Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-10-03
BUSINESS.
A Hopeful View of the Future of Trade
and Commerce.
New York Herald, September 20.

New York Herald, September 80
There are many reasons to believe
that the long period of industrial de-
preston is at last coming to an end in
this country and that we are on the up
ward turn. We are likely to get good
prices this year for our abundant crops;
the country is at least restored to peace
and harmony by the settlement of the
Southern question there is an active
revival of agricultural industry all over
the South :; our manufacturers begin to
see that they may hope for foreign
market for their surplus products a
great mass of bad debts has been ex-
tinguished, and business in almost all
departments has been brought. with
much suffering to individuals, down to
bed rock" and may, therefore, start
up on sound basis. We propose to
demonstrate that when once our affairs
take an upward turn there is every
reason why we should return to gen
eral prosperity sooner than European
nations.
All the world has been fighting or get
ting ready to fight since 1861, and dur
ing the same period has been building
IN Wasteful manner enormously costly
public works, most of which do not
yield a return to those who advanced
money for their construction. Nation
al debts have increased fearfully in
the last sixteen years, and on great
many millions of this kind of indebted
ness no interest is regularly paid, which
cripples the bond-holders. A great
many more millions spent on railroads
and other public works also yield no
returns, and thus numerous other beo-
pie are impoverished. Almost all the
nations of Christendom are in the posi-
ton of man who has built a larger
house than his fortune can maintain,
and who yet cannot sell his elephant to
somebody else.
An ingenious writer in F3user's Mag
asine has almost demonstrated the
curious theory that the long period of
seeming prosperity but real initiation,
which ceased about 1873, and during
which business was brisk, production in
certain branches abnormally stimulated.
and great fortunes rapidly made, was
caused and maintained by the fact that
England-and we should add Germany
and Holland-during this period lent
enormous sums of money to the Cana
dams, the Turks, the Central Ameri-
cans, the Mexicans and ourselves, with
which borrowed money all these debtors
very freely bought English goods and
he maintains that now, when England
has no more to lend: her customers are
no longer able to buy. To some extent
this is true, but the plain fact is that we
have passed through twenty years of
cruel and continuous extravaganza and
waste; the world is poor; it has not
merely lived up to its income, but it
has seriously impaired its capital 1t
can recover only by economy, and other
things being equal, it is quite certain
that that nation will soonest recover and
will have the greatest advantage in the
upward race which is able to live the
cheapest
Now when we come to look at this
phase of the question, it seems to us
easily demonstrate that we have some
very important advantages over every
European nation. We can live more
cheaply and we do conduct our affairs
far more economically than any Euro
pean nation In the first place we have
an incompatible advantage in this,
that we need not maintain huge stand
ing armies and costly ironclad navies
in time of peace, and we are not in the
least likely to go to war for half a CEN
fury to come. The following table
shows at glance how great is the drain
which we thus escape. 1t gives in each
case the population and the army on a
peace establishment of the country
mentioned: