Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1871-06-13
tFrom the Cincinnati Enquirer.I
HAMILTON CoUSTY. OuIo. NAV 4 IS-

l.
To the Editor Of the Enquirer:
In an article in the Weekly Cincinnati Ga.
Eette Of the Sd inst, from L. ID. NJ. | find
the following paragraph:
"NOw We come to the gist of this matter
In 1865 the war ended. SIX years have passed.
and-tce challenge all contradiction (the italics
are mlne)-thOse six years have been unpre.
eedented IN prosperity. Nothing like it was
ever known"
What does L. d. NJ. mean by prosperity /?
and who is it that is prosperous?
II lie means increase of wealth, and ability
to make improvements, to live with greater
ease aud comfort, again repeat my second
question: Who is it that is prosperous?
The bOndholders may be prosperous. The
private money loaners may be prosperous
Bankers, magistrates, and even cOnstabIes, may
he, aud very likely are, prosperous. Real es.
tate agents are prosperous. But what are
aIl the holders OF the professions have lust
enumerated Mere parasites on society.-
Necessary parasites, no doubt, but still para.
sites. Not one Of them is a producer Of
wealth They live on other peoples industry,
aud their prosperity Is sign Of other peoples
adversely.
Now let us look to the real producers of
wealth-tarmers, manufacturers and mer-
chants.
am farmer, and have been one all nv
lie, and have not made q cent in the past
SIX years. Nearly every farmer around here
tells the same story, aud old men who have
speut their lives ia improving their farms and
enueaVoTIng to make their homes comfortable
for their old age are anxious to sell out l
will venture to assert that not one farmer in
this township, who has owned his farm and
stock clear OF debt, has within the past six
maue TWO Der ~, H..
investment.
Are manufacturers prosperous! The re.
cent failure OF Messrs. Lewis l. Eichelberger
lwoOlen manuiacturers) at Lawrenceburg
Indiana, and the HARRISON wooden factories
being still, do not indicate it. l am acouaiut
ed with two furniture manufacturers, neither
OF whom claim to be very prosperous, lam
also acquainted with two OF three Cincinnati
hardware merchants, all of whom said last
January lst that "they would be very we'll
satisfied on balancing their books to tnd that
they had got through the past year without
loss"
presume if farmer owns his farm clear
OF debt, and makes no improvements, under.
drains no land, buys no agricultural machinery.
etc, IN fact, lives trOm hand to mouth, he may
make little money; but he dare not do as
many DID III the decade from 1850 TO 1850
buy iarm, run in debt Tor halt the purchase.
money, ald within ten years pay the debt Of
with the profits OF the farm, aud paw ten per
cent. for all the money they borrowed
There Is no denying the fact that farmers
are doing badly, worse than they have been
Tor forty years, aud this in spite OF the fact
that last year was year of almost universal
| good crops. The only reason farmers in this
vicinity keep on farming is because they hope
Tor better times; they think they are laboring
under the burden Of great National afiic.
ton, that will sometime come to an end (many
! nope, aud l for One( with 4 change in the
administration. l am no; prejudiced against
the present Administration. l helped to elec,
! It. was a soldier in the Union army for
over four years, and always, until last fall,
voted the Republican ticket; but l can not
stand the unprecedented prosperity of the
past SIX years" 1t such prosperity is to con.
tInue, l must sell out before add to the
Sheriff sprOsperity, by letting him sell me out.
do not presume il is possible for any Ad-
nlnIs'ration to make the country as prosper
Gus to farmers as il was from 1850 to 1860.
Inc debt OverhangS US, and we must bear the
burden, but when \ prominent Republican
writes, has the impudeuee to assert, that We
never were as prosperous as We are now, il
either shows unparalleled ignorance on his
part. or wilful Perversion OF facts, adding
insult 10 injury, trusting in the unparalleled
Ignorance of his readers.
The present state Of our country aud the
unprecedented prosperity of -, 4 certain
portion of it is we'll described in the words oi
certain great English poet:
Though ireland starve,
! Aud EngIAHd IL undone,
| What matter Great George
Weighs twenty stone"