The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-10-02
Prominent Departures.
The Snarl In Wall Street.-The Secretary
Of the Treasury.

Of the Treasury.
1t would not be taking an adequate measure
of the recent event in Wall street to regard it
as merely pitch and toss between the Wall
street gamblers. Those gentlemen pitch and
toss a great deal, and sometimes recklessly,
but never for such stakes as were involved in
this occurrence. They are not up to these
figures. Who are the Wall street gamblers
Commodore Vanderbilt can scarcely be put in
the category, nor the firm Of Barring Brothers
&c Co. but we find that the former was in the
struggle deeper than was consistent with the
preservation of his equanimity, while, as ono
of the wonders of the age the London firm,
lions of that government gold that Mr.. Bout
well would not sell. Here, then, are the greatest
financial names of the time involved in a trans
action equal to the value Of all the property in
some Of our great States; and the names and
the magnitude of the operation equally lift 1t
out Of the atmosphere in which the ordinary
financial gambler displays his little bubbles.
This was one incident of collision between
the great financial interests of the country and
the ideas Of a Secretary Of the Treasury who
has sort of cast-iron theory OF finance. 1t is
many days now since all financial possibilities
waited upon the answer to the one question
| What will the Secretary do? At time when all
| the crops of the country are to be moved money
should be plentiful, and it is even quite recon
| clable with the stability of prices for cur
l. - 4. -.
any other time, for where there is q greater
demand Of some article for special purpose
| greater supply does not derange the general
| market. With coin currency these emer-
| gencies are provided for by the natural elias
| ITCHY Of that medium and the readiness with
| which il changes its field on demand but with
| currency such as ours this does not occur,
! and duty consequently is imposed upon those
| charged with the national welfare in this
| respect But the course of the Secretary OF
| the Treasury was such as to increase the difi-
| Guilty of the season, for he acted under the
bullying Of the people who are possessed with
the one idea Of a return to specie payment.
BY his operations with bonds, 30 satisfactory
In its superficial aspect, he made currency
scarcer and deerer, and thus while he deu-
siyely seemed to be taking burden off the
popular shoulders he was terribly embar-
RAISING the great material interests Of the
nation, in the prosperity of which Is the only
real prosperity of the people. dad be been
in game to do this he could not have done
1t more eflectually, but II is more like,.v that
he did not perceive what he was doing.
He thus drove men who had great necessi-
ties for currency to the expedient ofprotecting
themselves as best they could, even though
they had TO do il at the expense Of other inter-
ests than their own and more than this, an
other Of his stupidities afforded them the OPP
portunity. His second stupidity is worse
than the first. One Of his notions Is that he
must take care Of the interests Of the govern
ment." Another OF his nations is. apparently.