The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-03-05
THE FURRY IN WILL STREET.

| Wall street, New York. iAst week cninytd
the "xEiltra'ion uf another Bla X Friday
though in somewhat mllgaltd torn as com
pared with that Of 1918, by which Mrs. Grant
30 handsomely pocketcd $4,000.
the origin of It, ~ mlimaied in our l4st
WAS III u tull-do2iug spirit on the part Of the
National Banks. They were opposed to The
passage of the funding bin which the senate
has just returned I" the house with few
amendments and which 1t was evident the
house would agree 10 and the bill thus became
n law The banks objected to The bill mainly
on TWO grounds; first TO the clause compelling
len TO purchase and deposit with the U. B.
treasurer per cent. bonds to secure their cir
|culairns but secondly, and mcs' earnestly, to
the Carlisle amendment" repeating the act
OF 1874, previous to which bonds held as St
curly for circulation could be withdrawn on.
y after the circulation had actually been pre-
scented and redeemed, bat after which bond,
could bc withdrawn at any time by deposit
Of coin or greenlacks. The banks alleged
tina, if the bail passed they would therefor be
marke, TOR the sale Of their bonds, should they
desire to sell them, but would have to await
the slow process sometime, lasting for wears,
|of collecting their notes from the hands OF the
people. They therefore made haste to get them
into their possession ut once, SO that they
might be at liberty TO dispose of them as they
might find opportunity.
Necessarily this sudden withdrawal of
grecnbacks, amounting on Thursday to ten
millions and by Saturday night to over sixteen
millions from the loan market, being equal,
IN fact, 70 contraction OF loans to that exit mt,
caused a siringency IN the money market,
which was AT once made use of by the Wall
street stock brokers in their characteristic
fashion. The little stringcncy which the banks
had occaHoned was sklllfully aggravated into
q fierce scramble for money which sent it up
to above one per cent n day, and on top Of
that q hammering Of stocks WAS begun which
cent them down five, ten and even twenty
points below the prices which ruled the week
before.
John Sherman's pet bank appeared to lead
Oft in the bulldozlng movement, greatly ag.
sravatlng the panic by the impression that
therefore no relief was to be looked for from
Washington. On Friday, however, Sherman
did extend partial relief by ordering the pur.
chase over the counter Of the subtrcasury in
New York of ten millions of government
bonds; but az that proved inadequate TO the
eyigencies OF the crisis, he on Saturday further
ordered the immediate redemption of SCI, 600.
GOO or five per cents which he had called in
for May 18th This seemed to have the de
sired effect, and the Black Friday" was over.
| OF course hundreds Of small dealers were
driven to the wall, but thus far no prominent
failures have been announced.
| This banks have probably succeeded IN their
"little game" for advlcos from Washington IN.
dica,e the almost certain defeat of the funding
bill; at any rate, even If II passes with the rate
of interest fixed at per cent. il is certain that
the other obnoxious provision, the repeal OF
the law OF 1874, about which the banks care
stricken OUT,
Yet the action OF the banks by which they
have accomplished that, affords an unanswer.
able reason against such repeal, by show.
ing their capacity for evil in misusing the
control Of the currency the &C, IF 1874 gives
them. Whether congress will have the reccs.
sary courage to do what ought ID be done ON
this head, and 10 make it impossible hereafter
for the banks - disturb business for their own
selfish purposes remains to. he seen; but we
very much mistake the temper of the Ameri.
can pecpae If they allow themselves to b. die.
ia,ed to on the subject by creatures ot their
oan creation.
| Since tho above was written dispatch from
Washington has been received IN town an
nouncing that the funding bill was passed by
the house on Thursday including the Carlisle