, 1877-10-14
THE CAUSE OF HARD TIMES,

| from a very intelligent German upon bar;
times, and what causes them. We hav.
! printed several communications of this sort
and nearly every writer has theory Of hi!
own, which be deems amply sufficient to ac
| little Sunday sermonizing, not only us tc
t the cause, but also as to the remedy.
The key to tho secret of the hard times,
most undoubtedly, is the reckless determine.
| ton Of the American people to get heavily
| into debt,-a determination SO universal that
it may almost be regarded as a business
MAXIM. This determination grows ont OF
the risky, gambling spirit of the Americans.
the unconservative, speculative character OF
| the people, that feeling which induces every
man * to mako spoon or spoil horn, !" and
| to risk all his own money and the money OF
| MI his friends to make a sudden strike or
rush into a fortune at one bound As peo-
pie We cannot wait; we must 60 at break
| neck pace. We arc not coutented with slow
gains; fortune must come in shower.
When the inevitable catastrophe arrives,
then we look about for the causes. We say
that jar CooKE's Northern Pacific OF some
other collapsed railroad speculation Aas
worked the mischief that the sudden
breakdown Of weak banks has de-
sroyed al confidence, and thus par
alyzed business that stock-gambling
corrupts business circles and ruins legitimate
trade; that the shrinkage Of values has
closed up mills and other industrial enter
prises and thrown thousands out Of employ
ment, and so on, aud SO on. But how did
we get into such condition? There can-
not be shrirkage of values unless there
has been previous expansion. There eau
not be bankruptcies unless there has been IN
inordinate rushing into debt.
By way Of contrast, France furnishes IN
excellent illustration. Her war with Ger
many. first and last, including the indem-
nifty. cost as much if not more than our
Civil War, although it was very brief in COM
parison with our four-years conflict. She
met with frightful reverses. She was lu-
INFLATED and tramplcd into the very dust by
the German giant She had to pay not only
the cost Of the wor, but cities, towns, and
villages were mulcted in enormous sums
to meet tho heavy indemnify demanded by
Germany. After the last German soldier had
left her soil, she commenced to reorganize
her army, and she has ever since had to
support half million Of men in arms.
Notwithstanding nll this, the material pros
perity of France continues to flow in
strong, even tide. There is no absolute
want, few paupers or idlers. All France to-
day is ut work, and the gay city Of Paris is
the busiest of all. There is no panic, no
shrinknge of values, no distress, no crisis.
ing the war, owing to inordinate issue. has
gradually recovered and worked up to par
with gold. Stocks. securities, and land
values have risen. They have no trouble
with life or fire insurance. The one is based
On sound principles, and the other is secure,
because they have no 6re-losses Of my con-
sequence, since they build better than we.
They have no collapsing savings banks, no
dishonest bankers or defaulting brokers. as VIC
have them. What is the secret of all this?
Simply the French do not rush into debt
beyond what they are able to pay A man
with but SIC, 600 does not rush into $50, ,0O0
Of debt, or gamble away his whole capital on
margins that may be wiped out on a single
days fnll OF. stocks. He never borows to
the whole amount of his capital, He bor-
rows little, lends little, and uses his own
money in his business. Thus Frenchmen 90
on carefully, securely, and steadily, and
France has no expensive panics OIL hand.
The same is true of Belgium, Holland,
Switzerland, and Italy, whose sc, 900, 600
people conduct business upon tho French
system. We hear of no panics or financial
crises in those countries.
Our fonr-years' panic, in actual losses such
as figure upon ledgers, has cost this country
more than its four-y Wharf.-The losses
growing out Of our determination to rush
reckess1y into debt in order to carry on bal
looming enterprises, nine out of ten of which
collapse at giddy height and tumble every
thing down into ruin. Even now, while we
aro passing through tho Valley OF Humilia-
ton, when thousands of men are seeking to
rehabilitate themselves by going through |
bankruptcy, It is inevitable that, when the
wheel turns over and VIC reach easy times
''o"AAe3 - NSS3AoAA "a oGc1AAAboA9 WALL 4A3A Ill
aggnin md go to the length Of their en-
tire capital, their credit, md their friends |
paper, as fnr as they Gun control it, in |
speculative gambling in margins, longs and !
shorts, puts and calls, just as they did be-
fore, with the certain result that in O few I
years another financial cyclone will strike the
country, whi1ling everything into promis-
cuous ruin. Then people will busy them
selves attributing the disaster to false rea-
sons, just as they do now Debt, with its
rulnous accompaniments Of high rents, high
interest, and high expenses, is the worm that
eats out the foundation of business. We
have more money at interest than any other
nation We take greater risks for high in
tercst than any other nation. We would
rather have 10 per cent interest in balloon
than per cent on terra .frma. De-
posators would rather invest their savings
ut nigh interest on 1i1nsy securities tlan at a
low, sure rate on Government bonds /: and
bankers and other investors of money. as n
rue, give the preference to high wing kite
that may break its string any day. II Of this
time, while we are working ourselves ont of
debt through the processes Of the bankrnnt
courts and compromises with creditors. "a
would ADOPT the French system of paving as