Litchfield enquirer., 1877-04-12

He stcrowneth the year with his good. ness," and causetl. his paths to '.'dror fatness." !" Though He may withhold the rains here or there, and cause sometimes blasting and mildew to destroy the hopes of the sower, still 1t is only very limited deprivation. for which there is an abund. ance elsewhere. Thus the ''times are hard" if fso you choose to call them, be- cause the sins of of men have made them hard, and at our own door must the blame be laid.
 L A prominent. lession which the present financial reverses teach is one oi rebuke of extrayagant ways of living.
 As wealth has accumulated, and the numbers of successful fnanciers multi piled. a fever has seemed to spread to all classes to exhibit and enjoy the same comforts and iuxuries which the rich on- ly could afford. Mnltitudes with narrow incomes, and yet sufficient to support them in a modest way, have become dis: contented with such life, and have therefore been taken captive by crafty men, in wild schemes of speculation, which promised them sudden fortune. Upon the strength of false hopes, they have risked their all, or have become in- volved in debt. that they might sustain an establishment as showy and attractive as their neighbor across the way. Led astray from the path of wisdom and safe- ty by the pride of display, thousands in the land have been living upon borrowed or stoien capital, in ordersto gratify this insane desire Hundreds of dollars, null titqdes have yearly spent upon dress and furniture and equipage, which should have gone to pay the butcher and the ba- ker and the grocer. Many dress and coat, or other garments, have been pur- chased upon credit. and often not pad for until they were worn out, if paid for at all. Ornaments of all kinds, rich and costly, have multiplied, and tempted the eye and emptied the purse of many a buyer, when they should have been sac- rifeed for the common comforts of life. To "live within ones income, be it great CT or less, is rule that has been most sadly violated. and thereby brought mul- titudes at length into poverty and dis grace. :
 Many have come to regard it moreover, as disgrace to labor with their own hands or heads, and have therefore had work done by others, which they could. not afford, and which they should have done them selves. Thus debts have increased be- yond compute, until we have become a nation of debtors, and a gradual numb ness of the moral sense in regard to debt has resulted. For it can only be deemed an evidence of "moral deterioration" that so many have sacrificed their own integri- ty and peace of mind to the pride of life.
 If moreover the individual conscience has become deadened in regard to debt, through the craving of extravagant de- sires, so also has the public conscience. as exhibited in municipal, state, and na- tional affairs, rushing into debt with little consideration of the questions, when, by whom, and by what means payment will be made" With an easy indifference. the present has borrowed. leaving the fu- ture to pay. ''Cities, towns, churches, have all borrowed; the present want has occasioned little embarrassment or hesitan- cy in expenditure" Borrowing has been the ready resource for all exigencies, and so long as the credit has lasted all has been serene. To the advice, "Pay as you go." the answer has been, "That is impossible, we have not the means. or rather we want the means just now fol something eise." And thus extravagance has been the rule, and a strict limitation of expenses to ones income, the excep- tion.
 By such n financial storm as that through which we have passed, a deserved =rebuke, therefore. has been administered to multfudes, who have been living be- yond their incomes, upon borrowed capi- tai; q rebuke which has humbled their pride, bringing them down from theil stilted positions to recognize again th' necessity. if not the dignity of labor Not few christian churches have erected costly edifces, with borrowed funds, a an expense far beyond the ability of thu worahippers to pay and largely, it is to b. feared. to gratify human pride. To day some of the extravagant edifices are be ing soli to pay for their construction or are being carried by great exertion Ifrom year to year, in the face of threat ening bankruptcy. The mistake, the sil I would call it. is now seen. and vii serve it is to be hoped as standing warn ing to coming generations.
 II. There is also administered by thes l financial reverses a severe rebuke of tn
 ways by which thousands have hasted t | be rich.
 It has not suited the temper of tn
 times to plod along slowly towards com potency. As the young man has heard hi
 employer tell. how he began life wit
 nothing but his own hands and coura
 geous spirit. living frngally, and leavini
 the world to think what it pleased, 8
 that he kept his integrity, and lived witt
 ineais means; and how he went on COT I quering one obstacle after another.
 the sheer strength of his steadfast will, on
 ly enlarging his business, as his gradual
 accumulated gains enabled h1m so to dt
 Ashe sees him point with pride to th I small farm or shop which was the place {
 his small beginning. and to the modes
 house as well, which satisfied his youn
 ambition till he could afford larger an
 better, is it-not to be wondered at that h
 who hears this story is not fired wit
 some nobler mind. than to beg for sit' I alton which will give him success withol