Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-08-17

changes:
Reserve, decrease 52l,515
spe ais decrease. 600
Legal tenders, decrease. 600
Deposits, decrease. 14l,loo
Circulation, lncrease....... 1o3,lUo
The banks are now $l6,545, 1915 below
the legal requirements Of the % per
cent. rule.
Col. w. L. Trenholm, president of the
American Surety Company says, in ref
erence to the present situation Of the
money market:
Leaving out of view all questions as tothe
underlying causes of the present condition
of things, and looking at what appears only
on the surface, the most striking fact is the
sudden disappearance OF coins and notes
from the ordinary channels of circulation.
In round numbers there is in existence about
$475, 100000 of greenbacks, $1S5, 600, 900 of
national bank notes, about $500 600 of treas
ury notes issued under the act of 1890, and
about $500 900, 600 of silver dollars, making
of what may be called government money,
an aggregate of 81, $50, 600, O0Oto which must
be added the gold coins in the country,
which, exclusive of that in the treasury is
estimated at about $3.50, 100000 to
$500, 100000. If this latter estimate
is correct there would appear
to be about $1,000, 900 ready money, OF
which so large part has gone suddenly
out of sight, that what remains as a visible
supply is being bought and sold like mer-
chandise. cit is certainly strange thing
that panic that has its origin in distrust
as to the value Of our currency should now
have reached stage in which this very cur
rency commands premium. The questlon
naturally appears, why should people pay a
premium for money that is of unquestion-
able intrinsic value? The answer is, for the
same reason that people will hire Intrinsic
ally unsafe and incOnvenient vehicles when
| i l.
which premium is being paid is needed
for the transaction of values which cannot
be otherwise transferred, and so long as it
answers this purpose better than any other
vehicle Of public obtainable so long will
people pay tor its use.
Bradstreets says to-day:
Special kilograms to Bradstreet's, and in
formation received through the trade and
the press within few days. have indicated
the likelihood of crisis in the cotton re-
gions owing to the inability of banking
institutions there to advance funds
necessary to move the cotton crop with any
thing like the usual freedom. 1t had be-
banks would if they could, advance funds
to cotton buyers to enable the latter to hold
the staple for an advance in price, and re-
cent disturbances among Southern tinan-
cial institutions began to raise the
question how the cotton crop
was TO De moved at ali. lnaSnuc dS IL
costs $3.50 bale for picking ginning, press
ing and baling cotton, about $50, 100000 for
gathering and preparing for shipment of
crop of 100000 bales, it becomes
plain that the phrase advancing
funds to move the cotton crop" has
real and living meaning. A con-
siderable proportion Of the cotton
crop is raised by negro tenant planters, and
the owners of the land as rule are ex-
pected to make the necessary advances to
the tenant to provide for picking, ginning
pressing and baling the cotton. But with
Southern banks using clearing house certiti-
Gates and in many instances permitting de-.
positors to withdraw only trivial sums Of
money daily, the problem how to borrow
$50, 600, 900 or more to move the
cotton crop has become serious
one. 1t is with considerable pleasure
therefore, that Bradstreets learns that an ar
rangement was made yesterday by the sec
rotary of the treasury, in view Of the emer-
gency referred to, by which the government,
on the deposit of currency with the sub
treasury at New York, will on being ad-
vised of that fact telegraph the subtreasury
at New Orleans all order to pay like sum
of money in sil,e dollars. This arrange
ment must go far to relieve the financial
stringency at the South with respect to the
cotton crOD ~