The St. Johns herald., 1896-12-12
GOOD TIMES.
A Plea for Them by a Chicago
 Firm of Type Founders.

Firm of Type Founders.
 Messrs. Barnhart Brothers & Spind-
 Ter, type founders, of Monroe street,
 Chicago, recently sent out the following
 bit of optimistic philosophy {:
 "CHIcAGo, November, 1896.
 Hard timesE Hard timesI Come again no
 morer
 "We all sing it, we all hope it, but do
 we know what hard times are 2. We sing it while we eat beefsteak at 20 cents 8 pound, oysters at 50 cents a dozen, and three kinds of bread at the same meal j; we shout it while we smoke cigars, two for quarter; we think it while we stretch our comfortable legs on brussels carpet before blazing grate, with we'll groomed boys and expensively-elad girls around us; we shout it to our neighbors across our smooth lawns, or through oul plate-glass windows; we groan it as we read our morning and evening pa pers our plentiful magazines and our costly libraries; we dream of it in our soft and springy beds, while our coal-fed furnace keeps the whole house warm we maunder about 1t in our well-equip- ped offices, shout it through our tele phones, ring the changes on it as we send telegrams and take expensive summer outings. We meet in our political, social I ifor N6 hrC -I ring the changes on it while spending fortunes with railroads, hotels, restaur- ants 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
 1.-The writer knows of time within his emembrance-and he is no patri- arch-when. in one of the richest parts of one of the most favored States in the Unlon, the whole town of some two thou- sand inhabitants 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 were many who thought themselves weIl-to-do) beefsteak was a once-a-week visitor; round beef was a luxury; oysters were an unheard-of dainty; cornbread was the usual, wheat l the rare food the cheapest pipe tobacco was a dissipation; cold bedrooms, scanty wood fires, woolsey and calico were in the house; 6x8 window panes | were helped out by hats, old papers and rags; a weekly paper was an extrava- gance, and served several families. Ten books made good, fair library; beds were slated or corded rag carpets were occasional, ingrain scarce and brussels a tradition; the sole vacation was ride to the annual picnic in the one-horse shay; nobody had time, money or heart for conventions or amusements. We men worked from a. m. to 7 p. m. (the aristocrats shortened the time by two hours) and the women worked at all hours.
 "And yet it is doubtful if there was in those times such universal spirit of unrest and discomfort, such concert of growling, as there is 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 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 shadow; all sunshine makes the desert; it's pretty world, senor, enjoy it's beauties, let us borrow no trouble. shed light on our neighbors; quit us like men. and times will seem Gas they are) good