Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1874-11-25
WHAT or THE WINTER 2


| The tinted and gorgeous foliage strews
the arid surface, and "thc lust red leaf,
the last of the clan" no longer autter-
ing, has whirled -&nm the benuded
bough. Cloudess and serene, the
cloud and wind are impending, and
with the rigors of winter our trial and
suffering are to come.
The question sadly presses itself up
on our sympathics, how is want to be
averted and the privations OF hunger
to be satisfied during the long and
weary hybernation Of frost and SHOWS?
Labor is inert, employment the ex-
ception. Hands that would, cannot
gain the wages of industry. In all
branches of production and manufac-
turc there is u torpor, which seems al
most deathly in suspended vitality and
collapse. Nor are the signs propitious
for an immediate revival. We have
yet to struggle and yet to hope. There
is a peculiarly in our situation not Of
ten, if ever before, seen in our ma
terial condition--a lack of faith in val
ues, an absolute destruction of conf
dence. There is an aversion to all
active enterprises, a repugnance to the
employment or uses of capital. Pie
thoric in our surplus Of currency, the
usual greed of the money factor and
owner is not cnticcd by any of the al
lurements of Investment. The temp
tation of large usury does not bring
out the accumuations The bank
vault is full to repletion, the private
Golfer has it's horded stores, but the
needy boriowcris turned away empty.
Therc IL nota leading interest in any
department which is not breathed up
on by blight The shuttle and the
Ilooln move sluggishly in the slack de-
mand and the reduced profit, while
the cindcrs of the furnace are cold and
the ashes of the forge are shoulder
ling. To the wealth which owns, the
loss and shrinkage is Of ruin, if contin-
ued but to the idle muscles which
have neither earning nor bread, the
calamity Is appalling. II is not only
in cities that haggard want is impend-
ing. If famine is to stalk into the
crowded tenement, if with the hus.
band the wife and chi lrcn are to pine
in starvation, there are thousands in
the lesser commuitics, down to the
smallest Of hamlcts, who are TO Ian.
guish under the same terrible distress.
At no time in our generation has
there been such heavy resource Of all
classes of rude and skilled labor stand
ing idle in the market place. 1t is
well that over-crowded beer houses
should be reduced in number, 1t is
not unhealthy for the future that nc
cumulations be exhausted by the grad
ual but limited consumption, but IL
does not help the present necessity
1t will not give sustenance TO the hun
CRY nor carry relief to the perishing
II is not cheerful indication of rcvi-
val that what of movement is now
noted is in the retail branches of mer-
chandise. Luxury must still have its
supplies If misery is jostled on the
sidewalk by its votaries, In our circles
of fashionable life, the bird of paradise
is still on the wing, and the butterflies
Of summer sunshine were never in
moro gaudy fluttcr. In these select
circles of luxurious living there has
been no batting in expenditure Good
taste, il nothing better, ought TO re-
strain ostentation and extravaganza,
while depression and arrangement
stint food to the famished stomach. If
we could penetrate the veil and look
into the hidden privacy Of the scbcd-
ule of assets, or scrutinize the actual
basis Of this pageantry of living, We
might discern in shadowy presence the
figure of the assignee in bankruptcy
or the sheriff and the execution. In
solvency adjourned is now upon us,
the weekly list of those who default
in payment is an evidence Of the strain
and weakening Of long period of
dullncss and declention.
There are no broken vistas Of ad-
vantage to enlightcn the darkness of
our dependency. The full yield of
our fields comes in upon falling mar
kcts With favorable conditions of
foreign demand, there is no vivacity
or elasticity in our exports The gam
bling of the Stock Exchange is now
the legitimate system of the Corn and
Cotton Exchanges. Purchase and in
stant delivery are never, or rarely, the
manner of traffic. 1t is a present
price fixed for future transfer, with
all the fever and delirium of the gam
ing table or the betting pool. The
condition of markets has no influence
upon supply and demand under these
manipulations Of rival operators for
rise or fall.
SO far as political action can give
relief by any Legislation upon currcn-
cy, we may dismiss the hope. We
have been served bountifully in paper
declarations of conventions but all
indistinct, intangible and evasive. I'm
der our present hybrid circulation, il
is doubtful il thcfe is speedy road
to cash rcdcmptions. There are thco-
rics without count; suggestions innu-
merable, from sensible schemes TO the
widest vagarics of closet dreamers.
Are we in effect any nearer specie
than at the close Of the WARP The
short session of the winter will forbid
any digestcd system, and with the
naxt Conyroaa coo,o fhc bonta and IN