The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-08-23
Business Troubles.

In our judgment the great difficulty,
affecting more or less every department
of trade, is that too many people have
been living upon the resources Of the
country without contributing anything
to the common supply. The bulk of the
n-producers may be divided into two
,'lnsses tho idlers and the spectators.
The number Of those who are idle has
largely increased There was a time
when, outside of large cities and few
families which in this respect tried to
ape the foreign aristocracy, the great
body of the people Of mature years and
in good health expected TO work in some
form to earn their Own living. In o
great majority Of inmile. the only idlers
were the very young. the very aged and
the in:;rm TIE father and mother and
all the children except the infantile class
contributed something to the common
stock. The mother was generally the
most persistent toilcr Of the family. In
addition to the production and care of
the little ones, she did cooking, washing,
making, mending, aud sometimes lent a
hand in tho shop or field. Stout boys
and girls did not eat the bread of idle.
ness even when at school during the
day they earned their food by active in.
dustries in the morning aud evening
hours. With nimble feet and ready
hands they helped both father ant:
mother in the toilsome tasks Of life.
How greatly this has changed Substi-
tutes must now be found for the mistress
| Of the family in the care of the house.
hold. The daughters must be waited
upon instead of waiting on others. The
sons are looking for employment which
will give them living without the old.
fashioned manual labor, and if they earn
few dollars IL week the sum is hardly
sufficient for their little designations and
personal adornments. Instead of a
whole family lending their aid to the
conusn thrift one pair OF shoulders is
expected to bear the burden of the house.
hold life, and to furnish the wages for
one or more "help," now largely employ.
ed in waiting on the helpless members,
too indolent or fashionable to help them.
selves.
The change which has inflicted the
greatest injury has been in the methods
ny which the head of the family has
sought to carry this increasing burden.
1t is not go much the haste to be rich as
the desire to support Il family in these
changed conditions, which has driven so
many into II life Of speculation. In for.
mer days tho spectators were few, and
the regular dealers were the many, who
by their industry and enterprise earued
all the profit that came to them. Tie
farmer who produces large crop of
| wheat, or corn, or oats, or cotton on q
| Western harvest field or Southern
plantation, would be almost helpless in
the turning of his product if the trader
will not come forward aHi intervene to
lind him market. In like manner the
producer of hogH and cattle, or their pro-
duets in lard, hams, pork, beef, tallow
and the like, need the dealer TO cnc-c-t
their stores into ready money The
middle man, therefore, was as much O
producer as he who held the plow, or
raised the droves and herds.
When we had in this city only five
hundred or thousand merchants in the
bread siuaa, provision and cot.ol trade
there were occasional ventures on their
part that were of speculative character,
hut we could count on our fingers the
whole number Of prominent men who
sought TO live by speculation. Now OF
the 1000 who meet daily mt the Produce
or Cotton Exchange Il large production
ct whom are supposed to handle these
aud kindred articles Of merchandise, the
majority make their largest operations
solely in the spirit Of gambling. They
are not helping the farmer or the planter
to convert his grain or his cotton into
cash, or the packer of provisions to real
izc on the product of the slaughte-
house they are really betting with some
other dealer rs to the future course OF
prices.
The great trend of trade all over the
| - s,,tN -. IL 4
For every five million bales of cotton
produced there are twenty million bales
sold annually in this market alone. Ac.
cording to the report of the Cotton Eek.
change, there were contracts during the
last three years in this city for 80. SOC, 800
bales OF cotton, of which only 1881 ia
actually changed hands, 378,37O being
for export. Eghty.fiv million bales
sold, of which only million half were
actually handled and delivered! And 80
of every other product. A largo part of
the trading of the country has come to
be the mere changing of nominal title
to lot Of merchandise which is never to
come into the hands Of either buyer or
seller. This class of dealers add nothing
to the material wealth of the country.
and the injurious effects of the specula-
tions thus iostered can hardly bo over.
estimated. The cure will not come from
legislation nor from the force of public
opinion. If it comes at all, il will be
from the natural out working of the evil
itself. When the risk 10 too great for
any hope of profit, and the tickets drawn
all come in blanks, the operators will
betake themselves to a more promising
occupation. But not until more people
III this country earn their own living
than are now actively engaged in :hat
profitable service there can be for US no