The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-08-23


President may hope to celebrate his outgoing win
your DEBT reduced 70 four per cent, and every
note Of the United States worth par In the besI
com Issued nom the mint You now occupy
the forefront OF this battle. / beseech you 10 up
hold DIS bands, aud not let the delusiOGs Of the
hour or the temporary languor Of business, which
you snare with the civilized world, turn you from
: policy which you have sanctioned and can now
HARD TINES.
lt Ia very common, fellow citizens. 20 hold the
Government responsible for hard times caused by
tue eDb aud nov OF trade and production. II the
crop tals The Administration ~ abused. II wages
or prieeA1all, the Government is blamed. II pro
ductl0n exceeds the market made bv consump-
non. u 20 easier 10 abuse some officer Of the
Government THAI 10 find out the real
cause. And 80 II happens that. under any
Government, whatever may be It's form. N a
pestilence. famine or plague comes, the men in
of1ce are made the scapegOnts for troubles which
u ls far beyond their power either TO produce or
remedy. And so now, when throughout the world
trade ~ languishinEsand wages have fallen, and
industry does not meet It's usual reward, II Is
QUITE COMMON FOR DRMAGoGUEs
To say. Turn out the Administration and put us
~ and all Will be lovely" Such are
only nj Tor fools. Human governments can have
but little Influence over the causes that produce
the rise and fail Of prices. the abundance Ur want
laws, and the puppets that FOR tho time hold
official authority have as little influence over
these great movements as flies have over the re-
volvinR wheel. AT this tine our country Is the
most prosperous In the world, though We suffer,
to some extent, from the same causes that bring
stagnaton 70 tho Industries Of all commercial
countries.
have here copious extracts from English, Bel,
gian, German and French papers, all Eations OF
wealth and power, in profound peace, aud ali
showing extreme adversely and depression ID
trade aud prices.
The iron trade in England has passed through
extreme depression. During It's course some OF
the lAHnAar mud WHnn1NEH.nN a "a q
Germs had TO succumb TO the severe reaction, while
operatives suffered In The greatest degree by the
Increased supply OF labor and greatly diminished
prices.
THE IRON TRADE
10 England has fallen nearly fifty per cent. The
Belgian iron trade was lmOst eXtinguished, and
the workmen employed were driven TO other pur.
cults. This industry is the one that has suffered
most IN our own country, while we are rapidly re-
covering by unbOunded natural resources, and by
reduced cost OF production. / have before me an
English paper showing that the exports OF Man
chester OF cotton fabrics, especially 10 the United
States, have been largely reduced. The amount OF
cotton goods shipped TO this country has been To-
duced In five years from 129, 0O0lOOO yards TO $1,000
OO0 yards; Of wooden goods from COCO, 600 yards to
lA7S,O0O yards, while our own production has enor-
mously increased, aud we are now exporting both
cotton and woOlens. In Germany OF thirty
two companies enumerated IN a table 1 have be-
fore me, only six show any dividend whatever for
the last year, and the aggregate accounts show q
loss OF 81 100000 on tho years operations. or the
silk trade In France, which is one of the great
branches of their industry, II appears from a paper
| have before me, that there are about 10000 silk
looms AZ LYONS, and nearly half Of these are now
idle. The number OF weavers now out OF employ
ment is roughly stimated at from twelve TO If
teen thousand. ] might follow these general
statements by picturing the distress in all these
great and lich countries, compared with which
The greatest suffering OF our people Is Insignificant.
WITH Us THE WORST IS OVER
And the vast industry which gives employment to
the great body OF our peOple-that of agriculture
-iR now extremely prosperous. 1t Is a common
saying that 1.-THE farmers are growing rich" and
as they grow rich other industries will thrive, aud
trade revive. To attribute the distress, which |
know you suffer in common with the rest of man.
kind, TO any causes growing out OF the adminis
tratiOn of our Government, is extreme folly. I'm
like the laws of most European countries, our
laws are framed. as far as possible, to promote
industry, TO protect labor and distribute wealth.
