Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-05-26

= In 1873, nearly five years ago, the panic
occurred whose effects have been so disas-
trous. At first it was thought that after
certain number of bankruptcies had cleared
away ''the unsound timber" and a period of
public economy of twelve or eighteen months
had accomplished the work of recuperation,
business would gradually revive. 1t was
also believed that trade, purified by the
storm, would be conducted on Il sounder and
more trustworthy basis than before, and the
country GO on in career of prosperity even
more successful than formerly, after the de-
struction of the unsoYnd speculations and
corrupt expedients that had proved so ruin
Gus. Months grew TO years, but no revival
came, though every now and then some little
commercial incident aroused hope, and led
the sanPuine to proclaim that the commence
meat OF better days had arrived, that tine pc
Rod of distress WIS past, and the bright days
of prosperity and ease were at hand. Not
only did these hopes fail and these prophe-
sizes prove Elusive, but the sad era of distress
from which we were suffering spread out its
borders until England, Germany, France.
Holland = in short, every CONNER
cal city in Europe-were mourn
ing over decaying trade and the crash of in-
Vulnerable bankruptcies. Nor was this the
limit; Canada, Australia, the Indies, and
every other commercial center throughout
the globe became involved in the calamity of
''bad trade" Usually, VIXEN ono country is
suffering from panic, others are prospecting;
but in this case the epidemic of disaster was
universal. This universally of effect proved
the universally Of the cause. The American
panic was not merely the occurrence of one
of those periodical tornadoes that sweep at
intervals over a portion of the commercial
world; like the deluge of sacred story, it was
a catastrophe engul6ng the whole earth, and
covering the very mountains. What was
this widespread cause? What is IT that
since 1878 has held the whole commercial
world in the throes of distress, destroying
fortunes, dishonoring proud names, and
breaking many an overburdened heart A cor
respondent of the New York Bulletin inves- |
tigated recently this question. The following |
is the result of his probing into the intrica-
cies Of the strange commercial phenomenon |
we are discussing. With speedIer communi- |
cation and transportation, recovery from dis |
aster should have been earlier than formei ly |
What prevented? Not inflated currency
alone, for nations with sound money became |
equally involved. Not an unwise tariff, for
where there were all the advantages of free |
trade there was no escape. The cause EVIL |
IDENTIFY lay deeper and spread wider than any |
of these, or similar blunders or folies. 1t |
lay, not in over production, whether aRrIcul |
aokrr for Nth oil
production had grown up increased means of |
distribution, and an increased area of con-
sumption. The effect being on a scale never |
experienced before, showed that none of these |
ordinary causes was the source of the woe; it /
was something new and unprecedented. |
That cause appears to have been the enor
NOUS increase that had taken place in facili
ties for communication and transportation, as
Will be seen by rejecting on the change it has
produced in the period elapsing between
the time merchandise is put on
the market, and the time it
is delivered 10 the buyer. The telegraph,
the ocean steamer, the Suez canal, and the
spread of railroads, have cut down to a few
weeks the time in which orders are filed
and merchandise delivered, where formerly
months were consumed. Instead of pur-
chasers going personally to distant markets,
or sending by MIL. they telegraph; then
steam goes flying over space, the Suez canal
cutting off an important portion of the space
itself, and quickly the goods are laid down at
the door of the purchaser. in however dis
tant portion Of The world the port to which
it is ordered may be. Contrast this with the
mot very far distant-past. Scarce ten years
ago, much of the cotton grown IN India was
taken to B5mbay or Madras IN carts drawn
by builocks (often in the seed), trip re
curing weeks, there it was prepared for
shipping, and when ready was laden
on slow sailing vessels and sent to Liv-
erpool by way of the Cape Of Good Hope,
a voyage of elk or eight months. After
being leisurslg taken to Lancashire and made
into goods, II was sent on its return
voyage to India and China, reaching the con-
sinner in those countries in not less than two
wears after it was grown. Now, with prompt.
railroad communication, India cotton reaches |