Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-04-03
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
stock Speculation = Erie" aud Wall
street-fortunes Made and Lest-A nit
Of History-Mr. stephens and the Gin
cinunfi Convent ion-Odds aud Ends.
FROM 0urtwn Corrcspondent,l

| From Ourt'wn Correspondent N
NEW York, March ~, 1872.
The apparently simple process of max
ing money by speculation in stocks has
found numberless admirers within the past
month. Wall street has suddenly become
a Mecca for all ambitious, money-loving
pilgrims, and the daily transactions there
are positively almost frightful from their
magnitude. Men who were wont to shun
the Stock Exchange as they would the
plague and who would declaim most elo-
quently against the inherent evils of
fashionable gambling" are now found
daily haunting brokers' offices and taking
their chances with the rest. Fortunes
have been made on the street. within q
fortnight by men who before that time
could not have defined the meaning of the
word "stocks," and money enough to have
purchased this entire continent in the sew
enteenth century, has been the fruit of an
hours speculation for many an "opera-
tor" Stories of bootblacks, porters, gro
GERS, nay even of clergymen and deacons,
who have made thousands i'm "Erieo are
as plenty as blackberries in summer, and
the only difficulty is to find any one
who has been loser. The telegraph has
| undoubtedly kept you well posted as to
the leading features in the upward rise of
Erie shares. SO well supported has the
movement been, so steady the advance, so
great the increase that the brokers them
selves are astounded. And L will venture
| to say that the men who are usually the
leading spectators have realized the least.
And yet Erie has steadily advanced until
! to-day sales were made at 81, an advance
of over 80 per cent. since the 18th instant.
| OF course the stock is not worth anything
! like this amount of money, and sooner or
later q reaction must come, but the triumph
of honesty over dishonesty and the down.
fall of the ring have given the movement
| q wi lot ri nd
stimulated by those interested. On all
sides you hear of men who have made for
tunes but nothing is said of those who
have lost. Yet their number must be
great, and many will carry the scars of
this last "bulp' fight for the rest of their
lives. 1t is impossible to say where the
rise will end, nor should / be surprised to
see Erie Mt IS before the week ends, but
end it will sometime, and the only fear is
that it will end in general panic.
A SCRAP OF HISTORY.
Now want to give your readers q leaf
| of unwritten history of a purely political
| nature. To some it may be interesting, as
tending to show to what desperate straits
the ultra-Democrats are driven in their at
tempt to secure victory in the next ma
tional campaign. To others it will not
prove so interesting, but that L cont help.
And in the first place, L take A. II. Ste
phens, rs representative man of the
Bourbon Democracy, as a true exponent of
the principles and beliefs of Southern
Democrats. 1 find in the Atlanta Sun,
over Mr.. Stephens own signature, an en-
dorsement of recent speech by Gov.
Brown, of Missouri, one Of the leaders in
the so-called ''lLiberal Republican move
ment. In this article Mr.. Stephens gives
in his adherence to the "new departure. ("
This seems strange enough, that at his
time of life, SO earnest an advocate of GER
tain well-defined principles, should turn
his coat inside out, but it will seem strang-
er still when taken in connection with Mr..
Stephens own professions year ago. At
that time Mr. S. declared that nothing but
declaration that the XIVth and XVIII
Amendments were null and void would en-
able any party to carry the next election.
If the Democrats made this declaration as
part of their platform, said Mr.. Stephens,
the following twenty-siX States (naming
them) will be as certain to be carried by
them, as that a single one of the remain
ing eight will go with them without it,.
| And saying that he had never been mis-
| taken in predicting the result of an cleo
ton since 1913, he staked his head on, the
| accuracy of that prediction. Among the
eight States last named were Texas, Ken
lucky, Maryland and New York. Mr..
| Stephens seems to have changed his views.
If he keeps on he will become leader, u
captain among the Republican hosts.
Anything to beat Grant, that is the
Democratic war-cry now, as it was in 1861
IS, and by about the same class of men.
The lion and the lamb will lie down togeth-
er, and the New York Tribune will clasd
hands with the New York World. Every
man to his taste, promises cost nothing
according to thet reformersn we shall be-
hold Arcadia, if we will only let them
have the offices
TOUR OF INSPECTION.
1t is probable that the best information
that our people will obtain, as to how
we stand in matters, military and naval,
| viii come from across the water. When
we heard that England had attached an
Admiral of the navy to her Lega-
ton in theis country, we were some
what fattered and no more attention
was given to the matter. But now we
find that the worthy Admiral has been
making a pretty thorough examination OF
our offensive and defensive condition, has
Inspected our forts and navy yards, visited
our army posts and familarized himself
with the secrets of our ordinance depart
ment, investigated our torpedo system and
our harbor defences and having obtained
all the information he required has "folded
up his tent and silently stolen away" II
should not like TO vouch for the accuracy
Of that quotation). Meanwhile the Ala
bama claims are as far from being settled
as ever, and even Denmark can boast of a
better and a larger navy than our own.
| hone fba ADMIRAL hae ohfafna1 gonna aar.