Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-02
Of Economy That is Confronting the
People Of This Country,
AND THE ATTENTION 1T CLAIMS.
Phenomena of Business life Present Meth
DDS Have Resulted In.
A PEACEFUL MOVEMENT UNDER WAY
trRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT,

eating and drinking" said the keeper of
the restaurant where Z sometimes take a
frugal luncheon.
II have piece of real estate for which
paid $4,000 year ago. and everybody
thought had bargain" said wealthy
and shrewd real estate dealer this afternoon.
81 attempted the other, day to borrow
1000 on this piece of property and was re-
fused by men who had money to loan in any
sum few months ago. went to the banks
and got the same reply. They were not
loaning any money, but were calling in their
loans"
So goes the story all around Everybody
has the same cry. There is more money in
the country than there has been at any time
within its history, but it is boarded IN the
banks, in holes and corners, in old stock
! ings, and all for fear of panic. The fellow
who has no property to lose, and not more
| than $500 to his name, and who has a small
| but assured salary, hangs on to that $500 as
| though he too would 90 down in the crash if
crash were to come. 1t is this timidity
that is making way for panic. The banks,
| institutions that are SO convenient for the
| transaction of the business of the world, are,
by their course, contributing more than ali
other influences to the very climax they say
they wish to avert, by refusing to lend
money on good securities to those 10 whom
they have been accustomed 10 lend. They
say they must be secured against q possible
"run," and to secure themselves they are
driving borrowers, which is nearly every
body, to the wall and Fastening the very
thing all would avoid.
ROOT OF THE MATTER
This is only natural result of methods
of doing business. 1t is secondary. The
root of the matter lies far back of that, The
chastisement of the result may lead US to
look more closely into the mysteries OF the
cause. We may not have panic Let us
all hope we will not. But we have already
had so bad fright that we must be sobered
from our dissi patton of speculation sufi-
ciently to try to get at the beginning of
these evil episodes of business life
When house like the Barring Brothers,
200 years old, without taint upon its name,
is saved from ruin only by the extraordi-
nary, not to say astounding, proceeding of
being assisted out of its "hole'' by rival
banks, and even by the world-renowned
Bank of England, the most Indifferent must
be led to pause and ask if there is no safer
way of producing and distributing the re-
quirements of life than that way which
is as sure to produce frequent periods of
elation and as many corresponding periods
of depression as the sun is sure to rise and
set.
These phenomena of business life have
grown immensely with the growth OF modern
methods of doing business, modern
appliances, which induce rapid trans
actions, the craze of competition and specu-
lation, which is a natural Iunacy of the con-
ditions, and the concentration of money
power which enables a few individuals to
absolutely control the ebb and flow OF trade
of country.
NEW SCHOOL OF ECONOMY.
These prosaic remarks are a word of pre-
lude to the statement that the new practical
economy is rapidly producing q new school
OF theoretical economists that are, with
amazing rapidity, revolutionizing tine
economical thought of the world. Even
this statement is chestnut" so fast are we
rushing toward great political changes.
1t is but few years since the Grangers and
the Greenbackers, backed in way BY some
of the labor organizations, were merely
actuated by blind hatred of "monopolists,"
and expected relief from some rearrangement
of the financial system. They had no con-
ception of the primal cause of the evils they
complained OF. They would not listen to a
suggestion that the only hope lay in the
people taking and operating the means of
production and distribution for themselves
The labor organizations looked upon their
employers as their natural and implacable
enemy, and their whole study was to circum-
vent in some way their masters and prevent
a depression and seek an increase of wages.
Here in the national capital is perhaps
the best place in the country to study the
progress of the philosophical economic
thought that ignores all half way sdgges- |
tions, that cares nothing for measures of |
mere temporary relief. Here are the official |
representatives of all of the organizations of |
the discontinued, watching every movement |
of the national Legislators, suggesting occa- |
sionally something palliative, but always |
with the argument that it is only palliative, |
and never concealing for a moment that it is |
their aim to induce the Government, in |
other words the people, to take the grand |
machinery which is now in the hands of the |
monopolists, and employ it for the good of |
the whole mass without profit or charge, |
except for the purpose of covering expenses |
of operating.
INTELLIGENCE OF THE DISCONNECTED. |
Look at the headquarters of all these |
people" said member of Congress, as we
walked to the Capitol to-day. "Here are
the knights OF Labor, the Federation of La
local organizations of the working people
have their Legislative committees" which
haunt the Capitol during every ses-
sion and take a hand in everything that
bears upon their interests; and they are be-
ginning. to find out that pretty nearly everv-
thing bears upon their interests. And what
a lot of well-informed fellows they are!
There are not half dozen Congressman out
of the whole body that can talk as intelli-
gently on economical questions as these rep
resentatives of the discontented classes.
"Now, I am known as a sort of a crank
on these subjects. simply because 1 have
made it point so study the tendency of the
times and tell you that 1 would not be
surprised to see revolution in political
feeling within the next two years that will
put into the Presidential chair man in per-
feet sympathy with the idea of the Govern
ment conducting the banking and money
loaning business of the country, and COM
mitted to the requirement Immediately of
the great trunk lines OF railroads and tele-
graphs. 1 do not say that he will be the
nominee of the farmers and workingmen's
organizations, but 1 believe both of the old
parties will be forced to adopt plat orms and
pledge themselves to these and other ideas
that are thought to be basic and reforma-
tory, and that the Congress and administra-
tion then brought into power, no matter Of
which party, will be compelled to take prompt
steps in the direction of the new economy.
ga great financial crash would help the
cause of these people amazingly, and I
would not be surprised to see that crash
come soon. Should that occur it would be
impossible for the country to recover from
the effects before the next national election,
and either the old parties would be over
whelmed as result, or pledged to carry out
all of the ideas of the progressists, as we