St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1857-10-22
MONEY AFFAIRS-PANIC, &C.
New York, Sept 80, 1857.

New York, Sept 80, 1851.
MEssRs. EDIroRs:-I sitdown to write
and inform you about matters in this
city. The only discourse now is about
the finances, and in the evening, at
the Astor or st. Nicholas, you can
witness such crowds of bankers as
you never before saw congregated.
The hotels are full to ovcrhowing
The theatres and places of amusc-
ment are thronged, and the people
seem determined that the panic shall
not interfere with pleasure. | conld
only liken some of the days of this week
to akind of purgatory, all seemed to be
passing through state of trial, the
result of which was in doubt. Our
heaviest banks like the Metropolitan,
American Exchange, stood in fear and
trembling. The weekly curtailmcnts
of discounts was over four millions
week. tits no wonder that merchants
broke in such numbers when we look
at the want of bank accommodation.
| heard Josh G. say to one of these
bankers, that if they continued their
course of curtailment for week they
would break all the merchants and
then break themselves. 1t seems
that the banks have come to their
senses. The two banks | speak of
are discounting 100000 each day,
and the bank of America, (old fogy,)
even discounted 100000. Times
are now much changed and constantly
changing for the better. Some of the
banks do comparatively nothing;
some of them like the Ocean and Park
have carried a good many western
men and are quite hard up. In good
times they discounted freely western
paper and promised literally to do a
great deal more in that line by allow
ing ovcr-dratts, but they cannot do it
now. The Park has begged a great
number of western accounts, but l
think, though it claims to be two
million bank, it is not strong bank
its stock sells for S4 to 50.
Our note brokers have no money to
buy notes, and the best mems notes
are selling for II to per month.
Stocks are getting lower, but are sold
for cash, and those which are bought,
are by men from the country who buy
for investment Up to yesterday
many merchants thought Il revulsion
was coming on equal to that OF 1881.
They saw hundreds of thousands OF
dollars in drafts drawn 10y western
banks, Il mean western New York, }
protested daily, and returned home
and it did not seem probable
they could take them up. But il
seems they were provided for and all
went along smoothly. Some of the
drafts of the best banks and bankers
went to protest for the want of funds
They had relied upon payment of
paper payable in New York, which
had not been met.
! We notice daily, gold being sent
west to strengthen western banks,
and the gold is constantly increasing
in the city banks. The Herald tries
hard to keep up the panic, and
| charges rottcnness in the banks as
well as the railroads.
1t is stated here that both OF the
Michigan roads have issued stock to
borrow money on, and we learn that
measures are to be taken to test the
validity of the issue. 1t is contcnded
that stock can only be issued to bona
tide subscribers, and that it cannot be
issued to borrow money on. Rail
roads, owing to bad management, arc
very much depressed. The story
is told of q railroad in Wisconsin
(the one whose stock went down tt
, lO,) that one of its directors sole
| 5000, 900 of its bonds at so cts. on thu
/ dollar The director was to shar,
with the purchaser, and it is said the,
, divided handsome sum betweel
1 them. There is some hard talk of an
: other Milwaukee railroad.
4 j. Thompson was arrested ycstel
!, day and imprisoned on complaint Q
+ Noah Lee, of the Wisconsin Bank
< that he sent $4,000 to him to bu
f stock for his bank, and that after h
G had bought them he hypothecate
them. Mr.. Lee was formerly Pres
e dent of the Eric and Kalamazoo Banl
n at Adrian. | visited the Clearin
d House to-day. The exchanges, no.
t, averaging nineteen millions day, al
o made in few minutes, and the ba
II anccs are paid at noon out of the cor
mon specie fund deposited in Il
Bank of America. The bank clerl
n meet at 10 o'clock, A. NJ, (55 banl
S. in the association exchange draf,
re bills, &c, and meet at ! p. NJ, to p;
T. differences. Ordinarily in a so,
5. time the daily transactions at Il
$, clearing house are thirty million
l. whereas, now they are only ninete
id millions.
xt The old banks have not curtail
10 discounts much. 1t is the new on
w which have made such great C
ut fractions. On the 22d of August,
fe loans of the Manhattan Bank, of NJ
We York, Merchants and Mechanic
10 Union, Bank of America, and Ph@n
ep were, $40, $50, 900, and on the 5th
RS Sept, lin the height of the PAM
ch they were $26, ,4S3, ,000-showing
up contraction Of only about $4OO, 600.
W.
III arnroum rY0y1N