The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-10-25
FRIDAY. OCTOBER 25. 1907.
The hind which n long time hath
held u violet doth not soon lose Its
fragrance
ouR FINANCIAL TROUBLES.

OUR FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
Wall Street is Just now n whirlpool
OF excitement. agitation and distress
1T is as useless for any other part oil
-the country TO ignore the distresses OF
Wall Street merely because they hap
pen not to be interested in stocks as
IL would be for the sound limb of a
man to say that the disease OF the
heart of that man didn't affect 1t. II
IL an established fact that when Wall
Street is in trouble 1t sooner or later
goes to the rest of the country, and
necessary to create activity throughout
the country generally find their sup
port in that financial centre. If it is
baralyZed they arc paraly2ed. Yet to
all this distress and trouble there is
plainly good side and we look for a
much better and sounder condition of
things as the result of this shaking up.
1t is one of those cases where the uses
of adversely Will be sweet.
To any observant and informed mind
1t has been perfectly plain for moro
than year past that the Industrial
situation of the country was becoming
intolerable Its activities were so
great as not merely to be burden
the ordinary business man was rem
dcred Il burden by the excessive de-
mands upon his brains and nerves.
The demand for labor was so great that
the price for ordinary laborers was put
TO a point at which the scriptural ana
sound economic rule of working six
days in the week was utterly ignored,
and except in cases where the work.
man was obliged from the particular
character of his duty, to work six
days, the ordinary workman found HIM
self able to earn wages enough in three
or four days. and sometimes even less
time, to carry him for the whole week.
and he took three times the holiday
which thrifty man would have taken.
And yet, in spite OF this decentralization,
employers had to put up with it because
1T was easy for the workman to go
off somewhere else and instantly get
employment The demands upon trans.
portation companies for increased ia
cilities seemed to increase in inverse
ratio to theis. ability to supply them.
The very congestion of business and
the very carelessness of employees
caused enormous losses by delays and
wrecks.
Besides all this there was spirit
of speculation in the lana which en-
abled INSCRIPTIONS financicrs to make
undeserved profits from stock juggling.
Z Men, both capitalists and laborers.
seemed TO lose a due sense of duty in
life and of the value Of money.
All of this was obliged to bring a
day of settlement and that settlement
has come. And although its conse-
quences are very sickening to some. its
ultimate results will be beneficial ia
the country. One strange thing is tina,
al the Very time that the railroads
Were utterly unable to render tho
service that was required of them be-
cause of their inability to meet the tlnan
cial requirements necessary TO provide
LOT TINS service, their rates should
nave been attacked in all quarters by
corporation commissions and lerisla
lures, This was the GROWING stroke
which Frustrated their credit ana was
very effective In creating the present
panic. so FAR, the railroads can hardly
claim that they have suffered any So
rious loss of revenue by State action
about their rates, but 1t was the fact
that such action was about to be mi
Into effect. and no one could tell how
much iurther II would be carried, that
destroyed confidence in the value az
railroad securities.
There must be reorganization all
along the line. Capitalists. workmen
and railroad commissions ana legisla.
lures will all have to reform thei,
ways, and they no doubt all Of them
Will profit by the serious lesson tliey
are now receiving. and will continue
t. receive. II we mistake not 70,
months to come.
4 -------------------ss--.
THE RIGHTs OF THE MINORITY.
Our valued contemporary, the Nor
folk Virginian-Pilot. seems to hav,
misunderstood the purport OF an ar
ticle recently appearing in these col
umns on railroad ownership III cit
Ing the fact that the Norfolk an,
Western Railway Company had s,7o
\ stockholders and the PennsylvaniI
Railroad 4s,57e stockholders. we in
Tended merely to impress the fact tina
The railrnadS arn owned nnf as sn,n