The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-03-23
CAUSES OF THE BUSINESS DE-
PRECISION.

ten by MI. -. O. Hartman. OF New
York, and read at banquet of the
National Brick Manufacturers Asso-
citation, and points out the causes and
remedies for the depression from
which the country is suffering:
| At the close of 1892 this country was
| enjoying the highest degree of pros
| perity it has ever attained, economic
ally, industrially, and financially. Ev-
cry mill and factory was running at
| its fullest capacity; every vehicle of
transportation, whether by rail or wa
! ter, had all and more than il could
carry: every blast furnace and every
mine was running day and night. and
could not then ill it's orders: every
manufacturer and builder had all and
more than he could do: every work
man, whether the ordinary laborer or
! the skilled artisan, who wanted work
! had had all and more than he could
| do, and received therefor the highest
| wages ever paid for labor since the
creation OF man: our foreign COM
| merce amounted to almost two thOus-
! and millions OF dollars, a sum unpre-
| cedented and never before approached
/ in our history: our domestic commerce
| reached the astounding aggregate of
| fifty Thousand millions of dollars great
er than our imports, while our imports
were much larger than ever before:
our national wealth increased nearly
three thousand millions of dollars in
1892: our national receipts were humid
dredS OF millions of dollars more than
our expenditures: in short, there new
er was nation or people that realized
such wonderful prosperity, such mate
rial and industrial development, as we
enjoyed in 1892.
How was it with us at the close of
1898, just one year later?
In all respects 1893 was one of the
most terrible and depressing since we
became nation. More than One-half
OF our mills and factories are either
closed DOWN or running on part time:
freights, both by land and water,
have fallen off tremendously, and
nearly or quite One-half OF all the
railroads in the United States are
bankrupt or in the hands of receivers,
because they nave not business enough
TO pay expenses: our blast furnaces are
mostly blown out, and our mines are
closed: our manufacturers and build
ers find out very little to dO: our
merchants are all buying only Tor the
DAY or week: all business men are
AFRAID OF tomorrow: more than two
millions of workers are idle because
there Is nothing to do, and as many
more are working from one to three
days per week: in New York CITY and
Brooklyn we are dealing out charity
10 between 100000 and 300, 600 every
DAY, and taxing ourselves over 100000
IN Cash day TO house, feed, and clOthe
the needy, because these needy ones
nave neither work nor money: our for
elgn and domestic commerce have
fallen OH Incredible sums; our nation
al wealth has decreased in value near
~ nine thousand millions of dollars,
almost as much as the late rebellion
cost The country: ana now our Secreta-
ny OF the treasury tells us that the
hSCal year that will close on July |,
1884, Will show that our expenditures
Will exceed our receipts by over $751;
OUO,OOO: IN short, there never was ma
tion or people in all history that real
lied SUCH appalling adversely and dis
aSter, such material and Industrial
paralysis and destruction as We SUI
tered in 1893, and still suffer. No man
can truthfully deny any material state
ment have made concerning either
1892 or 1898.
Why the magnificent prosperity of
1892, ana why the unSpeakable losses
and distress of 1898?
In your invitation to me you Sug-
gested that it would be we'll to avoid
politics in this discussion. and | think
you Will admit that thus far | have
not said a word about politics, but
have stated only cold, undeniable, abb
sOlute facts. Applause. But, sir, in
times like these, honesty requires us
TO call spade a spade; in other words,
the facts should be clearly and boldly
stated, whether they infringe upon
somebody's politics or not. And if
any mans politics cannot boldly face
the foregoing facts, the sooner that
man diSmiSses his politics the better
Tor him and for the country.
The main cause, then, for this ter
rlble change, these frightful losses in
wealth and in business, this utter lack
OF confidence which everybody has
IN everybody else, is the fact that in
November, 1892, a majority of both
houses OF congress and an executive
were elected upon platform that de-
clared protection unconstitutional,
and who were pledged to remove and
overthrow protection and substitute
therefor either free trade or tariff
for revenue only, which is practically
the same thing.
That threat of a great economic
change has been strongly intensified
by the Wilson bill, now before the
house. The hard times last summer
were laid at the door of the silver
question, but that question was set
tied by congress, and still the times
grow harder and the uncertainty be-
| comes more uncertain. Let us be
honest with ourselves and admit open
ly what every one of us knows in his
own mind to be true, that it is the
proposed economic change of tariff
and the uncertainty as to the result
that has caused and continues our aW-
full and appalling depression. What
is the remedy? How shall confidence
and prosperity be restored? Ianswer:
Let the Wilson bill be defeated, and
let congress promptly declare that the
tariff question shall not be further
agitated during this congress, and
within sixty days from that time we
shall see the biggest boom in every
business, in every industry, that this
1