Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1879-04-25
Causes Of Hard Tim es.

it no1e anxiety about the means Of
livelihood, and less real happiness
and enjoyment now than in the day,
Of our primitive simplicity.
Our ancestors may have been less
dashipg OF demon slrative in their
modes Of living, but they were by no
n.ears less happy or contentcd.
While we enjoy MI the adv =nta ges
Of modern science and inventions for
cur cr mfort, the cry vi hald times is
10 common sound
1t may be p.ofitable for us TO en-.
quire what may be the causes Of these
changes. To us few suggest them
selves just here.
In the first place extravaganza, es-
Iecially i'll dress, has taken a deep
Lold upon our people and brought
with il its attendant miseries. Men
Lave. to a great extent, become slaves
of fashion, and they bow onsequlously
80 i:s 1naGdates no matter how great
the sacrifice. In fact pride feels no
Pain. The milliner sways the world
with the power Of monarch, estab-
fishing the fashion, changing Ii at
will, and all, from The king to the
reRsant, bow cbcdi' ntly at its shrine.
The rich promptly follow It's whims,
and the poor, determined not to be
left behind, struggle to keep up, and
thus care, anxiety and even distress
10 entailed upon the human race.
To so great an extent are these
follies of fashion carried, that oar
places Of worship often present the
appearance Of n variegatcd flower
garden; and doubtless many.are often
denied the privilege of bDwing
a'nund the aacred altar, because they
have not the cash to meet the de-
mands of the mighty sovereign fash
ion.
Hard times must follow if wo
opcnd on gaudy tinsels what would
produce for the suffering millions the
necessaries Of life.
Another cause Of hard times, as we
have before mentioned, is the uni.
versal scramble to get out of the
fields and .eck SIT places, and thus
decrea"e the number Of producers,
and propor,ionately increase the
number Of mere consumers. There
are too many ncn in the cities and
towns and, too few in tho corn and
cotton fields. This is the great
trouble, and the best way to euro it
il for the farmer by proper cembina-
tionD to protect his calling, md by
making hrs products bring their true
value, cause his occupation to be more
inviting. The evil may also be cor
,ected TO rome extent by wholesome
legislation. It is from the farmer
that Ell wealth comes, and why is it
that he is crying poverty?
The fine buildings, court hvuses
and stores inssevery county seat come
out Of The GeM. Tho farmer put them
the ond nobody elEe. Why then is
he 50 poo, and dependent? This is
q question it would be we'll for him to
consider. One reason is that the few
in the fields are supporting so many
who are running in the shade.
j he third cause Of hard times that
We will note here, is official squan,
dering of the peoples money, and
large salaries to. the peoples servants,
Nhieh literally converts them to the
peoples masters.
We say official squandering he
cause it may not DO classed as stoal-
irE, as il Is generally done legally.
A glance at Washington would
convince any one of the truth of
these allusions. Besides orr high
salaried law makers. thousands of
official followers live at easo, with
little to do, out Of the public treas
ury.
The employees Of The United States
constitute All immense army feeding
on the fat Of the land, and supported
entirely by the products of the field.