The record-union., 1896-12-28
HARD TIMES.
The Days We Live In Compared With
Others.

Hard Times. Hard Times, Come
again no more"
We all sing it, we all hope it, but do
we know what hard times are? We
sing it while We eat beefsteak al 20
cents a pound, oysters at % cents a
dozen, and three kinds of bread at the
same meal; we shout it while We smoke
cigars, two for a quarter. We think it
while we stretch our comfortable legs
on Brussels carpet, before blazing
CRATE, with wen-groomed boys and ex-
pensively clad girls arounds us; We
shout ii to our n6ighbOrS across our
smooth lawns, or through our plate
glass windows; we groan it as we read
our morning and evening papers, our
plentiful magazines and our costly IL
braries; we dream of it in our soft and
springy beds while our coal-fed furnace
keeps the whole house warm; We maun-
der about it i'm our well-equipped offices,
shout it through our telephones, ring
the changes on it as we send telegramS
and take expensive summer outings.
We meet in our political, social, literary
and business conventions, and ring the
changes on it while we are spending
fortunes with railroads, hotels, restau-
rants and places of amusement.
And yet, in these days we do not know
what hard times are; We think We do,
but we do not.
The writer knows of a time within his
remembrance-and he is no patriarch,
when, in one of the richest parts of one
of the most favored States in the Union,
the whole town of some 1000 inhabi-
tants possessed altogether not over $500
in money, all exchange was by barter;
there was no cash payment because
there was nothing to pay with. Among
the best and richest families (and
there We're many who thought them
selves we'll to-do) beefsteak was a once
a-week visitor; round beef was a lux
ury; oysters were an unheard of dainty;
corn bread was the usual, wheat the
rare food; the cheapest pipe tobacco
was a dissipation; cold bedrooms,
scanty wood fires, Woolsey and calico
were in the house; 6XS window panes
We're helped out by hats, old papers and
rags; a weekly paper was an extrav-
agance, and served several families.
Ten books made good, fair library;
beds We're slated or corded; rag carpets
were occa sional, ingram scarce, and
Brussels a tradition; the sole vacation
was a ride to the annual picnic in a
one-horse shay; nobody had time,
money or heart for conventions or
amusements. We men worked from j
a. IN. to p. m. fhe aristOcrats short
ened the time by two hOurs) and the
women worked at all hours.
And yet it is doubtful if there were in
those times such a universal spirit of
unrest and discomfort, such concert
of growing, as to-day.
Is it fair? Are we just? Can we af-
ford to waste time in bewailing hard
times, when times are easy ON us, and
treat US far better than we deserve?
A manager once said with a chuckle:
The mails have been good to our house
to-day; the first one brought an order
in every letter. and the last one brought
remittance in every letter" We all
know mayhap we are) persons who
would have said: Alas, we have fallen
On evil times; the first mail brought no
money and the last mail brought no
trade
Let US put aside these ugly tempers of
ours; look toward the sun; smile at the
shadows; all sunshine makes the de
sert; its a pretty world, senOr"; enjoy
its beauties, let US borrow no trouble,
shed light on our neighbors; acquit us
like men, and times will seem (as they
are) good. Respectfully submitted
Printer Journalist.