1882.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMEK. 



183 



than at home. The fault, if there is any, is 

 iu otir injudicious wants ; for, if we will have 

 luxuiies, it makes no (lillVix-iice to us wliere 

 tlioy aie luoducwl. Our only concern is to gut 

 them witli as little (^xi)cndituru of our means 

 us possible ; for whether tliey are made at 

 home or abroad, we know that it is alike tlie 

 IM'oduct of our own labor tliat pays fof them, 

 and the fact that they are imported can be 

 no good ground of comi)laint. Importing 

 money instead of them would not help the 

 matter, for so long as we want luxuries, and 

 so long as there is no prohibitory law en- 

 forced against them, the money imiiorled 

 will surely lie jiarted with to iirocnro them. 

 The Jffli.DODjOOO expended for imported wines 

 would be laid out iu home-made substitutes, 

 or perhaps some of it iu cheap whisky, which 

 would not be much improvement. Besides, 

 the hard money itself may be, and a large 

 sliarc of it daily is, melted and fashioned into 

 jewelry and other gold and silver ornaments, 

 which are as much luxuries as anything else. 

 As I said at the beginning, I will not 

 repeat the general argument in proof that 

 the Balance of Trade theory is a delusion, but 

 iu order to show that the views I entertain 

 are sustained by high authority, I ask you to 

 publish the following extract from a speech 

 of Daniel Webster, delivered in the U. S. 

 House of Representatives, April "2, 1S24, and 

 which was pointed out to me by a friend since 

 my former communications were published in 

 the Farjiek. So far as appears, no one in 

 ^' Congress at that day ventured to controvert 

 his argument, and hickily for him, your Dela- 

 ware correspondent was not there to set him 

 down by telling him that "his arguments 

 were not dangerous," and "only needed state- 

 ment to meet with ridicule." — J. P., Lancas- 

 ter, Dec. 6, 1S82. 



EXTRACT FROM D. WEBSTER'S SPEECH. 



* * " Let us inquire, then sir, what is 

 meant by an unfavorable balance of trade. 



* * By an unfavorable balance of trade, 

 I understand is meant the slate of things in 

 which importation exceeds exportation. To 

 apiily it to our owu case, if the value of the 

 goods imported exceed the value of tliose ex- 

 ported, tlien the balance of trade is said to be 

 against us, inasmuch as we have run in debt 

 to the amount of the difference. Theiefore it 

 is said that if a nation continue long in a com- 

 merce like this, it uuist be rendered alj.solutely 

 bankrupt. It is in the condition of a man 

 that buys more than he sells, and how can such 

 a traffic be maintained without ruin ? Now, 

 sir, the whole fallacy of tins argument con- 

 sists in supposing that whenever the value of 

 imports exceeds that of exports, a debt is 

 necessarily created to the extent of the dill'er- 

 enee, whereas ordinarily, the import is no more 

 than the result of the export, augmented iu 

 value by the labor of transportation. The 

 excess of imports over exports, in truth, usu- 

 ally shows the gains, not the losses of trade. 

 * * * If the value of commodities im- 

 ported in a given instance did not exceed the 

 value of the outward cargo with which they 

 were purchased, then it would be clear to 

 every man's common sense that the voyage 

 had not been i)rolilable. If such commodities 

 fell far short in value of the cost of the out- 

 ward cargo, then the voyage would be a very 

 losing one ; and yet it would present exactly 

 that state of things which, according to the 

 notion of a balance of trade can alone indicate 

 a prosperous commerce. On the othei- hand, 

 if the return cargo were found to be worth 

 much more than the outward cargo, while the 

 merchant having paid for the goods exported, 

 and all the expenses of the voyage, tiuds a 

 handsome sum yet iu his hands, which he 



calls profit, the balance of trade is still against 

 him, and whatever he may think of it, hi^ is 

 in a Very ba<l way. Altlidugh one individual 

 or all individuals gain, the nation los('s. 

 While all its citizens grow rich, tins country 

 grows poor I This is the doctrine of the 

 balan(!e of trade." 



He then illustrates by instances, and in the 

 course of his remarks says: "There are no 

 shallower reasoners than those political and 

 commercial writers who would represent it to 

 be the only true and gainfui end of com- 

 merce 10 accumulate the precious metals," 

 and says that a country at oue"time may have 

 too much money, as well as too little at another 

 time ; and that when there is too much it is as 

 advantageous to export it as to import it at 

 another tiinie, adding : "We need no more re- 

 pine when the dollars which have been brought 

 here from South America are despatched to 

 other countries than when coffee and sugar 

 take the ^ame direction." 



Selections. 



THE VIRTUES OF COFFEE. 



It is getting to be the fashion now for peo- 

 ple to say that coffee is injurious to health, 

 and many persons are giving it up regretfully. 

 Perhaps coll'ee is very injurious in some cases, 

 but of all beverages it is contended that it is 

 the least injurious. Coffee-drinkers are 

 generally cheerful, strong and persevering. 

