Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-02-23
The SORROWS that Follow Poverty.
BIZ o. THoMPsoE, ESQ.

Here's to poverty; it sticks by us when all
friends forsake us."-PADDY McFLNE.
Reading the foregoing toast in print of
the day, we naturally fell into a train of
thought that led us back to the days of our
late unpleasantness, back to the time that we
rode through the wilds of West Virginia and
Kentucky at the governments expense, and
we remember that it was our opinion at the
time that if there was a place in the world
that poverty was reduced to science it was
in this barren and sterile country.
News comes every day now of wholesale
killing between the families that live in these
mountains. These iends seem to be inter
minable except as this family or that is
wiped out. They have descended from sire to
son for two or three generations, and threat
en- to go indefinitely. Yet those are a brave
and hospltable set of men. They will share
the little they possess with any neighbor in
distress. They are courteous and kind to
strangers who pass through their country
they have the elements within them that
would develop into brave and noble race of
men and women under changed conditions.
In their rude minds they cherish ideas of
honor which they would rather die than vio-
late. Some of these are very noble, but
some others are as barbarous as ever charged
the thoughts of a tameless Arab of the desert
offered to account for the eccentricities of
these people. But the chief reason can be
found in the soil beneath their feet. II is
poor and thin-so poor and thin that so long
as people seek to make livelihood from it
they will necessarily be poor. With predes-
tined poverty Ignorance must always prevail,
and when for two or three generations men
and women are kept poor and ignorant, their
ambition becomes cowed or depraved; they
fn fn ha Al.
poor and rude mountaineers, and they begin
to take on more or less the traits of wild ami
mails. Their highest accomplishment is their
skill with the rifle and knife; their supremest
pride is to wreak bloody revenge for any
real or fancied grievance. They can not
raise enough from their poor farms to sup. =.
ply them with the common necessaries of
life, and to educate their children. Hence
unless through the discovery of coal and iron,
or some other useful minerals and the estab-
llshment of manufactures among them, we
see no hope for any improvements; their
children will continue to be half wild and
fierce, even as their sires are now. That is
the effect oftrying to live upon soil too bar
rem to supply the needs of men.
The same result follows when the product
of good soil becomes SO reduced in value
that 1t will not support its people. This was
what made the dark ages in Europe.
With the decline of the Roman Empire, the
precious metals of the world became SO re-
dnced that it was impossible for men, no
matter what they followed, to make any
progress. The result was that gross ignor-
ance succeeded The purchasing power OF
| money had become so great that generous
harvest brought the men who produced al
most nothing. With ignorance, as usual
superstition filled the minds of men and vio-
lenee was interminable-the same causes al
ways produce the same results.
just fifteen years ago the Congress of the
United States demonetized silver. Since
then the purchasing power of gold has ad.
vanced 30 per cent; the prices of all the prod.
ucts OF mans ordinary labor have fallen 3C
per cent. The farmer harvests a bountifu
crop and finds when it is marketed, that il
leaves him nothing fer his labor --nothinp
for interest on his Investment, and if his
farm was mortgaged fifteen years ago, it is
| still.
One of the first results of such a state OF
affairs is that the farmer or mechanic, in
stead of sending his older boys and girls tc
school as he would like to is forced to keer
| them at home. The hired men and hired
girles are discharged and the older boy and
| girl take their places 1t is a case where the
parent can not afford to take advantage OF
even free school to give his children the
rudiments of an education. This is already
the result, though the injury dates back only
| fifteen years, the return of barbarism has al
ready begun.
The next noticeable result is that men are
going out of business or are afraid to embark
in business; they are trying hard to reduce
their property to money, and to loan theil
money upon securities which the whole ma.
ton is mortgaged to pay. Under the shrink
age, manufacturers are forced to restrict
their expenses to the lowest possible point
the temptation to substitute cheap for good
j material is almost irresistible.
Strikes, lock-outs and confusion are in,
creasing steadily as are the incentives tc
dishonesty. This is matter that the So
called Statesman of America can not toe
soon understand aud remedy. 1t was possible
1 to reduce the Peasadtry of Europe to abject
poverty and to keep them in that condition
for 400 years. until the discovery of the silvel
mines of Mexico and South America, pui
drivers again under the locomotive of prog
ress and started it in motion. But ours art
another style off people. They have TASTED
/ the sweets of liberty, and before their eye
there have been turned the leaves of tn,
beautiful book of knowledge, and before the!
\ can. be reduced to the serfdom of abject pov
erty there will be such explosions in tn,
moral atmosphere as comes to the physica
world when ITS outer crust is shivered unde
the upheaval which makes what is called
geological period. Our Statesmen had bet
ter consider these facts and provide agains
the storm.