Here we give to every man the same privileges,
civil and political, whether he be
rich or poor, or whatever may be his condition.
He must enter into competition with Others, but
dy for periodical depressiOns no human mind con
point out or administer. That must be the result
OF time, OF industry, OF economy. No doubt soon,
INDUSTRY WIN np~r~n,
And we may expect a season OF prosperity. Tho
poor DO not suffer alone from hard times. Tho
first blow must fall upon those who have property
Investments. which are swept away, and then the
evil falls upon all classes alike. All that you can
ask of the Government is that II Will administer
the limited powers conferred upon 1t with the
same Intelligence and economy that You would
expect of private citizens, doing all IL can within
limited puwcis 10 confer the greatest good upon
the greatest number. This, l believe, is
now being done by the National Government,
STRIKES.
Every man OF you is deeply interested In the
strength ana power of this Government, though
its operations may he far from you. This was
shown IN the important services rendered by the
General Government i'll the
RECENT WIDE EXTENDED STRIKES
BY the employees of railroads. which reached from
Philadelphia to New Orleans, affected all the
great trunk lines Of the country, and for a time
paralyzed several powerful States. For "A time II
threatened civil war and anarchy, and caused n
large destruction OF life and property. The Adj
ministrAtiOn was called upon by the Governors OF
West Virginia and Maryland, two Democratic
States, TO aid In putting down domestic violence.
Our small army was scattered over tho West
eTn country. The last House of representatives
had refused 70 appropriate for pay or supplies for
the ARM lest fOrsOOth 1t might he used in a State
to put down domestic violence. These calls were
promptly met by President Hayes, and by q
by the skllIiul action of the officers in omman
especially Of General Hancock and General SchO-
field. the regular army was the chief means Of
suppressing domestic violence extending TO many
States. and which could almost be classified Us
civil war. No Just man will withhold from the
Administration fair prnise for n difficult task well
done. These strikes bring prominently into Amerl-
can politics the contest between capital aud labor
that for many years disturbed Great Britain, and
was tho foundation OF the scenes Of the reign
of terror during the French Revolution Ia 1898.
Happily, in this country eur strikes have been
local ana unimportant, but .Bc great change made
In our industries since the war, aud the enormous
enlargement Of our mlning and manufacturing IN
dustries-JiC great increase IN the number Of cor.
p~OratiOns and their extended power and Influence,
Compel us to consider this question, ard, If posi-
Bile, to find q remedy. When labor is chiefly con-
fined to the
CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL
On separate farms, no contest between capital and
labor can arise, and where, as in former times, our
mechanics were independent artisans, each work
ing either alone or with n few others i'll shops scat
tered through the country, there could be no such
trouble. But when great corporations or lndlvid-
Hals employ large plumbers OF persons who depend
upon their daily labor for their daily bread, and
whose wages may he affected at any time by the
win of the capitalist, there has been and always
will be an irrepresshle conflict between the man
who furnishes or directs the capital aud the In
borer who does the work. When TO this is added
the fact that, by recent consultations, great rail-
road companies have been formed, each doing o
transportation business larger than the whole
transportation on the Mississippi or on the lakes
in the North, with the power IN tho officers OF the
company to change at pleasure the rate OF freight
and the wages of employees, II was inevitable that
the conflict would some time come between the
corporations and the employees.
THE WILL OF FoUR MEN.
Let me illustrate the enormous power that Is
now practically concentrated within the will OF
four men. When the war broke out the common
cry Of the West was that no rebel cannon nhOuld
threaten the m OF the Mississippi Valley.
our commerce should flow untaIed to the sea.
The entire tonnage passing any given point on
the Mississippi River Is now estimated to be three
million tons,
The great lakes on the North have been spoken
of since The discovery Of America as being the
wonderful provision Of nature for the vast inter
nal OF the continent. The whole ton
mage passing at q given point on the line OF the
lakes Ia about three million tons.
The Erie Canal IN New York, from Buffalo to