The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-05-10
HOW LONG CAN THIS LAST7

When, less than year ago, the Island
of Java was devastated by an earthquake,
and if was estimated that besides many
human lives, (Which We're of no apprecia-
bic money value, however, $4,000, 900
worth of property was destroyed, though it
was far off in Cathay,' people even here
felt that it touched their pockets in the eff
feet it must have on the price Of coffee,
1t came nearer home when twelve years
earlier Chicago was laid in ashes and $50,
100000 wiped out; and when, little later,
Boston was burned and $50 100000 more
went to destruction But the losses, by
means of the insurance device, were light
ened to the immediate victims and dis
tributed over so large Il surface that the eff
feet upon the whole was barely percept
ible
There is no such mitigation, however, in
the destruction of property that is now
going on at such fearful rate in Wall St,
as it is called, but which really represents
all the stock boards and markets in the
country. For example, Il few weeks ago,
Western Union Telegraph Company stock
was worth SSl /, today it is worth COLA
loss of $22OO0,00O; Denver and Rio
Grande stock, year ago was worth STA;
today it is $l2 per share, a loss of $4,000
600 The loss, or shrinkage in values of
the Northern and Union and Central
Pacific stocks within a year has been at
least $2O0,00O0OO; the shrinkage of the
Gould and Vanderbilt stocks has been
5000 100000 more, and add to these the
shrinkage of the Northwestern, the Read
ing, and the thousand and one other rail
road stocks and bonds the many hundred
millions represented in mining stocks, in
banking, insurance and manufacturing
company stocks, and so on, and-all in all
it must amount to fearful gregate-a
thousand millions at least. Who loses all
this? Not the operators on the New
York Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago
stock boards, surely. They are mere
gamblers, manipulators One day they
make by selling long" next day by sell
ling short" BY one turn of the card they
win, by another lose To them it is mere.
~ game, and the greater the daily tluctu-
alton the more exciting the game and the
better they are pleased,
The stocks are distributed all over the
country, and are owned as well by widows
and orphans and people in moderate CIT
cumstances as by wealthy people and mil
lionaires. In principle, there is no differ.
ence in the ups and downs of stocks and
bonds and the ups and downs of grain and
meats. There are now said to be fifty million
bushels of wheat "ir sight" A few months
ago that wheat was worth 1926 bushel in
New York. To-day it is worth 80 cents
Cattle and hogs were worth cent or two
more Il pound "A year ago than they are
now. Need our western farmers be told
who are the losers by this shrinkage, and
though il amounts to less than S25WWO0U
i'm all, are not thousands of them very seri-
ously affected? And if thousand mil
lions of other property has been destroyed
or shrunk out of sight in the same way,
are not many other thousands of people as
seriously affected. II all means ruin OF
some sort-tight times ahead-the leveling
down of great fortunes.
Yet the land teens with abundance!
Clothing is cheap and all that man wants
10 eat ur drink, or supply all his bodily
wants, abounds in overlooking profusion
Can there-ought there TO be any real SUI
fering under such circumstances The
stuff" is here-the knotty problem is its
distribution. Who shall solve its Henry
George, of Professor Sumner, or Pig Iron
Kellyy
IT, faotaof tun ,>acarc In the world are