Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1857-10-23
THE FREE PRESS
FRIDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 20, 1857.

BURLINGTON

FRIDAY MOHNlNG, OCIOBER 70, 1907.
High Pressure Items.
The Crash Of 81 will not soon pass from
the memory of man-involving as it is
likely to do the financial fall of the leading
concerns in every branch of business. The
record of failures for the last six weeks is
not pleasant to look at. Harper 4 Broth
ers, the heaviest publishing house in this
country if not in the world; Bowen and
MacNamee the heaviest silk house; W. & G .
Lane, & Co, the heaviest N. Y. house in
Southern trade; the Illinois Central 4 Erie
Railroads, the heaviest roads in the land
John n. Genin, the well known halter,
whose sales we're $500, 900 year; Persce
& Brooks, the most extensive paper manu-
faoturers; Francis Skinner & Co, of Bos-
ton the heaviest domestic woolen goods
concern in New England; and-not to ex-
tend the list-Railroads and Manufactur-
ing Corporations by scores, and traders and
bankers by hundreds, and banks en- masse,
have yielded to the pressure.
OF course not all, perhaps minority
only, of these failures. are cases of utter
ruin. Many concerns of great wealth failed
because money was wanted then, and could
not he got then. In short tma they will
doubtless recover their p)'iri IN. BIven
& McNamee had property worth 81 200, 900
over and above their liabilities, Harpers
over million. The Illinois Central had
funds enough both in Chicago and IN Lon
don, to keep Its paper from protest, and so
Of many others. A great many however
are crushed in the fall beyond all hope of
recovery.
The independents last weekly list Of
failures and suspensions. numbers l6l, of
which SO are In n. York City. Four are
in Vermont as follows:
E. R. Robertson & Co. Bartonville, Vt, sus-
pended.
|. W. Ford Co., Springfield; Vt, failed.
Gideon NJ. Lee, Chester, Vt, failed.
John l.. johnson, Chester, VT, failed.
The N. Y. banks contracted their loans
no less than ser.nt.en millions, from the
Stn of August to the 10th of October.
Their course is bitterly condemned all
over the country. The money article Of
tho New York Iraor ~.dous Gays
81 David Lesvitt of the American Ex-
change Bank was the only man fit to lead
the banks, but they would not be led ,
but quarreled to the last moment among
themselves. lie proposed the only redeem.
ing measure by which to obtain again the
confidence of depositors-an immediate in
crease of discounts to the extent Of ten
millions, and the sending money to the
West to buy grain. A few leading banks
violently opposed this thinking they
would stand whatever might happen. but
they have found themselves mistaken.
The sacrifice made to preserve mercantile
credit were in many cases heroic. 1t is
stated that the great house Of Garner y
dollars for the assistance necessary to en-
able them to meet, at maturity, their en-
gagements. j. W. Corlies " Co., it is said,
offered ono hundred per cent premium for
the discount of sufficient trade paper to
carry them through. The last heavy house
failed for the want of s. 900, and Harper
i Brothers for even less sum and the
banks turned them off with the full knowl-
ed. of the consequences.
The Chemical Bank Of New York
is the only one continuing to
pay III gold, having two dollars in specie
for every one Of its circulation This bank
is SAID 20 be owned by a few wealthy
men and to have done little in the way OF
general Giscounting for the mercantile com
munity. The Courier and Enquirer says
Then as to its paying speciel Why We
have little shaver with a fue cent pitoe in
his pocket, who boasted to us yesterday
that he was solvent and could pay specie ior
all his liabilities! This was strictly true
as true as this brag Of the Chemical
Bank; and what is more, our little fellow &
specie IN his pocket, does just as much ser
vice to the Commercial Community as does
the specie paying absnrdity OF the Chemi-
cal. Neither of them are Of any practics
use to the publi;; and the boast Of one, i.
worth as much as the boast Of the other. -
The Massachusetts, Bank in Boston also
holds itself ready to pay specie for all 1T
bills as offered. 1t has more specie in it,
vaults than all its bills out amount to-
Yet report is that one of its depositors, i
he were to demand specie for his deposit
could drain it of every dollar of coin, an,
then not get enough to answer his check
To show the pressure of the time 70
money, we poiat to the fact Of New Yor
State five per cent stock, redeemabe on tn
lst of January, 1858, selling only for 81
giving a profit Of per cent, plus the regu
lar interest, in little more than thrs
months. The six per cents, sold at from
, to 90; Missouri State skies sold as low a
60 After the suspension, the market sue
: denly rose several per cent. for all kinds o
, stocks.