Year: 1876

the cure. The man Is kept QuleC aI hrSo, aiii
as he gradually RECEIVERS his strength he re-
sumes, little by little, his old avocations. His
languor is not illness but the effort OF nature
to secure the conditions for rebuilding his
energies.


Tn lust this way is the business COM
'munity recovering its lost vigor. 1t Is not
sick, It is only weak and languid, and
it cannot be helped by any medicines that
ouacks In or out Of Congress can compound.
In this period of quiescence the elements OF
future activity and prosperity are being accu-
mulated. People arc practiclng economies
which had long fallen into dlsilse; the
coat is worn another season, the oiu
silk gown is made over, the household eA-
penses are retrenched, thero is less outlay Tor
luxurics and fnery; wholesome lessons Oh
self-dcnial are learned. Young men less fre-
quently abandon the country and hock 10 the
cities to swell the OvercrOwdcd ranks OF those
who gain living by merely passing COM
modities from hand to hand; they re-
main upon the farm, and thus anu
10 the number of actual producers OF
wealth In the country there is little distress,
for the soil is just ~ responsive rs ever to the
processes of agriculture, and its products COM
mand a price relatively as good as or better than
they did three or four years ago. These adj
justments to the changed conditions OF bnsi-
ness, this shortening of outlay to correspond
with diminished income, this shifting OF labor
from avocations no longer remunerative To
Others where there is still room, tins
redistribution of population-the abandon
ment of the idle factory or forge
for the farm, and Of the crowded East
for the moro inviting Wost-involye a good
deal of suffering, but it must be borne, and 1t
will be endured with more cheerfulness II IL ls
regarded rs the necessary preparation for
new era of national prosperity. The strait
encd ways of living which the hard times
force people to adopt develop in them habits
cf economy which will surely produce better
state of things in the end, and are the only
corrective of the vices Of extravaganza ana
wild speculation which forced the country into
the hard and rough path it is now treading.


Is there any remedy for the hard times, them
Yes; the remedy has been found, and people
have to take it whether they will or no. The
hard times are working ont their own cure.
But the slow operation is hard to bear Can
it not be acceleratcdf 1t can if the business





confidence. The torpOr that follows COM
mercial crash usually prolorgs itself beyond
the time when It's existence il a necessity, and
thus the conditions for renewal OF activity
exist for months and perhaps for year or
two, before people venture 10 take advantage
of them. Timidity holds them back and
makes them take n gloomy view oi
a situation which is rapidly Frightening.
We believe that tho foundation for
better times has already been lald, and that
the coming Spring ought to witness decided
revival in many branches of trade. 1t Is un-
fortunate that the Presidential campaign comes
lust at this time, for it is always disturbing
influence in tho channels of business, but on
the other hand we have the Centennial Exhi-
bition to set people in motion and unlock a
great deal of boarded wealth, and to stimulate
enterprise by arousing patriotism. Heretofore
the only advice to give to those who chafcd
under the burden of tho hard times has been
compressed in single word-paticnce but
now the time has como for more cheering
watchword, and we say, Courage and Action