The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-02-17


finances" "Texas," he says, "has been
overrated, and much Of her glory has
been the creation Of newspaper articles, or
the fiction Of spectators aud land agents.p
As the year opens up business men OF
every class complain Of the utter stagnu.
tion Of trade and the impossibility Of
collecting debts" Many obligations
(which matured at tho end Of the year
are now pressing for payment and have
to be put Of, Tho most pt them Indefinite
ly, with very little hope Of adjustment"
The "whCut, corn aud cotton crops Of the
country have been exhausted, and still
taxes are unpaid, store accounts arc left
open, mortgages unrelieved, and the gen
eral Indebtedness increased rather than
diminished at thsOlose OF the year" VI,
The newspaper article entloAed by our
correspondent, asks, "what has BECOME Of
the labor Of the past year2 Where has
the money Of the country gomez No body
has any to lend at any price, No body
could give reasonable security for q
loan, With few exceptions tho people
arc bankrupt, Property exposed for sale
for cash Vould notbEiDg one-tOurthiof itR
nominal value"
This IN a sorry picture Of things in the
South, but We suspect that 1t Is q very
morbid and exaggerated view. We have
no idea that il IL even approximatPlyG COR
rect as regards the whole South. ll. fact,
our conversations from time to time with
persons from the South, and with those
who occasionally travel in that section,
contradict lhe quotations I'VE have made
from tIonewspaper article enclosed to us.
the whole Southern country is undOubted.
" more or less demOralized mall respects,
socially, politically and financially
but. Notwithstanding this fact, there
IL II vast amount Of wealth and great
deal Of prosperity in the more favored
localities. The cotton cropO 1871, after
all the Ialk that hus been indusel il
about the demOralization Of labor, SA
one Of the largest eyer produeRdsStlne
four millions Of bales, bat the trouble y
that the people were in debt, nsis tic cils.
tom Of that section, ahead Of their means,
and 1t took all that they produced to
square up old accounts.
Those who have Travelled In the
South siacc the tloe 81 The sSaf Do
not need TO be told that everything hthat
section Ia produced OIL costly scale.
Real economy is something almost In-
known in the South. Everything u
done IN crcdit-anl long credit at that
and hence the outside price is paid for
everything the people cpn"ums, No peg
pie oaI, gOt ahead ~ the world who dP
business al II IL lone I'D the Sohth
They are bound to be eaten up by
commission merchants, tax gather
crF aud . 9lopAyh len4SNi AAtnhRs
same time, while this il the situation in
somC parts Of the South, yet we are con
WINGED that in that section, as whole, a
more promising condition Of thingn cx'
lists tO.llay than for years past. Through
much adversely the people Of the South
are beginning to understand thu ele'
mcntary principles Of profitable ugricnl
turc. They are dlverSifying their crops
to better advantage, and introducing labor
saving and money saving machinery
They have been obliged to study econo
my, and the result il that while they have
really been getting on n more solid Iolinda
ton Lhan they havobeen on fur years 1hsy
have appeared to less advantage In The
II eyes Of commercial travellers than whcr
thcy were more redly to 30 indebt. Tht
processof liquidation, although a healthy
one as regards the future Of aSEeOplt
is always painful at the time, and giyc'
the appearance Of retrpgradatiOn. Tht
whole country has been going through
this process since the pa9i%, ,Ebe .eo9
sequence is that credit Ii greatly cur
tailed and the consumption Of the ,copB
try yaAIy f6d4ced.l The soatlllhGs'tdlJ
this process Of liquidation more than thc
North, ia coming out Of 1t badly
s1uee1cd, although IN healthy condition