The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-09-30
The Hard Times-The Best and Surest
Remedy.

The Hard Times-The Best and Surest
Remedy.
We are no croaker, nor do we desire to
dishearten our readers by referring to the
| gloomy present and darker future of our
financial affairs. No one can be injured
by knowing a thing which may even
threaten him with disaster. On the con-
trary, such knowledge is his best defence
against harm and may enable him to pass
| the danger with little or no serious con-
sequences The heading of this article
is not required to remind our people that
there is great scarcity of money in the
country. The depleted pockets of the
people are daily reminders of this. We
need not tell the merchant that trade is
dull, and the little trade he does is on
credit basis. The farmer, too, generally
knows that his crops have fallen far short
of his expectations, and the prospect for
remunerative price is far from bright.
Hard times and worse coming are the ap-
propriate terms to express our present
condition and future prospects. What is
our condition7 Ourpeople generally are
in debt by over trading their means.-
We do not think that less than seventy
five to one hundred thousand dollars are
owing to our merchants in Walhalla upon
notes and accounts. Of course consid-
erable amount of credit trade has been
done at Seneca City, Westminster and
Fair Play, which will largely swell the
amount of indebtedness. To pay this
will require from two to three thousand
bales Of cotton at present prices. This
will only put the farmer even, with his
wants and necessities for the next year
unprovided for. The tax of next year
will be heavy one, and will, doubtless,
not fall short of twenty or twenty-five
thousand dollars. This must be paid in
cash, and will require from four to five
hundred bales of cotton. In word, we
doubt if the present cotton crop will pay
for our home debts and taxes, for the
crop cannot exceed two thirds of an aver
age crop for the land planted. Our corn
crop, though fair one, will not be great
ly in excess of our wants, because the
crop is hardly average, and the area
planted in corn is less than that of sever
al years ago. The wheat, oat and rye
crop will not supply our wants, and we
do not believe that our county has raised
as much meat as it consumed any year
since the war. With our cotton crop
spent before it is harvested, with def
cheney of -four and meat, and only a
small superfuity of corn, what have We
got to bring or even keep money in our
county for the next year? Nations,
States and counties are but an associa-
ton of families, and as an individual or
family, which spends more than it makes,
must grow poorer, so county, the aggre-
gate expenses of whose people exceed
their aggregate productions, must be
without money and annually grow poor
err. We are constrained to believe that
while our farmers have worked well since
the war and have produced large crops,
: they have succeeded in spending more
than they made. A little of the pre-
vious years debt has been too Of
ten carried forward in the ledger of the
merchant and the debt of the next year
has been increased. 1t is time for every
farmer to reflect and, if possible, econo-
mize his expenses. Hard times are often
useful to people in bringing about this
very thing. While everybody is prosper
ing, crops good, prices high and money
plenty, the merchant does not feel the
burden of the credit trade he is carrying
on and the farmer has no fears OF his
debts amid his prosperity. Let pri-
ces decline, crops partially fail and mon
ey become tight, and the credit trade of
the merchant weighs upon him heavily.
lie needs his money, and for the reason
of his needing it badly, the debtors have
not got it to pay with. This we fear,
may become our condition, unless
every person economies his present
means. we have not gone so far but we
can save ourselves, but the sooner practl-
cal economy is begun the better for all.
Try the advice of Col. Aiken one year
by paying as you 60, and the expenses OF
every will be less both by reduced
profits of the merchant and by every one
doing one without many things not abso-
lutely essential. In the matter of flour
let every one remember to SOW wheat is
only labor, and though you get but five
bushels to the acre, it is turning idle Ia
Dor into money, while, if you buy flour, 1t
is money. The former every farmer can
command, while the latter is, at times
difficult to obtain. If all our people
could say we have meat and -four and
corn enough for the next twelve months,
then our surplus crop of corn and cotton
would return as money, which would re-
main in the county. Until this is done
we will have hard times, and they will
annually grow harder WalhaAa C0u-
rier.