The herald., 1893-08-20
REAL ESTATE AND FINANCE,
ssbKeview Of the Week in None
sss sss' tary Circles.
SsdS0uthern California Better or Than
Other Sections.
Los Angeles Banks In Good Condition.
ae4 A Pointer on Contracts = How
+. Expenses Are Multiplied.
Real Estate, Etc.

81 From all quarters comes the repeated
and emphatic utterances OF intelligent
observers to the effect that no city OF
!. the United States today enjoys go great
: freedom from business depression and
!. mercantile disaster as Los Angeles.
] Elsewhere there are serious and growing
labor disturbances, failures and shutting
down Of manufacturing enterprises
banks and capitalists going to the wall.
The country is passing through severe
and unprecedented experience which Is
bsing borne with . resolute, dszed de-
termination that will hereafter be looked
back upon with wonder. For the ele-
mont OF sspanic'' in its wild sense has
been entirely wanting, and people OF the
most mistrustful type have confined
themselves to comparatively quiet
course. No one believes that perma-
nent disaster to the country is going to
result from theee financial troubles.
The will power of the nation is strong
enough to throw of the threatened dis
ease, but the necessary purgation is
slow and disagreeable. Congress as
sembles and the precious days are slip
ping by, while the most important thing
done thus far has been to settle the
milesge question. The greet issues are
meanwhile being cautiously handled
and an impatient public 10 waitin$ to
see them ''go off"
Putting aside all differences Of opinion
ae to the causes OF the present condition
Of things il il agreed on all hands that
there 10 no chance of q restoration OF
public confidence until the all-absorbing
silver question has been disposed of.
Meanwhile the discussion goes on in the
press and the patent remedies suggested
for the disease affecting the circulatory
system are beyond count. 1t is notice
able, too, that there Ii a popular mis-
conception OF the meaning of that awful
word characterization" which occurs
With polysyllabic frequency in every
other sentence of any discussion upon
the silver topic. 1t seems frequently
taken by unscientific writer's to mean
that the metal in question has been
whereas it simply means that the gov
ernment stops coming silver for private
persons.
A hue and cry has also been raised
against the secretary of the treasury
: lor not paying silver certificates
in silver when he is vested
{ with discretionary power to pay them in
silver or gold. It is forgotten that the
act expressly states that he may ire
deem such notes in gold or silver at his
/ fdiscretion, il being the established pol
:. Icy Of the United States to maintain the
: Two metals on parity with each other
upon the present legal ratio. or such
ratio as may be provided by law"
When, therefore, gold is demanded by
the holder Of silver certificate, the Sec
retary is bound to pay it out, otherwise
what becomes of the ''parity" which 1t
is the duty Of the secretary under the
act to maintain
A NEW YORK PLANT.
Dnn's Review Of the 18th inst. has the
following to say on the situation as it is
viewed in New York:
"The long desired meeting of congress,
presidents message which fully an
sswered expectations, and the arrival OF
tl3,280, 900 gold from Europe, with &c.
F, 600, 900 more on the way, have not
brought the improvement many antici-
pated. Stocks are stronger, but failures
continue and the closing OF industrial
: establishments idle hands multiply and
silent shops; and the disorganization of
! domestic exchanges il even greater than
Z week ago. Yet there IL more hope
full spirit, though the nation looks to
Warrington with some impatience when
the senate seems disposed to rival the
mills in working short time. While
statesmen consider, merchants and
bankers and unemployed thousands
anxiously walt, knowing that the
wrecks OF each passing week make the
task of recovery more difficult. There
has been no startling crash, but the
formal failures of banks, including
one In this city and several in
Nashville, number 81. The CONNER
cial disasters are 394 in number.
"The machinery of exchanges has al
most stopped. When $50 per $1,000 is
paid for New York exchanges at Chi
cago, and SIS or $40 at other western
cities, settlements between the east and
the west, which ordinarily amount to
IS, zoe. .O00, 900 in year, become ex-
tremely difficult. Even the New York
Central could not get currency here on
checks Of the Boston and Albany, and
was obliged to send to Boston for the
money. The root Of the trouble is that,
according to reports Of ouly 18th to the
comptroller, over $131, 900. 900 of de-
posits had been withdrawn in two
months from part Of the national banks,
and probably $177, ,000, 900 from all, be-
sides unknown sums from savings, state
and private banks, and during the month
since July 18th, the withdrawal and
: boarding must have been relatively even
greater. A premium of to per scent
is paid for gold, and to per cent for
currency. The government is printing
81 ,260, 900 bank notes daily. The clear
ing house has issued $4,000, 900 more
certificates and the hope is that con-
idence may be revived and hoardings
unlocked"
COMPARISON INDEED.
, Contrasted with the foregoing the
local situation is bright indeed. The
report Of the state bank commissioners
shows that while there was on the lat
ult. . decrease Of about 10000 in the
deposits Of our four national banks, as
compared with the amounts on hand
July /, 1892, and that the deposits Of the
commercial banks were about station
ary, yet there was an increase Of nearly
z 81 ,0O0, 900 in the deposits OF the savings
banks. It is matter of certainty also
that the safe-deposit boxes Of the local
companies are largely filed with the
I, coin of timid depositors who have not
yet recovered sufficient confidence to
put their treasure to ug0. but, like the