
our most inaccessible mountain corners were
0verrun with strange visiters. The city OF
New York was never 70 full Of people |
before, and our hotels were never so crowded |
with liberal cash.paying customers. Such was
the grand carnival Of speculation, extravaganza
and FOLLY Of 1858; but the bill OF the pipers
brought up the reaction in 1854, in double |
quick time.
The exporting houses Of Europe called upon
our importers, aud they upon the merchants of
the interior and SO on until the whole commu-
nifty were involved in the hard business OF coli
Letting money for the debts and expenses Of
1863 Then came on the war with Russia our
general drought, the cholera, the Schuyler
frauds fires, floods, and q succession of marine
disasters, never experienced within 80 short a
time before. There was a general panic, a
general suspension or curtailment OF business
Of all kinds, and the imminent hazard OF a
general revulsion, like that OF 1887, stared us
boldly in the face. Stocks, real estate, build
ings, every thing except the prime necessities
OF life, went down with run, while breadstufs
and provisions went up TO famine prices.
Thus, the winter of 1s44-5 presented the
extraordinary anomaly of q state of suf-
fering from starvation among the unem-
ployed thousands Of our working classes Of
the North, scarcely without parallel since
the bread riots in Paris, which ushered in the
horrible first French revolution.
The spring Of 1855 came slowly to our relief.
Credi and bushes 81 had received a shock from
which neither prudence, nor economy, nor re-
turning confidence and cap abilitics for active
enterprises could speedily restore. Us. era
dually, however, as the prospect Of Astounding
crops has bri ghtened into fruition, the pressure
upon us has been lessened, until at length the
whole business community has risen again to
its feet, somewhat feeble and trembling still,
from its late prostration, but still gradually
recovering strength Yet, while the working
classes have had TO commence life over again
all their little savings of past years having
been absorbed-the solid middle ranks Of
society have so far suffered from the hard
times" that they have little or nothing to
spare for a summer froic to the seashore or
the mountains.
On the other hand, our wealthy citizens,
who have escaped the apprehended disasters
Of another epoch like that which was wound up
in the general bankrupt law Of lsil, and VINO
feel that they may congratulate themselves
upon the prospects before US, feel, too, that
they are authorized to enjoy the summer
upon a liberal scale. And SO, Saratoga,
Newport, Niagara and such places, hay-
ing become an old story and Paris,
under the auspices o: Louis Napoleon, the En-
press and their Crystal palace having become
all the rage our accustomed visters to the
seaside and the interior of our own country,
are off by the Collins, Gun ard ard Havre
steamers to England, Paris, the Rhine, the Alps
and Italy. With the opening Of the great