Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1859-05-28
The war ir Ear0pe-Ita Easots On t..e west

ian the recollactions OF cur farmers. and In
diced Of all Western people, to call for an,
argument on the probable effects, ID tbi
part of the world, Of similar strife at tb,
present inncture.
Il will be remembered that the price,
| Of flour, grain, meats, and nearly All iii,
Iproducts Of the north vest, rose to figure
which made il seem that the good tims
coming had actually come The abstrac
ton OF quarter Ct a million of men il
the Old World frofh the ayocatons 8
peace, requiring to be fed aud clothed, anC
producing nothing but empty stomach
continually; the closing Of ports from
whence the surplus products Of othe
countries were shipped to the markets o
The world; The diversion Of capital from
the usual channels of commerce to The
great business Of kiling-aIl these com
bined TO set a premium on the staples 81
the West, and resulted III the nlost re-
lnarkable harvest Of dollars we had ever
enjoyed. Bit another effect, not nearly
SO agreeable, will be equally well renem-
bered. The initiation Of prices and the un.
woated prosperity consequent upon these
unnatural conditions, induced tho belief
that that state of things was TO last for
ever, and the investments and expenditure;
of the country were regulated very mucI
ION that opinion. Hence, when TIE wal
ceased, as all wars must cease, the price,
Iof wheat, corn and beef came precipitately
down to their 70 mer asGtu quo, there was
not only very general aud grievous dis
appointment, coupled with heavy failures
in different parts Of the country, but it >,as
found hat the benefits expected to accrue
to the West from the long continued sea
son of high prices, were only partially re-
allied. Money soon began to be tight
lSpeculations of all sorts became unpleas-
antly slow, or took turn adverse to tic
Spectator, and times got harder and hard-
er, until the crash Of 1857, when 1t seem
ed that the end of all things had come
The late revulsion is not to be attributed
to the Cfimean war, or to its ihopp5rtune
close, though doubtless each contributed a
share to the result
The effects of the war now begun 10 Eu.
rope, upon the northwest, viii be similar
to those experienced in the late conflict in
the Crimea The cultivation of The sol
will be largely ihtermitted in France, Ger
many, Italy, Austria, and perhaps ID Eng
LAND and Russia. The ports Of Austria
will be bloekaded, and the large export trad,
which finds its outlet through the Danube
will be suspended. Nearly all the large
grain producing counties of Europe vii
become purchasers to a greater or less ex
tent In the American markets. Prices vii
90 up nnquestioaably, in The degree tina
the war seems likely TO be general anc
protracted. And nothing apparently, but
failure Of our growing crops can prevent
q speedy return Of the prosperous times q
Ils55-e.
But let it not be forgotten that peace il
the normal condition Of the world, and
that year or two Of fighting is very sure
to turn the attention OF the fighters of the
ito an arrangemei Of their unsettled ac,
counts. In its present aspect, the wal
just commenced il Piedmont, bids fair u
be bloody and long continued, Nothing
lin the elements of The strife, or in The con.
diton Of the world elsewhere, suggests the
Iidleness of single man or 4 single acre 81
decent soil in the West. Ga the contrary.
everything calls for strenuous, careful and
unceasing labor in the broad fields of Hi
uois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri
and Minnesota.
Let US then profit by the lessons Of the
four years since the first gun was fred al
Sebastopol. AT best, the flush times we
shall soon enjoy from the commencement
Of hostilities in Europe, viii not last half a
lifetime. But the capital thus furnished
TO our farmers aud business men, may, il
not FILTERED away in useless luxufies, 81
locked up in specnlations for the century
to realize on, become the basis of a great
and enduring prosperity. LChicago Tnb-
Iune.
q