The Globe-republican., 1890-11-19
ur FINANCIAL wonLD.

TWH FINANCIAL WORLD.
From sunday's New York Times.
After liquidation Of extreme severity,
which has brought prices 50 low that
the instinct Of the average man prompt
ed him to buy, we are met BY the an"
nouncement that the greatest mercantile
and banking house in the world has been
on the edge of insolvency. Thehouse OF
Earrings and the house Of Rothschtlds are
known wherever civilized men trade.
While the latter are bankers only, the
former are merchants as well as bankers,
and their operations extend as far as
goods are carried in ships, and into every
country which has part of England's
worldwide commerce. Theirs was the
ideal of British credit, and if the solvency
of the Bank of England had been ques-
toned it could not carry a more severe
shock the world over than does this reve-
latiOn of the disastrous state of the house
of Barring, for their trading operations
involved directly and indirectly credits
extending to hundreds of millions of dol
lars. The cable dispatches of yesterday
said that the guarantee fund subscribed
by the other great London houses, head
ed by the Bank of England, was $780,
OOO, 600; the liabilities were estimated at
81, 100000 But it is not so much the
question whether the house was indebted
sixty or seventy or ninety millions;
whether, with assistance it has received,
1t will eventually come out all right, or
have finally to 60 into liquidation; the
real significance of the event is the lreve-
lation it makes of the condition of the
financial world. This house is not alone
in the vast speculations which has
brought it down. The last great smash
they had in England was precipitated
by the failure of Overend. Quincy & Co.,
and their liabilities amounted to only
81, ZOO. OOO-a small thing compared
with this stupendous failure, for failure
it practically is.
This country is certainly in the sound
est condition of any of the leading ma
tons. Next to it comes France, where
there has been no speculation. but SOL
idifying process going on since the COL
lapse of the Panama company and the
smash of the copper syndicate. The
worst situated countries are Germany
and England; and the most extended of
all. the one in which speculation has run
riot, in which credits have reached the
widest possible expansion. is England.
The Bank of France in this emergency
has been able to come to the assistance
of the Bank of England, and the help
received from that source last week made
the situation easier. Our own banks
were confronted with the imminent
danger of a panic when, on Tuesday last,
the firm of Decker, Howell & Co. failed
through Mr.. Wizards operations and in
volved the Bank of North America. The
clearing house at once took action to
avert it by the issuance of clearing house
certificates. This is not device to
bolster of an insolvent concern, but to
allow bank which has good collaterals
to borrow upon them from all the other
banks. 1t can only borrow to the extent
OF those c0llaterals. The Bank of North
America got into the position it did
by grossly bad business methods, such
as ought, and undoubtedly will, cause a
complete change in its management. 1t
was remembered and commented upon
in the street that President Dowd and
his bank were connected with the Han
nibal and st. Joe s'corner" q few years
ago-one of the worst stock CANDLES
ever run in Wall street. The query was
made whether Mr.. Dowd has had share
in the speculation of this wretched char
latan Willard. Twice this man has caused
enormous losses in Wall street, and in
exactly the same way. He seems to have
no faculty but that Of borrwing, and in
that he has such genius that he could
borrow the United States Treasury bare
in six month, and bankrupt it in six more.
Had 1t not been for his operations Wall
street would not have been brought into
the state it has been for the past week.
We understand now why prices have
been going down in our market so per-
sfstently for weeks past; why the foreign
houses were sellers of stocks and bonds
on every rally; and why, in the past
two weeks. certain of our most promi-
nent firms have been throwing over
large amounts of securities which they
had acquired for permanent investment,
and now sold at prices which it was GER