The New York herald., 1879-10-31
FINANCIAL and COMMERCIAL.
A Pretty Heavy "Slump''
in Stocks.
AN ACTIVE MONEY MARKET.
Important Action of the Comptroller on
the Currency

THURSDAY, Oct. 30-0 r. M
It was not so much question OF how to make
money as how to borrow it for temporary use that
exercised the minds of stock brokers to-day. We
had occasion to predict. week or more ago. that
stringent money market was almost inevitable
during the few days Immediately preceding the lst
Of November. The sharp rates for accommodation
prevalent yesterday and to-day have proved the cor
rectness of tho prediction. Apart from the demand
for money for legitimate In the circles OF trade
and commerce and the phenomenal call for II IN
the stock market there exists an additional incl
dental and temporary demand to meet the require
ments of the present financial situation. The city
government is gathering into its treasury S6oooooo
Of subscriptions to the new loan. and for day or
two this sum will be out of circulation. No
vember / is quarter day" and every rent
payer that does not aspire to the dignity
of bank account is fobbing his greenbacks III an
tcipaion of that fearful but inevitable event; the
Tax Oface claps an interest penalty should real
and personal property holders fail to step up and
settle before tho LIST prox. and this locks up
money. and all railroads. insurance companies.
banking institutions and dividend and interest
payers Of every kind ana description. which have
promised and vowed to disDurse and mean do so,
getting their funds we'll in hand against the pay
ing process which is to follow All these things
constitute sort of sponge. which is just sop
ping up good deal of the circulating medium and
consequently 1t is not to be wondered at that when
money wanted to-day 1t had to be paid for.
There nothing cheaper to be done in the
way Of call loans than per cent. and at the
end of the day the additional shave of
u to u per cent demanded and
ceded to. Things in money loaning way
were naturally bad enough. but they made
worse by the action of the Comptroller Of the Cur
rency. who, it appears to with lack of judg
enforce law which he should have put in
practice weeks ago. The act of Congress concern
ing national banks prohibits the certihcation of
checks to amount beyond the sum actually stand
ing to the credit of the drawer. For many years
this law has been dead letter and banks have
tifed upon the personal credit of the depositor,
without regard to the amount standing to his credit
at the time Of certidcation. So few have the in
stances been where this accommodation has been
abused that the banks have gone on certifying and
the brokers havo gone on overdrawing and
tho whole business Of the Stock Exchange
has gone on growing on this sort of fungus
foundation until the point Of imminent danger has
been reached. The Comptroller of the Currency.
probably from reading the newspapers. has at last
found this out. aud with the usual opacity OF gov
ernment official, has blundered into peremptorily
stopping what he should have first warned against
and then given some time to cure. Pretty much all
the banks shut down upon their certifcatons to-
day-no money in bank no telling red ink certifca-
ton. Consequently the usual custom among brokers
Of letting their accounts stand overdrawn until
tho close OF bank hours and then making them good
rudely interfered WITH aud they forced
into the money market borrowers early
hour and were kept there the day through. In the
absence of the facilities offered by q clearing
house and the impossibiity of dospatching the i'm
business Of the day without certi6cations tho
only is to cvade the law 1t done be-
under similar circumstances. and is proposed
do it again. The podus operand will be to lodge
demand stock note with the bank with which the
broker deals and get the discounted-the stock
deliverable during the day being considered collat
erals the same, while 1t is understood that the
broker acts agent for the bank and collects and
hands in the returns in payment of the discounted
note. from the money pressure stocks were all
lower by to per cent. II there were any partcu-
lar reasons to affect them they were kept quiet to-
day. Late in the afternoon the market rallied per-
ceptibly. and closing prices though feverish.
considerably better than the lowest.
Sales at the Board to-day aggregated 42A shares
against ass. $40 yesterday.
Following is epitome Of tho days busness:-