The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-07-29
ROSEATE VIEWS
Of the Business Outlook, by Whilom
Pessimist.
"RigoiOs Thinks the Financial G Sc
in Again AlutudinOus ,'-
But Has a Word of Warm
ing for Chicago.

NEW YORK, July 29-The SUMS Wall
street column, after referring to the stiifen-
ing of prices in Wall street and the fast that
the bulls" had everything their own way
last week, says: "Who has done it all. No
body i'll particular; it has done itself" is the
answer of the most celebrated men. Tie
fact Is that all the Goulds, Cornors,
Works, Osborns, Chapins, Whites, Nor
gans, and Bloodgoois in creation could
not have engineered a movement of
such force if a combination of peculiar cir
cumstances had not quietly ripen to help
them. Stock speculation like railroad build
ing, was overdone, and had to collapse. To
day there are no more railroads built, and
no speculation is INDUCED i'll Roads are no
longer paralleled, and stocks are no longer
inflated Things have come to sounder
basis. The existing railroads, even those
which suffer from competition, are improving
their management, while stocks, instead of
being gambled in on slim margins, are be-
ing quietly absorbed for investment The
wildcat securities will still have to remain in
oblivion, but the dividend payers must neces-
sarily brace up. There Is no earthly rea-
son why stock paying dividend of q or
per cent year should be selling below par
when money is SO cheap, and when there is
so much of it unemployed The depression
Of the last three years, and the disgraceful
occurrences of the first half of this year,
have eliminated. People believe moth
ing worse than that we have seen
can happen, and that those who
stood through the Grant Il Ward,
the Seney, and Emo, and similar rackets
have become f1re-proof and er-proof The
liquidation of lsSl-lSS4 has weeded out all
the weak elements, and a SO bill in the bank
or IN the pocket to-day Is worth more than a
SO bill two years ago. 1t certainly has more
purchasing power and its holder more expert
ence. The mass of moneyed people under
stand all that and having lost great deal
of money they want to recuperate They
hope to do so by buying back
at 30, 10 and 50 per cent reduction
the same securities that they had been
compelled to sell out They can buy the
same amount of them with half the money,
and they double their income To people
who live upon their income and have NJ
business TO fall back On, this is a vital quas-
ton. They have no means of improving
their position except by reinvesting and they
begin to reinvest now. They are timid vet,
and the process will be a slow one, but orders
from them come i'll all the time, and it is
these orders that take good stocks out of the
street. make them scarce for loaning
purposes, and maintain prices so firm
The balance of trade is turning in our favor
We shall probably import $50, 900, 900 of gold
this year, and this gold will have to be in
vested. Our exports are steadily increasing
while our imports are decreasing. General
retrenchment of expenses has had a marvel
Gus effect on our foreign trade, and should
the cholera continue in Europe we shall
save millions upon millions of money upon
the one item of American expenses abroad
In regard to the prospects of our balance
of trade there is some cause for apprehension
that Chicago will get crazy again and in
dulge once more in the slaughter of the
goose that lays the golden eggs. sudden
unfavorable change in the weather in Europe
created recently some demand for wheat
Grain SPECTATORS in London and Liverpool
who had sold wheat short on the anticipation
of excellent crops all over the world, became
alarmed at the unreasonable weather and
| hastened to cover their contracts As the
American crop is the earliest and nearest at
hand, they began to buy wheat in this
country, and Chicago at once pushed
| prices up They have already marked
them some 3 cents higher and talk of 5
cents more. If they succeed in their miquit-
GUS attempts a stop will at once be put to all
| foreign demands, unless the weather becomes
unusually bad They will thus destroy a
good deal of the prospect of an improving
balance of trade and of the importation Of
| gold.
The large arrivals of new wheat, which
have already began at the Atlantic seaboard
and will henceforth rapidly increase, ought
naturally to keep the price of wheat down,
and if so, considerably improve the export
trade of the country. But Chicago specula-
tors can spoil the bright prospects if they are
left to have things their own way.