Prices _will_ come down,--that is a
foregone conclusion. The abundant harvests have glutted the market, and
living will be cheaper. The laborer can live on less; and, if we can
manufacture at less cost, we shall be all right again."

"But there seems no demand for goods," said Mr. Lawrence faintly.
"Store-shelves are full. People are carrying last year's stock with no
call for it. It has always seemed to me, Eastman, that a liberal policy
to workmen brought its own reward. They are large consumers. Cut them
down to mere food and shelter, and clothes are the first to go. In
decent times your workman is ashamed of a ragged coat."

"All very true, Mr. Lawrence; but, if there is no market, we must create
one. Sell cheaper stock to new men. That will make a demand at once."

"Undersell! We used to call that a cut-throat business, Mr. Eastman;"
and a flush stained the fine face, now rather worn and thin.

"It is what we must come to. There is next to no premium on gold, and
the first man who touches bottom will be the lucky one, to my thinking.
Cheap goods, cheap every thing, will be the next cry. The farmers must
dispose of their wool, and labor must come down. Why, ordinary workmen
have been living like princes."

The delicate brows were drawn thoughtfully.

"I always hated to grind workmen down to a bare subsistence," spoke the
honest, loyal gentleman, as God made him. Trade had not warped body and
soul. He was an aristocrat, if you please, and his home was as sacred to
refinement and elegance as a ducal palace. A common person would have
stood in his hall until his errand was done, and he would never even
have asked a workman to take a seat in his office; but his soul was
honorable, if haughty.

"Let me manage it," with a confident nod. "We'll keep the topmost wave,
as you will see."

So to New York Horace Eastman went, and arranged for a large
auction-sale of goods, which was a remarkable success, and created quite
a ripple in the sea of stagnation. Then he contracted to deliver another
lot by the first of January, at certain prices. And now either
manufacturer must give up profits, or workman yield his margin, and be
contented with daily bread alone.

"There really was no need of workmen owning houses, having Brussels
carpets and pianos," argued Eastman. "They were in some degree
answerable for the hard times. Every one wanted to out-do his neighbor.
They were not content to live as their fathers had lived; a