New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-11-20
WHERE HAS 1T COMET

There was q deal of wealth floating round
10 loose way a few months since. Whittier
has it vanishedl There were more millionalres
on every hand than one could shake stuck at
much as the majority deserved TO
have a stick shaken at them. But
the number is materially lessened. And
the questions naturally come up, Where
has the wealth all gomez Where are the
millionaires There have been sudden and
mysterious disappearances of both. 1t is as
though the cushions whereOn so many have
been comfortably sitting were in reality
stuffed with gun-cOtton There was too
protracted sitting, perhaps, too persistent
brooding; experimenting ensued; we had a
Diff and paff little smoke much
flame, comparatively little noise. and now
where are the cushions2 Where are the sit
tiers You look in vain for even the usual
residue of ashes. Everything is gone. The
wealth is vanished into thin air; the million
aires are hoisted out of human sight. And
there are no pieces to pick up; no debris is
scattered around. The customary verdict In
cases of accident, mo one to blame"
can be rendered in this instance with
the greatest propriety, for In all
that has happened we have simply the natural
result of stuffng things--easy chairs, for In
stance-with gun-cotton. If individuals elect
| to perch themselves permanently on things OF
| such an eminently perishable, not to say IN
| fammable nature, it is their own lookout. And
they have none but themselves to blame If, in
| the end, they get incOnveniently lifted.
| But all this while cotton, other than gun,
remains az safe to sit upon or lean against as
| ever it was. Dropping the language of par
able and parallel, there are still securities in
which the capitalist can invest, and on which
he can lie down with serenity, security, and
comfort There are Government securities, fol
insance-Time writes no wrinkle on then az
IRE brows. There is as much real money in
the country as there was before all this wealth
and all these millionaires were wiped out. II
might seem at first glance that grea,
| deal of wealth has been lost to the world al
well as to individuals Instance in point
here are millions of dollars in bonds OF I'M
practicable, not to say impossible railroads
which few months since were presented To-
the eager consideration of capitalists, nov
| laid upon shelves and labeled valueless in
making UP assets. The fact really IL that these
bonds are worth just az much as ever they
were, the holders are just as rich as they were
six months ago. Worth nothing then, thel
are quite as valuable now; bankrup
wears since, those whose capital in trade con
sisted wholly of these assets are in no worst
condition now. Seemingly deal of wealth
| has gone where the vine which ornamental
the rural porch-we allude now to the wood
bine-is popularity supposed to twine; but thi
| is only seeming. This same paper wealth still
fingers to cheer the gaze Of the oppressed ant
doyntrodden. and is as useful for ornamental
| purposes as ever. II will still be found ser
viceable for safe and trunk Innings, or t.
make q pretty show in Office windows. Sucl
securities, like the poor we have always Will
us. So with railway shares; the many tina
have never paid dividend and never can
| that were never worth dollar and never vii
| be. are just as valueless as ever. And goo(
railway shares, that for years have had {
habit of paying dividends, are worth just a
much as they were before their price wa
marked up beyond the actual value-no more
1t will be found that the wealth which i
supposed to have vanished, simply had nevel
an existence; that the castles which hav'
crumbed in air were originally built OF al
and in air. And it is safe now to conclude
that the recent seething and bubbling of thu
financial cauldrOn is only the water boiling
out of things; and that no richness and nj
riches, nothing really worth preserving, vii
be found to have been lost when oil Id sim
mered down.