St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-09
INDUSTRIAL DEPRESSIONS.
Written for the Globe.I
INTRODUCTORY.

The almost worldwide extent of the
present industrial depression indicates
that Its causes lie deeper than the sur
face, and must be sought outside the
limit of the merely local or temporary.
This terrible Stagnati0n of business is
found in mOnarchies and republics; in
old. densely populated countries, and
in sparsely settled colonies; where
protective" tariffs are supposed to
diffuse their benign influences, aud
where the awful menace of ''free trade"
-"EngliSh free trade"-like Damocles'
sword, hangs ever threatening above
the industries of the people; where
gold is the basis of money; where the
much cominiserated white metaP' still
holds sway, and where "fat'' paper
performs the duties of a medium of ex-
change; where the language is that of
the rough and naughty Briton; and
where the sweeter accents of Spain or
Italy fall upon the ear in notes of
music; where the storms of Boreas
sweep the plains and play hide-and-
seek in the hooks Of the mountains,
and where balmy breeZes and sunny
skies give birth to the pomegranate and
the orange
All over the civilized world, except
in New Zealand, wherever man has
raised himself much above the savage.
in Australia and Argentina. IN: Europe
! and America, the same terrible condi-
tons prevail. In Melbourne and Chi
cagO, in Sydney and New York, in Rio
and London, in Cape Town and the
| Twin Cities. the same army of the I'M
employed threatens our institutions:
/ the same want of work keeps that army
recruited; the same problem OF the
tramp forces itself upon ali thoughtful
| people. In the Older and less progress
i've countries this condition has become
|. chronic, and millions of people are ever
on the verge of Starvati0n.s
How foolish and shortSighted then to
attribute this almost NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ton to local legislation. bad, though it
may be! How weak and wanting is
Mckinley'S wall that the fear of little
tariff reduction has done 1t ali! Was it
the fear OF tariff reduction that brought
ruin to New South Wales within a year
after the adoption of a protective 3ys-
TEN? Can the Mckinley bill, that con-
centrated essence of protectionism. be
chargeable with the business Stagnation
III England, where tariff for revenue''
Isn't it plain that neither "protection"
nor free trade" can adequately account
for the evils, though great and sudden
tariff changes. either way, might cause
some slight rippleS on the surface of
business? ~
Could: the evils OF AN approaching
gold dollar, great though they be, have
caused the wreck in Argentina, where
system OF land loans by government
should make tire Popuiist heart rejoice?
Is! it the conspiracy against the white
metal"' Then how do you account for
the ruin in Mexico and the South Amer
lean states, where the '.gold bug never
grew, where silver has ever ruled SUI
preme, and where its decilne'iu value has
greatly relieved every debtor, though it
has robbed every creditor?
John Snerman'S Swindiing scheme to
benefit the silver mine owners and Sc
cure their votes for the Mckinley bill,
by compelling the American people to
give their notes each year for 81. GOO, 600
ounces OF silver that they had no need
for, Twas conceived i'll sin and born in
iniqulty;" yet its evil effects during the
three years or its existence could not be
relatively much greater OH the nation
and the world than would be the act of
prosperous farmer upon himself and
his neighbors when he buys pair of
horses he really doesn't need. and is
afterward obliged 10 economic for
year or two rs the price of his folly.
Can the 10 per cent tax that prohibits
state banks or the uurighteouS eXac-
tons Of railway corporations be justly
chargeable with the collapse in Aus
tralia, where the government OWNS and
runs the roads, and where local banks
of issue are found in every town?
(N,r, nh rh oil
ruin to high interest, when equally
high interest prevails in New Zealand.
the only spot in the civilized world that
is not now draining its cup of sorrow?
No. The real and important cause
lies deeper. Its workings must be
worldwide to account for worldwide
disaster: and though each one of the
evils just enumerated helps to hasten
and intensity the collapse. no one nor
all the petty local causes can be con-
Sldered adequate TO account for these
universal industrial depressions that
devastate the world about every twenty
years.
The universal and all-poient cause
lies ever before our eyes. Its very near
ness and simplicity lead us to overlook
it. And when once we have seen it the
whole entangied web stands out before
our vision, a plain and simple problem
solved.
In the series of short papers which
are TO follow, l shall try to offer can
did. non-partisan explanation of the
real. the simple cause of ''hard times"
and to indicate how that cause can be
removed: to show how it has been re-
moved in the colony of New Zealand,
and how constant prosperity, taking the
place of chronic adversely, may ever
hover over us and bless rs
G. j. BUELL..