The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-08-30
FINANCIAL REVIEW.
Henry Clew's Weekly Letter on the
Subject.

past week has afforded fair speci-
men of the sort of effects the end of
tariff suspense has in store for Wall
street. The feeling is that of uni
versal relief from a universal OBJ
struction. The way has been
opened to a resumption of trade and
enterprise in every direction; and
IN all interests there is a disposition
to resume operations on something
like a normal scale. There are no
longer any great fears, nor any
reasons for timidity, overhanging
the markets. In every branch of
trade, stocks Of merchandise are in
a starved condition; and the reasons
which have for fifteen months caused
buyers to pursue policy of hand
to-mouth supply are disappearing.
AS rule, prices of merchandise are
unprecedently low; so that if the
purchasing ability of consumers has
been lessened, that difficulty is off
SCI by proportionate reduction in
the costs of living and in the
amount of OUTLAWS at large. Cred
its, as a rule, are in sound and
wholesome condition.; so that the
merchant who desires to enlarge his
stock and extend his trade can
have the needful time facilities, and
at exceptionally low rates of inter
est.
These conditions certainly lay
the basis for a sound and healthy
revival of business. There is in the
intrinsic state of affairs little to
suggest misglvings as to the future;
there is, in the contrary, much cal
culated to establish confidence in a
continuous, steady, stable and con-
serYatiye course Of trade. The
country has learned some serious
lessons and therefore is disposed to
be sober; but it is also very hungry
for more trade and better profits,
and is therefore disposed to turn to
active account every chance for i'm
proving both, For the last four
years, the perception of a coming
change in our tariff policy has had
a more REFRESHING effect upon enter
prise than is generally supposed;
and the fact that that change has at
last come, with little prospect of
its being much disturbed for some
years to come, prepares the way for
many long postponed undertak jngs.
The fact of the common cheapness
Of materials and of the quite gen.
eral reduction of wages has a very
direct tendency to invite revival in
certain important branches of trade,
especially those connected with
building, machine plant, public i'm
provements and railroads. How far
the reduced scale of prices and the
ex lptlon Of raw materials from
duty may enable us to increase our
export trade remains to be seen; in
in the meantime, however, it is a
hopefully significant fact that last
years reduction in values was at
tended by an increase in our exports
of S3S, 100000. as compared with
the year 1928.
The recovery that now seems to
be setting in is something broader
than a revival from the effects Of
last years panic. That crisis,
though Immediately incident to the
great silver fright, embraced also
the effects of the deeper derange-
ments that set in with the great
Barings suspension, and of which
that failure was but a symptom. |
Those arrangements were largely in
the nature of over-production. over
specializing, over-trading, and were
worldwide in their influence, and |
their effects still continue in the
persistent depression of trade in
every European nation. If the re-
covery from these four years of
reaction first makes its appearance
in the United States, it is nothing
more than might be expected from
the greater resiliency of our re-
sources and from the fact that we
have been less intimately connected |
with the disturbing causes than
have other countries. 1t is reason
able to hope, however, that recov-
cry on this side the Atlantic will
tend to stimulate improvement on
the other side; and thus it may
quite possibly happen that the for
eign markets, both commercial and |
financial, will respond to the i'm
proving tendency in our own.
HENRY CLEWS.
The Wool Market.
The market is steady Init trade |