New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-19
HOLD FAST What IS GOOD.

Western populi>S are not the only persons
who have acquired the habit of complaining
perpetually. Unrest and discomfort ale not
confined - the prailes. Neither any body OF
reformels nor any set Of demagOgueS has Il
MONOPOLY Of the appeal to that spirit which
finds fault with all that is. because 1t is not
better. The desire to do and get better things
is worthy of praise in It's proper place. But
il NAV become one of the most dangerous forces
in the world if it ignores or refuses TO recog-
nize the good tina, is already realized. and
paSsionaey pelils it all in every effort for
better things.
1t seems well worth while, in these days Of
chronic complaining. TO keep in mind the fact
that the wear 1892 was on the whole the best
wear for the people Of this country they have
vet seen Without distinction OF party. creed,
occupation or locality. all may join in the hope
that the year just begun may prove even more
satisfactory Very few tests of general we'll
being can be applied which do not bring ont
in strong light the blessings which the people
have been enjoying. At time when radical
changes are constantly proposed, not merely
in government, not merely IN laws relating
10 industries or money or transportation o
trading but even in social theories and i'll the
relations Of mutual interdependcnce and help
fulness which have done 50 much in the past
to make this land prosper, il cannot be wise
always 70 forget the maxim q" Let well alone.
II means something to every person in the
country because il means much 10 that great
BODY which comprises most OF the adult pop
uation that the wage-earnerS III the United
states have rarely if ever been 80 fully EN-
IlJyed as they were last year This statement
rests, not merely upon accounts Of manufact-
ulerS and other employers. but upon the re-
rors Of r;ngmcns organizations aN well
There were numerous strikes. and some of them
impOrtant. but the number Of the industrious
and competent who sought work III vain was
to certainty remarkably splall in 1892.
Abundant proof OF this comes in the diyeSt
trade statistics. The number OF cotton bales
turned into goods tells something of the num-
Der of hands engaged in the work 80 OF the
pounds of wool and the tons OF iron and coal,
and the sides of leather, and the pounds OF
silk transferred by human industry into forms
for use If in nearly all these respects: ana
beyond a question in all taken together the
work done in 1892 sulpaSSes that OF any prcvl-
Gus wear. it is only chronic pessiInl>t or
Nation has been remarkably well employed.
The labor employed has been able TO buy
more than ever before Of things required for
the satisfaction Of human wants. This Is only
the ether side of the same set OF facts. Tor
production would not have gone on success
fully 10 the end had there not been an enor-
nous sustaining demand from consumers. And
il is not the fortunate few, but the tolllng
millions. who consume and purchase the vast
bulk Of the products. When more things have
been produced than ever, and yet the mar
kets in almost every important branch are
either nearly bare of goods or pressing closely
upon the producing capacity, he Is indeed
blind or wilful who does not see that the
millions have been prospecting.
In the record of business transacted, Of pay
mcnts made through clearing houses, OF ton
mage transported from factories 10 farms ana
homes. of consumption Of imported comforts
and neceSsares of life, and even Of those
Injuries such as liquors and tobacco, which
in this country are bought more freely only i'll
time of general prosperity, the year just
closed is thus far the banner year. All these
things do not merely indicate, but demonstrate
to the mind Of every person capable Of reason
ing, that in spite Of all the things of which
we complain, in spite of much that is inn
perfect and much that is cruel and much that
is wrong, the people of this country have at
tained during the last year higher measure
of prosperity than ever before. The man who
proposes to tear down, or only to risk all that
has been gained is bound. in duty 10 others
and to himself, to have sure ground for faith
that he will not sacrifice more than he gains.