The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-10-14
From the New York Times Of October q,
Phenomena Of the Pressure. NM

Phenomena Of the Pressure. sis.s
In the palmy DAYS Of the United Statas R.nL
commercial revulsons and monetary panica we're
always attributed to the g monster IN Chestn.,t
street. and deputations Of merchants and ehsnI,
officers used to 20 on to Philadelnh;a frnm No
YORK Boston and other cities to entraal N;choi.s
Biddle to afford the needed relief 10 the mercantiIe
world He was regarded as the Great Moeul. 'of
the financial world, and was supposed to nossess,
the power, and he doubtless did TO Z certain a..
tent, of making money plenty or scarce. a. ar,ited
his convenience. Philadelphia was then the Gem
trail point Of the financial world on this Continent
and the bank, with its branches. was able Ia con,
troll the destiny Of the country. Even after Cen.
jackson has succeeded in depriynp It Of ita char.
acter and It had no longer any connexion w;th shs
Government, it still was supposed to exercise the
same power in finances that it had done before. I
and Biddle was still regarded as kind of Pontiff
in the commercial world. In the great panic Of
1887, to which the present pressure has bean
most absurdedly lkened, deputation Of orr n,er-g
chants were sent on to Philadelphia to beseech-
Mr. Biddle to come here and afford sosna corscl.. .
ton to our suffering merchants. He came accord. I
ingly, and no monarch was ever more graciously
received by his submissive and admiring subjects
than was the financial potentate by our business
men; and there are doubtless many now who feel \
the force OF the present pressure who were then
among the crowd that gathered around the Chest
nut-street Gamalel and derived comfort and con-
ISOLATION from his promises of succor and support
But little time after and Biddle, bank and Ill
were involved IN one common smash. y With the
TALL Of the United States Bank fell the financial
supremacy Of Phnadelphia, and New York became,
py tnetnaturai order OF anairs the financial centre
OF the American continent; but 1t u centre with
out point an Empire without an Emperor
There 10 no NICK Blddle" now to whose power
and wisdom the people can appeal. fnstead Of
manager they have q system, and IL i only BY I
understanding sustaining, ana trusting III this :
that they can sustain themselves. The present
nurry-ior, serious as the financial pressure has
Deen, we cannot regard as any thing more--while
y .esIs Inis system, wh also make 1t widely known
70 tne country Inns cry 10 now regarded As the
nnanciai regulator OF the whole country Before
Boston could determine whether TO suspend specie
payments OF not she waited nrst TO know what
VIEW 10TH Wouia a9 and fmladepnia Is now con-
sinoep llat sue nao acted Win the same pru-i
uent caution sne might nave saved herself from the
eommerciai osgrace "n'cn she mas Drought upon
ne lr , ~. 9 t19e,,i' - ~
mere are several marked phenomena attending
tne present crlsis In money affairs which have
never been witnessed In any previous commercial
revuision ana one OF the most remarkable of
tnem " tnat the revulson has come when the
entire country is in condition Of unwontsd pros
perty, when the great staples OF the country are
more abundant than they were ever before, and
when the whole nation has been literally flooded
with gold. The great panic Of 1887, which ex-
tended over nearly fve years, could easily have
been foreseen, or at least accounted for, BY the
merest tyro in political economy. The breaking
up OF congratulated banking system and
specnlatons in fcticous land projects, the "great
fire" and succession of short crops, produced
the great mercantile disasters of that period.
Since then we have enjoyed a succession OF pros
porous years and the only disturbing causes have
been the discovery of the California gold minss
and the growth Of our railroad system. But 4
these are elements of prosperity, and not of ruin.
Our railroads have cost us something more than
$700,000,000, which has been expended during
the past fifteen years, and considerable portion
not been repaid. II Is about the amount that
England spent in two years in her Crimesn war,
for which she received not shilling in return,
while our railroads have more than paid for them