Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-01

NTASHINGTON- That familiar
wv saying History repeats it
self" gives Il great deal of
comfort in these times of strikes, eN.
travagance, fear, doubt and social
and Industrial unrest. 1t should
buck up" those who are asking,
"What is the world coming to!
This is not the first time this coun-
try has experienced these condltlohS'
later to emerge into years ana gen
erations of uneXampled indlVldual
and national happiness. By the same
token, it is destined to do so again.
Immediately after the Civil war
the country was more disturbed and
the outlook darker than now. Writ
ten history only sums up. The un-
folding of events is best followed IN
the daily newspapers of the time Oh
their actual happening. From thlS
source and from reports of various
commercial bodies, together with
those of societies and state and ma
tional institutions facts are presented
which show how similar in many
phases are the old struggle and the
new.
The Extravaganza of 80
Writing of the reckless prodigality
of the American people in 1865,
New York correspondent of the Lon
don Times says:
This war has brought the levity
of the American character out IN
bold relief. The indulgence in every
variety of pleasure, luxury and eX-
travagance is simply shocking. There
is something saddening in the hlgh
glee with which the people here
look upon grievous national calam-
ity. The jewelers. shops in all their
cities have trebled their trade, the
love of fine dresses and ornaments
on the part of women amounts to
madness. They have money and
they must enjoy it,
The New York Independent adds:
ASK Stewart about the demand
for camel's hair shaWls. His answer
is, 'Monstrous!' Ask Tiffany what
kind of diamonds are called for He
will reply: The prodigious; Gas near
hens egg size as possible; price no
object
"Ingrain carpets won't do at all;
Brussels and velvets are now used
from basement to garrett
From the files of the New YORK
Herald it is seen that interest IN
horse racing was Keen and that
grand opera enjoyed great prosper
ity. The theaterr never had been
more crowded.
WAR and high prices" says the
Herald, cannot terrify the Gotham
ties. As long as life remains In them
they will keep up their reputation for
jollity and good fellowship
Gayety was epidemic in Washing
ton. Frederick w. Seward, Assistant
Secretary of State, in a letter said 1t
was sign that the people had given
I'D mourning and grumbling and
were devoting themselves to festivi-
ties. The Springfield Republican de-
clared that Washington was drunk
and reeliIig in whirl of dissipation,
where only the best women devoted
any time to home, husband or chill
dren.
Reaction From the Strain
The reason for this outburst of
iollification was ascribed to reaction
from the strain of war and the
plentiful supply of money in the
hands of all classes.
Nowhere in the world" wrote
the same London Times correspond
ent sis the laboring man so pros
perous as in America. If there is n
country in which labor is petted.
humored, and put in clover, it is
here"
Suddenly when the war ended,
peace in the industrial world gave
way to discomfort. Wages remained
stationary and prices for commodi-
ties rose. This was due to the in