The evening times., 1898-05-17
tsken as proof Of the sdversity caused

F'irst came the news that the paper
mills were going at f,iii speed. and were
unable to supply the demand made
upon them by the great number Of pa
pers issuing extra editions. The 'axerr
age circulation Of MaHy, papers has also
increased enormously with the war ru-
mors. These paper mills. of course.
give employment to large numbers Of
people. not only those, who are actually
engaged In the making of paper. but
those who furnish the raw material.
Then came the boom enjoyed by the
wheat market. and the farmers Of the
West began to put on their Sunday
smiles Then came large Government
orders FOR canned stun. in spite of the
sardonic remarks Of some of the veter-
ans of the Civil War that the boys
would need somebody to sit and fan
them if they continued to be treated in
such luxurious manner" Thisacaused
the canning factories to rouse up and
bestir themselves. And now It is said
by the bunting and silk flag manufac-
turers that they will no longer be ahlel
to fill unlimited orders, for that the
Government and private parties have
between them cornered the flag market.
Add to this the increased business en-.
jcyed by the iron and steel works. the
immense activity at the navy yards.
the sudden demand for coal alta time.
when coal is not usually in demand.
and 1t becomes apparent that in many
branches of industry work is much
more plentiful than it was six, months
ago. With every hundred men who are
given work, moreover, at least half a
hundred consumers appear in the mar
ket, since most men. when they have.
money to spend, pay twice as much of
it for necessaries or luxuries than they
do when forced to live on their savings
OF on occasional windfalls. In a time
like this. when many men who have
been out of work are suddenly fur
n:shed with work. the money paid them
does not lie idle: it c:rculates. When a
man has been obliged to go without
new clothes. live on the barest neces-
saries of existence. and dispense with
pleasures and luxuries of all kinds Tor
a considerable time. the first thing he
does when he receives a full weeks
wages is to spend it, either personally
or through his family. That welcome
sum of money does not go into the
bank. or into the private hoard of saw
ings in the teapot or the old stocking.
1t is spent for shoes, clothes. barrels of
flour. necessary furniture, arrears of
rent, whatever the family has not had
for some time past and most needs
And this makes business brisk for the
local merchant, and he feels that he
also can afford to spend little more
money. and new life is put into the
commercial world without anyone's
knowing just how it is done.
This war stops no industry, as did the
great struggle of 1861. which caused
famine and distress among the great
English manufacturing population, be-
cause there was no cotton for the mills.
The wheat fields of the West, the cat
tie ranches of Texas. the cotton fields
of the South, the coal mines of the
Middle States. will not be devastated.
No foreign power is going to march
men into the interior of this great land
to be moved down by Yankee guns.
It would be madness. And this is a
fact which should be taken into ac-
count in considering the future of our
land-the greatest part of her wealth is
in the interior. This nation cannot be
starved out. She has her commissariat
in the middle of hollow square Her
gold and silver may be in her cities.
but gold and silver and greenbacks can
be moved. And when it comes down
to a primitive struggle like a foreign
war. these things are worth serious