Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-07-09
What Commercial Organ Says-The Gold
Panie-Its Consciousness and Falsity.

From the New York Shipping List, June rs.
The more we learn with regard to the mat.
ter, the more firmly do we become convinced
that the great excitement in gold and the
extreme prices which have been quoted
during the past few days, have had no reliable
basis, but have been simply the result of
dodge resorted to by certain of the "ring'
with a view of frightening Congress into
a recession from the position which it has
assumed. 1t is well known that many of the
operators" who sold "short" previous to
the adoption of the gold bill, have been per-
forming the circle of the ring trying TO pro
cure gold to fill their contracts, and all sorts
of unreliable quotations have been freely
circulated for effect. A daily contemporary
relates practical incident which goes to
show that since the bill become a law, the
gold quotations have been wholly nominal
and had no reliable basis. On Wednesday,
when the excitement was at its height,
two gentlemen, the Messrs. Blankman,
holders of a large amount of gold, DESTROYS
to take advantage of the supposed high
prices, went to Wall street to sell. They found
that only two brokers were disposed to
operate in the precious metal at all. They
called upon one of these. He was buying
gold in small amounts at 2l0, and selling it
at 216. What was the price of gold at that
establishment? Our travellers announced
that they had gold to sell. "How much ?"
Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars"
They would have to see the head OF the
house." and were shown to his private ROOM
Informed of the state of the case, the head of
the house admitted that he was paying 2l0,
but could not pay it for that amount. He
was sure that gold couldn't keep up, that
it would certainly be below 200 tomorrow"
and, in fact, this good natured tradesman
preferred, rather than buy the gold, to re-
commend his customers to his neighbor. So
the two gentlemen went to the other broker.
He was also buying at 2lO, and selling at
ZIG, and was as little anxious to buy large
sum at his own price as his neighbor had
been. He "knew that gold would be below
200 tomorrow" Well, if it was to fall, the
two gentlemen would like to sell now on the
best terms they could get. "What would he
give ?" "He didn't know. He would prefer
not to buy it at all" As there was no third
broker for the gentlemen to be commended
to. they were merely bowed out, and left
Wall street somewhat enlightened as to what
was not the price of gold.
A more unnecessary excitement than that
which has succeeded the passage OF this bill
can scarcely be conceived, hence 1t follows
that il must be short lived. While we have
not favored gold legislation, we believe that
Congress honestly thought that there were
good reasons for the passage of the Gold bill
and we therefore trust that it viii not be
frightened by the demand of any committee
or committees, into any concessions from
what it conceiyes to be its full duty in the
nremises. There is no doubt that the Gole
| bin was intended as a public benefit.
necessary, Let it be so modified as to insure
| that resrIt-but concede nothing more-a
least not until the bill shall have been fairl,
tried--and its merits and dement's have be