Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-01

stocks, which fwould considerably swell the
aggregate and show larger gain for last
week How IL. any of the orders executed
came from out Of town, and how many were
given here on t. he spot, there is no means oi
compG ting, but this is unimportant The
great thing Tor tl le brokers is that the pub
lie is beginning to take more interest in
stock specuIatio n in spite of gold exports
labor troubles, the snti-option bill, and low
prices for breads tufts and cotton. Even the
prospect OF q disruption of the Western
Traflc Associatiotn, as likely from the with
driwal of the tChicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad company, has had little or
no effect upon Ehe prices OF Western rail-
road stocks Thei crops, it seems to be sup
posed, will be Sufficiently abundant to fur
nish business enSpugh all around, without
the rate cutting W Yifch in former years has
been so disastrous&
Redundancy of Our Currency
The renewal of gold exports, just as the
shipments of the n4w crop of wheat are be-
ginning, bears eloqt tuent witness to the re-
dundancy of our cuSrency caused py the ad-
dition to it of the 81 O00, 600 and more every
month in coin, isstSed under the act of
July, 1890 The talk or obstruoting the out
flow of the metal Oy stlch feeble devices as
charging an extra pricSe for bars over coin,
and of refusing to redeem greenbacks in
gold when the gold is known to be wanted
for export, is puerile. The only measure
that could prove at all effective would be a
Simultaneous suspensionN of gold payments
by the Treasury and by the banks, but even
that obstacle wonld soon Se overcome Ex-
porters would supply the Anselves from out
side sources, and wnateveE premium they
price of imports Thus we should ruin our
By the way, wa p NOBODY RSd in wAn street seems
to take AustrIa's requirements Tor gold to
carry out its new financial scheme seriously
into consideration as an element in the ex-
ports of gold from this country. 1t is true
that the scheme has not yet been fully en-
acted by law, but a beginning has been made,
and the rest is only question iof time. The
hungarian minister announced the other
day to the Hungarian Diet that he had al.
ready quietly secured his quota of the nee
essary gold. and it is quite likely that his
Austrian colleague has been equally pru-
dent in providing his share. Hence the
gold shipments, which it puzzles so many
people to account ior, may have been partly
naue to supply Austria with gold, in q
roundabout way, though the fact will be con-
cealed until secrecy is no longer necessary.
Wild Ideas About State Banks.
In view of this foreign demand for gold
and of the rapid increase of the volume of
our currency through the operation of the
act of July, 1890, 1 cannot understand upon
what sound principle the repeal of the pro-
hibitory tax upon State bank circulating
notes is demanded. Apart from the evils of q
afflicted the country before the circulation
Of state banks was suppressed, its issue now
would open another floodgate and let more
notes into our already heavily watered stock
OF paper money Some men, know, have q
wTlG idea that State banks, if allowed to
issi>e currency, would do so only when it was
draw ic as soon as that Demand ~e cessed. m,n nnt
they evidently reckon without aking into
account the cupidity of bank officers Cur
rency once issued by the tanks would be
issued forever, and would be a constant
menace to the permanence OF specie pay
ments.
Another interesting currency complica-
tion has been created by a recent ruling of
the Government fixing the actual value of
the Austrian silver horin at q higher rate
than It's bullion value. The form. when it
about As cents. Since then, by the deprecia
tfon OF silver, its bullion value has fallen to
i ABOUT % cents ms, B9t' on the other hand, the
and owing to the restriction thus put uron
the volume of pieces in circulation, its ex-
changeaole value is now about 40 cents 1t
is at this value that the Austrian Govern
ment proposes to redeem it in gold, under
the new finance laws now under considera-
tion.
Complications as to Customs.
The Director of the Mint, looking only to
the weight of silver in #, has officially pro-
claimed it to be worth only 80 cents, and
according to this rate importers OF goods
from Austria have heretofore been accus.
toned to pay duties. Our Government now
contends that, inasmuch as the goods are
bought and paid for at the rate OF 40 cents
to the f2rin, the duties on them should be
e collected at the same rate, which seems to
lie reasonable, though the importers make a
loud outcry against it. and talk of appealing
to the courts for redress.
A sudden temporary drop was caused in
the price or sugar stock, Thursday morning,
by rumor that the duty on imported re-
fined sugar WAS about to be repealed by Con-
gress. The rumor was soon discovered to
be false, and a moments reflection ought to
have shown everybody that a measure of
sucn importance could not possibly pass
even the House of Representatives at this
stage OF the session. much less the Senate
Still, the effect produced by it is valuable as
warning OF the precarious condition of the
sugar-renning industry in this country, and
OF its liability to serious injury, If not to
ruin, from legislative caprice
At present raw sugar comes in free of duty
and the product of American refineries is
protected by duty of IL cents per pound
To compensate the Louisiana planters for
the loss OF the protection they formerly en-.
sugar, as well as to encourage the growth of
sugar from beets and from sorghum the
MSh9ieg noana g6 tariff III gives bounty of cents
amounting to about sl5 900, 900 year.
Possibility of the Bounty's Repeal
It is quite possible that, in view of the
deficit in the national revenue for the wear
just ended, and which will probably be
larger this current year, the duty on raw
sugar may be restored next winter and the
bounty repealed. This would involve n re-
adjustment of the duty on imported refined
sugar, the result of which might be a serjous
diminutlon of the profits of American re-
6neries.
Evidently the public in general is not yet
convinced that any of the industrial stocks,
sugar included, can be counted on to nav
dividends at the rate they are now paving
for any length of time. Otherw ise they
would give much more for them than they
do. With good railroad stocks anu bonds,
bank stocks, trust company stocks and
municipal bonds selling at prices which
yield the purchasers per cent per annum
and less the selling of 8 and 10 DER cent in
dustrial stocks at about par is expainable
only by a lack of confidence in their future
The sagacious investors who can discern
this future with accuracy, and who have the
courage to act upon their convictions, will
undoubtedly gain large profits, but how to
acquire this prophetic foresight is the prob
lem.
An Important fact brought out by the
Homestead lockout is that the machinery
for making iron and steel has been so i'm
proved that little or no human skill is
needed to run it. The green hand Employed
IN the place OF the locked-out men at the
Carnegie mills have, it is claimed, learned
in iew days TO turn out slabs and plates
as wei as the old hands, who fancied that
only they were competent to do the work.
Machinery a strike-Bresker.
If this is true L stall have to modify the
opinion expressed last Monday, thatin the
present contest between the workmen and
their old employers the odds al in iavor of
the men; Y the employers can draw for all
the hanc hey need upon the immense sur
plus OF SiIled labor which has defied all
effort Sganize it, they are independent
of therunion men, and must win victory
over them.
The small shopkeepers in Paris are
demanding of the Government projection
against the competition of the great es-
tablishments like the Louvre and the Bon