New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-01-27
THE ROOT OF EMBA IRA SSHENT.

The man is an object Of pity who goes up
and down wondering why business Is not pet
ter II he could only get outside the antiqlated
theories which imprison and stupefy his mind,
natural common sense would fix for him the
chief causes without trouble. 1t Is not
nossibe OF course, TO state with precision
what proportion Of the people OF the United
States is now out of employ ment. 1t Is known
10 everybody who has practical sense that
the number is large, though not as large as
II WAS I'm the height OF panic. great number
NJ woollen mills. many Of the most experienced
mon believe from threc-eighths to half Of the
entire producing capacity are now unemployed.
Many ironworks have stopped since the re-
morkable decrease OF orders came last fall.
Sales Of print cloths at 27s cents at Providence
competent judges say, mean that conslderape
nroportion of the cotton mills must stop for
time unless the business revives quickly ana III
a marked degree Most of the glassworks have
shut down. and "A great number of the potters
are out Of employment, and OF gloveinaKers
and workers ia other branches. too many 10
enumerate here. the proportion not at work Is
unpleasantly large"
The men not ut work do not and cannon puy
rs much for their families or for themselves as
they bought when their industries were hour
ishing under adequate protection. The N"'eh
Der report Of foreign commerce tells, Tor III
stance. OF 37.37S,352 pounds OF woollcn cloths
and 27,531. 800 pounds OF dress goods peSid's
2 40 oo3 hounds Of woocn yarns imported
within eleven months Of 1880. In the same
months Of the previous year not l1.o"'""
mounds OF all these goods came In from ABROAD
The quantities imported In 1880 were consid-
erably larger than the entire product OF similar
goods by all mills in the country not long ago,
and constitute more than half the dress goods
and nearly half the lwool goods consumed,
and yet the consumption In a time when wages
are low and multitudes are ont OF employment
Is O. necessity smaller than usual. The people
who are deprived Of chance To make woollrn
goods by such foreign competition have not the
money with which TO buy cottons or shoes or
hats and thus each Of the lines assalled In TINS
fashion, and forced to reduce home production,
adds to the proportion of the people who can
not consume their usual share Of other goods
This loss Of work. and the heavy reduction
OF wages since 1892. have cut down the con
suming power of the people. II Is believed. fully
fifth. or this there may be found much evil
dcnce In the records OF actual payments
through clearing houses. for after the sudden
imprOv last summer and fall, caused 10 "A
great extent by replenishmcnt OF stocks OF deal
! crs and obviously much exceeding the distribu
ton Of goods at that time TO retail consumers
| thcre has been n steady decrease in the
volume Of trade represented by such exchanges
SO that It Is now more than 20 per cent less than
| in the same weeks Of previous years Of pros
| perity But IT is not at all necessary To Insist
upon exact figures Whether the decrease has
| been II per cent or - per cent matters very
| little. since II is obviously the main ana the
| sufficient cause Of that great decrease which
appears in the demand for industrial products
| and in the volume OF wholesale trade. Amcr
cans ought by this time to know that their pros
pcrity always depends upon the consuming
! power Of the millions. BY 10 possibility can
they make business prosperous FOR the Importer
the wholesale merchant. or the manufactures,
unless they take care first Of all 10 maintain
| the ability OF the wage-earnlng millions to con-
sumo American products.