Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-16
w1NDoM AND WALL STREET,


Secretary Window appears to have sue
ceeded in making an arrangement with re-
gard to the five and six per cent. bonds,
which is entirely satisfactory to Wall
street. 1t is evident from the character of
his plan that he could not have adopted
it without obtaining prior assurances from
the banks and other large holders of the
maturing bonds, that it would be accept
able. He offers to redeem the six per
cents at once, or to issue in exchange
for them registered bonds bearing three
aud half per cent. interest, redeemable
at the pleasure of Congress. This is the
utmost that he could offer under the cir
cumstances, and even this would be
very dangerous experiment if he had not
strong ground for believing that not more
than one-fourth of the six per cents. will
be offered for immediate redemption. 1t
was necessary to propose rate OF interest
which would afford as good an investment,
or very nearly as good an investment, as
the four per cents. At present the actual
returns from the latter are So per cent,
and the tact that the majority of the
holders of the six per cents are expected
to prefer postponement of payment with
a low rate of interest indicates that, not
withstanding all that has been said about
the rapid increase of industrial prosperity
in the country, there is avery large
amount of money still seeking safe invest
ments, and not finding them.
The Secretary's plan rests entirely upon
the assumption that the amount OF bonds
demanding immediate redemption will be
no more than from one.fourth to one-third
OF the whole outstanding number. Should
his calculations on this point prove well
founded, he will be in a position TO make
a similar arrangement with the five per
cents, and in this way the whole of the
bonds which mature this year would be
refunded at a low rate of interest, and
without any friction. As the Secretary
has proceeded throughout upon the advice
OF the most experienced financiers in Wall
street, the rational presumption is that his
plan viii be successful, and that he will
achieve very decided triumph for himself
1t is, of course, perfectly evident that Mr..
Window has had the good sense to leave
his old financial notions behind him on
going into the Treasury, and it is perhaps
not unsafe to assume that he has been
guided by the sound doctrine of President
Garfield as well as by the views of the
Wall-street men.
1t is significant fact that though Con-
gress has, especially of late years, affected
sort of chronic suspicion of financial
experts, and has not seldom appeared to
act on the principle that the very last PEG.
pie to ask advice of were those who best
understood the subject, yet after Congress
had lamentably broken down in the whole
business, and had proved incapable of any
thing better than proposition the mere
shadow of which nearly precipitated a
panic, the Secretary of the Treasury, by
following the counsels of business men and
bankers, should have succeeded in solving
the problem without any legislative aid
whatever. 1t is further apparent that if
Mr.. Window had adhered to the Con-
gressional idea, and proposed to refund the
fives and skies at three per cent. he would
have failed as completely as Congress did.
After all the wild talk about what could.
should or ought to be done, therefore, it
has been found necessary at last to take the
sages of Wall street for guides, and only
by doing so has the success of the opera
tion been guaranteed.
AT three per cent, the presumption is
that instead of two-thirds or three fourths