The Ottawa free trader., 1880-11-20

the resumption Of specie payments, and has
continued to the present time. During 1875
the rise averaged 55 per cent and during lC
months of 1880 it has averaged lS per cent
more, so that by the end Of the second year
the average must nearly equal 100 per cent
Among the causes of this astonishing apprc
citation arc enumerated the increased confidence
in investments and general revival OF bust.
ness from the resumption of specie payments
the increased tonnage Of the railroads from the
revival of business; the still greater increase
Of tonnage from the heavy western crops of
the past two years, the pooling" arrange
mcnt by the railroads, by which the former
expensive practice of cutting" rates was pre-
vented; and the heavy importation of specie
last year and this fall, making a large addi-
ton to the circulating medium Of the country
and stimulating speculation.
While the pooling" invention has doubt
less worked largely to the advantage of the
railroads, 1t is not to bo overlooked that 1t has
in the same proportion borne heavily on ship.
pers and producers, and especially on the
farmers of the great west, and the question
arises, will the west continue weekly 10 sub
nit 10 the burden, when they find what enor.
aGIs profits the railroads arc roSping at their
expense. so great have been the profits of
some of the roads tina: they have returned to
the old expedicnt of watering their stock to
conceal the largeness of their dividends. The
western producers understand these tricks and
will bear with them so long as the foreign dc
mand for their surplus grain keeps up prices
at their present high rates, but when that de-
mand falls off, as it surely must In time, and
It again takes, as it did II few years ago, one
bushel of wheat and three bushels of corn to
get another bushcl to market, the west Will
lose its present docilty and show the monopo-
lists, as it did few years ago that it knows
how to take care of itself
Another check on the enormous railroad
profits, aside from the hostile action Of west
ern legislatures they are likely to provoke,
Will be found IN the rapid multipli
cation of rival lines which is now going on.
The construction of new railroads during the
past season has reached a scale wholly unprc-
cedontcd in the previous history of the coun-
try. Not only will II IN u very short period
give the country three or four rival lines to the
Pacific coast, but all the interior trunk roads
will find themselves embarrassed by the rapid
Of rival lines. The competition
can no longer be layed even by the pooling sys-
tenn, and sharp pwars of rates are already break
ing out IN different quarters. The crisis will
come whea shor. crop or falling off Of the
present foreign demand shall put an end to our
export of urcadstulis. Then will
come another crash, and il will be fortunate
for the country if 1t is less disastrous than the
Jay Cooke crash Of 1873. The causes will DO
the same and it Is hard to sec how the same
consequences are to be avoided.
Again the same stoppage of the great iron and
coal industries Of the country arc sure 10 fol.
low, and with the break down of these must
follow the same collapse of all the
other industrial and business interests