Will it work out in this way? Partly it will; partly it will not. Cheaper food will partly balance the accounts of all parties, but some accounts will not balance. Prices sink or rise unequally. And this is not half our trouble. In these matters “thinking makes it so;” the belief that we are losing ground causes the sliding back which we dread. There is a reluctance to buy what we are accustomed to buy. The reduction in wages makes men _feel_ poor; and to feel poor is to be a poor customer of the seller. Suppose that a general fall in prices is going on—a possibly complete explanation of our troubles—then we must remember that all values are disturbed. We can not make a “horizontal reduction” by a stroke of the pen. It must be effected slowly and painfully and irregularly and in detail. The results are suffering and depression of spirit. The strain is severe, but it has to be borne; and patience really lightens all burdens. If we reflect that these stretches of bare ground in trade are really safe roads—safer than the smoother paths along which we have driven gaily and recklessly—we shall have confidence to keep company with patience, and the two will make a rough road tolerable, if not enjoyable. Honest and industrious souls thrive in such times. Speculative rogues thrive in good times. The honest man’s chief trouble is that he _will_ get into debt. His worst calamity is he is paying now with eighty-cent wheat debts contracted in dollar-wheat prices. The poor man can not be helped. May the Lord be good to him. “But” one will say, “this is not our whole disease. We are really at war. Workmen are falling under the wheels of a great machine called progress; and the machine is driven by forces too powerful for any hope of resistance. It is not a mere readjustment of prices; it is a life and death struggle; and the god Competition must be dethroned, or the people will perish.” We do not believe this wild-eyed reformer, but we do expect a hard winter. Let us all remember the poor. EDITOR’S NOTE-BOOK. The steady growth of this country is shown by the fact that in the last fiscal year there was a net increase of 2,154 in the number of post-offices. The total number is now 50,071. About this time it is interesting to learn that there are only 2,323 President’s post-offices with salaries of $1,000 and higher; and there are only 159 free delivery offices. The expenses of the last year exceeded the receipts by more than three millions of dollars. * * * * * Hostile Apaches continue to be troublesome on the Mexican border. They escape across the line and are safe from pursuit. These troubles will end when the two governments make permanent arrangements for the pursuit of marauders across the boundary. A temporary provision of that kind has existed, but it should be permanent—unless, indeed, our citizens fear Mexican soldiers more than they fear Indians. * * * * *