Year: 1865

why Must the Businsss OF Our Country
bs Crushed by Observation-Disclosures OF
Lecture Delivered BY siIas N. Still
| we'll ON the Evening OF the Hath OF No.
vember, 1865.


GES1ExES-I propose 70 lay before you such facts
and conclusions long research careful analysis have
convinced may be valuable to the public. We will
conHne our examination at this time 70 fcw points
propositions that appear TO embrace the whole subject
vz-what the Of high prcesf Is the price Of
gold ruled by the balance Of trade in foreign imports
and exports by the volume Of soundly secured
banking currency and legal tender "coined paperf"
In our great and expanding country, filling rapidly
with an Industrious intelligent and trading people, can
we establish fixed volume Of currencyf Shall the
quantity be limited be governed like the produce OF
the farmer merchant and manufacturer, by the price
will bring in the marketf Is there any measure OF
value money In market but the rate Of interest
Can money bo high In price and still abundantf Can
money be cheap and yet scarcef Is the low price OF
money in Europe evidence Of abundance or scarcity,
or deprecated currencyf Are low high rates OF inter-
est beneficial to trade and government loansS Shall
Congress continue to stulufy itself by making
opoly out Of the Free Banking lawa Can the country
be injured by allowing the people deposit
bonds in the treasury for which cash at has been
paid and receive ninety per cent in notes which the
bank must payf credits, better secured than any
other be too numerouss


CONDITION OF THs COUNTRY.


What are the causes that have produced tho present
high prices In our countryf This question be
swered in detail but at this time general state
ment must suffice. The commencement Of the late
found tho people Of tho United States rich in all the pro-
ducc OF industry. Farmers, mechanics, merchants,
traders all other Industrious classes in every part
Of our common country increasing in wealth The
| tcdn ctro WARE Or
hopes any other people, In this happy condition
came in all fearful reality Tho demand for soldiers
sailors and all the accessories of war produced drain
upon the resources Of tho North and South that
never before realized on this continent Nearly two mil


lions the producing classes Withdrawn from their
daily pursuits and arrayed against each other in deadly
strife Powerful armies devastated tho country and
destroyed everything Of value for thousands Of mils
leaving great tracts Of country uninhabcd The North
was drawn upon for and means beyond any precod
ent This devastating strife continued four years, and
suddenly terminated by the total exhaustion OF the South
This collapse destroyed negro property and has actually
annihilated thousand millions Of personal property
by Confederate bonds These bonds
represented personal labor and property consumed
In tho war; and the Southern States are left without
organized labor personal property, while their pcpu
laton depleted by the loss of more than four
hundred thousand Of tho most active Inhabitants and
the surviving populations In want Of all the neccs
sarics and comforts that pertain 70 civilized life
AS tho conflict unprecedented In the magnitude Of


the armies engaged and the loss Of life and limbs


tho destruction Of property and the dsoreanzation Of
labor without parallel in history. As wonderful as
tho conflict Of arms, II entirely eclpscd by the
extraordinary circumstances that attended upon the
Termination OF the rebellion scene is presented TO
or two great sections OF nation after protracted
aud exhaasting war, extending over period Of four
years. and marked by bitterness OF feeling during the
contest thst hardly be paralloled, meeting again
upon the ground Of constitutional rights ban
.sbing angry feelings and tho victors in the struggle
/ immediately Offering and extending pccunary a.d
cysry conceivable form to tho vanqu!slled. This
sldd n return TO peace, under such circumstances,
has within the last six months, created greater drain
upon tho of the North than would have
| RED By pro.ongation OF the war.


| LABOR AND PRODUCTS or LABOR.


The great that dcsolating war produced in
tho Southern Staos is b. filled by trade IN that
direction carried down the Mississippi aud the
by thousand steamers and sailing craft The d,an of
manufa turcd goods wares and mcrchands,, Of Hour,
grain beef pork and all the other required
by such people, under such circumstances In such
can bc counted only by tens OF lions of dollars Wo
might pause hero TO inquire whether all this is not
| faint and imperfect statement OF the actual condi-
ton OF tho country at this time In relat ON to tho
4 great law OF supply and demand; but we pass to
| continue enumeration OF causes Of high priccs
/ A large proportion OF tho aborers North and South
that we're Withdrawn from industrial pursuits by tn
either killed. died by accidents and diseases,
scattered throughout the country that out of the two
/ millions of men that were employed in the two
sections before the war not moro than onehfih have
returned to their former occupations as producers


destruction Of property fail to prod ce powerful In
nuence upon the price Of labor and the remainn pro-
duce Of labor Is not plain that these have
disturbed the labor maTketf Tho great law Of supply
nand," which governs prces In the open Market
Ia the great oss Of tho produce OF labor
and tho absence OF aborcrs Every that Juys
sells familiar with this law II market rs over
kcd with beef Hour pork mercnsna,se OF any other
will fall IT. the contrary, there are more buyers than
Sellers and there Is short supply, prices VIII rise; and
this law We sl know cannot b. violated with mpunity
i Two years from the commencement OF the war cot
ton In bags scacc and advanced In price 10 one
did moi advance hall as much Al the cosc Of the war
cotton bags became plenty and fell more than
nifty per cent while manufactured cotton, being scarce
after short depression, suddenly rose 10 greater
price than heretofore Here Is remarkable Illus
iratioa Of the elect Of the great law o. supply
The effect II this law was shown IN still more re-
markabe MANNER several years since, In California,
every article or productive industry In consequence
Of the demand and short supply rose far above any
ic fact shows that gold does not control priecs Al
this time market is not hlled with labor or the
products Of labor and o. course "" nave @ rising mar


aorers the produce Of labor but II has lost OF


Its consumers or non producers that existed among us
| and sick soldiers widows orphans and dlcrs Many OF
| those will earn nothing, but remain charge upon
| the country. This addition 70 the list non pro-
| ducers Ia q natural consequence Of such q war.
In making up q summary Of our losses people we
can only approximate the great result. We may not
count the value OF the negro as slave 10 Southern


MASTER but may estimate the loss Of his labor Ia


cultivation OF cotton during the last four years, which


cannot be estimated at lcss than one thousand millions OF


dollars II tho production OF cotton did not entirely


cease the OBJECT upon the country has been the same and


we have sustained by The absence OF cotton


in the prices OF silk wool ax and other articles which


have become Substitutes for cotton among people.
| LABOR PROPERTY coSsrNgD NY liis0 5AH \.


The Confederate debt and the debts incurred by the


several rebel States while the war lasted the repro


scntaves OF the labor and property consumed OF de-


stroyed In the prosecution OF this war; Although am


aware that private lossce and private contributions are


embraced In this cnumera0n still we will not est-


mate the destruction o properly than these oeps


represent, will we x the amount nj more tnan two


thousand millions OF dollars There is no representative


character 10 this debt now, that We may properly