Omaha daily bee., 1890-09-22
THE sIrUA TfoY IMPROVING.

Reports from the financial centers in
dicate that the liberal disbursem ents
from tho United States treasury during
the past week have had the hoped.for
effect in the money market. Generally
the stress has been materially relieved
and there is restoration OF confidence
that is reassuring as 10 the imm ediate
future. This will be accepted as vindi
eating the course Of tho treasury, but IL
also shows that the danger OF panic was
very greatly exaggerated. Senator Sher-
man expressed the opinion in thesen ate n
few wdays ago that the financial scare was
manufactured, ''gottcn up by brokers,
by bulls and bears and various kinds of
animals who praciced their trade in the
exchanges Of New York, :" and he pre-
dicted that all the apparent difficulties
in the monetary situation would settle
themselves in a little while. The veri-
fication of Mr. Sherman's view seems to
be now taking place, for as a
matter Of fact there has been no
serious financial disturbance in
the country at large; what
disturbance there was has been confined
to New York and those responsible for
ii there having learned that the treas
ury has gone to the extent of its ability
under existing laws to relieve the mar
llct will probably not continue those
practices by which such disturbances
are manufactured. There is conse-
quontly reason to expect that the finan-
cial situation will go on improving and
that the supply OF money will be found
ample for moving the crops and meeting
the large demand of the business of the
country at this season. But the fact
remains that the ultimate relations be-
tween the treasury and the money mar
ket, involving ut vital times the de pend
ence of the latter upon the former and
encouraging manufactured financial dis
turbances, is an unfortunate condition.
One bad effect is to make bankers less
careful than they would otherwise be,
and as consequence spectators are
allowed more latitude than it is safe or
just to the legitimate business interests
of the country to allow them. The
large and dangerous power lodged
in the discretion of the secre-
tary Of the treasury is II far more serious
feature Of the existing system. In the
present case it is not questioned that the
secretary has kept strictly within the
law, but what recourse will there be
after the effects Of this straine drelief for
Il strained situation have been ex-
hausted? The treasury must atonce be-
gin to recover into its vaults the funds
it is now distributing, and as it is sim
ply paying certain large amounts of OBJ
legations in advance it will have to di-
minish it's disbursements for the ueXt
twelve months proportionately 1t can
not, at least until another year, repeat
the present eXpedients of "edeeming
bonds and anticipating interest. The
large new expenditures authorized by
congress will not permit the treasury to
dothese things. For the next twelve
months, therefore, it would seem plain
that the money market cannot depend
upon the treasury for special relief
should an exigency arise, and if this fact
shall be generally realized the effect
may be good in putting check upon
such speculation as islargely responsible
for the present monetary disturbance.
In that event there will be no difficulty
in providing for all deman of the legit-
innate business of the country.