The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1894-03-23
A Ray of Hope.

Whenever one loses a few hundred
dollars in local investment every
body knows about it and of course
talks about it. But when thousands
are sunk in Southern or Western ven
lures few know of it and but little is
said. The sufferers prefer to protect
their pride and endure their loss in 81
lence Every one knows, or believes,
that the investments made by citizens
of Vermont and New Hampshire in
the class of securities referred to,
which have shrunk to nothing and gone
entirely ont of sight, mounts up into
the millions.
To some, however, we are able to Of
fer ray of hope. OF course we do
not mean to say that all investments in
the South and West are total failures.
That would be simply absurd. We do
mean to be understood however, as
claiming that there is an element of
risk in them which does not appear in
properties right at home.
Two letters recently received by a
resident of this village, one of the date
of March y and one of March 16, IL
lustrate our point. The one from Kan
sas City tells an ''o'er true tale:"
Yours of the 9th inquiring how real es-
tate is looking in Kansas City, etc, is re-
ceived. | am mighty sorry to say real eS-
tate is not selling as | would like to see it.
1t seems to me that it is quieter than ever,
tho sales and trades are being made all the
time. The fact is there is no confidence in
anything. Our banks are overlooking with
idle money. The national banks alone have
over ten million cash and sight exchange on
hand, or over 50 per cent of their deposits.
This indicates, as you well know, big loss
in business, although general mercantile
business is quite good and the city has
pulled through the last eight months with
but few commercial failures and has had to
support fewer Cleveland soup houses than
many other cities
You ask how real estate compares with
one year ago. 1t IS much duller and /
think lower. Jan. '93 opened with increas-
ed confidence, many sales OF real property
were made, ana at good prices, and inqui-
ries were more than for three years; but
when the great Grover announced that the
country needed an ''Object lesson" and he
would give it without stint, things came to
a standstill, and there they have been ever
since.
do not look for any material improve
ment during this administration. 1t is too
busy Just now gambling in sugar and whiS-
key trust stocks, in Wall street. on its
knowledge of the changes in the 'Star-
Eyed-GOu0eSS reform Bill"
However, business is at so low an ebb it
can't get worse, aud will slightly improve,
probably, whenever the tariff is adjusted in
some way.
While this epistle may have too much
to say about the carryings-on of the
star-eyed goddess, to suit some of our
good Democratic friends, we could not
think of Withholding it merely to
oh t,ct
somewhat overweight. "These
things the fable teaches" however,
that if you want your investments
where there is the smallest amount of
risk, make them as near home as pos
sible. If you want them where you
can look out for them easiest when
from any cause they are threatened,
make them right at home.
Readers of the OPINION are interest
ed to quite an extent at Council Bluffs,
Iowa. Here is letter from there
which may help to induce sleep when
their thoughts are prone to wander in
the dead watches of the night to the |
talents temporarily buried out there:
In reply to your inquiry about the sale of
Terl estate in Iowa will say that the divid
ing up and sale of large farms within the
past SIX months mas exceeded anything of |
the kind for the past eight years, and val
ues are still increasing moderately With
Council Bluffs city property it is different,
and for two reaSOnS,-first on account of |
there not being sufficient employment for
the JGbOTing classes to warrant them in
purchasing homes; and second, there is no
demand for business property, on account
of the general StGgndtjOn of business
throughout the country, and the present
high rate of municipal taxation. The lat
ter so far as this city is concerned will be
corrected in the near future, if hard and
persistent work with our city council by
property owners counts for ANYTHING. |
Small sales of city property are frequently
made, but as rule on very liberal terms.
We admit that the ray is not so lu-
minous in this last western glimmer as
it might be. 1t is the only crumb of
comfort we have and so we offer it.
There is no need to paint the moral
further, which is, that we all are to
keep just as near home as we can with
our investments in order that the ee-
ment of risk may be reduced to its
lowest terms.