, 1877-07-08

tlDn,-tne colhp6e OF lue 1aAl41oneas AA'oA'o>
the collapse Of the manufacturing and min
ing companies, and the wreck Of these car
ricd with it the banks and trust companies
the insurance companies, and all others thai
| had loaned their substance on the shndowy
! notes, bonds, and stocks that Ind made ul
| the credit system. Each Of these carried
with it the sources Of income, large ano
small, on which men and women lived ane
did business the collaterals on which money
| had been loaned were yalueless; the say
| ines Of generations were lost; the means o1
CARRYING on business were destroyed; in
comes and wagcs-.l,e means Of buying
bre na-perished almost without hope OF
recovery. It is unnecessary for the pur:
poses of this article to trace through all the
ran1itications of Investments dependent or
the substantial character of the four Thousand
millions of dollars invested in railroad bonds
| and stocks. It is only necessary to point
to the million or two Of men and womer
suddenly deprived Of labor and of wages.
How complete the wreck Of these invest
n,eats, equaling perhaps TINT invested in
railroad securities! Let us see what has be.
come of tho latter. OF the obligations o1
the railways Of the present day, amounting
to 81, lGS, 591, 900, there arc in round num-
bers 5000, 100000 on which interest and
dividends lave drfanlted, and may be deemed
practically terminated. a large portion OF
the mileage represented by this defaulting
capital. las practically reached bankruptcy ;
the mortgages have been foreclosed, the
property sold, the capital stock annililated,
and nothing left to show for the original in
vestment but tie first batch of bonds, which
may be said to represent the full value OF the
property. If this were the end, there might
bo congratulations that the calamity Was no
worse; but the work of winding up is
still going on. Day after day roads
that borrow money to pay disi-
dends and interest are getting deeper
aud deeper in insolvency, and for them there
is but the onp inevitable end. It is not ex-
travngant to assume that of the aggregate
railroad obligations, stocks, and bonds, and
other forms of debt. rs they stood in 1873
and since, the total sum actunlly and to be
.exting11isbed and blotted out will not fall
below 80, 800, 0o0, 600, carrying with it prob
ably as much more Of debt which presently
or remotely was connected with the rail
roa:ls and wrecked by the wreck Of these.
The loss of direct investment III railroads, If
these figures be not exaggerated, will equal
SO much of the cost of ths War Us is repre-
sented by the public debt as it stood in 1860.
If to this le added the loss Of Investments,
directly or indirectly due to the collapse of
the railroad securities, we may judge approx
imately of the money-1oss from which the
country is struggling to recover.
ANY person who will estimate how depend
ent the production, industry, and business
of the country are upon the 73,505 miles of
railway now in operation, will understand
how necessary it is that this great interest
shall recover financial credit and financial
ability before there can be q general recov-
cry of the somewhat dependent interests.
The railroads must get through with their
bankruptcy; they must settle with their
creditors, and must begin anew. This work
has already begun, and the growing pros
perity of railroads generally is the most
certain Of all indications of return of gen.
eral permanent prosperity. The railroads
have, as matter of necessity, abolished the
md wasteful systems of expend-
itnres which prevailed before the panic.
Thus, in 1873 and 1876 the gross and net
earnings compare rs follows:
Gross e1rn'a1s. NH earnings;
1879. 73................s52o. n9, M95 slS3. slo, 58s
497. 2Ii, 0:J 1856, 4LL@@ 731
Another sign Of improvement is, that des-
pite the fact that mileage representing nearly
one-haf the railroad stocks and debts is in
default, unable to pay interest or dividend,
the other ronds paid dividend of $685.
o39,GGS in 1876, against d total divi-
dend of $c7,12Q*7oo from all the
roads in 1878. The rates of transportation
being greatly reduced, the gross earnings of
1876, though less than those Of 1873, repre-
sent largely increased amount of transpor-
tation, which is another sign that there is
continued improvement in the exchange of
Now, when these defaulting
railroads shall all have gone through the
same process Of bankruptcy, aud have got
down to substantial bass of value, the rail-
road revival will be complete, and in that
revival al other Of the great industries will |
share. The railroad interest with its thou |
sands OF millions Of invested capital restored |
10 healt1ful aud vigorous condition, all |
other branches Of industry will resume their
activity, aud in due time the prosperity and |
recovery will be general. Capital that es- |
capped the ca1amito'1s wreck of 1873, and has |
been jealously boarded ever since, will again |
seek investment, and the wheels of labor and |
industry will again be put in motion.
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OUR WOODEN PAVEMENTs.
The streets of Chicago are in most lam
entable condition. There is no doubt
about that. There is scarcely one Of them,
svon Of those most recently paved, which is
in anything like perfect condition and then
they vary through all degrees Of badness to
.he impossible state Of m old country road |
When streets that have been paved within
'wo or three years already give cause for
complaint, it is no wonder that people begin
o lose confidence in the Nicolson pavement,
md contemplate q return to the older styles
# Belgian and bowlder pavements, with all