The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-03-28
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

The New York Herald of the 10Th, has tn
following hopeful leading editorial on til
business outlook OF the whole country. Tn
references to the South will be read will
special interest:
There are good reasons for the assertion tina
| the great commercial revulson under which in
dustry and enterprise have been PROSTATE for S,
many months has at last spent its force and tina
| business OF all kinds is about to revive We PRO
pose to state below a few facts which lead to hi.
belief, and justify the hope that the wear 1879
Will mark the ginning OF a new era Of general
| prosperity.
l. It is q fact that the expenses Of carrying on
| business have been greatly decreased du;inr the
last eighteen months. In some branches there
Ia still extravagant management but the ma.
JorIty OF business men all over the country. as
well as in this city, have been compelled to re-
| trench IN their living expenses and to ma ma pe
their affairs more closely. Store rents are lover
merchants live on less princely scale. clerks,
| statesmen and agents are more economical. As q
| result, commerce, the exchange of products. is
performed more cheaply and with greater econ
emy.
2. Production has been materially cheapened.
| Abundant food crops for two wears have lowered
| the price OF the necessaries of life and wages
| nave also fallen. The great multitude of upem-
ployed yorkmen have had time to consider the
| eHect OF trade unions and other labor oroaniza-
Lons uponthelr real prosperity, and as Americans
are, III the ham, a sensible folk We hear less of
| eight hour movements and strikes, Labor has
10 considerable extent, adjusted its demanq s
to the actual condition of the countries
industries, and, except in the coal region
OF Pennsylyanla, where disorders still break ont
sporadlcally, 1t may be said that the laborinr
force OF the country, 100 long intoxicated by the
aftlhclal stimulus OF paper money and the war.
mas now come TO lis sefses, and is willing once
more to give far days work for A fair DAYS
pay. The time was when dollar a. day and
roast beef was favorite POLITICAL crv. and the
time now Is when over great part Of the conn
my .he aDorinS man Is contem If he receives that
wage. ''
). The vast economy which WIS the enfarcad
result Of the stagnatlon of the lasttw wears he
gins to tell. Divide forty million. by five and
we Se1 elSnt mu!ions as about tn. number of
families III the United States all of whom ba,-a
been compelled during the la st two wears 10 1.-Two
on less than they expended for some v,aro ha
fore. In this and other cities many fami ie, 80
economlZed to the extent Of thousands Of dor
per annum each. What the average ner fanii
al over the country may have been it is mpossi.
bic to tell. Suppose it 10 have amounted TO on,
hundr dollars, and We should have a saving az
eight hundred millions per annum. Put it at
only haH TINS great sum, and it is still an enoru
GUS saving, which begins to tell
4. The West owes less money than ever be-
fore. The farmers have obtained on the whole
good prices for good crops. Western merchants
owe but little III the East, and the process If
EfuidatlnS old debts has been almost COM
pleted
;. The South also is prosperous. The sugar
crop has been large and very profitable. The
cotton crop has brought fair prices and has been
yearly increasing; and those whs raised il were
able to lay by large amount of the proceeds |
last year, for they owed no ola debts Kice,also
has been an uncommonly profitable crop.
o. fflces OF merchandise are now so low that |
merchants do not incur a great risk in carving |!
stocks OF goods. Production also has been SO far
that already last fall We began to ey-
port cottons TO China and Cumberland coal to |
the west Indies. Our exports increase but slow
iy, to be sure, and the great amount of cotton