The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-04-15
Hard Times.

Hard Times.
Inquiry Of merchants and business
men will always bring the answers,
"business dull, nothing doing and hard
times" without their being able to ac-
count for it or to approximate salts
factory reason. While this may be
true, and doubtless is true, the signs of
industry and thrift around us do not
materially differ from other years at
the same season. Builders are busy
and, apparently, have had, at all times,
as much work rs they could well at
tend to-; public carriers are constantly
on the 60 and seem to enjoy as little
rest as any class of our citizens; even
the merchants, on the usual busy days,
have enough to do to keep them from
loafing about the streets and have GER
tainly enjoyed prosperity enough to
keep their stocks up and their places
of business in excellent condition. State
and city taxes have been paid without
any considerable amount of grumbling;
lawyers are unusually affable and have
always enough clients about to keep
them in that amiable mood; and, not
less an index Of success than the others,
schools are full and doing more effec-
tive work than ever before. These
appearances are gratifying, and may
not solution of the problem be found
in the fact that Orangeburg has in
deed grown to be a city with enlarged
capacity for business; that our mer-
chants, feeling themselves financially
stronger, have increased their stocks
and are better able, than ever before,
to do a large business; and that our
people, having paid large per cent. of
their debts, are better able to economize
and consequently are more independ-
ent of merchants, factors and specula-
tors. The encouragement, therefore,
does not arise so much from an actual
falling off in business as from disap-
pointment because business has not in
creased in proportion to the capacity
to transact it. AS the city grows and
our capacity for busi1oss increases
new enterprises ought to be developed,
and the territory of suppy ought to he
enlarged. For Orangeburg to sit still
and allow large slices of her territory
to he cut off and given to Charleston
or any other market is suicidal in the
first degree, and is unbecoming the
character of so progressive and thirty
ing community. She must reach out
her arms by constructing railroads,
wherever these can be made available
for charging her area Of supply; by
creating new channels of trade, wher-
ever these may be feasible; and by max
ing her market cheaper and more
reliable market than any within
radius of a hundred miles. She must
also hold her present territory by i'm
proving her common highways. This
can and must be done by straitening
and grading those already existing, by
cutting new ones in every direction, by
building bridges, and by shortening
the distance from this center to every
point of the compass. No community
can flourish without good highways,
strait and with level and hard beds.
The future prosperity of Orangeburg
depends as much or more upon COM
mon highways as upon railroads, be-
cause when the former are good it is
cheaper to haul farm produce than to
use the rail and pay freight. This is
the experience Of every growing town
until it becomes commercial mart,
when extent Of territory and railroad
connections become Il necessity. There
is no truer exponent of the progressive
ness OF country than its commonhigh-
ways and there is no better way of en-
largiug our capacity for business and
securing sure supply of business than
Ly these methods, together with cheap
and reliable market.
Strange Facts.
Few nations have exhibited truer
magnanimity and higher sense of
Justice in dealing with troublesome
o1o,,,ont- Of thair noDu1ofion than tha