Year: 1864

joyed.


Rise IN Prices-Dsprectatisn or ths Cur


rsncy.


The managers are preparing to raise the
admittance to the theatres The rise Ia
the prices OF all the necessaries and COM
forts OF life is to be followed up by a
rise in the price OF our amusements. From
bu chers to bootblacks, all classes Of people
have increased Their terms, and theatrical
managers are determined TO be no longer be-
hindhand. They have held meetings ard they
have resolved that they will charge from thirty
to forty per cent more for admission next sea
son. II is stated that their current expenses
and the salaries they pay to actors have in
creased in about the same proportion, and that
the managers have resolved upon this measure
only when compelled to do SO by the pressure
Of the times. We have not hitherto been very
fsvorably disposed towards such rise; but
wha. is the use of arguing against the fatal
fact Of the daily depreciation OF the currency!
We would not consent to an increase in the
price Of the papers when it was first proposed;
but the government money has gono down,
and the price Of the papers has gone up, and
here we are at tour cents q copy almost in spite
OF ourselves. WY should we have one rule
for one business and another rule for another
The necessity OF the period is high prices; and
the theatrical manager had better get as much
money as they can from their performances
and their patrons.


Ii the currency continues TO depreci ciate there
is no telling what prices we shall have TO pay
be ore long. The price of the HERALD is now
four cents but we may have to raise il to five
cents by The lst Of December and to ten cents
before tho war is over. What with Chasc's
Encouragement Of our finances and Fessenden's
attempt to tread, Indian like, in Chaso's tracks,
our grcenbacks are becoming as worthless as
the old French asslgnats or Memmingers rebel
bonds Our resources are greater than those
Of the old French republic or Of JEFF Davis
confederacy, and so it takes longer to reduce
us to their financial condition. But those who
travel the same road reach the same goal, al
though one may 60 faster and the other slower.
Tie goal which we shall reach. if we continue
in this way, is the utter worthlessness OF our
currency. When one dollar grecnback is not
worth a siogle debased nickel cent, then we
shall have to turn about and retrace our steps
towards specie payments Whether we shall
bo wise enough to retrace them before we ar
rive at that ruinous stage depends upon the
Secretary of the Treasury. Mr.. Fessenden
seems to have no ideas abou. finance except
those he has obtained at second hand from Mr..
Chase Those ideas We're originally shoddy,
and when Chase passed them over to Fessen-
den they were pretty we'll worn out; so that the
new Secretary did not receive anything very
brilliant or valuable. But Chase evidently be-
lieved in his bad ideas, while Fossenden as eyi-
IDENTIFY does not. Chase stayed in Washington,
and creased the wheels of his printing ma
chnery, and covered his greenbacks with his
photograph, in a desperate endcavor to sub
stitute brass for gold. But Fesscndcn leaves
his presses to run on unheeded, and fees to
Maine, where he avoids photographers, and
frequents clambakes, and declares that the
finances may 60 to Hades, which they are
doing very fast.


On the whole, then, we cannot regard Fes-
senden as any Improvement upon Cbase The
ex-Sccretary was an extremely ignorant inan-
cier. The new Secretary is just as ignorant
and is more dangerous, because he does not
care what becomes of us. Chase's ambition
made him careful. lie wanted to run the train
smoothly until it carried him into the Presi-
depcy. Even after that be would have an in
terest in the concern, If elected, and could not
think Of final crash with complacency. But
Fcssenden has no ambition. He accepted the
ofice under protest and shows that he does not
care for il by neglecting it. The train runs as
swiftly to dsstruction but the new engineer is
roasting clans upon the furnace fires and max
ing chowder in the boiler. Is there no good
fnancier in the republican party? Is there no
one willing to accept the Office and do his best
in It? If not, we pity President Lincoln; for
every paper dollar issued is a vote against
him. All the strikes, too, and the unions, and
the rise in groceries, and the rise in clothing,
and the rise in everything, secure votes against
Lincoln When the people have to pay thirty
or forty per cent more, next season, to see
favorite play or popular actor, they will be
sure to abuse Lincoln between the acts. When
they have to pay fifty per cent more, as they
may before election, it will certainly influence
their ballots. All the organizations Of work
ing men to get higher wages are practi-
cal protests against this administration.
Greeley, unable to pay his printers. and
obliged TO work at the case himself, hates Lin
coin more bitterly as the types stick to his un-
accustomed fingers, and rushes down stars to
relieve himself by writing an article in favor Of
Fremont. Even the sycophantic Times is less
enthusiastic in its support Of Old Abe since il
got into trouble with its compositors. All
these signs Of the times show that the masses
understand who is to blame FOR the dreadful
depreciation of the currency, and they are
more than likely to put all political issues aside
and vote as they feel in November. Hard cider
was the war cry OF one popular political rero-