The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-05-04
THE NEW YORK PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THB LEADING JOURNALS
UPoN CURRENT TOPIcs-coMPmRD EvERY
DAY FOR THE EVENING TELEGRAPH.
r1o,r 1vnri in Europe Would ooncern Us.

HOW w NJ - - N--@ O''
Byo,n the Nation.
dissolute King of Holland is persuaded
1v an extravagant French mistress to offer a
uTangle of territory as large as a New York
rounty for sale to the Emperor Napoleon for
n round sum in cash. Mr.. Won Bismark, a
sturdy, resolute, big-brained, clear-headed
German, who, by giving practical expression
TO the long time vain dream OF United
Fatberland, has laid the whole German nation
spell-bound at the feet of King Wllllam oil
Prussia, protests against the sale. forthwith
the 'spromises to pay" of the United states
of North America fall FIVE per cent IN value
in the great money centres of Europe gold
rises in New York ten per cent. in fortnight
thirteen per cent. higher than it stood on
MAY IL, 1865. Wall street is in fever, specie
7navments seem put off again ad tVtn'tum, and
tbe real value of every paper dollar in the
limited States is diminished by seven cents.
Tbere is n law of social science, commonly
called the law of the solidarity OF nations, to
4bs effect: the loss of one people is the loss OF
all peoples the gain of one nation IS the gam
of all nations no nation can beneht at the
expense of another without ultimate loss to
correspond no people can lose heavily with
ont ali other peoples combining to repair its
loss. This law is so totally opposed to all
ordinary notions about the character of peo-
ples and individuals, and its action is at times
SO difficult to trace that it is generally the last
law that the student of social science is willing
to subscribe to indeed, some never subscribe
to it at all. But it is, nevertheless, truly
law.
When the people of the United States went
to war among themselves and prevented the
export of cotton, English ships and ware
houses and manufactures and manufacturers
depots at all ends of the world were so full of
cotton and cotton goods that but for our war
half Lancashire and London too, would have
been bankrupt. The outbreak of our war
doubled the value of every pound of cotton
and every yard of cloth and good, wise Cob
den could rise in his seat in the House of Com
mons and deprecatingly remark that Clan
cashire spinners could scarcely be blamed for
wanting the war continued as it had put
ESQ, ,O00, 900 sterling in their pockets" That
does not seem like an illustration of the law
of solidarity But mark what follows. First,
the Lancashire famine, with 5000 depend
ants upon public charity; next, the question
what to do with this sudden accession of
wealth. The result was the widest specula-
ton, fabulous investments in all corners of
the world, especially in cotton culture, 1900
new companies with limited liability formed
in one year, two or three years of financial
rioting, and few weeks of panic last spring,
staggering all England with blow from which
she has not yet recovered.
When the people of the United States went
to war among themselves, England was send
ing so or 60 millions of dollars a year to
East India for cotton. When the Southern
ports were blockaded, England had to send
100 and l20 millions of dollars a year to the
East Indies for so much more cotton. Then
the people of India rolled in wealth; the
Parsee merchants bound their carriage wheels
with silver tires, and buried jar after jar filed
with Mexican silver dollars and American
double eagles, and prayed that peace might
never come to the Yankee fools. That
does not look like an illustration of
the law of solidarity; perhaps not,
But the law is true, nevertheless. For
the fields that raised all the cotton and
brought this wondrous wealth had formerly
borne rice, and then food was cheap. Now
food was daily growing dearer, until a sudden
drouth struck famine into Hhe whole king
doms, just when England no longer wanted all
the cotton; and then, by the side of the cot
ton bales and the buried coin jars there fell
100000 poor starved wretches, and lay un-
buried
When the people of the United States went
to war among themselves, they naturally de-
stroyed much property. We have more than
once shown that they did destroy much more
than they made, and became thereby much
poorer. The last years census of twenty-one
States, OF which we have the figures, show the
taxable property in those States to have dimin-
ished during the war from 1900 millions in
gold valuation to 600 millions in currency
valuation, diminution of at least 1000 mil
lions OF dollars in gold, As fast as we de-
stroyed, the peoples of Europe were clad TO
sell US at profit whatever they could fnrnis sb
to replace the loss, and waxed rich and richer
thereby, and hoped thewar would never cease.
But when payday came we WERE as is apt to
be the case with eXtravagant people, alto
gether unready, and the people in Europe h
whom we owed said, You need not nav rs
now; we will give you twenty years time. and
perhaps we shall not want the money ever
then; you can pay us interest meanwhile. Ir
this way those in Europe who had profted b1
our troubles really lent us their property foI
an indefinite time to repair our losses by tn,
war, and took from us our promises to nav.
This is the way in which our promises t.
pay come to be bought and sold at the Euro
pean exchanges, and the fact that their nric,
and the price of gold in Wall street are affeote,
by the quarrels of European princes, is onl,
another illustration of the same law of tn,
solidarity of nations. 1t may prove a cues
tion of no little importance to us in what wa,
a war between France and Prussia woul,
affect our finances.
The first effect of war in all countries is t
impel governments and individuals to pos
sess themselves as much as possible of tn
nerrus rerrun-ready cash. The United State
are one of the great sources of supply. Ca
we be forced to part with our specie {
course, if our merchants were indebted I
merchants in Europe, and the European me-
chants not indebted to us, there is no dOul