Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-08-16
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.
Showing Made by the Bank Statement for
the Week.

cent. rule.
Col. w. L. Trenholm, president of the
American Surety Company says, Ill ref
erence to the present situation Of the
money market:
Leaving out of view all questions rs to the
underlying causes of the present condition
of things, and looking at Wallpapers 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, 000, 900 of greenbacks, $1S6, 000, 900 of
national bank notes, about $500, 900 of treas
ury notes issued under the act of 1890, and
about 5000, 000 600 of silver dollars making
of what may be called government money,
an aggregate of 81 $4,000, 900 to 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, 600, 900. If this latter estimate
is correct there would appear
to be about $4,000, 900, 900 ready money, of
which SO large part has gone suddenly
out of sight that what remains as q visible
supply is being bought and sold like mer-
chandise. ut is certainlya 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. Thequestion
naturally appears why should people paya
premium for money that is of unqueStion-
able intrinsic value? The answers, for the
same reason that people will hire Intrinsic
ally unsafe and incOnvenicnt vehicles when
no others are to be had. The money for
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.
Bradstreet's 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 a crisis in the cotton re-
glens, 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-
come plain that few, if any of the Southern
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 be moved at all. Inasmuch as it
costs $3.50 a bale for picking, ginning press
ing and baling cotton, about $50,00O0OO for
gathering and preparing for shipment of
a crop of 100000 bales, it becomes
plain that the phrase advancing
funds to move the cotton crop" has
a 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
S0O,COO,OOO or more to move the
cotton crop has become a serious
one. 1t is with considerable pleasure,
therefore, that Bradstreets learns that an ar
rangement was made yesterday by the sec
gency referred to, by which the government,
on the deposit of currency with the sub
treasury at New York, will on being adj
vised Of that fact telegraph the sub-treasury
at New Orleans an order to pay a like sum
of money in sil> er dollars. This arrange
ment must go far to relieve the financial
stringencv at the South with respect to the