The Portland daily press., 1878-04-09
TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL 8.

dance of the products of the soil but there ia a
present and prospective foreign demand for all
that are not required for domestic consump-
uon. Iney are going out as fast as the steam
ers aud SHIPS can carry them. They take the
place OF gold 10 our list of exports aud help to
Keep that precious metal within a fraction of
par.
The movement of the crops was seriously re-
tarded through tina winter, by the condition of
the roads all over the Western country. There
was a complies mud embargo in the ag,icultur-
al districts This state of things interrupted
business to such degree as to precipitate the
failure OF many iradesmen who were unable to
Keep their goods till there was chance to sell
them, and still pay their note at maturity.
Bot the wheat was all garnered; it is coming
forward now 10 golden flood and brings at the
eeaooard the high price of a dollar and quar-.
Ter eushel or thsreabouts, on the average.
With source of income so prolific and reliable
1t Is clear enough that the country is recovering
Its impaired stability and will renew its vitality
in spite of the enerva.ng effect of empiri-
cal legislation if any is accomplished, and the
sooner If all such stumbling ocks to its prog
ress are kept out of the way.
The distribution of the benefits arising from
this beneficent prodigality of nature is some
what unequal. The largest share by far goes
to the producers. But after all that is only a
rectidcation of the inequalities that were observ-
able during the war and for eight years there.
aIIer. Enen the peopls who specula ed and
oougut and sold made the most money. Some
OF them Kept their gains and got away With
them; as many, or more perhaps continued on
wooing fortune till they realized that her
ffowns were as fatal as her smiles had been
alurlng; the obituary notices of this latter class
appear in the records of Cuisines Embarrass-
ments" with which our newspapers ara daily
freighted. Men 10 trade take great risks and
make or lose rapidly. With them it is "quick
come, quick CO." If they enjoyed exemption
from disaster and could always bs sure of sue
cess their ranks would be more overcro wded
than they are. Tue plain farmer who works
from sunrise till dark two thirds of the year
and gets for bis reward vigorous constitution
which be does not put any value on because be
does not know what it would be to do without
IT, and few hundred dollars over and above
his living which seems extremely insignificant
when compared with the tens of thousands DER
annum he bears of people realizing in trade, no
not where shower of good luck may now and
then fall into and fiji his Golfers 1t may be
that be occasionally visits kinsman or near
friend in the city and catches glimpse of lux.
urious living ID brown stone palace, takes an
airing 10 the Park, sail in yacht or seat at
the opera. And as his thoughts lead him into a
mental calculation of the cost of these things he
Is forced to the conclusion that his host must
be spending as much money in twelvemonth
rs he can hope to lay by in a lifetime. Unless
he is good deal of a philosopher this disparity
between their respective conditions makes him
little restless. Possibly it sets him to thinking
whether it wouldn't be feasible for him to sell
his farm and go into business He will nev-
or lack for chances if he has any "capital" at
all. whether it be small or large, there are
always eligible opening" hat is the way
they are described-atd he is told he can make
thousands by investing hundreds in perfectly
safe, easy and reputable enterprise There
are half a column of Cuisines opportunities''-
that is the precise heading in the Herad-by
which it is shown & at by an outlay of any where
from hundred to five Thousand dollars fabu-
lous profits may be secured.
Now If our agricultural friend is no. too level
u,
perchance try to sell his land and herds AMI
migrate to the city where he can fare sumptu-
ously, lie abed late, and accumulate wealth with
speed. But it is not as easy to sell farms as it
Is fancy stocks, and it is possible that while he
iswalting for a customer an Associated Press
dispatch" advises him that the Crnsus who
entertained him go elegantly during his recent
visit to the metropolis has "failed." There
have been instances where the intelligence was
accompanied by intimaton of fraud, misa ppro-
priation OF securities and suggestions of GRIM
inal prosecution. Then the farmer dons his
cap of reflection and just as likely as not it
oocurs to him that he may as well stay where
be is and stick to the calling he understands;
mat there may be considerable tinsel in what
he mistook for pure gold while he was dazed
By the glitter of it, ard that it is better to have
modest competence and be free from debt,
than to be dependent upon the fluctuations in
markets or of the stock exchange, and in per-
petual danger of being brought to a sudden halt
through Inability to raise funds for the davis
requirements. The sdmonitory informs ton
came to him opportunity. The collapse 10 the
affairs OF his recent host, concerning whose
apparent opulence he was filled with sent.
ments OF wonder and Of something akia to
envy, served the useful purpose of dissuadipg
him from forsakng the rustic independence of
his comfortable home to wear out his energies
in the struggle to enrich himself BY mpetiug
with mep, majority of whom, no matter how
smart they are, sooner or later are driven to
the wall, as the statistics clearly demonstrate.
Undoubtedly the shopkeepsr has points of use,
fitness as well as the soltiller Both in their
respective way perform services to the com.
monity. But there has been for good many
years past decided tendency to overdo the
former and underdo the latter vocation Nature
In the end applies the corrective by establish
ing the fact that the husbandman's occupation
Is in the long run the most desirable of the
two. When that proposition becomes self
evident, there will BIO less trading and more
agriculture. The former may at pinch bs
done without; it would bs great incoaven-
renee. Out not absolute destruction to forego
the offices of the middlemen But the yerg |
existence OF mankind depends upon the grow |
ers Oh the fruits OF the earth. Their labors |
are indispensable to the sustenance of the race.
1t is worth our while to take all these matters |
into consideration when we are disposed to |
grow lugubrious and respondent as we read |
day after day of this and that failure, and
jump at the conclusion that such occurrences |
are fraught only with evil They have their
compensatons. and are so much part of the
system by which the resuscitation of the gus.
pended energies of the nation is to be per-
fected that We cannot possibly get on without |
them. They are not destructive in their char
acter like wars, and fires and droughts. They |
take nothing away from the worlds aggregate
of accumulated property There is lust az |
much left of everything after one failure or
thousand as existed before. They make good
deal of alteration In the portions distributed.
and in that respect operate harshly sometimes
IN individual cases. But they would not hap
pen If they we're not necessary, and they will
become infrequent when commerce is re-
established on solid foundations 1t is a suff-
cieut reason for bearing them with patience
that beyond them lies haven of prosperity
Meantime it is gratifying to know that the