The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-08-02
Something about Wall Street.

The New York correspondent of the Roch-
ester Democrat contributes the following:
''It is eighty years since the merchants of
this city instituted bank, and this being the
only one in the city it was called the Bank
of New York 1t was placed at the corner
of Wall and William streets, and thus attract
ed finance. The bank of New York still
fiourishes. 1t commenced with one book
keeper and now has a score, and its stock is
worth large premium. As might be expect
ed, it has the old-fashioned business men
among its patrons, and one of these is Com
modore Vanderbilt, whose deposits range
from 81, ,000, 600 upwards. The bank of New
York enjoys the distinction of being the CEN
tire of all gold operations, and the checks in
the gold room are always drawn on this insti-
tuition. Here the forgeries of Ketchum CEN
tired, and from its vaults he drew enormous
snms, for which he atoned in the penance of
Sing Sing. Wall street has been identified
with governmental uses from an early age
The treasury Office employs 100 clerks, all
under charge of the sub-treasurer, who is our
chief financial officer. In fact, the chief en-
ployment of the treasury at Washington is,
as they say, TO look after that in New York.
Almost all the government payments and re-
ceipts are made here. Every day the gold
| received at the custom house is wheeled up
| to the treasury in a common hand cart The
| distance is about 500 feet, and the amount av-
! erages $500, 1000. The way they handle specie
in this institution certainly strikes a stranger
as free and easy in the extreme. The bags,
| containing $1,000 apiece, are tossed to and
| tro as though they held gravel or brickbats,
| and the clerks count up $1,000,000 as easily
and as rapidly as a retailer counts up his
| dimes and pennies. The safe is large room,
say twenty feet square and about fifteen feet
| high, with tiers of iron doors about three feet
| in length, ranging one above the other. These
are full of bags containing specie, and at set
| times they are counted, the surveyor of the
] port being always present on such occasions.
| There are about $50, 100000 of gold and
| greenbacks in store here, and to make the safe
| burglar-prO the space next to the street is
| filed with musket balls, several thousand in
number. Now, if burglar should get through
| the outside he would meet this loose mass,
which would roll out upon him and sufficient
l ly embarrass his progress. The treasury con-
tains number of experts in detecting base
coin, and the clerk will close his eyes and
| pick out the counterfeit by the sense of touch.
| This man cannot tell how he distinguishes
the good from the bad. The faculty is inde-
] scribable, and can only be acquired by years
! of practice. ....
"Panics always begin in Wall street.. The
| great pressure of 1887 commenced with the
| fall of the Joseph's banking house. They were
elegant building, which cost SIS, 900, a large
| sum then. Just as the contractor was about
| to place the KEYS in the owners hand, the
building fell, and the former had to bear the
| loss, which ruined him. That day the Jo-
| sephs failed, and the panic began. Twenty
| years afterwards-1S57-the great panic was
| commenced by the failure OF the Ohio Life
and Trust company, and continued with fear
I full result for two months, until every business
man, with few exceptions had failed. Here,
too, the gold panic on Black Friday carried its
work of destruction, in September, 1869; and
should any pressure again take place, it would
first be felt here. At present, however, there
is little prospect of any such disaster. Wall
street is full of money, which is let at cheap
rates to any man who has security. Take
| government bonds into any bank, and you
can get call loan at four per cent. pre-
sumo that hundred millions might be bor-
| rowed in this manner. Money centres here,
and all the financial operations of the conti-
nent can be manipulated in Wall street.
I Hardly railroad is built, that does not offer
its bonds here; and you can, If you have the
means, control any such institution without
travelling five hundred feet"
That was q very touching incident-that of a