Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-17
THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

AS is naturally the case, Wall street
shows some fluctuations following on
the death of Jay Gould, and the unfor-
tunate lack of encouraging features at
the Brussels conference. The last cir
cular of Henry Clews takes a rather SAN
guine view OF the situation. The cleo
ton of Cleveland is interpreted as hav-
ing an inimical bearing on trusts and
combines, whose securities are largely
dealt in on the exchange. Having
enumerated all the elements OF distrust,
the outflow of gold, the imminent mod
ifcation OF the tariff on the lines of the
Chicago platform, and the silver ques-
ton, which is looked upon as having as
much importance as all the other dis
turbing elements united, the Clews cir
cular says:
These factors constitute combina-
tion of complications of such an impor-
tant character that nothing short of
serious disturbance of confidence and
disposition to get rid of everything but
the most stable securities might have
been expected to result therefrom.
That, however, has not been the effect.
The successive blows have produced
momentary depressions, followed, how
ever, by prompt recoveries; and today,
while there is a generally conservative
feeling and certain degree of caution,
there is really no discouraging lack of
confidence, and the ''bears" are circum.
spect while the "bulls" show q steady
firmness in holding on. This feeling is
not the result Of any ehort-sighted in
difference to the grave features of the
situation. 1t is rather the consequence
of a serious and intelligent estimate OF
the significance OF these special influ-
ences, the result OF which seems to have
been to assure Wall street that there are
no dangers in the situation which, with
due prudence and steadiness of nerve,
we may not hope to surmount. The
dangers are not ignored nor lightly
watched, but they are regarded as so
possible OF being avoided that it would
be weakly premature to treat them as
certain occurrences.
The circular is dated the 10th inst,
and eince then the outflow of gold has
been unusually large. The crisis is
probably an artificial one, and has been
engineered, in all likelihood, to influence
the Brussels conference adversely to
silver. 1t is a somewhat singular cir
cumstance that the clamor for gold
seems to come exclusively from coun-
tries which maintain the single gold
standard, and mainly from England.
The fright little, tight little isle" ap-
pears to be in bad way. The failure
of the Barings showed upon what
dangerous footing the finances of that
country rest. It is matter of universal
notoriety that an unprecedented panic
was only averted in England, following
upon the heels OF the Barring collapse,
through the assistance of France, bi-
metallic country. And still the insane
greed of the people of fixed incomes and
the coupon CATERS clamors for the de-
struction of silver as a measure OF
values. The United States and France,
the two distinctively double-standard
countries, Ahave enjoyed an unusual
degree OF prosperity during the past
decade, while in both Germany and
England the pressure amongst the
masses to keep the wolf from the door
has led to great distress and TO the stag
nation OF many industries. There is a
pregnant lesson in this fact.