The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1858-01-21
uornce C,ree,ey I'm the Yves,

some interesting letters to the Tribunt. He
7 thnks the western merchants are not prepared
! to pay more than 25 per cent. OF their eastern
: Indebtedness that at least onehalf of their in
, debtedness is not coIectsble, and that the
: amount of dry goods demanded throughout the
North hWest in 1853, will not be more than half
{ that Of 1856 or 1857. OF the farmers, he says
!, in his letter from Chicago: 'Ho't H.t
j The Farmrs are poor They have generally
good crops, and their farms are better stocked
than hitherto: but they paid high prices for the
labor required to make and secure those crops
aud must now sell for less than half the prices
they confidently expected last summer Wheat,
throughout this region, will not average fifty
\ cents per bushel at the farmers doois, which,
after dcducting the cost Of harvesting al twenty
shillings per day, and of threshng and cleaning,
leaves but a moderate balance TO the grower
considerably less than S5 per acre for land,
fencing, seed, blowing, sowing, &c! Very few
farmers can buy their daughters silk dresses and
fashionable bonnets out of that; and it is no
easier paying for those bought last year in the
fond anticipation Of selling wheat this winter
at ten or twelve shillings per bushel." i
In his letter from Davenport, Mr.. Greeley
urges upon the West the propriety of encour-
aging home manufa cture, by which home mar
ket can be secured for the surplus products. The
whole letter is so full of practical ideas and good
suggestions that We transfer it entire to the
columns of the Journal: r .r .ri r
| MANUFACTURES. Such times as these exhibit
strkingly the need OF manufactures throughout
this fertile and productive region. Five-sixths
of the boots and shoes worn by the farmers of
the Northwest are made in New England by
workmen who are paying seventy-five cents to
dollar per bushel for the corn which those farm
ers are selling ior twenty to thirty cents per
bushel Owing to the commercial arrangement,
muny shoemakers cannot find shoes TO make,
and SO are scantly supplied with corn while
tho farmers can hardly sell their corn so as TO
| be able pay for the shoes their children need.-
Were fifty thousand shoemakers transplanted
this winter from New England to the tributa-
ries Of the Upper Mississippi, there would be
ample work here for the whole of them, and
they would be better recompensed than they
now can be. Every pair OF shoes that now
nets the maker but one to two bushels of corn
would command three to six bushels il the ma
ker were located ie this land of plenty. Out of
every thousand bushels Of com now sent to
New England to pay for boots and shoes, one
hundred is expended in getting the residue to
the railroad, aud six hundred more in conveying
| the balance to its conSumers, SO that bat three
hundred bushels actually reach the latter, who,
! if they were located here, would receive at least
nine hundred bushels for the same labor or pro-
duct that now nets them three hundred. So
with iron, hardware, cloths, crockery, &C., &c
The earnings of industry are deranged by fac
titous and thritteSs commerce.
! rejoice in the belief that this waste cannot
continue, and that the present disruption is cal
culated to hasten its end. | believe the West
will henceforth import proportlonally lever
shoes and more shpemakors because OF it, and
! that thousands Of III chanlcs, manufacturers and
artisans, whom " the pressure has broken up
or thrown out Of gear in the East, will find
work and permanent homes in the West Ot
course, the season OF transition will be trying
one. Many will suffer in health from the
| change some will locate in judiclouSly ; Others
will have difficulty in finding work, and will
have their turn of home sickness; some will so
back, protesting that there Is no chance in the
| West; but nine -tenths will stay, and the West
and they will profit by their migration. Thus
the great revusion, though depressing and dis
astruus in its immediate mflnanCes, will ulti-
mately strengthen and build up the West By
| stopping the manufacture OF prophetic cities, by
reducing the price of londs, the rent of build
| ings, aud the cost of food and stock it will
dave thousands out OF speculation, and draw
tens of thousands Mther 10 catlvate the earth
and cover it with whatever conduCeS to the sus
! lenance, enlightenment and comfort OF human
! kind.
II H. TRADG.-The commercial system of the
i West must undergo important modihcations,-
Far fewer merchants Will hencetorth make an
uual or semi-annual pilgrmages to The seaboard
| in quest of goods. There is no good reason why
five thousand should spend their time and money
on Journey OF Il thousand miles and back after
goods that two huulred could buy far more ju-
diciousiy aul alvantagaously. Hereafter, Chi
! cago, D,lroit, Cincinnati, Dubuque, Davenport,
i Burlington, Quincy aud ST. Louis will be each
i the centre of more or less important jObOlng
i business, and the merchants OF the rural towns
and settlements will buy their goods oil one or
the other, keeping small stocks, and repenishing
them frequently, Instead of buying several thou
sand dollars worth at once, aud replenlshinS
!, but once or twice year. This will increase the
trade ami wealth of tn inland cities, an give
stability ami certainty To that OF the seabolrd.
The importers aud jobbers OF the great cities
Fl will sell on credit only to dealers well known to
+, them as upright and responsible, and will know
that their pay will be forthcoming precisely
when due. The inland jobbers will give but
very Short credits, If any, anu Will have their
customers constantly under sup rvision. Fewer
q goods than now will be bought, bat more will
!, be paid tor Thus the trials OF 1887 Will not
!, havs been endured IN VAIN,
: ILL., MINERALS Illinois is probably the great
est coal State IN the Union, white Missouri sur
= passes her in iron. Each, however, has an
abundance of either mineral Lead abouadS IN
! these and in Wisconsin also, and the number
engaged in digging for it has largely Increased
this winter The r5sion north -weSt OF the
! Ohio ought TO produce her own iron, aud ex
! port coal, lead and copper. She will hardly dc
so we'll as this in 1858, capital being especially
shy OF the iron business but the Time WI
: come. ith an efficient protective larlh we
: miuht put all our surplus labor at work IN ou
. mi4rs aud factories within month, and be ex
!, porting iron within five years. 1t may TAXI
II hny, or even hundred, To reach thut point uu
y der oar present system; butit must be reached
- at last
J ~. The times are clearly improving. Their
: has been change for lh' batter even since
; came West, some ten or twelve days ago. Kate
:, of exchange are iqlling. Banks that were II
~ dfhcultics are resuming Shinpasler and wild