Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-13
A BRIGHT OUTLOOK.
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

The solidity OF financial affairs at this
center has been abundantly demonstrated
during the past week by the way in which
the Stock Exchange withstood the depress-
ing influences of the Oil Creek disaster, of the
failure in London of the new Oriental Bank,
OF the unfavorable weather at the West, and
OF the Minneapolis Convention. Any one of
these factors, singly, would have been
enough to bring tol1ght weakness if any had
existed.
Numbers Of my readers can probably re-
mem Der how the loss of the steamer Arctic,
the Chicago conflagration, the assassination
OF Garfield and other calamities of that
nature produced decided little panics when
cent results of the collapse of Barring & Co.
in London. Political distractions too, are
notoriously hostile to the maintenance of
prices. and the Presidential year is always
expected to be bad one for trade. just
now, however, neither flood nor fire nor great
bankruptcies nor the excitement of nomi-
mating Presidential candidate have made
more than q transient impression upon the
market and even the addition to them of
renewed shipments of gold has failed to
create alarm.
This extraordinary f1rmness is undoubt-
edly due to the abundance of money seek
Ing borrowers. and this, again, to the scare
fty OF borrowers actually needing money
either to carry on existing enterprises or to
was ushered in by the Barring collapse 1s
months ago, has not yet fairly tina wed out,
and capitalists and spectators, both here
oyer s6er about os
waiting for the spring to begin before they
open them.
Speculative Brokers Protesting.
have not kept record of the new un-
dertakings for which money has been bor-
rowed in this city, but the amount in Lon
don for the year SO far is one-seventh less
than during the same period in 1891, one
third less than in $780, and not one-half Of
what it was in 1889. As here so in London,
loud complaints are made by the specula-
tive stock brokers of a decline in their busi-
change pay days having shrunk to three
fourths of their volume in 1890
and q. The the years years Immediately preceding
it, ns,,v me Groksrs who deal prinei
not suffered so much, but they cannot have
escaped the consequences OF the diminished
supply of new bonds and stocks, which has
nearly up to % par, and first rs Class Ss 81 s per cent
municipal corporation bonds to lilo. Even
the French 3 per cents, which stood fort
years about 80, are now selling at about par,
a fact to which the friends of the Republic
exultantly point as proof of it's popularity,
but which really indicates only the scarcity
OF good new investments in France, as well
as In Great Britain and in this country.
Why this abundance of money and scar
city of investments has failed to create an
upward speculative movement here 1 un-
dertook to explain last Monday, by refer
ring to the discredit into which have fallen
the immense amount. OF railroad stocks
which for many years furnished the staple
for speculative operations. The really good
stocks of this class have been bought by in
vestors and Withdrawn almost entirely
from the field of everyday dealings, while
the poor ones show so little probability of
Improvement that they are not tempting.
The favorable conditions of the market,
which ought to send them up, barely result
in keeping them from going down.
Chances for the Industrials.
Even Western Union Telegraph stock,
which in my experience has been up and
down like a sky rocket, hundreds of times,
has settled nearly If not quite into an inac-
tive condition, and for the last IL months
has done nothing but go up upon purchases
by people who buy it for the sake of divi-
which are now dividing per cent and up
ward in their selling prices, shall have sue
ceeded in getting the confidence of the pub
lie, they will probably exhibit like i'm
One great bugbear Of the market, free sill
yer coinage, which, entirely without reason
in my opinion, has deferred a great many
people from investing in stocks. seems now
in fair way to be removed. The renomina-
tion in the Republican party of President
declared enemy of free silver,
upon platform which demands the mainte-
nance OF the parity of silver with gold, $50
that the purchasing and debt paying power
of the dollar whether of silver, gold or paper
shall be at all times equal" commits the
party logically ,notwithstan ding the explana-
tions of the silver men, against the unlimited
coinage of the metal; and it is unlikely that
the Democrats will declare distinctly in
favor of it, because if they do they will i'm
peril their success in the Eastern and Mid
die States. The most that they will do,
fancy, will be to adopt resolution similar
to that of the Republicans, only little more
lna do nf oil all hi ntyi11
become a law during the life of the present
Congress is nearly certain, and the recent
speech on the subject by Senator Sherman
shows that change has come over his
opinions which needs only time to spread to
other political leaders and finally to the
people at large.
The Act of 1890 in Danger.
John Stuart Mill said years ago in his
essay upon August Comte, that "a belief
which has gained the cultivated minds of
my society, unless put down by force, is
certain sooner or later to reach the multi |
Jude" Mr.. Sherman is now not only op-
posed to free silver, but he is opposed to the
lct of July, 1890, which bears his name, and |
lnder which the nation is buying silver to |
,he amount OF nearly $50, ,00O, 600 year, and |
ssuing currency against it, HE sees, as
every sensible man must see, the tendency |
Of the act is to put gold coin to a premium,
md thus drive it out of use as money. This |
g a result which the most fanatical silver |
nan is not prepared to accept, and when |
aver its imminence becomes apparent, as it |
will do very soon. look for repeal OF the |
let OF July, 1880, in accordance with Mr.. |
,herman's Recommendation.
By the way, observe in the Republican |
platform the assertion that "the American |
Whatever may be the pres
mt inclination of our people, tradition
hows that in past times they have been
always monometallists. Down |
20 1884 the country had nothing but the sill
yer standard and since 1884 it has had ex-
'lusively the gold standard: 1t is true that
ge of gold and silver alike at fixed ratio,
,ut that ratio, prior to 1884, SO over-valued
liver that gold was driven out of use, and
is reduction in 1884 drove out silver.
Less Silver in the Small Change.
Plenty of men can remember both the
ime when none but silver coins. American
nd foreign, were in circulation, and the L
ubsequent time when silver dollars were /
worth from TO 10 cents more
han their par value. Indeed, very shortly
fter the passage of the act of 1884, even
american silver quarters and halves disap-
eared from circulation, and the only small
hange to be had was the little worn and de-
reciated Mexican and South American
ieces, more like old buttons than coins.
'inally, in 1883, Congress, to remedy the
vii, reduced the amount of silver in quarter
ollars and hall dollars to so much less than
heir nominal value that it no longer paid
o melt them down, and ever since then n
ollars worth of small change has contained
per cent less silver than a silver dollar.
As to the future, it is pretty safe to say that
his country will not attempt the restoration
f bi-metallism, even on the statute books,
y itself alone, and that international BIZ
netallism is an illusion of which the fixed
ostility of Great Britain will forever pre-
ent the realization.
We have thus favorable to a rise in the
took market, the positive conditions Of
asy money and a dearth of new schemes
Or the employment of it, while the mega
i've forces of apprehensions of disaster