The New York herald., 1875-12-27
FINANCIAL and COMMERCIAL.
The Stagnation in Our Finan-
cial Centre Explained.
The Situation and Its Prospects "A
Problem in Wheat.
EVENTS IN THE STOCK MARKET.
Lake Shore and Its Friends -RumOrS Con-
rerling Western UniOn-PricGS Heavy
and Investors Standing Off,
EVENTS IN THE STOCK MARKET
MONEY AND GOLD.
WALL STREET,

money article Of daily journal simple expression Of
generaities. Looking upon the past weeks stock
market field Of battle whore contcndng interests
have in contact-the side struggling for ad-
prices, the other for fa-an impartial judge
would have proclaimed II Cadmean victory. corpo-
rail- guard could have borne OF the spos Il
OF tweedledum and twoedledee Bears rampant yester
day and couchant to-day, and bulls Alternating with
their opponents either led the slaughter raging
with heads and tails In the air threatening slaughter
and carnage. In word, the stock market swung to
and FRO, its pendulum Of prices hanging at the end OF
the work-a-day week nearly perpendicular.
OF course says the neophyte, this oscillation in the
values OF the country's great corporations must be
due TO some social, financial or commercial reasons
only understood and appreciated by the initiated.
There must be of Of which
have not heard, the great question OF a return to
specie payments has been solved by Western
ner grocery man, who a member Of Congress, has
satisfactorily figured the whole matter from the
contents of his TILL ten cent stamps representing legal
tenders and five cent nickes the redeeming medium.
But indeed there have been such good reasons
for the above Tho capital stocks of railroads and
corporate institutions have hundreds Of thou
sands OF dollars In market price from day to day not
because they ntrinsically or less valuable,
but because few men, by dint of money power, reck
essness fraud have rgged prices to suit their own
purposes And yet with q knowledge Of THESE facts,
with the certainty that TO the gambling speculator
airer and more inviting game can be had in two-thirds
Of the city heIs, legitimate honest stock commits
sion brokers wonder why it is that their occupation
is gone and that tho 'public"-the merchant and
mercal class and the idle men of studiousy
keep aloof from Wall street. In fact, all
the fools who according to the adage should be alive
and wide awake) to have shufod of this mortal
k~uo aI.a
to carry them into Stock Exchange circles The place
that has them knows them more, and the
void thus created is an aching one, indeed.
When the Stock Exchange shall become purified from
this sheer gambling element; when It shall have freed
tse from the Establishments OF professional touts and
the chicanery professional sharpers the respect
able portion OF the community may again visit its pre-
and their the result Of genuine
honest speculation
THE SITUATION
The commercial situation during the past week pre-
scnted features differing from those OF Its prcdeces
sors. Stagnaon and dropping prices continue to at
tend the market for general merchandise. The pro-
duction of many descriptions Of manufactured goods
is again being curtaed while there is another re-
duction in wages of all kinds Accounts from Western
cities report active demand for money from the in
for the purpose of moving the crops but TO
enable both producers and middemen to lock them
and sustain prices. Unfortunately for the general
good the condition OF the Western money market is
such that these country gentlemen find difficulty in
either renewing their maturing paper obtaining ad-
dtona loans from IL per This is the kind
of ''lquidation" which has been in practice for the
past two years, and to many has proved
A LINGERING DEATH
For months past the HERALD has pointed the in
evitable result Of this holding back policy and at
tn aha hat oh OH
crops in Europe alleged, II We did not promptly
move forward our should find, when too late,
that Great Britain was supplied from other
We have held for higher prices and the result is
that have in sight east Of the Mississippi River
nearly 600 900 bushels Of wheat for which there is
practically market, while Great Britain has In
store and ahoat like quantity viii gentlemen OF the
ways and Means and of the sBanking and Currency"
committees study these facts to fully comprehend
just how much OF this result is due cheap
expoTtabs" money!
MARKET.
The week on the Stock Exchange has been dull with
downward tendency in prices One week ago VIC in
tmated the probability Of there being change or
gineers in charge Of the machine. The character OF
the manipulations since then would seem to confirm
that theory. At all events the persons who before
prominent movers have retired and the wires are
now pulled from behind screen by an invisible hand.
Lake Shore OF the railroad shares has commanded the
attention The game in this stock has continued
10 be played without any change other than the
tutng OF loud talking for the previous large buy
ing The opening price was 6lA IRON which
ii steadily declined until it sold at IS
on Wednesday, Thursday morning there ap-
peared a circular from Charles Barrett intended
''bulr' shot, but it contained nothing but ex
tracts from the reports Of the company-the figures
~. tl,,lina
spent when tho price reached So The failure OF young
active and risky specuator who had the day before
sold 900 shares ''short" proved to be a much
more effective power than Mr. Barrett's sham for It
carried the price to 59A in the necessitated buying OF
the stock which he had failed to deliver. From this il
dropped to 5s, although rallied at tho close 50k
Uf Mr. Barreus figures there is nothing say except
that they not his, but the company's and old at
that But OF his remarks are worthy OF passing
/ comment He says:-'Ther track, road bed, iron
and stone bridges and buildings are equal in condition
I to any in the country; their terminal facil-
tiles at Buffalo and Chicago are ample ;
their equipment Is very large and in good
condition. Now, the document shows that
the letter OF request to 'cxamine and report was
dated at Syracuse, December and Mr. Barrets reply
is dated Boston, the 18th inst yet we arc 70 inter
from the foregoing extract that in this brief space Of
time Mr.. Barrett accomplished what "expertp In
railroad construction would require full month 70 per.
form on road of s92 miles. Again, ne says:-s'The
charges against net earnings, which take precedence
Of dividends Il is stated In the report OF 1874 page IL
will not exceed for the year 1876 g. $50 oOon This
correct quotation from the Presidents Introductory re-
marks, but Mr. Barrett had carefully examined even
the reports Of the company he would have
discovered, on page p Of same report, de-
tailed statement, showing that those charges
nearly So 600 600 exclusive Of the amount
due the sinking fund. This little discrepancy be-
tween the Presidents general remarks" and the de-
tailed facts had been so often pointed to create
wonder that Mr. Barrett should have slipped upon any
thing soft" We hoped that Mr.. Barrett would
deny the authenticity OF the document.
PACIFIC MAIL AND UNION PACIFIC,
the two special pets Of the "sck man" have dragged
along weary existence within narrow fluctuations
sriih 1racLinnal dacllnn Wnstnrn