Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-10-09

AUSTIN, MOWER C(
the 26th of Septemh.r did they bcgi,
to be alarmed. For the five successive
weeks preceding they Withdrew less
from the banks each week than the
banks withdrew from them by the de.
preston of loans. Although the PANIC
started on tho 25th Of August, caused
by the contraction of loans, and w:.s 1T
once carried Ivy the telegraph with tho
speed Of Lightning, to all parts Of the
country, no, marked withdrawal OF
deposits by individual depositors took
place anywhere till mora than an
entire month later. Up to that
time the depositors presented steady
front, apparently determined to sus
tain the .public.~credit if everything
else failed. But when October came
in resistance seemed at once to cease to
be a virtue, and on the 81 of that
month a marked change came over the
spirit of the depositors. Over four
millions of deposits were withdrawn in
the seven days following, and over
fourteen millions in the next twenty.
The 18th of October was the date OF
the banks suspension. On the day
following Withdrawals ceased and
restoration began. One of the
causes alleged by the banks
themselves themselves for their sus.
pension was the sudden with.
drawal of country balances, and
for this the telegraph was Responsible.
1t not only took the news to the
country banks of the collapse of credit
in the city, but brought back their
orders demanding their deposits in
specie. The Clearing House. too, was
alleged to aid in increasing the general
collapse. It's daily settlements in coin
forced tho smaller banks into contract.
ing their loans, into sacrifices of prop.
erty, and finally Into bankruptcy.
Default at the Clearing House became
the Banquo's ghost that appeared at
the bank b oard of all the smaller insti-
tutions. The most universally accepted
cause for the panic of 1857 is the vio-
lent contraction of bank loans immedi-
ately after the Oath of August. And
this was entirely the action of the
banks, and they had only themselves
to blame. It was, too, the expansion
of banks previous to the panic that
laid the foundation for the memorable
commercial crisis of 1857.
THE PANIC OF '66.
In the early months of 1866 the
financial position and feeling in Lon.
don was in q morbid state; organized
bear cliques formed during the months
Of March and April, and were bearing
all kinds of stocks, but especially the
newly created financial companies and
several of the stock banks, OF which the
Agra and Masterman was q central
object. Although Overend & Gurney's
company was selected for attack,
yet no one of the most sanguine
bears dreamt of the really rotten
state of the great discounting
house. On the beginning of May,
1866, people OF Change and in the city
congratulated themselves that the
morbid feeling in financial affairs was
past, and the stocks all round were
considered better and stronger. These
delueions almost invariably follow the
greatest disasters. On Thursday, the
8th of August, 1866, I was walking up
Newgate street about four P. NJ, when
I met one of those noisy, busy men
who hear and know everything first
1 was on the opposite side of the street
when this man bawled out to me,
"Did you hear Overend. Gurney's have
failed ~ Walking acrosst he street
to meet him "a dozen men
or more were already arrested
by his loud communication l
cautiously said "hush," when with q
louder tone he bawled out again, 81
say Gurney's have failed!'' BY this
time perfect mob had gathered round
US. I1eft the crowd and wendell my
way to the we'll known corner house
in Lombard street. To my astonish-
ment I saw no crowd, no excitement.
The only sign of suspension was the
closed doors of the house. It must
be understood that, although no
official business is done in bank after
three p. H., yet the doors arc always
kept open until six P. M. for clearings
and taking bills up. Going into the
opposite building of Messrs. Barnetts,
Hoar & Co., I saw one of the tellers, who
significantly shook his head. "You
will find great excitement tomorrow ~
said he, "the tumble has come" Loi,
tering and lounging about, still kept
by some mysterious attraction near
the great fallen corner house. Twilight
had set in, and the crowd began to
increase. Suddenly man passed the
crowd and said in an audible whisper,
as ifspeaklng to himself. "The Agra &
Masternlan will go next" Immediately
the theme was taken up by the
bystanders, and it was pretty well
settled that the bank would fail. o.
course no reason was asked or given
It must be stated that although
all London knew of the failure
by i've or six P. NJ, yet no excitement
ensued. There was q sort of gloon
prevailing early on Friday, that is, earl,
for London. About ten A. M. a vas
crowd was swaying to and fro from til,
Poultry, or the Mansion House, through
Lombard street, Threadncedlo street
and Margate street, and the memora
BILE Black Friday had fairly set in. Blu
it is remarkable that, will
the exception of the Allianc,
DhAA, uO Euu WaO uOtlCchDle, G0u We
every ten minutes brought news O
suspensions of banks-the Europea,
Bank, the Bank of London, three O
the newly.created Indian banks. TIL,
discounting houses fell down like nine.
pins. What at that time seemed
strange to me was to see an unusua
number of Quakers in Lombard street
dressed as they we're in their stiff
stolid dresses. Their appearance onl,
added more to the general apprehcn
sion of something awful going on. B,
twelve o'clock news came that the baul
act was suspended. But calmly speakin,
now, feel quite certain that no rca
relief was felt by this announcement
Events later proved it. However, t,
compare a New York panic with
London panic is about az good a
comparing an evening ut the Mabill,
with prayer meeting. The solemnity
the gloom, and actual menta
! distress of London panic i
the extreme painful. No on,
thinks of eating, drinking or smoking
Stolen whispers pass about, and n,
one would consider it propriety t,
speak above his breath, while in New
York the liveliest times, the caves
lunches, the most spicy jokes, arc til,
order of the day. In fact great disap
pointment is felt by New York crow,
if the panic for ten minutes slackens
The panic in London really only laste'
1N>& l. Al