The Portland daily press., 1881-01-22
Leads the Nations.
The Influence Of the United States in the
Markets Of the World-The Ad-
vantages Of Her Position
and Enterprise.
London Daily News.l

London Daily News.]
The distinct lead which! America takes in the
markets of the world is fact we have more
than once endeavored to emphasize, a fact
moreoyerl whose force the events of the past
year or two have brought into striki ng promi-
nence. In each particular market there is
usually leading spirit. A man with wealth,
enterprise, and ready skill is marked among
his fellows, and, as the phrase goes, followed.
America, on the same principle, having rush.
ed into wealth, and possessing a population
endowed with the distinguishing qualities al
ready named, has taken the lead among COM
mercial countries. The trade depression of
1873 began with the crash of an American
banking house; the almost universal recovery
ct 1S79-'80 had its first impulse in the great
harvests OF the new continent. The cause,
In one word, of this American leadership is
scope. Geographically there is wide ex-
panse OF agricultural land ready FIR
tilling when the world needs breadstuffs; there
are similarly boundless mineral resources
available when the demanps for iron and coal
require satisfying. The very character of the
people is of an unfettered kind, for originally
comparatively free colony, and eventually
free nation, the United States are unburden-
by the restrictions of habit and tradition which
in an old country cram the minds of the peo.
pie.
There is unusually little prejudice of caste
to be overcome in occupations There il.
above all, hardly remnant of those feudal
laws and usages which have impressed most
old communities with the stamp of former
military conquests In effect, America with
stable and peacable form of government
with good credit, and without the Stacking
laws and traditions of old countries. is pecu-
liarly adapted to throw itself with ease and inn
petuoslty into every new opening for trade.
1t can rush into agriculture when urban trades
are oyerdone, and in short time supply other
countries with good and cheap food in unpre-
cedented abundance; it can when required
turn again to manufactures, railway building,
specnlations of all kinds; it can do ANYTHING
but stand STILL Civil war, with its legacy of a
deprecated currency and heavy national
backs worth less than half their nominal value,
and varying in current value from week to
week, she now possesses gold currency which
is almost as stable as our own, and her inter-
national exchanges are thereby enormously
facilitated. She has thus overcome the losses
and discredit of past great war. She has
also overcome to large extent the perpetual
drawback OF distances. The Pacific Ocean is
linked with the Atlantic by railway and teie-
graph, and both sides of the vast continent
are within speaking distance of the teemipg
centres of Asiatic and European commercial
life. Scope enough for product IN and self
support there is in America, supposing the
outside world shut out; but, notwithstanding
the disease of distance" which was once the
bugbear OF enterprise in commercial as well
as military matters, American mar kets are of
Interest to London, to st. Petersburg, to Hong
Kong, to Melbourne. The scope OF American
commerce is bounded by no ocean, and limited
by no nationality, This very scope, this pow
er OF expansion, this 'roominess' which dis
tinguishes all things American leads to yio-
lent fluctuations. Nearly always "boom"
Is oyerdone-whether it be railway-buildinc
boom or an agricultural boom,--if the term
can be applied to the wholesale exodus from