Year: 1876

ness? On the whole we believe there is.
Setting aside the natural stir and increase in
purchases here, in Philadelphia and else
where in the larger cities, by the hundreds
of thousands who have visited and are visit
ing the Centennial show setting aside the
usual and even in dull years constant in
crease in business ut this season Of the
year; putting away carefully all temporary
causes, we see reason to believe that there
is not only here in New York. but all over
the country. real revival of trade, mod
crate in its proportions, cautious, as it
ought to be, but arising naturally out Of
causes which we shall presently mention.
and promising to last and to increase and to
have its effect upon general industry.


The evidences Of this business revival at
tract attention, as we see by the newspapers,
not only here but in Boston, Chicago, in
ST. Louis--at oil the centres Of trade, in fact
There are more people buying the Southern
trade is said to be uncommonly brisk this
| year Western commerce also is brisk, and
merchants from all parts of the country are
replenishing their stocks in a manner which
seems to show that not only are their shelves
bare, but they have, on a survey of the con-
dition of their customers concluded that
| these will buy and will have money to pay.
| There can be no doubt, in fact, of the present
activity of trade. The main question is will
| it continue, or is it only spurt. spasmodic
holding that it is not spasmodic, but that,
| unless some now unforeseen cause inter-
| venes, it will continue, and we are at last on
the upward way.


Commodities Of oil kinds are at present
uncommonly cheap. Producers of all kinds
| have at last suited themselves to the mar
kets The anxiety to make and sell has
brought the ingenuity of manufacturers into
use, and people can not only now buy
cheaper than at any time since 1860, but
they find it more easy to buy what they
want. During the great rush and excite
ment of the speculative period producers
ceased to take particular pains to study the
tastes and wishes of customers; but this has
now changed for the better in many and, in
deed, in almost all departments:


The country is really rich. It has been
vigorously economizing since 1873, and
three years Of strict economy do wonders
among forty millions Of people. The sum
Of our savings as nation in year of econ
omy amounts to vast deal of wealth. We
have been saving for three long and tedious
years; and while this economy has been
| forced and distressful with considerable
part of our people-with those engaged and
employed in manufacturing is undeniable
| that the farmers and planters who are the
bulk of the population, have had prosper
Gus years. Even last year the farmers Of
| Central Illinois made it their chief COM
plant that they could find nobody to bor-
row their surplus money and give them what
they thought fair rate of interest But
| the times are not hard where men have
enough to eat and chiefly growl because no.
body will borrow their surplus cash. Dur
| ing all the hard times we have had in the
main good crops and have received good
| prices for them, and thus we have had an
unvarying source Of growing wealth.


1t was necessary to stop for while; and
when, in 1873, confidence received so gen.
| eral and severe q shock, and thousands who
had imagined themselves comfortable or
wealthy were suddenly ruined, the panic
of doubt seized everybody; all enterprise
was checked; all investments became doubt
full; all who had money sought only to keep
what they had; everybody's affairs under
went scrutiny, and it was soon seen that
there had been immense overtrading. Bank
ruptcy-staved off during prosperous years
was no longer to be put off great part of
our merchants, all over the country, appeared
| in the insolvent lists, and then began
that long and dolorous process which
appears at last to have weeded out the un-
| sound business houses and to have, at great
suffering to individuals, left the country,
where it must be placed before we can have
sound and lasting prosperity, on the ''bot-
tom rock" Individual failures continue
and will continue but there is no longer the
material for q panic. Even the failure of
the great coal com animation, vast rs were the
losses it entailed on multitude of people,
has scarcely caused ripple in the conner
| cial world. Three years ago such break
would have brought general and crushing
| disaster.


Confidence so severely shaken, slowly re-
turns. Merchants, manufacturers and pro-
ducers in general watch the market and the
condition of the country with anxious care,
and they SEQ not actual prosperity, for we
have not come to that yet, but they do see a
return of confidence; they that losses
have been measured; that failures have been
settled up; that prices are low in many arti-
cles very low; that it is safe and advantage
GUS to buy; that the mass of consumers need
to replenish and are able to pay;
and thus and for these reasons trade is
| ,1ou,lx, rov;vinu on n sound basis and with