The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1894-01-17
The Uniucky Year.

For a generation, perhaps longer,
1893 will stand in history as the un-
lucky year. Commercial failures un-
precedented in modern times have been
thickly sprinkled along its pathway.
The depression and hard times have
not been confined to the United States
alone, but singularly enough have been
shared by all English speaking peoples.
The largest single bank failure record
ed for the year was that of the Nation
al bank of Australia, which went
under in April with liabilities amount
ing to S37,5OOOOO. Australia and all
England's south Pacific colonies were
shaken to the centre financially. The
next largest failure was perhaps that
in which the American Erie railway,
with a floating debt Of S6,OO0O0O, went
into the hands of receiver in July. 1t
was terrible year financially for rail
roads, with 80 of them at present in
the hands of receivers. 1t was also
year of unparalleled accidents and loss
Of life on tracks and trains. There
were % serious accidents and collls-
ions, most of them during the Worlds
fair months. An average of over
three persons day Vas either killed
or badly injured on railway trains in
1898. Fire, food and storm keep pace
with the otner misfOrtunes. Certainly
not less than slo0Oo0,oo0 went up in
Game and smokein 1898, mostly in the
United States. The most destructive
single fire, however, was that which
occurred in London, July II, with a
loss Of s7,500O00. Large areas in Bos::
ton and Chicago were burned out
again. In Boston two great fires oc-
Cured, one of them destroying $780,
900 worth of property, sweeping over
the Identical ground rayaged by the
fire of November, 1872 March ga
tornado struck several of the southern
states, causing 10 Mississippi alone a
loss of 18 lives and over 100000
worth of property. Aug. 27a West
Indian cyclone swept up along the
coast of Georgia and South Carolina,
crushing and drowning nearly a thous'
and people, destroying crops and max
ing thousands of negroes destitute. A
still N 7re terrific storm visited the
gulf coast Oct. 2, involving the loss of
1000 lives and an incalculable amouns
OF property. Not less disassrous Was
the great cyclone on the coast Of wes-
tern Europe, Nov. 10. A storm so de-
structiye to shipping has not been
known on the British and French
coasts in half century. Eyea these
stormsin America and Europe are in
significant, though, when compared
with the calamity that overlook the
town of Kuchau in the Persian PROV
ince of Knorassen. There on the Itch
of November an earthquake shock
caused the loss Of 12.C00 lives. OF
lynching horrors and traiu rob5eries
the melancholy year Of 1893 goes down
to history laden full. May we make no
such unhappy record in these respects
for 1894! With so many sickening
events crowding one another upon the
observation and memory, with the
want and bitter hard times all around
them, it is scarcely to be wondered at
thatso many persons lost their mental
balance, Forgetting themselves some
times in insanity, sometimes in suicide
In New York city alone there has
been an average of suicide day dur
ing the whole Of 1898, The number of
thousands taken off By the cholera in
Asia, eastern Europe and north Africa
there are no means of knowing. It
must have been at the lowest $1,000,
however. Eighteen hundred and nine
ty-three has given to mai IS lessons Of
suffering and terror. It is ended now.
If mankind shall learn from the woe
and want it uncovered to be just and
kindly, then its losses will not be all
loss. At any rate it is gone. WHAT
ever comes after can be no worse. We
breathe deep, long drawn breath of
relief and turn our faces with new
hope and determination to 1894.