Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1877 — American Interests as Affected by a European War. [ARTICLE]

American Interests as Affected by a European War.

Such a condition of things In Europe as the apparently impending struggle portends would have a very important bearing upon oar commerce, our finances, and, possibly, also upon the future of our population. Our relation to Europe is that of a supplier of food products and of raw materiala, and a consumer, in return, of European manufactures; besides which wa stand in the position of being a large borrower of its capital and the outlet for its inadequately remunerated population. The first effect of hostilities would be to stimulate the demand for food supplies for military consumption, which, in time of war, is always attended with a sudden iocrease of commissariat stocks at a large amount of wasfe; thia rule applying to navies as well as to armies. The markets, therefore, would immediately feel the effect of a large government demand for grain and provisions. The next effect would be to stop the supply of such products from the countries engaged in conflict. Just what tbis implies may be inferred from the fact that Russia usually exports about 85,000,000 bushel* of grain to England and European countries; and that Turkey and her dependencies exported last year to Great Britain alone 6,800,000 bushels. So that war would eut off 42,000,000 bushels of grain usually distfibuted throughoul Europe; which deficiency the United States will be mainly expected to supply. Besides this, a proportionate extra demand would fall upon us for pork and packed beef. And beyond this we should probably receive important orders for munitions of war. But, when this has been stated, little more remains to be said as to the war causing any increased demand for American products. In respect to most other articles its effect would be to diminish the demaaft. The depression of trade in Europe wiU check the consumption of our cotton and put down its price; and petroleum and all minor exports will be similarly affected; so that what we may gain on one class of exports we shall lose on another. It must W kept in mind that while the enlarged exports .of food products will increase our returns from foreign countries, yet it will cause home consumers to pay a correspondingly higher price upon a many times larger quantity consumed by our own population; which is a state of things by no means conducive to a satisfactory condition of the masses nor to the consumption o't other articles by the million.

The truth is that whatever advantage may come from the whr will accrue rather from our imports than our exports. Coming as war would, upon an already depressed condition of business in all the nations of Europe, it must induce there a general prostration of business, with a consequent general decline in the prices of most of the articles we import from thence; and it would also involve in the same way a corresponding fall in the value of the commodities we import from Asia and South America. All oiir consumption of tea,*coffee, sugar, dry goods and other merchandise which we now derive from abroad, would thus be obtained at. lower prices than would otherwise prevail. The bad condition or the closing of other markets would cause considerable amount of certain goods to be consigned hither to be sold for what they would bring; and thus the reduction in tbe cost of some foreign articles might be very important. But while this would be a very appreciable gain to our customers at large, yet there are classes that would suffer inconvenience or loss on. this very account. Stocks of imported goods already ou hand would depreciate, with loss to the mercantile interest; and manufacturers would have to adapt themselves to tbe lower prices of the foreign articles with which they have to compete; which, In the present condition of that interest, wouid not lies very welcome result—X Y. Bulletin. Frank Jackson, of New Albany, since the Southern Hotel fire, has been busily engaged inventing a life-saving apparatus to be used in the sky parlors of hotels. It consists of a jacket with wings, which the person in peril can put an. and, jumping from a six-story window, land safely in the street. The invention is said to be a very ingenious one. He will give a public test of the merits of the machine Saturday, by lumping from the roof of the Jefferaon engine- house and landing safely In the street.—* Mianapofy Journal.