The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-01-30
SIGNS or THE TIMES
sam Jones Thinks They Point TO
y Decided Improvement
Bnt we are Warned Not 70 Expect Proa-
parIty 10 Come IA ANY Crest Hurry
ADobt Is the Curpe Of Amer
lca T0-Day.

a an not alone IN TINS. SndA SpcdA "a
some Of the signs that appear to me.
First / find expectancy in many
qaarters where I have found discomfort
Rid almost despair. Theologians tell
us that il the moral world hope and ex-
.pectancy are the two essentials Of faith.
Fhere IS hopefulness and there is ex-
hectancy IN many quarters. Therefore
hany believe that the times are better
and that they shall be better and better.
The next sign / notice is more activ-
ity. Humanity seems to be going up
and moving on. / ney saw such ac-
tivity in the newspaper work. Itseems
that the American newspapers are I'M
ming a race with each other. The sun
day papers now are great magazines
filed with pictures, the news, moral
essays, historic, scientific. philos6phic
dissertations. and everything You can
imagine. sven down to the little "Yei-
low Kid" The merchants were never
so active as they are now. They e
to be racing with each other. Their
displays in the columns of the newspa-
pers are something marvellous. The
bargains they offer tempt the world to
20 and buy. Men are moving about
with a more cheerful step.
In the last few days I have taken in
Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,
New York, Washington city, Atlanta,
Ca, and so on. Inever saw more people
on the streets and in the stores than l
witnessed on this round. Broadway,
New York, is a seething mass of people.
The hotels are full. Philadelphia Is
full. Atlanta, Ga, has a buzz and hustle
on it. So has Pittsburgh. The bank
and clearing house reports show
marked signs of improvement. The
New York banks are filling up with
money. Three million dollars were
loaned one day when l was in Newt
York at two per cent. Time money can
be had there, and plenty of it, at four
per cent. Factories and machine shops
are starting up whose machinery has
been rusting for months or years. Rail-
road traffic seems to be picking up. The
trains are all running full of passengers
everywhere / have been lately. Freight
trains are putting and moving by at al
most every station. The drummers
seem to be more cheerful and active in
their work. l did not meet on this
round the long-faced drummers l have
been meeting so many months. The
drummers make a good Thermometers
and a good barometer. Whent the drum
lners are cast down business is stag
,nant. Their faces and steps tell the
tale whether merchandise and manu-
factories are going on or not. Drum
mers now look and talk more cheer
fully.
Now these are some of the signs
which l have seen. And last, but not
least, the atmosphere seems to be
clearing up. And there is a business at
mosphere as wen as a natural atmos-
phere. 1t is not cloudy and foggy like
it has been-making a fellow get long
breath every few minutes and making
him feel like he had lost the power o.
locomotion. Wheat at a dollar a bushe
is a new phase of things and.will make
many a farmer wish he had all his lane
in wheat. Cotton at seven cents 9
pound is not ~bankrupting southern
farmers, and / believe the farmers O
the south are in better condition to-day
than they have been since the war. Thu
lessons of economy they have learned
together with the diversity of crop
they have made in the last few years
with a rs or so per cent. cotton crop il
many of the southern states this yea
have made the south as well off to-day
if not better, than any o fthe other part
of the union.
As / have said in previous letters,
did not expect to see this country NOV
off in prosperity like a boy moves off OF
his bicycle or like a passenger trail
moves off from a station. But Their
is a better outlook. a better feeling, am
better conditions to-day than tire
months ago, than IL months ago. Im
provement begets expectancy and hope
fulness and activity. 1t is like the goo
old brother in the experience meetini
who said he thanked God that he wa
safe this far on his journey home, an
that he was thankful that it was ever
way as well with him IS it was. Al
other old brother said: Il thank Go
that l am. what l am. and / thank Go
that / am no ammer than / am"
The great trouble with us is we al
| in debt. oh, debit 1t is the curse {
America to-day. 1t is to a man in bus
ness what rent is to the poor wido'
! who earns her living with the needl
t 'Oh, the rent, the rent" she says, ''mn
t be paid, even if il takes the bread an
meat from our mouths" Debts must |
paid, creditors must be satisfied, deb
ors must dance to the music; and del
and the devil both go to worry Il
Y saints and the sinners alike. How
wish we could liquidate. How l wis
we could all just go into the hands
q receiver and turn ove what we ha'
r to our creditors and take an eve
: staff. / suppose the most Of huma.
$ itylhave about as much owing to the
as they owe. Same of them are lii
! oIdg big John Eaderwood-they a
eveh with the world; they owe abol
as mapy as they don't owe, and hn'
:, nothing to pay it with. ! lever m
$ half a dozen men in my life who to
me THAT they didn't Owe a dollar in Il
e void. If the devil should get all t
0 peoble who are in debt he will get |
quoAa from this country out Of Il
~renkration unless he is a tremendous