Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-07-07
From the Cincinnati Gazette.
The Crop Promise and It's Influence on
r Financial Affairs.

The Crop Promise and It's Influence on
Financial Affairs.
When a nation is in deb: and has ex-
penses to pay, all of which must be dug
ont of the ground, it becomes very in
teresting question how much the ground
will produce. That class of theorists
called financiers amuse themselves with
a hundred different ways in which the
nations notes may be given, and in
which taxes to pay them may be levied.
But there is one way to pay debts hon
estly: that is to dig them out of the
ground. 1t has long been fashionable
in political economy to say that labor is
the source of wealth, and as a general
abstract proposition this is as near true
as any one proposition on that sub
iect. But it is not true at last. Sup
pose, if such thing can be imagined,
that there was no land on which to ap-
Div labor, what would all the labor in
the world be worth? Exactly nothing.
Does the iron master, the factory man,
the merchant, the mechanic make mon
ey? They make it only because the
land has supplied them with materials
to work with. We refer to this because
the disciples of Adam Smith, the, free
traders, financiers, and similar theorists,
don't see that while they are announcing
a proposition, in one sense true. that it
is complete fallacy at bottom. The
old French economists made land the
source of wealth; and it was nearer true
than the modern theory, for while land
does produce some natural fruits with
out labor, labor can do nothing without
land. Taken in reference only to cur
artificial society, and to the evolution or
humanity, it is true that labor Is the
source of wealth, but to make it so 1t
must be applied to land.
We say, then, that the money which
pays taxes and debts must be dug out oj
The land. 1t is question of prime in
terest, then, what will the land produce
this year? We believe that the dggre-
gate crop this year will be better than it
was last, and will be ample to meet all
our financial obligations in this country
and in Europe. We have seen good
deal of Southern Ohio, and the accounts
from all parts of the country correspond
with what we have seen. The GROUNDS
of our belief in large crops are these:
/. All crops, both of fall and spring,
were planted we'll in favorable seasons.
2. All crops have come up well, and
on the aggregate presented on the 18th
of June as good prospect as we have
ever seen. s- .... -F.-. .....
8. The weather of the spring makes,
as Frenchman would cay, for good
seasons following. If there are exces-
siye rains in the spring there would be
promise of drought; but there has not
been. The country has been refreshed
with rain in the early part of June, but
no excess. A drought is now not at all
probable. EyT -J9.l
4. This week two-thirds of the wheat
crop will be harvested in good order
There is little rust and little crooking.
5. The corn crop was never got In
better, and has never come up oetter.-
If there be no drought, the corn crop
this wear will be very large. So far as
Ohio is concerned, we never had a better
promise of the corn crop. But then the
making of the corn is hereafter in the
hot sun of August. But the only thing
we have known to injure corn seriously
in summer is drought, and we see no
climatic sign of it now. The corn crop
requires three things to perfect it,a rich
soil, rain and moisture in the early part
of its growth, and hot sun in August.
No part of the country, perhaps OF the
world, presents more natural. congeni-
al home to corn than the Ohio Valley
Here it flourishes, and is happy. AS we
ride along the Miami the corn plaEss
seem tolaugh, and wave theirdeep green
leaves and saw: "Here we are, snug.
happy, and coming! Well make the
pork for you, feed the cattle, and pay
your debts!" Most excellent and ad-
mirable corn! We like you; but, rather
more for the good you do. than for any
special charms for US. But live and
grow! You, at least, will be conscious
of more good than evil.
The five States of Ohio. Indiana, II.
linois, Kentucky and Tennessee will
probably produce near four hundred mill
lions of bushels of corn this year. What
do YOU think of that? The whole popu-
Iation of the United States can live on
the corn crop of the Ohio Valley, and
have plenty of bread and milk.
We cannot know the future, nor that
there may not be great calamities COM
ing. But all the looks of the crops and
the signs of nature are in favor of good
crops this year. Supposing this to be
true, what will be the effect on trade,
industry, and finance? II all the wealth
that is made is madeout ofland, it follows
ofnecessity that full and abundant crops
must furnish surplus to the country,
and if it were applied in that way,
would go far toward clearing of all
burdens. We suppose that If the crops
of this year are as good as we anticipate.
their money value, above the cost of pro-
duction, will be sixteen hundred million
of dollars. After deducting for all
yastaa ransira now plantations clear