The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-10-26
PROSPERITY.
An Englishman's View of Present
Industrial Condition in the
United States.

The following is in part an articl
printed in the August Bankers Mag
azine of London, written by w. r.
Lawson.
The latest American boom is always
the biggest on record. That is a
fundamental law of its nature, resting
on physical necessity, as well as on
the fervid temperament of the Ameri.
can people. On each succeeding &C.
casion there are more boomers than
ever before; they are better organ
lied, they have larger resources and
an ever-increasing courage. All these
qualities have figured conspicuously
in the boom now running its course,
and which, though three years old,
does not seem to have reached it's in
dustrial, its commercial, or its fnan-
cial aspect, and in each and all OF
these respects it is equally unique. Its
three years have marked an advance
which any old-world country might be
pleased to achieve in as many decades.
Stripped of all it's brag and bombast,
enough solid, indisputable fact re-
mains in it to render it one of the most
remarkable economic espisoes OF our
time.
Even is the ordinary man, who
looks at things with plain, unsophis-
ticated eyes, is bewildered by the sud-
den and violent contrasts which recent
American history exhibits. This time
three years ago the United States was
in the slough of despond, and now it
il on the pinnacle of an unrivaled
prosperity. Every great industry in
the country then languished, trade
was stagnant, the currency was disor-
ganized and prices we're So low that
producers and transporters and dis
tributers had virtually to work for
nothing. At no period in their history
had the Americans earned less than
they did between 1893 and 1896, 1t
was only with great difficulty that they
could meet their obligations abroad
and even the national administration
was more than once on the brink of
events which would have been disas-
trous to it's credit.
At the presidential election of 1896,
the universal dependency which pre-
vailed from New York to San Fran
cisco was adroitly turned to account
by the successful party. The most
effective watchword used on either side
was mckinley and Prosperity. !"
Blazoned on Republican banners, it
challenged the eye in every thorough
fare of New York, and there can be
no question about it's popular effect.
It expressed tersely and sympathetic
cally the deepest thought in every
bosom. "Sound money" and "16 to
l" were mere parrot phrases. What
the electors really wanted was to es-
cape from the long-drawn-out misery
of commercial stupor and financial
panic. They did not seriously ex-
pect 8 miracle to be worked on their
behalf and when the miracle came II
surprized no one more, than them
selves. They placed their last hope
on change of administration, and q
mere fraction OF the benefit they have
derived from it would have satisfied
them with the new regime. Little did
the farthest seeing of them suspect
when the new presidential term began
that it was to be the most expansive In
the history of the union. Equally
little can they have imagined that the
prosperity" blazoned on the the Nc.
Kinley banners was to pass into his.
tory as dazzling and unprecedent
epoch. Mr.. Mckinley 3 first term viii
be memorable for many things, but fol
these two above all others-frst, fol
the amazing variety of its unexpected
events: secondly, for the persistency
with which whatever has been expected
did not happen. Fate never before
turned a presidential program SO com
pletelY topsy-turvy.