Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-22
-B1RM1NGrAM STATE HERALD SUNDAY NOVEMBER aa 1895
PROPHETIC VS.. REAL PROSPERITY.

| PROPHETIC VS.. REAL PROSPERITY.
One night last week at Delm anicos, the
| New York Chamber of Commerce gave its
annual banquet. At the tables, heavily
| ladened with choicest viands and costli-
| est wines. were gathered many of the
| leading financial magnates of the Ameri-
| can metropolis. It is reported that the
| guests were imam unusual state of elation
| and qualification over the results of the
| recent election. The distinguished gem
| tlemen congratulated themselves in par
| ticular and the country in general that
! the nation had been saved from disaster
| by the success Of the republican party,
and the temporary triumph of British
| financial theories. One CT the most hon
| ored and valuable Of the guests was Post
| master-General Wilson, of Clevelands
| cabinet. who was especially profuse in ex-
| pressions of Qualification at the defeat of
| the democratic party and its principles.
| The return of prosperity" was heralded
with loud acclaim and the assurance of
| good times fer. many years to come was
| made with forceful and energetic en-
| phasis.z No doubt about it. Everything
| is to move smoothly, swiftly and surely To
| the millennium of business confidence and
commercial and industrial activity.
The same day, in the town of Yonkers,
| N. Y, the magnates Of the largest carpet
! factory in the world. employing seven
| thousand operatives and manufacturing
co. 600 yards of earpeting per day, gave no
| tice't ohezhalf its working force would
be laid off at once, and by the middle OF
the present week the other half would be
discharged and the mills indefinitely shut
down, not on account Ct over-production,
| but because there is no demand for our
| goods" Great CONSERVATION, it is said,
| prevailed in Yonkers on account OF this
unexpected shutting down Of the factory,
especially as the operatives had been as
sured that if sound money was success
| flrIin the election, the mills would be run
on full time and wages advanced
In the instances above mentioned we
have an Illustration of the difference be-
tween prophetic or theoretical, and actual
or substantial prosperity.
1t Is to be regretted that the closing
| down of the Yonkers carpet factory is not
the only instance Of the failure of repub-
| lican and gold bug ante-election prophe-
cies and assurances Of a restoration or
confidence and revival of business. While
sensational journals of the gold standard
| type have filed their columns since the
! election with reports of the starting up
| of mills and factories and remarkable
activity in commercial and industrial
circles, the same columns bear no less
testimonies of business depression and
hard times, in the reports they daily
give OF falling prices of cotton and wheat,
reductions of employees wages, railroad
receverships, railroad congratulations by
which stockholders are frozen OUT and
| the properties gobbled UP by the bond
| holders-principally foreign bondholders
banks, commercial and industrial fall
ures, and other disasters that do not
usually follow the course of prosperous
| times.
The prosperity which was promised
| more than three years ago to be the GER
| tain and immediate result Of the repeal
| of the purchasing clause of the Sherman
law evidently encountered adverse winds
it has certainly failed to arriye-While
| that assured by campaign orators as the
necessary consequence Of republican sue
| cess seems not to be of the quality nor
| up TO the standard bargalned for.