Kansas City daily journal., 1896-12-31
IN A HEALTHY CONDITION.
Mr.. w. E. Emery Says Kansas City
Has Prosperity Within Her
Grnsn.


Mr.. w. E. Emery, of New York, presi-
dent of the Emery -Thayer Dry Goods
Company, arrived in this city yesterday to
look after his interests here and make
arrangements for the purchase OF the
spring stock for the store. Mr.. Emery
was seen last evening, after having spent
the afternoon in looking over the books
and stock with the other members of the
firm. He said that the holiday trade had
been good and that he expected heavy
spring trade. He was very emphatic IN
his assertion that no city in the country
is looked on with more favor as place for
investments than Kansas City.
kansas City has passed through its
days of fictitious values, when investments
could be made with nothing but paper as
security" he said. Everybody in the city
now knows something near what everybody
else is worth, financially, while during the
boom days a person had no means of know
ing whether some of the leading spirits of
the boom were worth S50O000 or 500 cents.
In many of the other leading cities the
crash has yet to come, and investors know
that it will come when the pressure Is
brought to bear. The failure of the Mis-
souri, National bank in no way affects the
credit of the city. Its cause is well known.
1.-The election was no sooner over than
general feeling of security prevailed over
the entire country. If it had not been for
the Cuban trouble and the rash actions Of
some of the congressman, prosperity would
have already been felt on every hand, but
as long as there is possibility of a war
between this country and any foreign
power no one is going to invest any large
amount of his capital. Waving all of this,
how can anyone with reason expect this
broad country to enter Immediately on an
era of great prosperity after four years of
depression? 1t might as well be expected
that man who has been on his back in
the sickbed for a year could rise in one day
and go to his place of business with as
clear head as before his protracted i'll
ness. Confidence had been restored in this
country, and we were going rapidly along
the road to prosperity when the prospect
for war has caused a relapse. But this
will soon be over, and by the time the new
administration is ushered in the country
will be settled down to business.
THE first thing to be done is to give the
farmer prosperity. The East is only too
anxious to send its money to the West
and now that she is sure that she will get
back 100 cents for 100 cents loaned, invest
leniity howlers. who have tried every
means in their power to throw off half
their just debts by. legislation, that tha
East is an enemy of the West, is too alb
| surd to be countenanced. The East buys
the farm products of the West and Is
anxious to lend her money on a business
basis to the West. With this borrowed
capital the West can carry out its i'm
provements. The trouble with the West
has been that it borrowed on fictitious
values and the natural crash came. With
the boom days a thing of the past the
West. and especially Kansas City, will
| rapidly improve.
"Ihe most important step toward max.
ing. the whole country prosperous is TO
make protective tariff that will protect
the laboring classes of this country from
the competition of the laborers of Europe.
We need a tariff that will protect the la
borer and that will furnish the government
source of revenue We have seen the
effects of the Wilson bill. The tariff should
| not be unreasonable, for then 1t protects
| the manufacturer, while the laborer pay s
the high tariff. It can be arranged to
| protect both"