Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1879-08-26

The Congressional COMMITTEES that has
fust closed its labors In San Francisco was
appointed By Congress 10 obtain facts and
opinions concerning the depression Of bust
nsss and industry, its causes and the means
Of cure. The committee commenced its
work in Chicago. . straw which showed
that they deemed that city the center Of
public opinion, and the great source whence
rsdistss the kind Of light which they were
in search Of. Strange to say they did not
their inquiries with the mer-
Chants. who are immediate sufferers; not
With the master manufacturers, who have
been compelled 10 discharge their laborers;
NOT with the farmers, who have been
obliged to curtail the employment Of field
hands; not with lawyers, who are too busy
with the consequences Of hard times in
single cases to give much thought to gen.
ersl causes; but with aphysician, who Is
better qualified TO cure the ills Of the flesh
than TO grspple with the problem Of hard
times, its cause and cure This was on a
par with the conduct Of the entire investi-
CATION, both in Chicago and San Francisco.
This physician read . paper in which be
reviewed the entire history Of American
finances, and endeavored to prove that all
the business depressions have been caused
by contraction" Had any member Of
tho committee exerted himself sufficiently
TO have asked the cause Of contraction, the
witness would probably have answered that
il vas merely the effect Of antecedent infa-
ton ; that stringency in credits was the
inevitable reaction from excessive cred
its; that . reduction in trade wa q
necessary consequence Of excessive trade;
that diminished productions necessa-
rily flowed from antecedent excess Of
production. When times are good
business men, whether as individuals or
corporations, avail themselves Of their
credit to an excessive extent, and, although
with purposes strictly honest. it finally be-
comes dangerously So In this way, and
with the same motive. production becomes
abnormalIy excessive, and an excess in both
production and the facilities Of credit in
evitably give actual property a fictitious
and inflated valuation. The reaction is
inevitable. 1t is discovered when too late
that trade Is disproportioned to the actual
basis Of wealth and demand. Merchants
have bought more than they can sell, their
customers have bought more than they can
pay for, and so on through the entire list
Of business men. Contraction necessarily
follows, and while it com in the
great financial centres, it rapidly extends
until it reaches all credits and all indus
tries. Banks fail, mills close, merchants
compromise, money Is Withdrawn from cir
culation. md those who are possessed Of
means hold on 10 it tightly. 1t Is then
that hard times are actually npon US, .
time when the bold ~speculator thriyes and
the industrious wait patiently for better
days. They finally come, and then fol-
lows an era Of cautious and limited bust
ness, in which all try to retrieve former
losses. We are just recovering from q
season OF imitation and over-production,
and . return to good times will not be
by Congressional reports, or by
any assistance possible from Congressional