National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-09-18
ONE YEAR AGO.

OHH IEAh AGO.
How few there are who have forgotten
the anniversary Of this day one year -.
It vas the day Of the financial earlhqpalIe.
About noon the word flashed along the
streets and over The telegraphic wires that
Jay Cooke s Co had suspended. Atthe
first no one believed II. When It became
an ascsrtained fact h was too astounding to
be realized il . day o. week When It
was fully comprehanded the effect vas ter
rihc. The Allure Of the Rothschilds a
Europe would scarcely have created more
universal paralysis on that continent than.
followed the failure Of Cooke & Go. IN
America. But the effect IN Washington
was more dissstrously felt than elsewhere,
because Of the large interests Of the house
in this city and the immense amount bf
capital that it hadinvested here In banking.
The First National and, Washington City
Savings, and finally the Frsedman's Saw
ings institutions, representing business to
the amount Of seven or eight millions were
placed hO-s dE ooEsbgt in the immediate or
collateral results. Impending ruin seemed
to stare the whole financial andimercantils
community in the face The catastrophe
was only warded Oh by the courage and
GOODNESS with which they stood shoulder to
shoulder to sustain each other until the
fright was over and the panic subsidized.
1t is remarkable, when we look back and
survey the circumstances how few Of our
business houses were compelled tc succumb
to the effects Of the storm. There IS
scarcely city in the whole country, ofthe
same magnitude. that did not suffer more
from the resultant panic, in the way Of
failure, than this. Notwithstanding the
embarrassing effects of the labors Of the
croaking memorialists to block the wheels
of all enterprise. and injure the credit of
the District and people, we have measure
bly, recovered from the paralysis which for
a time Frustrated our affairs. g
Speculative enterprises of doubtful merits
may have been nipped in the bud or have
died duringa period of CESSATION, but the
loss to the community by such failures is
slight so long as they do not affect legiti-
mate business operations Indeed per-
hsps, the latter are benefited by the sddi-
tional caution which is thus infused into
their management Those who were in
clined TO depart from the prescribed tone
oftheir legitimate transactions, to explore
the tempting fields Of speculation, have
been recalled to their appropriate spheres.
and their financial condition is probably
sounder to-day than it would have been
had not the panic occurred.
Our banking capital has been reinforced
by the establishment of new national
bank of q million capital, in the place Of
the First National, and the opening
of several private banking Offices, which
serve partially to replace that of jay Cooke
& Co. It is not probable that all these
combined are of equal magnitude to those
which have gone into liquidation. but Il is
to be hoped that more capital wiz be at
tracted hither, as men of means IN other
financial centres become convinced that
our growth is healthful and sound.
Upon the whole the retrospection Of the
past eventful year gives food for gratula-
ton as well as reflection. We are not
nearly 50 much hurt as we feared ct the
first. And yet we knew not the half that
was in store for Us at that time. No one
then dreamed Of the insane action which
the memorialists afterwards took for the
further embarrassment Of the mercantile
and laboring classes Of our people and of
the District finances. The stagnation Of
business pending the tedious investigation,
and the delay in making payments since It
closed, have been even worse than the con-
fusion and prostration which were the i'm.
mediate result of the panic. - q
But we think we may well congratu,
late ourselves that we have weathered all
the storms and are now recovering both
health and commercial strength. Indi-
the credit Of the citizens Of the
District is sounder to-day than 1t WIS
year ago. Collectively, as municipality,
it should also be much stronger, for its in
debtedness is guaranteed or assured by the
pledge Of the faith Of the whole people Of
the United States. Il is now LEFT for US as
a community to make these facts known TO
capitalists abroad shat our securities may
assume their proper rank among thoseof
other cities. Instead Of depreciating them.
we should magnify them to their proper
proportions. Congress having eyinced a
willingness to assume its share of our bur.
dens we should not hesitate to takeoup our
own.