The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-31

The use and enjoyment of the produce of his hands;
but it is irresstiby forced upon his mind that year
after year his land will rise in value, and that at
future time it will attain certain assigned rate.
His thoughts are bent not upon the original price,
/ not upon the immediate selling price, but
upon this future contingent and prospective
price, always taken at a high rate. The soberest
! man, thoroughly settled down, who has made
homestead for his children, nurses the thought that
some years hence his farm or station will be Of
certain given value; and this governs all his ideas
with regard to it, and his ideas and conversations as
to his neighbors land. Wilder imaginations more
eager spirits seek to realize the prospective advances;
and many specially devote themselves to land deal
ings, as in the old wafld to horse gambling, mining
high or Lev character or Of greater or less extent:
and just Al in Cornwall all have greater or less
taste for mines, and in Yorkshire for horses so in
the new continents all dabble in land
There IL great encouragement to land dealing,
which secures the adhesion Of the steadiest holder,
and it consists in the constant advance in tie value
of wild land with the spread of population Al.
Though in depressed colony, as all our colonies and
all the Western States have been at times lands may
he thrown on the market and sold at very low rates.
yet the steady holder always comes out with a
higher value the longer he holds. It is an invest
ment of an accumuatve character like woodland in
England, which, although not yielding yearly in
come, gives an aggregate accumulated return when
realized.
The fever and the greed for money, which mark
colonial population more strongly than the home
population, because there wanting the softening
influences of the old country lead to eager efforts to
become suddenly rich by land speculations: and as
| in mining, Potosi Devon Great Consols and Burra-
Burra prizes leading on thousands to proftess
ventures by the dazzling charm of their enormous
returns, so the wonderful transformations from prai
RE wastes to cities Astounding in wealth. luxury and
population. encourage the land Spectator to invest
in likely lots, with water privileges mill power and
the chance of the stream of westward emigration
and eastward expectation passing through and gid
ing the path with wealth. Chicago and Melbourne
81.
born but yesterday to lure thousands of adventu
rers; for there is ordinary site which may not be-
come great city, and few places so remote or so
barren but that they may look to goody increase.
Therefore lands are taken up at low price and held
at speculative value.
Such is the case with regard to rural land, but
town lots have no less claims on the town popula-
lions. New York has spread over commons swamps,
and strand, and planted suburbs the neighbor
ing shores Its growth in population and size has
been rapid but the increase in rents has been enor
| NOUS 1t might be expected that the central tho
roughares would improve in value as the suburban
population extended, but the increase in rent has
gone far beyond that and year after year rents have
been raised throughout New York. The habits of
the population migrating from fiat to fiat and from
| house to house. favor for longer time than would
be expected the cannon effort of the landlords for
raising rents; and indeed, as the whole community
are engaged in seeking enhanced prices for houses
and unbut lots and blocks they scarcely rise in
insurrection against the oppressive influence, al
| though many grumble and the poor feel it.
The mechanic who Is saving money buys lot, be-
cause he can fairly expect an enhanced value greater
than the ordinary return of Interest," while, having
good registered title, he knows what he holds; and
| in no money investment in bank or railway bonds
| or on mortgage can he feel secure. The man who
| has than enough for his subsistence, and who
is yearly putting by money has not the necessity for
q regular yearly return on his investment, as he
! looks only to future accumulated value.
Thus, from one motive or another, the greater
| part of the community are engaged in general
scheme in which every one is to become rich-all
| who can hold eventually to become so, those who
can sell rapidly at improved prices to grow wealthy
at once; and 50 regime OF artificial prices is Great
ed, regularly rising long as the operations
checked-for such is the physiology of speculations
but as a matter of course attended with sudden
| downfall whenever these fictitious and assumed
prices are brought to the test Of the market on
considerable scale Then, instead Of land being an
article of steady price. as in the Old World, is a
drug because it Is unproductive or little productive,
because prospective or contingent in its results,
and not immediate and certain
As land in time, and to great extent represents
a positive value, the adventtous operations in il
become connected with real transactions and basis
is prepared for most fearful panic such regular
~ besets the American States and the colonies from
time to time, and to which European panic of 1925
or 1857 bears no comparison; but which rather, in
its prostration. resembles a revolutionary crisis,
whole classes being reduced from opulence to beg
gary and whole communities, corporstely and indi-
viduslly becoming insolvent but less permanent in
its influence because the growing resources Of the
country soon restore the population to the wealth
II is not that the land and town specuations of
themselves create panics, but that they greatly in
crease the effect OF panics. while they promote the
spirit of speculation gambling and greed after sud
| den wealth. Speculations in wool, cotton, sugar,
and manufactures are less disastrous, because the
fluctuations in price are not great, a. there are
positive commodities in hand: but when wild land.
prairie, bush. sheep runs and town lots brought
TO the hammer the fluctuations are great and the
depreciation enormous and in so far "a they consti
tute the assets of the merchant storekceper of
his customers, their forced realization is ruinous,
and leaves him an nsolyent before his foreign ere.
| dtor AMERICAN SPECULATION.
In conjunction with this vast land speculation, the
United States have been the scene Of various great
operations, which being simultaneously wound up,
have aggravated the severity Of the crisis and con-
stituted panic. The railway system has been
mously extended in the United States. because each
community knows the advantages of II and Is desi-
| rous OF enjoying them by any means believing that
the pecuniary results may In time be sufficient TO
repay the outlay and being perfectly regardless Of
who finds the capital or what Is the fate Of the CAPT
talst. A railway act is eagerly and freely granted
| by Western Legislature sitting in the woods; and
the protector president director who gets together
| capital by any means and lays down the road Is re-
garded as national behefao.or. What happens to
| the shareholders who invest the money j. quite
secondary consideration. The formation Of a rail.
/ way j. often political engine for the improvement
Of district, and is conducted on the political code
OF morality by political Adventures The lines have,
therefore, as general rule, been very loosely
Quoted both in the East and the West: large divi.
dends have been declared from the first paid out Of
capital. fresh capital has been raised TO pay them,
and the future has been drawn upon to supply the
present Wisconsin or Michigan has got its railway,
| and whether Downeasters or Brtishers hold the
bonds does not dsquiet the passengers and freight
ers. who. besides having railway, are in some cases
INDUCED with it, free use. or with unremuneratve
rates Of fare and toll This course of proceeding has
been carried on TO such an extent that railway
boards became insolvent one after anoher suspicion
was aroused inquiry made. discredit was thrown on
board after board aud general collapse has taken
place
In these operations the spirit OF land speculation
IL TO he clearly traced for many Of the companies
much land a. railway speculatons endowed
with large grants OF alternate sections Of the public
lands, and relying upon the sale of these at inn
proved price for the supply Of funds rather than
existing traffic. Coincidenty with the progress Of
railways they have In many districts destroyed the
| nm canala and i,,,vr nd