The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-01-13
THE BRINK OF A PANIC.
A Picturesque Statement of Financial
Probabilities.


to-day what he thought Of the market.
ooh, the market will move along
steady until something happens"
Until what hnppens?"
Panic p he replied.
find very general uncasincss in f.
nancial circles as to the future. The
black shadow Of panic is already darken.
ing the brightest epoch of our national
life. When the general apprehension
shall be realized is uncertain spccna-
tion as 10 the coming Of the storm rang
ing from one month TO twelve.
The simple aud only reason for evil
prophecy is that speculation has outrun
actual growth. AS marvellous as has been
the expansion and progress values have
mark. Wall street has discounted the
farmer and manufacturer and gone alone
on its own hook.
a glance ut the stock quotations for
the past twelve months will give an idea
Of the desperate cagcrncss with which
everything has been inflated. Stocks
have doubled and treblcd in 2alue.
Scrip dividends have been issued, and the
watnred stock has moved up to Il higher
point than tho original ever held. On
the list are several leading stocks that
haze risen from GO to 70 to over 20O the
same basis being taken. We all remcm-
Der that after the enormous speculation
Of last winter and spring when everything
doomed and worthless stocks showed up
to par and above, there wns general mp
prehension that the attempt to liqrl'late
this vast speculation would result in pan
ic. And vet the dull summer months
went blythe "lambs'' closed their &c.
counts and withdrew to rural pastures
and yet s,ocks continued to go up The
craze was on the "s.reet" no less than on
the people, and everybody looked above
the dizzy heights Oh which they then
stood. The result is that to-day We see
prices from 20 to 60 per cent. higher than
they were even then. Ald they are even
yet going up. Money is easy and the
way to speculation is open. There is
hardly q stock on the list that Is not cred
tied with from 10 to 30 per cent. still
further rise by those who arc dealing
in ii. 1t is noticeable that they all say :
"Of course there will be break after
awhile-but think there's safc 10 or
20 per cent. in this stock in tho next ten
days" And so they 20 unconscious
that they are marching to q precipice,
and yet hurled on by the fearful facina.
ton of the game-picking their way with
trembling feet to the abyss of Ruin
1t is one Of the fruits of the gigantic
system of speculation fostered by Wall
street that the country can In the midst
of unexnmpled prosperity be confrontcJ
with panic. There have never been
such crops activity, such progress-ns
We have had for tile pass three years.
The Npy HOrk Capfrol Dad ,,;,I,
four tracks ofrail is literally unable TO
transport the freight that is offered it.
All the other roads arc busy and are
working up to'their fullest capacity. The
country is busy hive. in which there i,
not discordant note. Every section re.
joiccs. And yet we see paralysis threat
ening these mighty energies, and ruin
skulking in our by ways-merely because
speculation has gono rioting beyond tho
limit of prudence, and the energies of
Wall street require TIM, hero shall be n
tumble in values against which mar.
gins of profit may be laid.
AS to how this break will come-as 10
how long the rising pulse Of the republic
will fnlie- under its infuence-can best t
be Judged by q review of the panic of
'73.
Jay Gould holds panic in his clutch
to-day" said an obsrrvant man to me,
"and he can lose it when lie willW
What a stupcndous figure this little
man rnkes in the world of finance. An
insignificant presence, standing five feet
tour, with small, intrnverted eyc-a
tired face and black lustreless whiskcrs
there is no man in America that has e
traction of his power. The street has
never known such an operator MS he
the country has never seen such balefu!
and tremendous Influence conccutrtued in
one human frame. Jay Gould has hcc.,
the prime mover in every pnnic that has
occurred since he became n leader in the
street. He was The head spirit of the
gold conspiracy thnt eliminated in "Blac,
Friday" having as his ally that oiled
and curlcd Assyrian bull, Jim Fisk. Tr
This organization has never been couull. d
i'll audacity and stubboTnness. Gould
furnished the cold, devilish will. but
lacked physical courage and dnsh-tbis
Emperor Jim, with his overllowinr vi.
tality and splendid presence, SUPPLIED
II was the union If the Jesuit and the
llbertine-of RoGin and Count Fosco.
The panic offs was never organized
1t was creeping distrust that shivered
beneath the surface of BRILLIANT and
prosperous epoch. 1t was the uneasiness
that always comes with flush and over.
whelming prosperity--just such uneasi-
ness rs Is now making Itself manifest.
There were no physical signs of it. The
gtanaries wore bursting with garncred
harvests-the continent was almost vocal
with the hum of spinlles and the roar of
machinery-immigrnnts were peoplinc
the great West, and new fields were being
opencd-the railroads trembled beneath
the rush of trains, busted with the inter.
change of freights-the currents of trade
and industry swept through the country
as the blood through strong mans veins
and yet the subtledpirit of Ruiz PLAYED
In The air. One or two old rats ran to
cover. William R.Travers hurried down
from Newport and put out O line ofshorts.
but even he never dreamed that Jny
Gould was then noting with The eager.
ness of o vulture the signs Of danger and
distrus., and that his mcrciless fingers
were weaving, the web of death and dis.
grace
On the 1st of soptsniber, 1878
Jay Gould had $50, 100000 in money,
anu was thon prepared 10 hammer
the market down-to send n chilling
fear through all the list. On the 9th Of
September he appeared in the exchange
and began work. He first attacked gold.
SZUU,UUU,UOO were sold in one day by
himself and HE a.s=ac:ss.es THi5 hi, !,
fell Z cents, giving Gould IN enormous
proiit. he locked up his profits and his
capital and turned his attention to the
list OF stocks that had already weakened
n fr,l I