National Republican., 1873-09-20
PupLIsHED EVERY MORNING
tsundays ercepted
TILE WEEKLY REPunL1OAN
THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

As was expected, the suspension OF the
great drm Of Jay Cooke 4 Co. has been
.pecdy followed by the failure Of q number
Of other houses. With some, perhaps all, Of
these Ii required but q breath Of popular
alarm to blow away the fabric OF their credit
and expose their real unsoundness by the
simple process Of subjccting them to slight
strain. With the Cookies the ease is differ
ent. That their house Is entirely solvent there
can hardly be doubt, and the general conf
dcnce OF the public In their personal integrity
leads to the belief that after q brief delay,
their liabilities will all be met. We do not
vet know the extent Of their advances to the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, but II Is
highly improbable that a firm OF such stand
Ing would draw to any considerable extent
for this purpose upon the money Of their de-
positors. That they have drawn very freely
upon their private resources Ia not to lie
doubted, and hence au unusual pressure on
the part Of their depositors found them for
the moment in worse position than many
Arms far less wealthy than themselves. Their
confidence In the value Of the Northern Pa
clAc bonds can hardly excite surprise when
We consider the immense value OF the
land grant by which these bonds arc secured.
We say Immense value" adyiscdy, for tho
grant embraces some sixty million acres In
cluding vast areas Of tho finest wheat lands
on the continent, and 1t lies directly In the
path Of that emigration from Northern
Europe which supplies us with large pro-
portion Of our most industrious and thrifty
settlers. Taking into view the rapid settle
ment Of our Western States, and remember
ing that our population Is annually increas-
Ing In q geomctrlcal ratio, we may form
some idea Of the rate at which these lands
would be settled II the road were once COM
pleted. II is not too much to cay
that the land grant alone would
doubly reimburse the company for the
entire cost Of building the road. To those
who could sec this-and none saw 1t SC
plainly as the Mcssrs. Cooke-the temptation
to make an extraordinary effort to secure |
share in so magnificent a prize was almos
irresistible. But it was, nevertheless,
temptation which should have been re
sisted; and the fact that bankers, so carefu
Of their reputation, and ordinarily so pru
dent as the Messes. Cooke, have been led, &c
some extent at least, beyond the safe limit,
shows with what careful restrictions the bust
ness Of banking in all its departments should
he legally hcdged about.
Such an experience as the present inevita
bly, suggests grave questions as to the policy
Of Turing capital away from the ordinary
channels Of trade By great bonuses like the
land grant In question. Private capital cal
only be tempted into such enterprise by til,
prospect Of immense returns; aud #, In an,
case, railroad through q wilderness wer
really needed for governmental purposes
Government Itself could build II for less thai
the value Of the bonuses II must pay to In
duce private capitalists to advance the neces
sary funds, with the further difference in 1t
favor than in this case, the Government itseli
instead OF subsidized company, would ow
. the road when completed, and could eithe
sell or lease 1t, or charge tolls upon 1t for III
running Of trains.
To return to the subject more lmmc diatcl
under consideration. We do not think there
Is any ground for n serious panic. So far as
we can judge from the development OF the
past two days the banks OF our own city arc
In sound condition. Panic may incom
mode them and dcrangc business generally {,
greater or less extent, but we can discover
no reason to doubt their ability to meet al
the demands OF their dcpositors. And as /,
the failures In New York, while they may in
yolvc solid business men in loss and inconve.
nlenee, there Is reason to hope that the wors
effects Of the panic will be confined to thu
stock aud gold gamblers, who deserve n,
great amount of sympathy.
The most hopeful feature in the entire stu
alton Is found In the character OF our cur
rency, aud this is point which must distin
guish any financial crisis that may come nov
from those which occurred In the days whel
the country was flooded with the issues o
wildcat banks. Then every man who held
dollar bill desired Its instant conversion int,
gold, and the bulk of the circulating medium
Of the country vanished like q puff OF smoke
Now the note-holder realizes that he has he
hind him the credit Of the United States Gov
ernment which rests on n foundation frn
enough to defy all the storms that may rus
athwart the financial horizon. II is difilcul
70 oyerestimate the value OF this single ele
aent Of safety-a currency which, for tn
practical uses Of the times, is even bette
than gold.