 The eminent Dr. Bock, of Leipsic, .says : 

 " The nervousness and peevishness of the 

 times are chiefly attributable to tea and 

 colTee." He says that " the digestive organs 

 of confirmed coQee-drinkers are in a state of 

 chronic derangement, which reacts on the 

 brain, producing fretful and lachrymose 

 moods." "I cannot agree," says Dr. Henry 

 Segur, of Paris, " that the nervousness and 

 peevishness of the present time are to be at 

 tributed to the use of coffee. If people are 

 more nervous or iu worse humor now than 

 formerly, we may find other causes arising 

 from the customs and habits of society much 

 more likely to produce a state of things than 

 the use of this particular article of diet." 



Let us examine the effects of coffee on the 

 economy. Taken in moderation it is a men- 

 tal and body stimulant of a most agreeable 

 nature, and followed by no harmful reaction, 

 it produces contentment of mind, allays hun- 

 ger and Iwdily weakness, increa.ses the incen- 

 tive and capacity for work, makes man forget 

 his misfortunes and enables those who use it 

 to remain a long time without food or sleep, 

 to endure uiuisui*! fatigue and preserve their 

 cheerfulness and contentment. Jomaud says : 

 " An infusion made with ten ounces of cofiee 

 enables me to live without other food for five 

 consecutive days without lessening my ordin- 

 ary occupations and to use more and more 

 prolonged muscular exercise than I was ac- 

 customed to without any other physical in- 

 jury than a slight degree of fatigue and a lit- 

 tle lossof fiesh." 



The mental exhilaration, physical activity 

 and wakefulness it causes explains the fond- 

 ness for it which has been shown by so many 

 men of science, poets, .scholars and others de- 

 voted to thinking. It has, indeed, been called 

 the intellectual beverage. It supported the 

 old age of Voltaire and enabled Fontenelle to 

 pass his hundred years. 



The action of coffee is directed chiefly to 

 the nervous system. It produces a warming, 

 cordial impression on the stomach, quickly 

 followed by a ditfused, agreeable and nervous 

 excitement, which extends itself to the cere- 

 bral functions, giving rise to increased vigor 

 of imagination and intellect, without any 

 subsequent confusion or stupor, such as are 

 chaiaclerislic of narcotics. Coffee contains 

 essential principles of nutrition far exceeding 

 in importance its exhilarating properties, and 

 is one of the most desirable articles for sus- 

 taining the system in certain prostrating dis- 

 ea.ses. As compared with the nutrition to be 

 derived from the best of soups, eotfee has de- 

 cidedly the advantage and is lo bo preferred 

 in many Instances. The medicinal elVects of 

 coffee are very great. In intermittent fever 

 it has been used by eminent physicians, with 

 the happiest ellect in cutting short the attack, 

 and if properly managed is lietter in many 

 cases than the sulphate of quinine. In that 

 low state of intermittent, as found on the 

 banks of the Mississippi river and other mala- 

 rial districts, accompanied with enlarged 

 spleen and torpid liver, when judic^iously ad- 

 ministered it is one of the surest remedies. 

 In yellow fever it has been used by physicians, 

 and with some it is their main reliance after 

 other necessary remedies liave been adminis- 

 tered ; it retains tissue change, and thus be- 

 comes a conservator of force in that state in 

 which the nervous .system tends to collapse, 

 because the blood has become impure ; it sus- 

 tains the nervous power until the depuration 

 and reorganization of the blood are accom- 

 plished, and has the advaut.age over other 

 stimulants in inducing no injurious secondary 

 effects. In spasmodic asthma its utility is 

 well established, as in whooping cough, stu- 

 por, lethargy and such troubles. In hysteri- 

 cal attacks, for which in many cases a physi- 

 cian can form no diagnosis, coflee is a great 

 help. 



Coffee is opposed to malaria, to all noxious 

 vapors. As a disinfectant it lias wonderful 

 powers. As an instantaneous deodorizer it 

 has no equal for the sickroom, as all exhala- 

 tions are immediately neutralized by simply 

 pa.ssing a chafing dish with burning coffee 

 grains through the room. It may be urged 

 that an article possessing such powers and 

 capacity for such energetic action must be 

 injurious as an article of diet of habitual 

 employment, and not without deleterious pro- 

 perties ; but no corresponding nervous disar- 

 rangements liave been observed after its 

 effects liave disappeared, as are seen in nar- 

 cotics and other stimulants. Tha action im- 

 parted to the nerves is natural and healthy. 

 Habitual coffee drinkers generally enjoy good 

 health. Some of the oldest people have used 

 Coffee from earliest infancy without feeling 

 any depressing reaction, such as is produced 

 by alcoholic stimulants. 



FEEuING STOCK IN WINTER. 

 As the season draws near when our domes- 

 tic animals arc to be fed upon artilicial forms 

 of food for nearly half a year, it may not be 

 out of place to devote a little thought to the 

 subject of winter feeding. There is no doubt 

 whatever that in years gone by, if not at the 

 present time, many cattle have been kept 



