The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-10-13
The Approaching Financial Rcvulsion-
First Symptoms.

ligence, &C.
The Approaching Financial Rcvulsion-
First symptoms.
The leading journals of New York announced
yesterday. in their money articles and else
where, the sudden and unexpected explosion OF
Mr.. Simeon Draper, very well-known and dis
tinguished specuator in Wall street. Some Of
the journals attempted to enter into minute
analysis of his assets and the causes OF his fail
ure, and others contented themselves with
simply stating the fact in general terms The
matter created great deal of astonishment ia
all quarters and reminded US, in remarkable
degree. of the effect produced in the same re-
gion by the equally sudden and unexpected ex-
ploson Of the Messrs. Josephs, the bankers and
Spectators in Wall street in the commence
ment of the great revulsion of 1887.
For some days after that falure-we remem-
Der it perfectly well-She newspapers continued
to announce that the Messrs. Josephs would
certainly resume payment on the next day.
The next day came, and payment was post
poned till the following; and when that
day arrived it was postponed till let
tiers should be received from their agents
in New Orleans. The letters at last
came; but the Messrs. Josephs never resumed
their payments, because that explosion was
the commencement of a general collapse, which
had been brought about and superinduced by
the expansion of the previous years and by the
strange and misguided action of Mr.. Van Bu-
rens financial policy in the management OF the
money affairs of the country. At the present
day. it is said that Mr.. Draper intends to re-
sumo payment tomorrow. We do not be-
lieve that such thing will come to pass. In
deed, we are rather inclined to think, from the
appearance of the financial horizon, that we
are not very far from the commencement of one
Of the most tremendous commissions that has
overtaken the credit system OF the country
and we believe that this CONFUSION has been
precipitated on US, without warning and with
out notice, by the strange and extraordinary
management of the surplus revenue and finan-
cial affairs of the government. under the pre-
sent ignorant and incompetent Secretary of the
Treasury at Washington.
1t is now eighteen months since we described
in the columns of this journal in every variety
of form. the process by which the country was
gradually verging towards another explosion
of its financial credit system, of more remark
able and extraordinary extent than that which
took place in 1887. We pointed out the facts,
we described the causes, and we analysed all
the elements that were then at work in bringing
about this event. We are not certain but we
are now in the commencement of that great
change. and that this commencement has been
hurried upon US, as we have already said, by
the acts Of the Secretary of the Treasury at
Washington.
There is every reason to believe that the
credits of the country have been forced beyond
their natural boundaries, even in the face of
all the receipts Of gold from California and Aus
tralia. The issue Of bonds Of all descriptions,
from under the guarantee Of States down to the
smallest city in the Northwest, has been of the
most enormous magnitude. mounting up to mil
lions after millions, and resembling in parti-
cular degree the condition Of things in England
previous to the great railroad CONFUSION of
that country few years ago. Every
symptom of the present day resembles,
in most marked and striking manner.
the symptoms of that CONFUSION. which
took place in 1887. The high prices of all
commodities. the rise in the value of real es-
tate. the extraordinary energy displayed in all
sorts of improvements the spread Of social ex-
travagance. the corruption and profigacy Of
political men, and the grasping cupidity and
extravaganza of spectators, are all Of the
same character, though of a greater magni-
tude now than they were in that disastrous
period.
In the midst of this unhealthy and extraordi-
nary enlargement Of commercial and all sorts
of credits, we see the Secretary Of the Treasury,
in his ignorance and presumption using the sur
plus revenue under his control in mode that
will only add tightness to tightness and screw
TO screw till the collapse come upon US like
thunder burst in summer sky. As speci-
men Of this ignorance and want Of knowledge
the Secretary of the Treasury is just now buy
ing up the bonds of the government not due,
and sending the very specie to Europe, without
any necessity for doing so, in pay ment of those
evidences of debt held in that quarter of the
world.
But that is not alive have every reason to
believe that the same interruptions set Of poll
ticians. actuated by the like principles and in
capacity. will produce the same results in the
government credits and government moneys at
this era, as those which they brought about in
1887 By the Encouragement Of that time, un-
der the elder Van Buren, dynasty. there was,
as we have already stated, vast havoc made
in commercial and mercantile circles. to which
we may now add-by way of recollection-the
terrible defalcation committed on the Treasury
Of the United States, directly and openly, to
the extent Of millions, besides the plumber made
by the politicians. in the name of the States, Of
the whole surplus revenue Of that day. What
have we TO expect from a government in the
hands Of the same regency in the present day,