Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-10-13
The Business Situation.

pcctailt community WIN me utmost
satisfaction. This revival is necessar.
lily slow, for it is taking place under
peculiarly difficult conditions. Conf
dence returns reluctantly attera panic
and protracted period n depression,
even when, as ROW, money is abun-
dant, the general wants are many, and
the means of gratifying them are AT
hand. Without doubt, too, the uncer.
tainly attending the future tends
greatly to prejudice the prospects OF
revival. Yet, III spite Of all untoward
circumstances, the National vitality
keeps pace with the NATIONAL Eecossi-
ty, and trade and industry are prepar-
ing, however slowly, to minister activ-
ity TO those wants. People are begin
ming to look more cheerfully ont upon
the situation. Although there is Dut
a shade OF Improvement, rs it were, iii
money transactions in favor of the
banks, they are known to regard the
outlook more hopefully every week
Failures have occurred, but they were
in most cases the inevitable results OF
the stagnation that has dragged along
for two years since the panic, They
! c o not disturb the found atoms of the
common faith III business recovery,
which is the stronger in consequence
Of the general liquidation that has
been going on and Of the visible di
minuton of the stock OF goods in the
markets. We may be forced as Il
people to transact our business and
pursue our industries at wastetnl
cost because of a deprecated instru-
men' and Il grinding taxation that
ought long since to have been sensibly
lightened, but we shall do it at what
ever cost and in whatever way when
the necessity for dong 1t becomes III
gent, as it now is. This community
is feeling the warm rays Of the revival
sun, trade waking up in most OF its
branches. The th1roughtares them
selves show the awakening. -Mer
chants are congratulating one another
ON the general improvement, and tax
/ ing reasonable courage to believe that
it is permanent. Our recovery would
unquesticnabIy be much more rapid,
in any event, if the projected railway
trlnk lines to the West were completed
and in operation, but we must put up
with the loss of valuable time in this
respect as best we can. Boston CAPT
tai has devoted itself with unwouted
generosity to developing the resources
Of the far interior, and as soon as r.
solves to stay at home and supplement
its work prottably here, Boston will
jump forward to that grand position
commercially for which she possesses
all the latent pledges.
New York reports Il brlsier trade
end steady one with the South and
West, the restoration OF pace to the
former section demonstrating the great
benefit to trade almost instantly. The
pecniiarity shown in the revival which
l., thcr" taxing place in business con
sists in the smaller purchases, which
are, Of necessity. more frequent. That
there is better feeling through the
country is gladly admitted by TIE
leading houses IN the dry goods, the
clothing, the boot and shoe, the metal
and hardware, the grain, the petrol
cum, the grocery AMI the coal trades.
Matters are believed to have touched
bottom, and there is now no direction
Tor any movement but upwards. Dis
tant demands may not be as large as
they have been in past times, but the
trade is steady, and it is on the sound
est possible basis. The idlencss OF
funds in the banks is in good part as
cribed to the cash character of trade,
which, in turn, is owing TO the smaller
single anonms Of purchases. The
West is accounted better off in respect
to recovery than the East, for the rea-
son that it has not so long to wait tol
the returns from its industry and Ell.
terprise. The improvement is expect
ed to be naturally felt here latest. But
Il the interior is sound, as we now pos
itively know it to be, the East has nc
torthe; apprehension. That, forum
ately, is the present situation. Th'
greatly increased business OF the lead
inc railroads tesiiiips to it. The activ
ity among The ocean steamship com
panies speak it. The starting up OF
the mills, long idle or doing but half
work, tells of the wants Of the peOpli
that are to be supplied. The frequent
purchases of goods at the commercia
centres tor distant consumption show
that a revival is in progress whose ba-
sis is sound and enduring. 1t is real
" a reform in business, coincidentl,
with the reform that is taking place il
politics, We are TO have new things
and the Centennial comes to usher
them in. The lesson Of the panic ant
the revival deserves to be thorough,
learned and remembered.
-Boston Post.