The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1878-08-06

then the bubble burst. The war clos
eel and the business world begun 10 take
breath and see where il was. It was
soon found that these promises To pay
were not really money, aud that this
great financial prosperity was built on
false values, aud that instead of the
the country making money IL had been
destroying il aud giving its notes in
place of il. These notes must be paid
aud in order to pay them the country
must be heaviiy taxed.
AS il was with the nation so with the
individual. He had been tempted By
false values. The high prices of every
thing had induced him to get in debt.
lie borrowed money To enlarge his
business, not doubling that he could
pay il aud make far more than the in
terest, since he got such a high price
for everything he had 20 sell. SO the
merchant, the farmer, and the manu-
facturer went into debt not doubling
but they could easily pay from their
very great profits. But after the war
closed, and things began to settle back
into the old channels, prices went down
and these debts were not so easily paid.
And now the effects OF our own folly
and extravagance are beginning very
! keenly TO be felt No nation can in-
dulge in war, beg Of you TO under
stand, without paying for it. War is a
very expensive luxury. 1t destroys
The product and kills the producer. IL
eats up the fruit and then cuts down
the tree. We, as a people, carried on
war on n large scale and our expense
was correspondingly great ln trying
to settle our difficulties we made
very big hole in our national pocket
And now that hole must be filed, and
! il cannot be filled with promises to pay.
You cannot bridge this great gulf in
our finances with printed paper; or at
least you cannot fill il up. Ii must be
done 10y hard dollars. earned by hard
hands. 1t must be done by that labor
which converts the latent riches OF our
and into available wealth. II cannot
DO done in any other way. War de-
stroys real wealth aud its price must
be paid in the same coin. We may as
we'll learn the hard. dry fact that we
must pay for this luxury of fighting,
dollar for dollar. Hence our taxes are
heavy, and will be SO long as you aud
| live. Aud we are beginning tO feel
the burden Of this taxation. When
| all kinds Of produce were high we
could easily pay "A high tax, but now,
when they are low, II il hard TO do
| this. Hence, as nation We are now
| beginning really 10 feel the financial
| burdens OF the war. The individual,
TOO, as we'll as the nation, is reaping
the fruits of his own sowing. He il
paying for his own greed and ertrava-
gance. He is learning that he over
reached in making haste to get rich. -
| he rushed into debt, he manufactured
on credit. he raised grain on credit, he
traded on credit, and did about every
thing on credit, and now he cant sell
his products and so he can't pay his
debts. lie has overstocked the market
and hence his products. as well as his
debts, are on his hands. In fine, all
business has had fever and is now
beginning TO sweat II of. The sweat
isn't pleasant, but. in my opinion, il is
FAR more hopeful than the fever.
SO too the individual is reaping the
reward Of his own extravagance. He
Is just finding ont that he has eaten
ais cake and must now go without
| lie lived not on bis real but on has
| prospective wealth. He INDUCED in
luxury that was warranted not by his
present but by his future income. But
hat income proved to be imaginary
! aud so he is involved, IL not in.olvent
And the operative aud common laborer
lived up TO or beyond tneir income
when wages were high, and now that
they are out OF employ they have moth
ing 10 live on.
Here then we see the causes Of the
present state Of things. There is an
over production in all branches OF ia
Dor. The farmer, perhaps, has no
more grain than would be used II all
hose operatives who are out Of en-
ploy had remunerative labor, but they
nave not. The mills are closed be-
cause their owners have more products
IN hand than they can sell, and the
operatives have no work and no money.
Thousands oil thousands are just in
This condition. They have nothing 10
buy with. They need your produce.
but they have no money TO buy il, for
they are out OF work aud they spent
everything and saved nothing when
they had plenty. Hence the anomaly
# which / have spoken. Plenty OF
everything 10 eat aud yet starvation
A great demand, or rather great want
and a great supply. and yet no way Of
bringing them together. IL Is because
The consumers have nothing with which
TO buy the products OF the producers.
II is not because there is scar
,ity of currency. as some think
There is money enough boarded 10
| ell hn IN
vas only in the hands OF those that
need bread Ii don't come up here
aud buy your produce because there Il
nobody with money TO take that pro.
duce when il gets TO the other end OF
the rope. Just open way FOR these
starving millions TO buy that produce
when il gets 10 them and you will soon
see that there il money enough Il
move all the grain you farmers have,
and more too.
Having then, according 10 our old.
fashioned notions, stated what appears
TO us TO be the real cause OF our pres
ent financial condition, we proceed tc
offer some suggestions as To the cure
Having noted very briefly how we got
iuto this fix, let US see how we are q
get out. And here we beg OF you tc
notice that we have no new invention
TO offer, though what / have to say
may be quite new to the present gener
alton. The remedy we have TO give j,
not. perhaps. a medicine that we could
get patented, but it is ono not in very
general use Of late, and therefore IL Is
new and may prove quite unpalatable
IL is summed up in three words, WORK
rcoNo,fy and uoSFsrY That IL W1
must work and earn our cake. thus
paying for il honestly, and then b'
careful and not eat it quite all mp.
Now this 10 many will seem like yer,
: absurd advice. They sound undoubt
edly very much like the words Of som,
? old fogy. None but some old, played
! out doctor, who is way behind th,
: times, would prescribe such medicin'
! as this for the disease OF our fnancia
body. The politician will regard this
J "a course, as shere nonsense. Econo
. nv and honest labor, 10 him, are thing
D which have long since passed into Ob
= ivion. He believes in politics and II
2 nothing else. He tells you that JUS
5 let him manipulate the political ma
!. chinery and all will be glorious.
: just let him get hold of the wire
+ and he will show YOU how to run tn
7 nation. Men who cannot successfully
! manage peanut stand. are very sur
Z that they have mastered the Who'll
i problem OF our national finance. The
- have n perfect panacea for all our hu
a ancial ills.
u Just put them or their party int
y power, and the land will flow with mil