The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-08

! II ran along for awhile upon It's credit,
| pledging that for the money necessary TO
ray those fixed charges which 1t did not
earn. But Of course. a day had to come
when its credit would be exhausted. and
when that day arrived insolvency and a
| receiver had TO be It's fate. Now. the
| record Of the receiverships OF railroads
for the past year proves that the whole
! face OF the country was covered over
| with inflated and rotten railroad organ
| izations OF this sort. The silver dollar
was the push that toppled them over
| and meanwhile their service Is disofgah-
lied. their wreck has added TO the gem
eral distruSt. and they have turned loose
upon the community thousands upon
thousands OF men TO whom they can no
longer furnish employment The charges
now pending against the president ana
receiver OF the Atchison. Topeka and |
Santa Fe railroad are a striking illus |
tration of what we have said.
In the next place. a prodgious source Of
empIovmcnt for work 'ngmen had about
come 10 its final stages eighteen months
ago. During the past fifty years the
country has been remodeling and chang
ing its system OF transportation from the
stage colch and sailing vessel to the
railway and steamship. This. during all
that time. has furnished employment for
vast numbers of men. But the change
IS well nigh completed. The whole face
OF the country is covered with a network
OF railways. and steamships enter almost
every port. Vast bodies of men who have
been supported by the Industries that re-
suit in building railroads and steamships
were hunting eighteen months ago for
other jobs, and to these must be added
the unemployed thrown on the public by
the institutions that the panic itself
closed. We submit then, that the in
Hated state OF railroad securities and
The cessation Of railroad construction had
placed the country eighteen months back
n that fevedish state that made it ripe
'or a period of financial panic as soon
IS the debas ID silver dollar was ready for
Is work.
To sit down now and spend ones time
epining that this should be 50 would be {
# but small advantage. What are we :
0 do to secure improvement? The first
nd most important thing to be done is Z
o find employment for the unemployed. ,
sut how shall we do that? Trade be- G
ween nations is not affected by the pur- C
base of products fer money The nation
hitch bought all its supplies with cash
'Ould need to have an neXhausthle mine
the precious metals to save it from
lnkruptcy. Nations buy from those l..
atlons who in turn buy from them. so n
lat a nations purchases are really an $,
lchange of commodities, the balance
eing settled in cash. But, since our pro- 81
ctive tariff laws forbid other nations -,
sell their manufactures t. u.s. they Will n
II, in consequence, buy ours from us.
he protective tariff laws, then, con- III
ne our market for what we manufacture III
our own country This stubborn and in
ost distressing fact meets us at the out
t of our inquiry How are we to find pl
ork for the unemployed? Al
If the markets of the world were only "'
zen to US. we could set all these I'M =.
nployed people 10 work making fabrics co
sell TO the world. and though wages lie
ght have to come very much down to vi
able us to compete IN those markets of
tn the other manufacturers Of the
rid. still employees would receive some ell
ing, and it is better to work for small hr
ges than to have no work at oil. n l-r'
Sow, it may be freely conceded that let
2 claim of the Republicans that a pro- sh
tive tariff would raise wages has been {
ilized. We believe this to be true. But kn
has also confined our market TO our
ves. and there are many thousands Of ha
'rkmen wanting employment. more than a
necessary to supply that market. The al
suit is that while it has raised wages ~
d may possibly keep them at n high IN,
'ndard. but small proportion of those sh'
10 must live by wages can get any en- On
'yment at all. and the rest must starye. sb,
e difficulty in the case there W;
@, Is the protective tariff laws j
| its solution lies, not In the Mo
of them, but in their l Su
cal. When they are repealed. and sal
can thus get the markets Of the world mo
trade in, we shall be able to give en- car
yment to all Of our population, and
ugh wages will undoubtedly have to
he down. all will be able to live. We
little hope for that great prosperity A \