Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-08-28
THE FACT ABOUT THE MILLS.

We have had financial panics before,
especially the one of 1873. The char
acteristic of these is that they caused
numerous and heavy failures, without
generaliarrest of productive industries.
Also we have had industrial panics be-
fore, especially those of 1861 and 1887,
which for a time arrested a large share
of the Nations productive force. But
when people voted last year for rad
zeal change in the policy of the gov
eminent as to money and also as to
the tariff, they voted to have finan-
The people rule in this country, and
exactly what they voted for they are
having.
It has been rather trying during all
these months to hear. men who ought
to know better solemnly attributing
all ills to the money question exclus-
lively, and even as to that, ignoring or
classifying facts of universal expert
ence. But things are getting into
such shape that even the blindest or
most pig headed partisan can no long
er attribute to the present silver law,
which had been in force more than
two years before the presidential cleo
ton the industrial depression which
did not begin until after the election.
The true cause of monetary trouble
has been, not the law under which the
country reached in October last the
highest prosperity ever attained, but
the knowledge that the party victori-
Gus in November, if permitted to have
its way, would infict upon the coun-
try free coinage of silver. At last the
fact is admitted by democratic jour
nails, after careful canvass of both
houses, that clear majority of dem
ocrats in each house insist upon free
coinage Of silver. If the will of that
party can be defeated at all, it must
be by the almost united resistance of
the republican minority.
But the industrial character of the
trouble also appears every day more
clearly, and it's cause. There has new
er been any respec table excuse for
pretending that over one thousand
furnaces and mills and factories and
mines have stopped because of a law
under which all had been working for
twenty seven months, ending with
last October, and had attained the
greatest activity and production ever
known. But there were obvious rea-
sons for doubling whether manufac-
turers would continue to put money
into materials and labor, for the pro-
duction of goods which could not be
delivered to final consumers for six
months Or more, when a change in
the tariff on such goods within those
months might reduce the price obtain
able far below cost, or might cut off the
so that a large proportion of
the goods would be unstable. There
is not practical business man in the
country who does not know that this
difficulty began to affect great branch
es of manufacture and trade several
months ago, as the time came to give
Or receive orders for goods delivera-
bic next winter.
'sThe Textile Manufacturing World,n
whose figures regarding the proper
ton of wooden and cotton machinery
DOW idle were telegraphed from Bos-
ton without the credit to that journal
which its enterprise merited, obtain
ed its reports direct.from manufacture
ers on postal cards. The complete
ness of the returns is in some respects
thus the reports includ
I'd Il, 332, 1856 cotton spindles, but the
Whole number in the country was only
a, 0ss, 105 at the last census, and is
Tow said to be about is, 900, 900. The
voolen returns included smaller
of the machinery and yet |
ire surprisingly full. 'sThe Textile