Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-07-16

pgsnnod b. the durnetoa ct ous
efsa wax and ~ ths sntv~rs.A1y
~ o. vtpenry. We ne 0oly supprss.sd
n imnnnno Ws<,l2 which haA certain
lu~1gn snd political backing. but ~
pas n end toAl~sery. Ths war 49,
Ssssupnnkd By ~ rssoiS ofths asve&
In . - psrss a rusops, susA - Co.
nany. a. loans hsvs bssa taken -
hssvy diasDsusA and ths holdsru u
Sh>1 vess uvtsd By I'll shs noosy
1ss,dsEs a B.rops. bonds bosghs -
thkv wsss above pr. Ths vurid
sn41s sfhuso y . naefou which has tho
gssa>us4 bsls q ~ lnnd On ~ ebpbs
"a god AsaA a - vbyh hnA h
psopls INV vhns NO go abpss and
ksvs oparugD. financial sAktlA pseioe-
ma. - they yin not agNin be ~ ~
n . hundssd 49, A sona - ens
vur Odd Aaserh md Psunsis Ill
osA snd al Germany wss Involved b
the collision The displacsmens of sil-
vss w. ons of shs unexpected rssults
q that vaa The victorious nation
pisndssed vsoncs a her gold and then
dsnonetkssds 0ver. We beings debtor
nsston~ md dsairous 10 stand well
with Europe. took the same step with
oct any ps~ssurV bcin9 excrssd"
A general exclamation cnsued:
'.Ycs. that was where our credis bad .
bale % Be found la our armor."
''it w.s after that" said I. 'that we
resumed specie payments and went on
in tho period Of our grcas7st prcsperi-
~. And now want 10 sxk question,
which may not be relevant. though IL
s<,cras - 10 me. Did we not mako =
mistake In pushing development In
America through the second period Of
Our prosperity Did we not override,
following 1879. what we had done pref
~ well down To the panic of 1874?
Have wa been as conservative in our
operations since we came TO specie
payments - We should have been. con-
sidoring our magnificent credit. when
We marketed all our crops AZ Euro
psan war price,. or when Europe WAS
short OF the nec~ssAries of lifep IL Il
NOE the fact that those cities which
hsd gained their maturity have sur
vivcd subsequent troubles, while all
the places that have doomed since
1879 have been heavy upon our hands7"
Exclamations went around concern
ing Kansas City. Los Angeles. Miune-
spolis. Fostoris, Findlsy. Basic City.
Cumberland Gap. etc.
The fact Is" said one OF my CON-
uiunicapts, chat il l. high time some
check was called to the business OF
Transforming all our brainy people into
s2ecuistorx A good deal Of tho So
called prosperity for the past fourteen
years has been selling new lamps for
old ones. as In Aladdin's tale. What
ever was paying = reasonable dividend
was acquired by spectators and sold
out again. and future prudts fore
stalled Electricity itseh has been an
agency Of speculation. We have put
down too many transportation lines,
and tried to rout the horse out OF all his
occupations Banks are not going 10
take care Of the spcculstors when they
cant take care Of their customer We
have pushed our credit in Europe too
far on the second bound. and have in
jurcd our standing over there by selling
to them quantities Of things which
were hushanded subsequently, without
much principle or method We sold
them ranches Of cattle. consolidated
breweries. and trusts of every kind.
borrowing their rotten financial ideas.
In sheer wantopness of desire ~ manu-
tactnrc something upon which we could
borrow foreign capital Consequently.
after VIC had discharged immense por-
tions of our debt, negotiated on real
things. we went In debt again to
Europe for things of much less value,
and now we are paying the difference.
Gold Il being drained 70 Europe. 10 lie
up In conservative vaults aud stand 70
the credit OF it, governments. a. each Of
them undertakes TO initiate rs In
coming back % gold standard"
Perhaps" said I. 1T was necessary
for some check N come 20 our easy
credit, or w. might have turned out 90
be nation Of gamblers and condolences
men Look at the lawyers In the
United states who have turned bank
era know an old region of the east
where the people voluntarily stopped
litigation from discovery Of the fact
that IL was the most expensive job they
could take mp. They I'D from the
lawyers. and left them with nothing ~
do. A bar composed Of forty To Afty
members did not have $4,000 20 liti-
gate year. perhaps not half that
much So. the lawyers. some Of whom
had formed connections with railroads
and town booming companies began
20 cuitivate the eastern money mar
kcss. and -etup private bsnks. With the
hope of capturing depositors from the
thrifty countryside people. They
would get punkers and other secs~ri-
ans QUE of their hide-boand churches as
steel pigeons ~ draw deposits from
the sup~rstitious and faithful The
process went ON everywhere Of buying
outlying farms and csssina them up
into building lotA and charging for
she ios~ more than che farm had been
worth few months before per acre.
Factories were started without sniff
cicrt capital or skill Men successful
In some quiet development II manu-
features would he drawn "a the doomed
to~n. and would give mp their vii
lage habits aud conditions of reposc
sad content with qaies profits GAIN
TAsy Dsds's Indeed.
A couple Il tranp~ hal sst down I'M
der q fr-s by the roadside 70 rs~t
"wz<nt ron IN ths war; asked vii
BE wNk