Year: 1867

we suspect that IL the statistics were attain
able it would be found that in all branches OF
business more money has been lost by holding
on than by selling too soon. The trouble ls
that, when speculatOr does sell too soon, he
never gets over it,; it gives him an intellectual
colo for life he dreams Of 1t dreariy; he tells
all his friends and acquantances what an intense
fool he was and he bores himself az nc
boros Others with the narrative of that incom-
prehensible tumble in butter of how much he
should have made if it had renained steady,
and of how much he has lost by its decadcnce.
Gradually, he begins to feel The fall as per-
sonal injury. What right had butter TO go
downf and, being down, what right had it to
keep downP Thousands of men must have
left off eating butter just personally to spite
him. He knows that there must have been
conspiracy somewhere-a wicked, and very
possibly, an Illegal conspiracy. AS II he, too'
had not been fnessing, and figuring, and lay
ing little plots. and doing his very best 10
keen many bothered and even distressed fami-
lies from eating butter except upon his own
exorbitant terms


We do not mean, of course, in the least, to
blame the butter man. On the contrary, we af-
firm his right to keep his butter until every
ounce of it became fit for nothing but to make
soap of. He might well have had other than
avaricous reasons. Everything he bought cost
him enormously taxes were altitudinOus; money
had deprecated, and promised to depreciate still
further; and under all these sable and depress-
ing circumstances, he merely charged others as
others charged him. SO far, so good. But with
all his sagacty he contrived to forget that, while
the human animal must have bread, there are
circumstances of financial nature when 1t be-
comes to him of little importance whether that
bread is buttered or not. Without butter, we
might manage to survive; without Bread we die.
So, when some thousands of families betook
themselves to bread with molasses, or to the
plain and unsOphistcated loaf, absolutely unable
to eat butter at so or 60c. per pound that article
began to fall. There were other reasons; but
we name economy as one OF the principal Oh
them. The fall might have been foreseen; and,
however profusely the Maine butter man may
weep he mus MT expect us to weep with MN.


It is satisfactory to know, that beyond GER
tain point in prices, the butter-eatlng pubic
will not CO. simply because 1T cannot. Inc
same thing is true of every other necessary Oh
life. Speculative dealers may doom a great
many unfortunate people to hunger, and great
many to cold but if more is asked for food,
and Goals, and clothing than the people can
pay, then the fall will begin; and it will not
stop until it reaches point of tOlerable cheap
ness. With no wish to interfere with any
mans legitimate business, we may urge that 1t
is hardly fair for dealers to put their goods mt
a price at which they cannot he sold than 10
hold on to them for months at great loss to
themselves and greatly to the Inconvenience
and distress of thel community, and then
| finally to submit to fall, which lit
tie foresight might have anticipated. All
the intermediate trouble and expense Is
sheerly gratuitous. does great harm to every
body and good to nobody, and is the occasion
of incompatible anxiety and pain. Farmers
and all other producers must think for them
selves and, if they do so, they will see that
moderate profit now is far better than the
chance of an exorbitant one next year. There
is such a thing as being too sharp Tor one 5
own Interest," vaultng ambition may some
times be remarked in the butter market, with
the usual unsatisfactory leaping. Our advice
to producers, before they begin to wait for a
rise. is, to make themselves reasonably sure that
they shall not be waiting for fall.