Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-02-05

the only pastures in which our cows and
oxen wandered for sufficiency of her.
bage TO sustain them. Often they we're
so long absent that when found. after
much sacrifice Of time in hunting them
VI found at all, the cows would he parti.
ally or entirely dried Of their milk. so
necessary for food TO ourselves and child.
ren. The labor of our oxen, indespensa-
BILE to the preparation of our land for
seeding, would often be too late recover.
ed to allow us to realize the expected
harvest Of the season. This one impedi.
ment, to say nothing of others, very seri.
ously retarded the progress of improving
the country and the advancement of it's
inhabitants to competency and comfort
All imported articles for the use and
consumption of the inhabitants. whether
from our older States or from FOREIGN
countries, were so exceedingly dear that
the people were involved in debt by pur.
chasing only such supplies as were indis-
pensably necessary.
The great labor, expense, and danger
of transportation, mostly in open boats.
through the long and crooked chain of
rivers and lakes which constituted the
natural water course from New York to
Northern Ohio, made high prices neces-
sary to the importer. Steam navigation
was unknown, and canals and railroads
by which the settlements far west are SO
easily aud cheaply supplied with an
abundance of domestic and foreign goods.
wares, and all sorts of merchandise, were
not in existence. The amount of money
in circulation over and above what was
sent back to the land proprietors in New
England, was very little The amount
of business was small and scattered wide
ly, on the credit system, over the sparse
settlements. When the older settlers
began to have some surplus country pro-
duce, the merchant could afford them
but moderate prices compared with those
OF the goods he sold them. His only ad-
vantage i'll receiving their produce at all
consisting in slow process of turning
it into money, by selling it to new set
tiers, to bakers in Buffalo and Detroit.
or to the Western Garrisons, at prices in
money about equal TO the prices paid for
it in goods. The merchant was obliged
to buy as well as to sell goods on credit.
His creditors must be paid once Il wear,
while his debtors, who paid him epenty-
ally, must be suffered to withhold pay
ment from him year after year, until aft CIR
a slow process they could enable them
selves TO pay him. Many of them neUey'
paid him. Besides that it was an all
summer job to bring on his goods, he
could not obtain the means to leplenish
his store of goods but once year. He
had not tie advantage of quick turns
and frequent renewals OF his stock, eua.
bling him to obtain living profits for
himself, and to favor his customers with
goods at moderate prices, and to allow
them fair prices for their surplus produce.
This hard way of living and dealing
kept the farmer poor and involved in
debts, which he could not seasonably
pay, if ever, and, eventually, the mer-
chant became bankrupt. So we had
poor farmers, merchants, professional
men, business men of various kinds, and
broken merchants, along this northern
frontier, until the early settlers were
nearly used up and their places supplied
by Others.
How different that state of things from
the present Distance is annihilated, so
that places 1900 or 1000 miles from
New York are in its immediate vicinity,
and the newest settlements can be reach.
ed by sail vessels, steam ships and rail-
road cars, end their supplies cost them
but tritiing advance OIL the New York
prices. Now the products OF the far
West can be transported to the far East,
and bring back good profits to the ex-
porter. Then the products of Northern
Ohio which our merchants obtained TO
some amount, and would wish to ex-
change for money or goods, would not
beai transportation TO the markets where
the goods were purchased, and yield
profit to the exporter.
| Continued nert iceek.