Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-07-13
How Will the European War Affect Our
Interests?

interests!
A correspondent of New York paper thus
writes from London:
Gone fact connected with the Continental
war will interest your farming constituency
The war will prevent the gathering Of the
grain crops on the Continent. The price of
breadsufs is advancing, and will continue to
advance The prospects of the harvest are
not very promising in England, and | expect
before the end of the year to see breadstuffs
at least 40 to 50 per cent dearer than the
present quotations. This is good news for
your western men, and it is true news
This is one side of the picture. The other
side is thus presented by the New York Conf
mcrciM Aduertiser. 1t says: 1.-The advant-
age ssof our intercourse with Europe has been
.'that we have been able to import from
ssthence certain articles more cheaply than
sswe could produce them ourselves, paying
ssfor them with products Of our own which
"we can produce more cheaply than Europe
ans" The Commercial thinks that of the
$50, 900 men now in arms, a half million
have been taken from productive employ
ments and that as the war progresses, the
commercial centres of Germany, and the
high-roads of trade will be closed, and that
there must be stoppage Of the production Of
the merchandise which is usually transported
here The Commercial says:
AS to the goods that Europe may send
here during the war, should the closing Of
transportation routes not prevent, it is pos
sible that we may have heavy consignmcnts
of merchandise hither, to realize what it will
bring but that would be only the first brief
spasm, to be followed by long period of
scarcity and high prices for all that Europe
produces, as in the case of our own country
during the rebellion. All we might subse-
qnently import from Germany or France
would be bought at high prices; and the
scarcity Of such merchandise here would tend
to still further increase its cost to our con-
sumers There is no conceivable way in
which we could be profted, except through
procuring enhanced prices for our exports of
breadstuf, which would naturally be in
larger demand in Europe. But even this ad-
vantage is more apparent than real. Our
surplus of breadstuffs for expectation rarely
exceeds ten per cent. Of our crop; and it
would surely be poor advantage to gain a
higher price for that portion when our. own
consumers had to pay an equal advance for
the remaining ninety per cent. 1t is true,
the farmers would be benefited but they are
only limited portion of the community, and
their graio would very imperfectly compen-
safe for the disadvantage Of dear food to the
people at large"
We confess that we view this question from
Southern stand point, and are more inter-
estedin the probable effect Of the European
war upon the producing people of the South
than upon the commercial people of the New
England and Central States The great want
of the South is market in which it can sell
its products to advantage. The European war
will in all probability offer that market. Just
at present we do not wish to buy anything
but necessarics, and as few Of them as will do
to serve us. Fortunately, we can produce
most Of them. If the farmers can get good
prices for their products the whole commu-
nifty will be benefited, and in the Southern
States it may be said the farmers constitute
the community. The more we make and sell,
and the less we buy, the better it will be for
us. If the war that creates market for our
productions shall at the same time arrest i'm
portations and force us to do without many
things that we are not compelled to have,
the people of the producing States of the
West and South will be SO much the better
Off Wing.