The Portland daily press., 1875-04-27
Our New York Letter.
Finance and Trade-Jay Gould's Opera
tions-EIuctuatious in stOcks-Decline
I'm Rents.
New YORK, April 26, 1875,


Legitimate business just now is in an unsat-
isfactory state. The demand for staples is
spasmodic and the profit uncertain. 1t takes
long time to recover from such revHlsion as
swept over the country in the autumn of 1873
Those who failed to comprehend the gravity of
that crisis, and its stern admonition to a course
of retrenchment and liquidation, have found
out by sad experience how mistaken they were.
1t does not pay now to keep small regiment
Of statesmen and travellers, to bear the burden of
enormous rents, and to.sell goods on credit to
every cross roads store keeper from the Cana
da line to the farthest confines of the Pacific
coast Two years ago there were jobbers of dry
goods whose yearly expense account exceeded
their entire capital, and when one of these adj
venturous concerns did go under, the assets
remaining were in comparison with the liabil-
ties like Falstaff's "haporth of bread'' to gall
lon of sack. 1t is one of the inevitable Sc
quences of panic that it forces the weak and
unstable out of the arena of commercial rivalry.
And while this process is going on it is nnrea-
sonable to look for tanything like briskness in
trade. Besides the fluctuating tendency of
tie deprecated paper which the country so un'
wisely persists in accepting as measure OF
values, produces the effect of deterring pru-
dent people from engaging in new enterprises.
The chronic dispute between capital and labor
also has something to do with the prevailing
lapguor of the times 1t is little remarkable
that at the very moment when there are SO
great number of men who cannot get any
work at ALL at any price, strikes should be un-
usually prevalent. But this contest will finally
be settled by the establishment of a lower scale
of wages. Everybody anticipates this and
waits for it. And while so waiting, there
must of necessity be great falling off in the
activities which promote the general prosperity.
However, while the tradesmen, big and little,
are complaining of the dullness the gamesters
of Wall street are as busy as bees. Many me-
teors of financial brilliancy have flashed afore-
time over the horizon of the stock exchange,
aud faded out of sight and memory. There are
old men, aye and young men to-day eking
out precarious subsistence by an occasional
transaction on the curbstone, who once attract
ed the attention of the whole community and
became objects of admiration and envy because
of the magnitude and success of their opera
tions. They met their fate at last. and were
,uvvvvtacd-by-o other ADVENTUROUS spirits who
played the same role and reached the same
goal. Just now Jay Gould is the reigning star,
the cynosure of all eyes. The wonders he has
wrought bewilder and amaze all thoughtful
observers. Eighteen months ago the shares of
the Union Pacific Railway could have been
bought at 16. Six months ago they were sell
ling at 36. Now, through Gould's manipula-
ton they are realizing II to 78. Meantime he
has literally captured the rival corporation,
the Pacific Mail Co. first by depressing its
stock and then buying controlling interest in
it, Opinions are divided as to the intrinsic
value of Union Pacific shares, some maintain
ing that they are actually worth what they are
quoted at, others that they are worth nothing
at all. Nobody seems to buy them for in
vestment, but always with the view of
selling out to some more credulous GUS
toner at an advance. 1t is evident that
some parties have proflted largely by the sud-
den and rapid appreciation of the stocks and as
it keeps rising the temptation to ''go i'm is
strong. If Gould were to let go of it, the fall
would be instantaneous and crushing. II he
were at any moment to take fancy to let it
drop for the sake of buying in at heavy de-
cline, he would make awful havoc with the
best holders 1t is very dangerous to stand IN
such predicament that the caprice OF one
man, especially man of Goald's stamp might
work absolute ruin, but that is a hazard which
those incur who speculate largely in fancy
stocks at high figures. On the theory that the
property is worth any thing beyond its bonded
debt. it could hardly fall into worse hands. The
unlucky owners of the Erie Railway are living
examples of the extent to which stockholders
can be despoiled, without the possibility of re-
dress either by criminal or civil process. The
history of that monstrous conspiracy of fraud
and larceny is one of the most humiliating and
disgraceful that has ever been enacted in our
country. The Tammany thieves practiced their
peculatons upon our own people The Erie
pilferers plundered foreigners who had inves-
ted in America securities on their faith in our
honor. 1t is perpetual reproach to every eiti-