Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-03-07
WHY WE SHIP GOLD
Perils Of Free Silver legisls-
ton Made Apparent.
HENRY clfws WEEKLY DIGEST
Foreign Markets Fear Depreciation ol
vsiass--Miliiens Of Securities Being
Rssurnse--0ssia Shipments

NEw YoEx. March 6.--The stoek
market is flooded With 'mystsrles" and
rumors Of gigantic railroad deals upon
an unprecedented scale as being either
in progress or already accomplished.
Details Of these have filed tue daily
press for weeks past, but only such op.
orators az are within the charmed cir
cles appear 10 know the true iuward-
ness OF many OF them. AZ conse-
quence. ludgm ent passes Tor little in
estimating the future value OF msny
securities. for the market 10 almoet
wholly under the control or COMPARE
lively few persons. whose operations
must inevitably influence the vaiuo OF
thousands OF millions OF stocks aud
bonds. Never in the history OF Wall
street WAS the value Of such an enor-
mous aggregation OF securities so abso-
lutely under the control Of 30 ANAL 4
circle a. ct this time. Aggressons os
this sort by capital are sure TO be- fol-
lowed by reprisals on the part Of labor,
while the demagogue in politics re-
quires no better material for his anti
monopoly cry than these combines to
restrict competition. ana the labor agi-
tator finds his best argument for q
strike in the increasing profits Of capt.
tai.
There is one other factor which is
again becoming influential in Wall
street. and that is the silver question.
Already il is producing important
effects which had not been expected to
appear A. this early stage in the out
vwArktn0S IF x,> s,lvar ~ ~f 1S0n frh.,
renewal OF the exports of gold has
proved an eye-opener. During the year
1891 our exports OF goods and specie
exceeded our imports OF the like items
by $lS5. 600 900. and for the first two
months OF 1892 fully the same rate of
excess has been maintained. 1t might
have been expected that under such
circumstances We should now be Inn
porting large amounts of gold to settle
this large apparent trade balance IN
our favor. The fact is. however, that
We are called upon to export gold
How are we to account for this ex.
traordinary movement? After setting
off. against this creditor balance OF 2lt
millions for the last fourteen months,
all that may have accrued against us
In Europe on account or interest,
freight ON imports. undervaluations.
ETC., there ought to be q balance in
our favor OF something like lis mil
lions; for an average of the last decade
| about 50 millions surplus Of exports
over imports has sufficed to liquidate
these debtor items. There arises from
these facts the strongest possible pre-.
sumption that, since the beginning oi
$50. considerably over 100 millions oil
our securities have been returned from
Europe, for tho credit balance has un
qucstiorably been settled, and there il
| no other way in which it could have
been done except by the return oil
| stocks, bonds. etc. This reflux of ouI
securities dates from the period of the
enactment of the last eilyer law, which
doubled the government purchases Of
oliver. Ii is c0incldcnt with an opinion
everywhere entertained in European
| financial circles, and emphasized b,
I, tho foreign press, that the course Of
legislation and the bias of popular opin
| ion In this country indicated grave
| possibility that our currency system
might become subject TO general de
| probation of value, which would cor
respondingly diminish the value of al
| our securities not made specifically
payable in gold. As Europe holds
many hundreds of millions of Ameri
can securities of the very kind tina
would he subject to such deteriora
ton, it is nothing more than might be
expected that our Obligations shoule
be returned in extraordinary amounts
and the more 80 ss the New York mar
ket has been IN q condition to tax,
4 N
ton. ~
Over one hundred millions of secur
tiles returned within fourteen months
This II the startling fact just dawnini
upon the perception of Wall street; ant
it naturally suggests some very grav
inquiries: such for instance as no,
much gol.l should we have had to shi
in payment for these returned secur
tiles, had we not been favored with al
extraordiny surplus of cereals whicl
Europe happened to need? How ar
we to pay for any further amounts tina
NAV be so returned? What dimension
may this futnre refiux of investment
assume, shouh the mania for fire
coinsge continue to control the cours
of legislation, And. with only som,
$50, o0o, 600 of gold in the treasury, vu,
side the required reserve against green
backs, where u the gold to come fror
TO satisfy these two possible foreig
drains2 II il thus seen that the silve
mania 10 bringing Us much nearer TO
perlleus verge than il 10 pleasant
contemplate. and that unless the mad
ness Of free silver agitation can be i
soms way stayed, We may witness
serious disturbance of pubic Confide enc
much earlier than has hecn supp0se
possible. Under these circumstance
the main hope OF Wall street is in tn
possible formation OF an internations
conference 10 settle the whole iilvc
problem upon . bread and sure foun
dation. Secretary Fosters visit 1
Europe for the understood purposs 9
conference with the British govern
mert is therefore hailed with great sa'
isfsction as aHording the only way G
escape from grave possibilities.
HESRY CLBws.