The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-10-28

lnleHtlOO, eIT6UStu cniHt VIM o"'"o'~t
motives, victims, and all the rest that cons'i'
,utes action. LIE, us see, then, how panic
at New York operates upon American rail-
ways and their numerous British share-hold-
ers.
Let US suppose the British "capiialist,"-
generally man who has earned his money
slowly, and his experience still more slowly
alive to few OF the periis that environ
American speculation. Let him be fairly up
10 pretended State guarantee, or an inior-
NAL State guarantee with flaw in III 10 the
danger of rival lines, and Of lines made sim.
ply TO assist in the making Of lines, which
will ruin them when made; 10 the dangers
of management, OF anaigS1r 1r'ons, OF leases
and sales, which may or msy not leave tho
general shareholder in an unpleasant condi.
lion. Let the Englishman either devote the
autumn of his DAYS and the fickering light
OF his declining income 10 gaining an insight
into these curiosties of American enterprise,
or let him have the sense TO consult bro.
ker who can point out these dangerous
places on that smooth, seductive surface
| Still there remains one peril which hitherto
has not been so fully illustrated, and which
many of our readers must be- learning 10
their cost. Railways in the United States,
! and few other undertakings, appear 10
have an unlimited power Of borrowing IN a
market OF which the ups end downs are
! wholly beyond all English ideas. All the
great lines have been borrowing in the New
| York market on their own acceptance, and
have done so easily, as they have generally
been willing 10 pay the highest rates of inter-
est. Our own companies have done pretty
much the same, TO their cost but the highest
rate Of interest here is not nearly so high as
there, and we have not seen a great company
going about from house TO house begging for
an immediate loan to pay the interest due on
its bonds, aud lombard Street crowded with
speculatois whose lives depended on the re-
suit. On the lst day Of this month Wall ST.,
New York, was in state of delightful ex-
ctemcnt. "The September coupons on the
Erie second aud third mortgage bonds ma
tured, aud The company were without means
TO meet them unless the Banks would ad-
vance 5000 600. 1t was not I'LL midday that
the Banks agreed to do it." Had they de-
clined ii appears the little confidence left at
New York would have gone altogether. and
ii is evident that humaniis- apiss s's4rieiisn'
were allowed 10 sway The decisIon. Bul for
this appeal and but for some tender ele-
mems in The philosophy of Wall Street, what
would have become of The Erie iareholders,
when the second and third mortsases would
| have TO go without thel. Interest? The re-
suit was, the "second and third mortgages"
got their September coupons. Bu, now
about The shareholders 7 Those Of our road
ers who may harpen to have embarked
their all in this company will be interested
10 hear that it has been al its wits ends TO
pay a hundred thousand pounds, and that il
had 10 borrow for the purpose on a day when
"the best commercial paper could not be
done below ~ and 10 per cent, and by far
the largest business was at 2 per cent.
month" But these panics are periodical,
and al no such great intervals. There is not
a railway in the States that has moi 10 go
through few ofthem. But when a railway
acceplances, and when the rate of interest
for loans is al the usurious rate stated above,
iresuts that the inevitable operation of a
-uniiaa SiaieS Hallway Is 10 dfu~ tho money
out of the pockets Of the stockholders into
that of The Wall street money lenders. No
railway, certainly not any American railway,
can ever yield profit TO cover such interest !;
and as the interest must be paid, The profit
must disappear.
In fact, the best comment on this sort of
transaction is the value of the shares in the
market What is a share worth when 1t be-
comes merely All authority 10 han-a-doZeh
seurivrrru 10 contract any debts they please,
at any rate OF interest they may find neces-
sary Railway stock, which was supposed
10 have fallen quite low enough, had gone
down ten or twenty per cent. lower al the
last. date, and was still going down. The
truth is, American railways have been burn.
ing on both ends, both on their income and
on their ouigoings. The crops have not
bceb Iuho sO Sooo, udNSibiS, hOt
quite SO brisk; while railways have had to
borrow money against host of needy com
pelitors. There is crowd of specua!ors in
sugar, cotton, and in corn; there are States
with debts rather above their present means,
and wanting more money sill; and there are
banking companies with means that would
not bring Them much credit in this country,
bui which have won American confidence.
Al the beginning Of the month there was a
crash OF them, und as Que reads the list sne
seems TO be reading page ofsome CONNER
cial romance, and not a maller.of-fact re-
port. What would Englisbmeu, simple as
they are, have expected from the "New
York Life and Trust CompunyW What pru-
dence, or even honesty, was likely to be
lound in projectors capable of such jnmble
of words. Yet this Company had lbriven
al Cincinnati, till in an evil hour it winged
its flight TO New York, and became ma
chine for drawing the money Of the western
agriculurist into the Golfers of the Wall ST.
money -lender. Then the MechanIcs' Bank.