Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-10-18
new YORK CITY.
Its Politics, Poverty, Emigra-
ton and immigration.
Poles, Huns and Italians Are Going
Home by the Thousands.
Signs That the Worst oi the Panic is Over
Rays oi Hope.

NEW YORK CITY. Oct. lr.-lSpecial J.
This metropolis has reached the second or
| philosophic stage in its discussion of the
recent panic and prevailing depression in
business. This is the invariable rule
When panic first strikes the country,
there is a wild cry of denunciation of some
| particular law or policy then existent. All
| the woes are charged TO the one cause. By
| and by comes the sober second thought,
| and the real cause is recognized, but il is
| never, even by accident, the cause first as
| signed. One thing, therefore, every reader
| may rely on--if his iayorte paper has fer
some weeks past vehemently assailed GER
tain thing as the sole cause of the panic, he
may rest assured that that thing IS not even
| the chief cause.
Signs of the Times.
The phenomenon of the month at this
port is that emigration is now in excess OF
immi igration This is not SO strange as
such condition would be earlier in the
season, but still it is remarkable 1t is the
rule that foreigners of the laboring class
returning home nearly always 20 late in
the fall They work till tn. best paying
jobs are laid aside for the winter, then
withdraw their cash from the savings
banks and sail for Europe, for even if they
design returning in the spring a winter Of
idleness in this country would cost them
more than such "A winter at their early
homes and the fare both ways, TO say moth
ing of the pleasures of II visit. This year,
however. they are going in immense mum
bers because it is taken for granted that a
hard winter is before the American laborer
"Shall we open our doors to this flood of
unrestricted immigration?" asks the Amer
lean laborer, with something like indigua-
tion III his voice.
Who made them your doors," is the
tart answer in reply. And truly it is not
easy to answer the answer. Nevertheless
native laborers and such foreigners as are
naturalized and expect to remain perma-
nently do not conceal their joy that the
Huns are going home in great numbers,
and that almost as many Poles and Italians
are also going
But it is Il serious thing for the savings
banks in some sections. Here are Poles
and Huns and Italians who have dressed
in rags, slept in huts or box cars and lived
largely on what Americans would call
scrap meat for two or three years, but
when they decide to go home each one
draws some s., POO to 5000 from the local
savings bank. The money paid for their
fare goes to European company, of course,
and aside from that each departing for
eigner spends a dollar or two In New York
if unusually reckless. So the real New
York laborer rejolceth greatly as they take
their flight and says, Good riddance to
bad rubbish"
The Worst Over.
1t is pleasant to observe in more than one
metropolitan journal indications that the
reign of terror on the panic and the silver
question has measurahly passed away. All
panics are generically due to the same cause
an undue expansion of credit-but the
phenomena connected Herewith and the
forms assumed by that expansion are al
ways different, and it is the fashion to avoid
the real cause and explain the panic by the
most striking Of the phenomena.
The panic of 1907, the first the nation suf
fered under the constitution and the worst
until 1887, came on this city like thief in
the night, and by common consent AleXan-
der Hamilton and the United States bank
We're made the scapegoats. The real cause
was that tie first Napoleonic war had
raised -four in this city to slG "A barrel and
other foods in proportion, creating TEN
porary prosperity, which led in turn to an
extraordinary expansion of credit.
Similarly the panic Of lsl1-l9 was due to
the unreasonable expansion following the
war of lsl2-li and was charged Mt the time
to other things. The expansion of 1857
went to height which now seems like in
sanity The resulting panic was charged
to the specie circular 1t was the same in
1873 and it IS the same in 1893. While the |
panic is raging no one will admit the real
cause. When they begin to acknowledge
it, il is n Sign that the worst is past. So it |
is a pleasure to find such men as Henry
Clews and Matthew Marshall pointing out
other causes than those usually assigned |
and to note that financial editors begin to
accept their views. 1t shows that the fran
tic stage is past and that business will soon
start again on a more conservative and solid
basiS.
The Old, Old story.
The campaign is on. and we hear the usual |
complaints-that good men do not attend |
the primaries, that they do not register
that they allow the riffraT to run the city
and so on al nauseam. The same complaint |
was made in Athens in 421 B. C., and Aris- |
tophanes o1. the stage ridicued the rich for |
allowing "Ele0n, the leather seller to run
the community. In the time of Nero,
believe. similar complaint was Chest |
nut" But, history aside, it is a fact that
in New York at this present writing the
men of the east side and the down town
wards, in short, the poorer classes, keep
their eyes on the fiddler and know cx
actly what is going on. And it's n Gods
blessing that they do. Those whom for
tune has raised above the necessity of in
cessant toll should be the natural leaders
Of the people. When they abdicate their
function, bad government is their legitimate
punishment. but in this city they get bet
ter than they deserve, for despite all the
racketfhc metropolis has fairly good gov
ernment
Little Poverty Seen.
Much is said in the papers about the idle
and starving poor in New York city. Well,
| have been here several years, and if there
is any more suffering now than is usual at
this season see 10 signs of it. There GER
tainly are no more beggars on the streets
and in the parks. There certainly is as
much whisky drunk as usual. And the ap-
peals for food at our basement doors are
not more numerous than last year and the
year before. Committees devoted to that
work may find more cases of destitution in
the dark quarters, but there is q strange
variation in their testimonies. On the sur
face New York Is as it long has been. On
the whole, | am satisfied that we New
Workers are no poorer than we always have