The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-26
The Tendency to Specie Pay
mentS.
The Problem Of Money as MOdi-
fled by the Failure OF the
Chicago Wheat "COrner.''
Saturdays Bank Statement and
It's Purport.
WALL STREET,

The ensuing week will be the last OF the sO-called
cotton year, which begins conventionay on the LIST
OF September. TIE crop OF 1S71-72 has fallen short
of that of last year by about million and quarter
bales-at least this is the discrepancy In the re-
ceipts at the ports. The amount will hardly be
larged by the difference between the interior move
ment of cotton this year and last, and may be con-
sideraby reduced because OF the increased domestic
consumption and greater use of river and land
carriage. The cotton market was in the main
quiet and firm. The general trade Of the city is
getting brisker, and the merchants continue to be
sangune OF a good Fail business.
IN WALL STREET
the week was busy one in the gold market, what
with the great conversion of spectators from the
"bull" to the "bear" side of the account and the
changing OF loans incidental to the increased &C.
tivity thus occasioned On one day the cIearances
at the Gold Bank reached the enormous total OF
$142,oOO,OOo Indeed, the success and adroitness
with which the leading spirits in the recent ''bu'
speculation executed their
FLANK MOVEMENT IN GOLD
will make it a memorable epoch in the history Of
Wall street. After advancing gold to 1867 d 1853,
and pinning 1t there for few weeks, they found
they were dealing on the wrong side of the market.
Prop it up as they would, they found it give way
under them at the least effort to sell. The mar
ket was inherently weak, as it naturally
would be with foreign exchange fully one per cent
below the specie shipping point. The precedents
on which they had relied had been unreliable in.
dices. Gold last year had been put to 1855 with
comparatively little effort. 1t was incomprehensi-
BILE why at this the corresponding season, it
WOULD NOT STICK.
BY this time the clique, or rather the leaders of
1t, began to find that there were dozen different
sources OF exchange, which were always taking
their market away from them. Now it was new
railroad loan and again it was some city or corpo
ration loan which kept feeding the gold market
with supplies AS for the effort to "squeezen the
merchants and compel them to cover their bor-
rowed gold, 1t also proved failure, because the
merchants found they could borrow bills OF ex-
change just as easily as the gold, and thus pay
their indebtedness to Europe. The CLIQUE, bafled
at every step and f0led in their chief design, the
ensnaring Of the
MERCANTILE SHORT INTEREST,
turned In their tracks at last particularly as they
thought they discovered fresh development of a
feeling in favor of the reelection of General Grant
They sustained the market for brief spell by
sporadic bidding for the Treasury gold, and
by like Devices but meanwhile were sell.
ing their gold. The consequence was q decline
from lis Ton Monday to 1925 on yesterday. The
highest point Of the Summer was 115I, as against
1l5s last year. The clique held the market in 1871
until later stage OF the Summer and sustained
the price at ia a 1l5 until well into the Fail. The
force employed this year well as the means
involved largely exceeded those of last year, so
that the
TENDENCY TO SPECIE PAYMENTS
OF our finances in general Is wen illustrated in the
decline Of gold the past week. Almost superhuman
efforts were made to get gold beyond 1863, but
they were doomed to failure by the inexora-
In fn1,
question OF the relative values of our
gold and paper. We are extravagant be.
You'd precedent in our foreign imports but yet
we some way manage to keep from OVERRIDING our
extravaganza. II we buy ten millions OF foreign
goods more than we ought to buy, along comes
some European capitalist, as did the Messrs Cross
ley Co. the other day, and take ten millions OF a
loan. And so it is going from
YEAR TO YEAR.
The only trouble about the whole matter is In the
far distant future, when we shall get to the end OF
our loans and bonds which are capable OF attract
ing foreign capital, and about that the average
Wall street man, American citizen or merchant Is
not likely to trouble himself But by that time we
may have revolutlonized the financial world and
made New York the centre OF exchanges-a thing
not improbable within the next fifteen or twenty
years-and then specie payments will be a matter
of course and as permanent as they are now in
London or any other place. The decline in gold
made an active demand at the close for bills on
Europe, and the market left of strong on the basis
of 100 109,G for prime bankers sixty day sterling
And 109t 1925 for sight bills.
MONEY,
under q continuance Of the demand from Chicago
which outlasted the cause of its more active char
acter-viZ., the great ''cornern in wheat-ad-
j'vanced to per cent on call, and induced harden
ing OF discounts to "a per cent for prime names.
But with the elimination OF the "corner' the de-
mand Tor money ceased, especially the decline in
the price OF wheat checked the movement Of the
tcrop nom the Interior. Chicago thus finds itself
supplied with money enough to carry all its wheat
at the high prices OF the "corncrr
SURPLUS
therefore exists at the present time virtually and
the first counter erect has been felt I'm reaction in
New YORK TO . per cent as the rate for money with
at the close Oh saturday seadier feeling at later
reaction to per cent. With q check given
TO speculation in wheat and to the movement of
the crop itself by the sudden fall In prices the
opinion has been ooeated that deiermcnt OF ar.
ton may be looked for unless the farmers make nm
their minds to sell at the scale Of prices or the
marketing Of the new cotton crop should assume a
brisker character than usual. These are the
UNKNOWN QUANTITIES,
which arc about the only obstacle to clearer dis.
accrnment OF the course of the money market dur
aug the Fail months. But they cloud the problem
enough to Keep up speculation and doubt.
SOUTHERN SECURITIES
we're dull and mostly neglected The general list
fuotuated within trning percentage but further
weakness was shown by the South Carolina July
bonds, the leading speculative issues. which
declined to 26K. rallying ut the close to