Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-09-10
FIRST BOARD.
Effect OF NapOleOn's Surrender ON
wall Street.

El1cCl Oh NApOIeOhS SuIEeAucE On
Wall Street.
The New York Standard of a late date
gives the following highly colored condi-
ton of affairs on Wall street as the effect
of Napoleons surrender:
For the last two or three weeksa gradual
change has been going on in the minds of
the more intelligent of the Wall street ope-
rators as to the effect which Prussian VIC
tories ought to have upon our financial
affairs. The opinion has been gaining
ground that the probable influence of such
successes upon the duration of the war and
the anticipated advantages which are to
flow from a speedy peace, have already
been sufficiently discounted" Gold had
dropped from 123 to lis before the an
nouncement of Saturday, and the prices of
United States bonds had everywhere made
substantial recovery. Consequently, the
effects of the last great achievements of
the German arms did not produce any such
excitement or changes of value as might,
under other circumstances, have been ex-
pected.
A stranger from the country would
probably be surprised at the number of
French sympathizers to be met with in
Wall street There are men about the
brokers Office who hate the Germans pos
sibly not less than the French themselves
Yet these things are easily to be accounted
for Nothing has stronger influence upon
| mems opinions than their pecuniary inter-
| ests. 1t is not because Wall street sees
anything to admire in Louis Napoleon, but
because every transaction in gold, OF
stocks, or bonds gives rise to two conflict
ing interests. An individual, We will sup
pose, has bought gold to sell at some future
day for higher price. He instantly be-
| comes a partisan and sdmirer of France
He believes in a long and bloody war, at
tentively studies the editorials, dispatches
and headlines of the World, and convinces
himself and tries to persuade every one he
meets that Bazaine and Mcmahon have
formed a junction, and are driving the
Germans out of France. The news of the
surrender of Napoleon and the capture of
the army of Mcmahon was like stroke of
lightning to the bulls in gold. Many of
them absolutely refused to believe it. The
weaker sort rushed to sell, and, of course,
there was every appearance of great ex-
element in the Gold Room. The pre-
MUM dropped in ten minutes from 15s TO
Is. The cool, calculating, hard-headed
bulls, who have weathered many tempest
in Wall street, and who maintain that gold
is too low, whether there by war or peace
among the Gentiles, quickly dispatched
their emissaries TO the field of battle and
for time arrested the decline. For two
hours and half the price was kept above
115 by the apparent eagerness of these
powerful bulls to take all gold that was
offered. 1t was then that the German
bankers, whose operations are extended
over both hemispheres, and whose schemes
comprehend much more than the profits
or losses upon the fluctuations of American
gold, took the field. At 2:40 P. M. their
immense sales had forced the premium
down to IA, and the heavy work of the day
was over. Subsequently there was a slight
reaction, and the closing quotation at 6
o'clock was 11444 bid and 114s asked. Of
course those weak holders of gold, whose
fears or whose limited means had COM
PEELED them to sell out at loss, were in no
good humor with the Prussians. They
saw nothing to admire in the dispatches of
the pious William, and were free in their
predictions that United Germany would
yet find its Waterloo. And then, too, they
could not find words sufficiently strong to
express their condemnation of Napoleon
Why was not he better prepared? What
did he surrender for? Why did he infict
pecuniary loss upon peaceable citizens of
the United States who always wished him
well, and had such faith that he could whip
the Prussians, that they bought more gold
than they could carry" on the strength of
it? And SO the surrender of Napoleon
leaves Wall street as it found it, a noisy
and confused assemblage, part unhealth-
fully excited by the apparent gain of the
moment; part sad and depressed by their
certain losses