The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-10-03
THE CAUSE OF THR HARD T1MEs.
President Hayes Discusses tL.e Condition
OF the Country and tho Finances.

AhE CAUSE OF THE HARD TEEES.
President Hayes Discusses tLe Condition
OF the Country and the Finances.
In bis speech at Toledo, Ohio, where
fully $4,000 people were assembled at
the Fri-State Agricultural Fair, Mr..
Hayes dwelt upon our financial troubles,
say, my friends, that in material
wealth we have all the essential ele.
ments. And yet, it is in your thoughts
Il can almost read 1t in your faces
that for five years past there has been
stagnation in business, and the depres.
zion still seems to exist. Now, the few
plain wores that desire to say ON this
subject are, frat, word or two rs to the
cause. One simple and acknowledged
fact, or opinion, and known to most men,
is that the war was the cause of it. Now,
my friends, that is the cause of that ex-
traordinary and remarkable event which
happened in 1873. There is no mystery
in it; it was bound to be sooner Or later
you could not escape it. This war made
the hard times, as war always does.
Why what is war? We know about it
now. When the war began we were
threatened with its results. remember
| i
resided in 1860, who said: "Why, this
Cincinnati live on the business in the
South. Let us go to war, aud in siy
months the grass will grow in your by.
ways and streets" Did it2 Why, my
friends, the war had not been prosecuted
ninety days when every man saw what
mistake it was, and that every street was
buster than before we had war.
| A million of men in the South we're
taken from the ranks of Industry. and
inst ad of making property they became
the destroyers end consumers Of proper.
| ty. So it was in the North but where
it made difference from what was ex-
| pected waa this every IT who had
wheat or corn, or coal, OF labor, found
that when war came he had better GUS
toner than ever beforc-a customer that
wanted all he got, and wanted it i'm
mediately-a customer who would not
haggle about the price. That customer
he had in the person Of The United
States. Business instead of being de-
4 pressed, began to revive. Property
which had lain on the shelves of the
merchants for long time increased in
value day after day. The result of it
| then was that we made money H.a.-we
made it easily. We could afford TO bor-
row at higher rates of interest because
our Investments were sure to be profita.
BILE. Over trading and fast living were
the results of the war. need not enlarge
i on it.
Finally the war ended men formerly
in the ranks returned to their homes,
and the material. needs of the govern
\ ment began to decrease. You lost yonr
best customer-the United States. 1t
didn't want to buy it wanted to SELL
Now, every wise man knew we should
have day of settlement. Flush times
of war are to be followed by hard times
like these we have lately known, and
there is the cause. Now, my friends, il
10 sufficient to cay that it is written in
the laws of political economy that wars
are followed by hard times and panics
The only mystery in the whole thing il
that the hard times did not come before
they did.
Now we have got the cause, what is
the effects? The moment we began tc
have hard times we began to retrcnch-
every man to cut his expenses down and
to curtail his expenditures. Each man
in little while began to find himself q
little better off than he wac. It may be
q long time-Une year, two years, five
Iyears-bnt when it does get to the end
and the majority get their expenses less
than their receipts, then we are all bet
ter off. The government of the United
States is the people of the United States.
When you are all extravagant the gov.
ernment will be extravagant. When you
are all getting 20 watch yourselves, to
watch each particular point, you set your
officers to watching moro particularly.
When the war ended we had q debt OF
S2, 400, 900, 900 on our shoulders, upon
which we were praying 7.3 per cent. in
terest. Our taxes were raised to nearly
$500, 900, 900 in time of profound peace.
Our currency was worth 60 to 20 cents
on the dollar. In our foreign tfade the
balance was against us nearly S1O0,O0O,-
600 year; and now how are we2 The
Idebt is reduced nearly third How
many wise man shook his head at the
close of the war and said, ''The people
can never pay that debt" Why, we
have got third Of it paid OFF already.
The interests that you paid--that is re-
| duced from Sl40,00O,O00 to S95, ZOO, 600.
We no longer pay 7.3 per cent. inter
est. We can get all the money wo want
you and II Those who borrow money
know that when the government pays
per cent. It will cost them IL aud i5 per
cent, and when the government pays 6
and per cent. the rate of interest will
go down for us; and so as the credit OF
tae government grows better your credit
and mine grows better.
We are GOWN to per cent. on inter-
ests, and now as TO the currency. II was
currency worth 60 cents on the dollar
on one day, but did not stick at that price.
You never could tell on Monday what
it would be on Saturday. Who lose by a
tickle standard of value2 Always the Ia
borer and producer. Why3 Simply
5eeccsss;s;so the niddiemap, being business
man, understands that the standard of
valne il likely 80 Sc Up Or 60 down 70 bis
disadvantage. Therefore, when he sells
ne Guey it having reference to the fact
that the standard of value may change,
and consequently he charges enough to
I'make himeelf safe, and the consumer
heals the loss. That is tickle standard
of value. [Applause.] Now, my friends,
how do you seeit to-day The currency
has been going up, up, until It is 991; Il
is as interchangeable as Lake Eric. II
does not go down at all. It is steady.
1t is no longer yardstick that 10 one
fnnt in March, :.i!sss.es sas. ia hEssay and six
feet in July it is three fest all the time
| Tremendous applause. Now, nv
friends, that is the currency.
AS to our balance of trade before the
panic. That balance of trade was
against us $l00,00G,O0O year-that i.
tn eav we hSuOhk ahrnad ttoc t,,t,ch -, =, 80