Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-12-28
HARD TINES AT THE WEST

Mr. Greeley of the New York Tribune in
letter dated at Racine, Wisconsin, 10Th inst,
remarks as follows:
The hard year 1858 draws to a close. The
books Of 1889 are soon to be opened. have
been looking and inquiring through the region
bordering on Lake Michigan for a week past,
and shall devote the next week to that living
between the Illinois and the Mississippi 1
shall probably write again, and from fuller in
formation, at the close Of that week; mean
tune, let me sum up my present impressions.
The West Is very poor. | think a larger
proportion Of the people Of Michigan, Indiana,
Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. are under the
| harrow now than at any former period There
Is no real lack Of money, provided one has
| wherewlth to buyit; and what passes for mon
/ ey IS better article than that which usurped
the name year ago; but real estate, mort
cages, railroad stocks and bonds, notes Of hand,
/ and promises Of all kinds, are not the sort of
| property that easily tempts a moneyed man to
! open his safe or his pocket book There is on
all hands such a superabundance Of debt of va
rlous kinds that promises are a drug and faith
IN human solVency sadly alleged by skepti-
| clSm Very many want to borrow; very few
are anxious to lend, no matter at what rate or
on what security. Railroads partly construc-
ted, and there stopped for want of means
blocks Of buildings dittO-countes and cities
involved by the issue Of Railroad bonds and
practically Observation-Disclosures trying to
Stave OIL the satisfaction Of debts, obligations
judgments, eXecutiOns-such is the all but uni
yersal condition. Add to this that very few
seem at present to be thriving-that travel on
the Railroads is reduced to a point that, in
many cases, will not pay running expenses
hotels land Chicago alone has half dozen bet
ter than any New York could boast prior tc
the opening OF the Astor, while one, the New
| mad, IN Milwaukee, is barely exceeded by the
very bestin America or the world, )are far from
full-and you have a faint outline of the gen
eral depression. Among any other people but
ours, such revolution from the buoyant hopes
and brilliant prospects Of two years ago, would
sink thousands in dependency and utter men
tai prostration, and drive hundreds to suicide.
1T never rams but it pours." The times
would have been hard at best, since the West
is so generally and deeply in debt, but the
weather and the crops Of 1858 have made
things far worse than could have been expect
ed rain-rain-through the season of
planting and sowing, the season of wedding
and tilling the season of harvesting and curing,
has seriously restricted the area and the eff
cheney OF cultivation, and sadly diminished the
reward OF the husbandmans labors. | should
Judge that there were as many foul as fair
days IN the average throughout the Free West
during the months of May, June, July,
August October and November last When
the fields should have been mainly worked
they were for the most part bog, over which it
was useless to drive the miring horses and
cattle. The yield of wheat throughout this
region will average less than half crop-many
SIX bushels to the acre-that of oats is decid-
eddy worse-that Of Indian corn perhaps two
thirds OF crop, and may be three-fourths. Of
iced Tor cattle, there was of course enough
through the warm season, and presume there
IS enough also for Winter. OF vegetables,
there was fair average yield to the diminish
ed area planted regret to add that the seed
| ing OF Winter wheat for next years harvest
has been quite limited. 1t is certainly within
bounds to estimate the aggregate crop of these
hve States as worth less one hundred millions
OF douars-in other words their people are so
much short Of what they had reasonably calcu-
lated to be in their ability to liquidate their
debts from the proceeds of their labor in
1905. How this bears upon every department
OF industry and business, need hardly be hint
ed. l estimate the current receipts of the
stores, hotels and railroads for this Winter at
at less than half what they will be in season of
fair ordinary prosperity.
OF course, it is idle to grumble to scold or
to sue. Men can't pay what they have not,
and have no means Of procuring. You NAV
deprive them Of their means of earning and
ever paying; you may use up what little your
debtors have in useless law expenses but if
every debt due in the West were sued to-mor-
row, and its collection pressed with the most
merciless rigor, doubt that payment would
be much accelerated.