The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1873-11-05

IuiitCSs likctALttlStvtCUiiltitE
have small beginnings. A spark has
within it the power to lay In ashes the
largest city. If fed BY combustible
material, 1t soon becomes a flame, be-
fore which iron melts and granite
cruMbles into dust. So with panics.
Words of suspicion are the sparks that
leap to financial contlagrations. Dis
trust is breathed from one to another |;
instead Of being quieted by calm adj
vice, 1t Is fed by popular excitement.
Those who have least to lose are the
loudest In their croakings over coming
failures. A rush Is made to sacrifice
stock that Is both profitable and safe !;
it Is thrown upon the market along
with fancy and worthless stock. A
sense of insecurity seiZes the buyer,
and the result is, no sales. or TuinoE
sacrifices of stock that only needed the
restoration Of confidence to be worth
more than ever. When a fire breaks
out, efforts are made to confine it
within its original limits. But the
breaking ont Of distrust in a commit
nifty Is the signal, not for united efforts
to confine It within its legitimate
bounds, or its suppression, bat for a
general rush to feed the flame by gos-
sip, il-omened prophecy, or ground
less rumors of some indefinable ctlam-
ity. A runor starts, affecting the
financial standing of some bank official.
1t matters little whether 1t be true or
false the whisper is soon transformed
into storm. A sudden run is made
upon the bank then upon other banks,
until the whole community is in fer
ment Of excitement. II the banks
have facilities for prompt conversion
Of securities into cash the storm may
blow over; but ii distrust is wide
spread, money is locked up or held for
self-pfOtectioh, and banks that are
perfectly sound are driven by sheer
necessity to suspend payment. No
reasonable man can expect a banker to
pay interest on deposits and Keep
those deposits locked in his safe, ready
to be returned without y moments
notice; yet men who claim to be rea-
sonable, act at times as il they thought
this to lie the case. Banks pay inter
est upon money, because they can loan
the money received for higher rate
OF interest than they pay. They take
securities for money loaned. To con-
vert these into money requires time;
and those having deposits should be
consitlente enough 10 grant it. The
best bank in the country may be forced
to suspend payment in the face Of M
unexpected and unreasonable demand,
especially If popular excitement has so
unsettled values Us to render the con-
version securities into cash almost
impossible. Panics should be stopped
at the moment ofthcir inception. Men
of ability and Judgment should unite
to quiet popular distrllst. Confidence
should be strengthened by every legit-
innate means. Depositcrs, unless they
have good reasons tor demanding pay
ment, shouldassist, rather than cripple,
the bank whose credit and standing
they depend upon. Exceptional cases
of failure may occur at any time, but
panic, such as recently swept over
the financial centres of the country,
ought to be ali impossibility. We
trust that the press of the land will
exert its powerful Influence towards
maintaining Il healthy state Of public
confidence.