The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-11-01
EDUCATIONAL. COLUMN,
Some Causes Of the Present. epresslon
EDiTED DY PROF ], 5. wnsoN.

0V0I why tuls country fnoulu uOC now
be continuously prosperous, Our acres
are broad, our soil is productive, our
mines are rich in all the minerals, our
means of communication are ample,
our factories are supplied with all the
most improved machinery why
should we not have universal and un.
interrupted plenty? Doubtless the
idle and improvident would suffer and
ought to sufferin the most prosperous
seasons but it ought not to be posi-
BILE to find in this country at the pres |
ent time any considerable number OF
persons who are willing to work and
who are suffering fol- the lack OF en-
ployment, With such resources as we
possess all our industrious people
ought to be living in comfort, and the
wheels Of rour industrial machine
ought to move steadily and smoothly
forward THIS consummation, so de-
voutlv to be wished and 80 reasonably
to be expected, keeps far from US.
Occasionally brief era Of prosperity
returns, when all willing workers find
employment, when all our mills are
running and all our mines are work
ing, and our merchants report ready
sales and satisfactory profits: but this
is quickly succeeded by long period
OF stagnation and. stiingenoy, when
the machinery stops, and the freight
cars wait empty on the sidings, and
+ the grain is heaped up inthe elevators,
and there is no demand for the fruits
Of the soil or the products Of the fac
tory, and the mechanics and opera
tives stand idle by thousands all the
day long in the market place because
no man will hire them. The period;
a Of prosperity seem to come less fire.
: quently, and the periods Of stringency
:, to be more protracted, as our ,.civiliza
!" ton ripens. vsi. 4. sa,is. =,
What a strange spectacle this coun
:. try presents at this very hourt None,
is plenty,-fiity or sixty millions OF
. depositin the banks Of New York cit
!. alone! Food Is plenty the granarie
at the West are full Of old wheat, ant
, though the crop Of the present yea
does not promise well, the corn croj
a. is likely to be larger than ever before
there is no fear of scarcity. Manutac
tured goods are plenty; the store
houses Of the manufacturers and th
shelves Of the merchants are crowde,
with them. Labor is plenty; fly
s, hundred thousand idle men are ask
ing for work. Yet in the midst of thi
" abundance great industrial an
commercial depression has overtake
H. us. At the time of writing this, worl
ia men are selling their labor at the low
est prices, and many are unable to Sc
it at any price; merchants and maj
" ufacturers find dull market for the
at wares; the railroads report losses ii
stead Of gains failures multiply. /"
The situation is not only pitiiul,
is absurd. What is the explanation
it? Who is responsible for it3 Is
the protectionists or free traders?
it the 'silver barons" or "goEd bugs
" Is it the freight poolers or the iro
puddlers? Why should industry
Cripple and trade paralyzed, and ca
ital fettered and labor starved /
America today? Who wiHireadf or |
\ the riddle Of our Civilization? Thri
N or four years ago our industries wei
busy and our trade was prosperou
y but the stream Of plenty sudden1
Y began to diminish and disappear, I'll
the Dry Fork OF the Cheat River i
ex midsummer! This condition ofthinj
n nv is not natural. The action Of tie &c
ne ne nomical forces is morbid. There mu
IS be remedy for these disorders. WI
nd will discover and proclaim IT? Som
s1 4 body is bent on killing the goose tn
m m lays the golden egg. Whosis 10 al
' sE how shall he be brought to- jdsticeY
tes To llthesep questions many answe
ION might begiven; for Several elasst
SSs we suspect, are engaged in this stup
Ar Of conspiracy I; we will Content ourselv
are at this, tine with pointing out two.
ro- them. ~ -& 500
q The workmen who strikeswhen d
S to market is etagnant, and when. the
The are but small profits Of production
ion divide may be safely reckoned amol
site these witless destroyers. To, shnt /
ga ga the mill or the mine that yields the
' SSt a livelihood because it will yield the
o ,st; only livelihood, when theeonditit
the Of trade is such that additional G
ter pense reproduction means bankrupt
cry to the employer, is species of fatui
andI quite too common among workingme
,,esry The rightfnlness Of strikes is not CO
feet tested but the strike which wree
les les an enterprise out Of which the wol
% SHe men were getting q living, and a
req n,,n ,,1n,,n. -u.,nn 1..4I... =. -.