The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-01
A Financial Panic Not Imminent.

| AAAhOAuA Clu1O 1NOU lluuuluNuG,
Commenting on letter of a cores
pondeHt predicting financial panic
In the near future. the New York
Sun says
Former panics were preced-
ed by causes which are wanting at
present. The collapse of 1887 was
precipitated by the great fire of 1886.
which destroyed an amount of prop.
erty greater, in proportion to the
wealth of the country, than ten times
the same amount would be now. Ex.
cessive overtrading led to the panic
OF 1887, which by the way, was short
| lived; while that of 1873 followed
upon excessive railroad building,
stimulated by the abnormal demand
for transportation during the civil
war and following the exhaustion Of
the war itself. In every one of these
three cases, credit and borrowing had
been expanded to their utmost
stretch. Values were universally
measured by false standards, and the
money of the country was a huge
mass of paper resting ON a slender
basis of the precious metals!
Granting, now, for the sake of ar
gument, that there is at present like
wise a great speculation in stocks
and merchandise such as preceded
the disasters of 1887, 1857 and 1873, it
would not of itself be enough in our
opinion to produce the results wit
messed in those years. Unless gener-
al mutual credit and borrowing ac-
companies speculation, a collapse will
cause injury to none but those imme-
diately concerned. Nor does the ez-
cess of imports oyer exports in itself
seem to US to be on Indication of dam
ger. 1t may be with this country,
as it is with Great Britain, proof
that the world owes it more than it
owes the world, and that it is only
getting back what belongs to it. Bad
crops are indeed to be feared as like
ly to diminish the means of consum-
ers, and check trade; but there is no
reason as yet to fear this calamity,
and it is unWise to treat it as inevi-
table.
To our view, the situation should
not cause alarm to anybody who is
not excessively in debt and not en-
barked in enterprises barren of prof.
table results. We have sound cur.
rency convertible into gold, The
country is rich, not only in natural
resources into useful commodities ex-
changeable for other useful commo-
dites. The railroads and manufacto-
ries and farm improvements for
which, up to 1873, we were indebted
to foreign creditors, are now either
paid for altogether or encumbered
only with obligations to our own
home capitalists. The interest OF
money has fallen to point Which
proves that production exceeds not
only consumption, but the facilities
for profitable investment! Any man
who has good security to offer can
borrow readily at six per cent! per
annum or less in any of the older
States. while corporations and muni-
cipalitIes in good credit do not find
ii necessary to offer lenders more
than four. All this is in direct oppo-
sition to the state of things which
prevailed in 1887, 1857 and 1878, and
forbids us to expect that the panics of
these years are going to be immedi-
ately repeated. A diseased imagi-
nation, dwelling exclusively upon
the topic, may indeed discover
grounds for prophesying such disas-
ter ; but they will not bear the exam
inatioff of unprejudiced reason.