The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-31
The Corner in the Gold Room.

specie payments, gold was worth last week one
per cent. for immediate delivery. The phe-
nomenon Is easily explained. All the floating
geld in the city-amountlng to some $l2, 900, ,000
only S., ,000, 900 OF which is in The banks-has
been bought up bv q few wealthy speculator
and they falling in their attempt to put up the
price, have endeavored to indemnify themselves
by refusing TO lend gold. This presses with
severity upon merchants who want gold to pay
customss duties, and upon spectators for the
fall, who have sold gold short, and are forced to
borrow at the eXorbitant rates of the day. So
far as this latter class of persons is concerned,
the public are not interested in their losses. If
a man chooses TO sell that which he has not got
in the hope that he may be able at a subsequent
period to buy 1t Tor delivery at a lower prce, he
takes the chances OF the market, and canno
muly complain If spectators on the opposite
side combine to make him pay more instead Of
less than be got Tor the properly he sold.
These are the fortunes OF trade, and no far
trader has q right to complain when they make
against him. But the "cornern in gold is in
fl Cbng no little suffering upon melcnants who
require gold for legitimate business PURPOSES
ana who lind that they cannot get it because
Messrs. A. B, and have bought up all the float
ing gold IN the city, and viii not lend or sell
except at eXorbitant rates.
The grievance is not new. 1t has recurred a
in eryals during the past three years. On q
dozen occasions a few bold operators, command.
ing large amounts of capital, have been enabled
to corner the gold market, to embarrass CON-
mercial operations, and occasionally to impair
the credit, OF the Government. And ii is in vaiT
that remedy has been sought, Mr.. Thaddeus
Stevens tried to cure the evil By making 1t penal
to demand premium on gold; but such puerili-
ties only excited contempt Other loyal men
have thought to discredit the cold room aud It's
operations altogether; but, though the room is
supposed to be controlled and ofIicered by men
nt al
haps, be quite as popular in that institution as
the late Abraham Lincoln, it is none the less
clear that, so long as our currency remains at Il
discount, gold exchange will be necessity Of
the times anl the present one, with all It's faults
Is probably as good as any new one could be.
II is unfortunate, perhaps, for the gold room
that the quasi-Rebes and Copperheads have
found admission within its walls.
But the outbreak OF the war drove nearly one
halt OF the smart merchants OF the South to New
York in search of employment Tor their brains.
and that employment they found, for the most
part, in the gold room. You shall find there
eX-traders from Louisiana, planters from Geor-
ela, merchants from Tennessee, clergymen from
the Carolinas-av varied assortment In short, OF
Southerners, all differing IN their origin and
aptitude, but generally agreeing in Southern
proClivltes. That this class of persons should
be in the gold room is, perhaps, unfortunate;
that, by combining, they should have the power
OF raising the price OF gold, and so raising the
cost OF all in ported articles, is also unfortunate:
but to abuse the loom in consequence is, TO say
the least, hardly logical.
1t is the legitimate privilege If every man to
buy gold, if he be so minded md can pay for il.
The public have no right to say to hIm:-Your
purchase OF gold fea i e9ng Sdg to add 10 per cent to
blankets. With that he has nothing to do. He
has the same right to buy 100000 gold as the
public have to buy pound OF tea or a pair Of
blankets. And there is no law, custom, or
comfy which prevents him combining with
twenty other spectators to buy up all the gold
in market II he does SO buy, and so combine,
we cqn only "grin and bear it," 1t is hard that
party Of gamesters should by their specula-
tions enhance the cost OF every CuD OF tea drunk
| by the poor throughout the United States But
there is no remedy, save the inexoraOle opera
| ton OF the laws OF trade, which are sure TO
| come into play sooner or later.
An effort, 1t IS said, will be made at the next
session Of the LEGISLATURE to punish the gold
room for its interference with values, II will
| probably take the shape of tax upon gold
| brokers' licenses, and sales OF gold. A tax of
| $1,000 year on each license, ana One-te tn of
! one per cent. on each sale of gold would add
considerable amount of State revenue, ana
might be constitutionally levied But 40 sucn
vndictive legislation would cure the evil.
| The main reliance of merchants whose busi-
ness is disturbed by the constantly recurring
| corners in gold must be upon the fundamental
| Laws OF trade. If gold be forced above its taIr
relative value by the speculations of the gold
| room, it is certain as any mathematical trath
| that 1t must react. If gold be made worth one
| per cent. day by the cornerlng operations of
bull spectators, specie will flow hither from all
| parts of the world Tor employment IN so lucra
| tive business. Already the telegraph, which
! announced TO Europe our embarrassed condi-
| ton, has notified us that $500,000 are coming
| here in the ALemdnnid, and 5000 600 IN the
Scotia besides SS,00O,OO0 just received ia the
! California steamer. At this rate the bulls in tho
| gold room will have their hands full within
the next fortnight. They may undertake TO cor.
ner the New York MARKET but they can hardly
expect to carry all the bullion Of the civilized
| Orld.
| Pressure has been brought to hear upoD the
| Secretary of the Treasury with a view To induce
| him to sell more gold. A DrOnIIncidnleRlo in
| tins sense, signed by leading bankers was puO.
| llsled in the papers a few days since. The
| Secretary has experience enough to dlstrust any
collective petition OF bankers or merchants.
| Such petitions are too often prompted by lndi-
| Wdual interest. If we are ever to get back to
| specie payments the cornerstone upon which
| the new edi6ce will be built must be the specie
| reserve in the United States Treasury. ResumD-
| on will take place when that reserve becomes
30 large that the Secretary of the Treasury can
afford to say to the holders of legal-tenders:-
Gentlemen, we are prepared TO pay of your
paper dollars in gold" On that instant the
banks will either resume or fail, and the era oi
paper money in this country will come to an
end. But 1t the Secretary is to 90 on selling his
gold as fast as he gets 1t, how will he ever be
able to redeem, or proclaim his readiness To re-
deem, his legal-endt RS?
The gold market Is in q very dangerous posi-
ton. There is no reason why gold should be
higher now than in March last, when it sold nj
l24. The present premium is arti6cially main
tanned, and as the laws OF trade vindicate them
selvessM n fall of ten to twenty per cent. WoulC
not b6M extraordinary event. mi
Dangerous Amusement Henry HareIton.
| young man engaged in selling newspapers OIL
| hn t,.of, y