The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1873-11-27
From the chronological Journal
The Late Panic.

Distrust is the child of dishonesty.
When the people find their legislators,
from President down to pettifogger,
whom chance has elevated to place and
power, engaged in plundering the pub
lie Treasury, speculating in Credit No
bilier stocks, voting themselves thou
sands of dollars "back pay" and doubling
their own salaries at their own sweet
wills; when it is seen that great land
grants are bestowed on railway specula-
tions, in which the people who own the
lands have little or no interest; when
defalcations in banks, revenue officers,
trust companies, post-ofhces, etc., are SO
frequent, is it matter of surprise that
the people have no confidence in public
men, or that a crushing panic follows
such wickedness? With an honest gov
ernment, in which the people could
place reliance, there could be no ground
for such ''scares."
Before the war there were opened up.
or put under the plow, some ten millions
of acres of virgin lands yearly. This has
been somewhere near the average, and
was considered healthy growth of the
country. But since the war, through
enormous railway land-grants, more than
forty millions of acres have been opened
yearly, and put into crops. This has
created glut in the grain markets, and
prices dropped to figure rendering its
transportation Improbable. Hence the
Grangers. A war between farmers and
railroads is, of all things, the most sense
less, and only small-minded demagogues
will engage in it. The railways are the
parents of more than half the farmers,
who are now complaining because the
railways cannot transport their produce
uo1 hn 70 locc
grain and more wool, cotton, fax, hemp,
etc.-less bulky than grain--there would
have been less difficulty in its transporta-
ton What the West needs now is a
more diversified industry. 1t is true, our
means for transportation between pro-
dueers and consumers has not kept pace
with our agricultural productions, and
instead of new railways reaching into
wild prairies, we need more east and
west trunk lines, more facilities for
transportation by water. In short, we
want direct communication by ship
canals between the upper great lakes,
the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, and the
Atlantic. If the States and Territories
of the Union are to remain united, the
east with the west, the north with the
south increased facilities for rapid and
cheap intercourse must be established.
All barriers which keep people apart
must be broken down and removed.
Negro slavery, the cursed inheritance of
monarchical progenitors, was wiped out
of this nation in. blood. Those whom the
war did not destroy, it demoralizeds All
felt its "cold and clammy hand" The
pulpit, the press, the school, the family.
felt the spirit of carnage, and the nation
was shaken from center to circumfer-
ence by that dread demon, war. Pas
| sion became rampant. Men in the armies,
who never drank before-circumspect
men-became drunkards; men who were
satisfied with moderate gains became
avaricious; men gave way to their lustsr
and children were begotten under these
circumstances, and passion and belliger'
ency characterize thousands OF the rising
generation. But worst of all, there Is O
general letting-down of moral principles
] swindlers got into office, pretended
patriots proved bountyjumpers and
wicked rioters; low, bad men were
elected to offices of trust, which they dis
honored, because respectable citizens
were careless, and neglected to attend
primary elections and nominate men o
4 worth For example, call to mind oul
late citv swindling rings, that robbed
and plundered at their wills.
Weak, if not criminal, CongressmeI
yielded to the lead of unprincipaled shys
ters, and were caught like swarm o
rats, each voraciously gnawing away oil
the public cheese. The President of tn
United States PARTICIPATED in and indorse
their action Need we look further 70
the cause of the late panic2 for tn
tight times" which threaten our people
for the want of employment which thou
sands of willing hands suffer to-day Ii
stead of honest, capable statesmen, W
have in our Legislatures wicked rogue