Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-04-29

Of moo0shine spd come have the pertinscity
70 send 10 word that We are just nowhere.
chat the winds Of the panic have blown us
away" that our credit in the East 10 inn
nitely below par chat the West 10 rotten
to the core" 'that the people West are oil q
set Of swindlers."
These are rather hard names. to be sure,
but the question is, are they all truei
1t is true that the West has had q hard
blow, the tempest has wept long and hard
over the land, but she stands IN and un-
shaken at the core. The windthave swept
away. at least. one thing. namely, that
mighty humbug that ungevernable and ruin
ous thirst for getting rich in few months
without work or effort: that thirst for spec
ulation which is about as tangible a. air /;
speculation. did say, That term is not Gig
ni6cant enough it should be termed au un-
quenchable thirst to svindle. Let it 60 (;
the West 10 better without it.
1t is also true that the w est has lost much
Of her sntsrprising spirit. and many Of her
enterprisine men Of business and founders Of
public works during the last two years. We
lament that the present state of things has
parslyzed their efforts. and made them -
helpless ~ children. but the spirit Of enter
prise still smoulders and burns and only waits
an opportunity to burst its bonds and be out
on the ocean Of business, as active and as
energetic as ever.
An individual, a community or . country
on the downhill side Of affairs, generally find
their enemies multiplying in number as the
stars multiply as evening close. in, and their
friends vanish as the stars from our sight 40
morning dawns 30 it has been with the
West. The only question is whether these
charges are true or false; whether the west
and the western people deserve all the hard
names and epithets they received?
Fair play is all the West wants. No one
will deny but what it is and has been "hard
up" and this IL not the first time and may
not be the last. However. take the western
states from the Union. and the eastern states
would soon bs at their zenith and the dayr
Of shoe buckles and knee breeches would
again dawn upon the land Of our pilgrim
fathers. The same chivalrous spirit Of en-.
terprise that prompted our forefathert to EN-,
igrate to the new world. prompted and
stimulated the early settlers of the far west
as it was then called, to leave their comfort
able homes in the East and face the perils
and dangers Of a frontier life.
These men and their families came here
with determined will. not to idle away
their time in foolish speculation. but to OBJ
tain and prepare comfortable homes, and to
cultivate the soil Settlement after settle
ment dotted the prairie in rapid succession
towns and villages soon ornamented the
shores of the rivers and lakes; the country
and why? Because the inhabi-
tants were Industrious, honest and frugal
Because they had been brought up to labor
for an honest living and did not float about
like vapor on May morning; they adhered
to their business and their industry was am
ply repaid. But alas this state Of things
did not always continue. The ice had been
broken and . way opened for very differ
ent class Of emigrauts. not actual settlers
the grasping money loaner. the keen eyed
land speculator, the man of business and the
soft handed gentleman. the losfer. DC. dc
and very soon this clsss outnumbersd tn,
hard working and Industrious class. theil
whole dependence was speculation and wher
that failed. they must fail; but as long al
there was an influx Of immigration they
could live by fleeing the new comers and
many Of them in turn practiced the same
game on others. The land speculator'
bought up oil the desirable lands within
their reach, ran in debt for what they csuld
not pay for, then demanded price thrs.
times ito value. thereby preventing the &C
tual settler from cultivating the soil and set
tling up the country, Or compelling them te
60 back into the interior away from markets
DO. In the course Of few years property
had acquired At the swinaling hands Of the
land speculator fictitious value, quite be
yond the reach of the industrious, who re
quired land for practical use. These opera
tions greatly retarded the substantial i'm
provement Of tho West, and infused gene
raj spirit Of restless speculation. The panic
Of "'67" burst like thunder bolt at thsil
feet, exploding the air speculatiens and ruin
ing thousands East and West.
This state Of things was induced and
brought about BY the overreaching. grasp
ing. swindling operations of Eastern spec
ulators, and With Eastern capital. and they
are chargeabls for the evil produced. ant
should be the last to complain The money
loaner should net escape the seusure Of thu
West, should the East leave him unschath
ed That class Of shsrpers sings dolefu
dirgs over few dellsrs lost They hav'
lost some no doubt, but they should searet
for the cause nearer homo it lays at thei
own door, and can he traced there. Th'
sxhorbitant rates of interest demanded TO
money. blinded them; they lost sight Of tn
principal, and in order to loan their money
out many Of them took second and thirt
class mortgages. notes. 10. Another reaso'
is, that they did not consult the welfare o
the borrower they should learn that wba
10 ruinous to the borrower often prove
disastrous to the lender NO legitimate busi
ness man can afford to pay more THAN tel
per cent for money. even in the West
These gentlemen should learn prudence
should they never exercise mercy. Still
another class far more numerous and inju
rious to the country than the land spscula
tor or money lender. Wig: the half and hal
mule class these Who had but little o