Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-09-16
An Abundant Harvest.

Big crops make jolly nation. We hays
thst kind of crops this year, and there ia no
reason why we shouldn't bs a. happy "a a
boy at the circus.
The farmers of America are on top f,r
once. There are about four millions of
them, counting small and large, and they
all have their thumbs in the armholes of
their waistcoats, the stra hats on the back
OF their heads and gorgeous smile On their
lips.
They have hal hard time of it during
the last decade. The rains came at she
wrong time, not in refreshing showers, but
in drowning flonds; the Sunshine was in i'll
temper, and when 1t condasesudnd to pay
them 8 v;eit it nlada the xheat and corn
fields as dry as popcorn; hurricanes and
cyclones AMI bliZz ,rds and locusts aud po-
t,to bugs conspired to make thugs mighty
disagreeable, aud the poor old farmer had
to make his clothes last By means of patch
es aud to mortgage all his worldly posses
sions in order to get little ready money.
But just now all creation seems to admire
his pluck and is bound to give him a barn.
full as reward for patience. The reports
from the West are very exhilarating. We
haven't had such bountiful crops for years.
Wheat, corn and rye have done their level
best The prospect is that we shall have
scores of millions of bushels more than last
season. The tillers of the soil are in high
jinks condition Of mind because the inter-
est on that old debt will be paid aud possi-
bly, the heavy mortgage with its ten per
cent may be lifted. The railroad managers
have Joined in the cotillion and are flying
over the floor on light fantastic toe because
there are ducats for them too. These crops
must be moved to the seaboard, and trans
portation is the slice of cake which the
shareholders will consume. Then there
will be boom in the stock aud bond mar
ket, and we may Soon expect to hear that
the ''bulls" have ground theic horns to a
spear point, and that the "bears" have
gone up tree to sulk for while. An old
fellow said he never wore but one spur in
riding. for he had noticed that when the
'snigh" side of his horse galloped the "off''
side followed suit. So when the farmer
laughs we all enjoy the joke and get our
share of the fun. Like Atlas, he holds the
world on his shoulders, and when he reels
and groans under the burden of ill-luck ev-
cry man in the community begins to feel
that he may slip off.
We don't rejoice that Europe wants
wheat jast when we have plenty Of it. Her
crops have tremendously failed and she is |
in bad fix. Russia may have thonght it |
wnn ououb tiIud W iuuulR6 IN war, Dub |
those arid fields in Asia which yield moth. |
ing will make her hesitate. Germany and |
Austria have supplied their tables with
bread made from Russian rye, but they will |
have to learn to eat loaves Of wheat, and |
the raw material can be had this year from
the farmers of America only. So the lat |
ter look forward to q profitable sale of |
their product instead of burning their corn |
for fuel.
We notice that the republicans are trying |
to give the impression that they alone are
responsible for our large crops. and McKin-
ley is quite sure that this great benefcence |
flows from his high tariff bill. All that is
natural. 1t is quite proper for political |
parties to claim everything-Providenc |
and all-and keep what they can. Neither
of them is over modest in regarding itself |
as the origin of all that is virtuous aud de- |
sirable, and each is generous enough to at |
tribute to the other all the vices that are
current.
But no matter. We are satisfied with the |
fact that we have prosperous outlook and |
glad that the farmer has his innings at last. |
He has waited long time for it, has
richly deserved his prosperity and will 1se
his advantage with courtesy.-N. 2. Her
aid.