Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-08-01
rnn nnr.,Ion I'D RenIs.


The rights Of property are sacred and
delicate in the eye of tue law. And so
they should lie. But so are the rights of
subsistence. The necessities of struggling
humanity not possessed of property are
paramount. They had precedence in the
laws of the great Law Giver. TIE hus-
bandman was not TO garner his fields too
c.ean. He was to leave the natsral waste
to the poor that every age and country
have among them. And this brings us to
the question of rents as matter that now
concerns our people, in common with all
other communities, very deeply.
II is not worth while to go into an argu-
ment to show that rents will have to come
down. The fact that East and West they
are coming down, and that with q tumble,
too, is logic enough TO a common sensed
man to convince him that the same cause
will operate the same way in our midst.
A man ont of employment, or with
but q limited amount Of it, can
not very long pay the same rent that lie
could when he was full-hnnded with busi-
ness. Well, this is the case with almost
every man in Wheeling who rents. Espec.
tally with business houses, who have here
torore paid large amounts in that way
Their stores and their warehouses stand
all the day idle now. Where they took in
hundreds Of dollars this time last year,
they take in tens now. And where they
took in little at any time they take in IL
great ideal less now. Manifestly there must
be retrenehrnent in expenses, and it will
be we'll for both landlord and tenant if, by
reasonable reductions in expenses the places
where business was wont to be done can
he kept open. The great fear is that. with
rent frceuud several other things thrown in,
people cannot justify themselves in attempt
ing to carry onsbusiness. Business iscon-
tracting every day in almost every branch.
Those who would be good buyers do not
wish 10 buy, aud it would be death and
certain ruin to trndewith any other
kind. The only salvation for all is to hus-
band their means, and to equaIize unsCl-
fishly and justly the necessary burthens,.
inconvrniences and hardshirs of the times
A reduction of rents is one of the first
steps in that direction.
There is nothing more delicate. because
so susceptible of nbuse. as movement
looking to retrenehment of this sort
Men of property-especialIy landlords
are, If not so generally, yet much more
deeply vietimized oftentimes than their
victims And this has been the case in
almost every city and town of the country
for the last few years, Railroad and other
speculative taxes on property, have been
ruinously. These taxes remain in force
almost everywhere. They are not so bad
as they have been with us. We were Just
beginning to get easy in that way. But
whatever relief we were getting, will be
Overtakeu by the war taxation, direct and
indirect, that will soon be upon us. And
this view should be taken into the account
in the settlement of a scale of reduction.
1t has been suggested that tho best way
to arrive at some equitable understanding
would be to have neeting-a promiscu-
Gus meeting of landlords and tenants ut
the Court House or some other place. But
we do not believe in the suggestion. 1t is
in our judgement a question between every
sepernie renter and the man from whom
lie rents Each understand what would
he justice to the other, better than any
meeting would, anl great deal better
feeling will be the consequence of such
private and separate arrangements. y
general meeting could only discuss some
sort OF an ad roiOrem tariff, and that would
miss in about as many cases as it would
hit. The best way and the only way in
our judgment to 10 the mntterup squarely
aud fairly, and efficiently, is for every
man 10 act for himselr-confcrrin in the
meanwhile with as many as possible who
are situated like himself
tn, U,si,;r1tou rorresnondant Of tho