The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-01
BANKER CLEws' VIEWS.
The Financial Outlook as Seen From
Wall Street.

Wall Street
New York, April 2S.-Wan street is
still brooding cautiously over a situation
beset with uncertainty of one kind or
| another. The crops, the tariff, the cur
! rency, the specter of financial section
alism, the significance of the new tramp
element in politics, the wide prevalence
of strikes, and the new peace element in
Europe with its probable effect upon in
| ternatlonal investments-all these mat
tiers, important in themselves and some of
them 1raught with significant pOssibii-
ties, are felt to demand attention, and
| yet Tor the moment they are in a condi-
/ ton of suspense.
Perhaps there is nothing in any of them
that conveys any distinct menace: but the
TACT that changes are impending in so
many matters which may more or less in
huence the future of investment, is calcu-
| lated to hold business in suspense. Trans
actions are therefore of a fragmentary
character. and there are no symptoms of
any large concerted movement calculated
| TO materially AFFECT values. Holders of
| the hoatlng supplies of securities. how
ever, see nothing to disturb their conf
dence; and raiders find nothing to encour-
! age attacks, but are wary in their tactics
On one point there is very general
months. the principal of these uncertain
/ ties Will have been settled; and the ex-
pectatlOn is very general that the results
' Will contribute to material recovery of
| confidence and large revival of business.
| The proba bilities of the moment point to
| the enactment of the tariff bill, but in a
| form more lenient toward manufacturers
| than was proposed in the measure as it
| was passed by the House of Represent
| atlves. Those ameliorations have a ten
dency TO encourage confidence. The
| rates of duty however, are perhaps
| less important TO the major
part OF our industries than the
| rates of wages. Upon a wide range of
| important products, the present duties
! go beyond the strict requirements of pro
| lection, and the new duties will suffice to
keep out the foreign goods This is a
rule OF wide application; but more than
| this is most probably needed. There has
been a general reduction in the prices of
| the foreign goods with which our manu-
facturers have to compete; and to meet
that change it may be found necessary
that there be reduction in the rate of
wages. That is the one condition upon
which successful resumption of active
business is more or less depend
| ent. The general demand in the manu-
| featuring and mining industries for lower
| wages thus becomes matter of the first
| Importance to the revival for which all
| interests are hoping So far, the trad es
unions are Offering stubborn resistance,
| upon broad scale TO this demand; and
it does not seem impossible that the
! struggle may be prolonged. That labor
will have 10 yield in the end, there can be
no doubt; for manufacturers are now in
| no position to continue doing business al
a loss and will prefer stopping their
works to taking that course. 1t thus be-
! comes question whether, following the
| tariff uncertainties, we are to have
| labor conflict Upon that hangs the
| further queStlOn-whcn may we hope
to see our industries restored to
basis of reasonably active prosperity7
| Could the doubts on that point be removed,
| there would be a solid basis of confidence
| in the revival of trade; for in all other
respects, the country is prepared for an
active resumption of trade and for the I'M
dertaking of enterprises that would afford
| free employment for labor and capital
! For our part, Notwithstanding the present
unyielding attitude of labor, we incline
| to the opinion that rational
| public opinion win bring about
a second thought among the unions that
| will bring them TO soon accept
the inevitable. There is no other posi-
| bic event that could so greatly conduce to
a quick revival of business. Whilst prob
resumption of work until the tariff bill
was finally enacted, yet no one familiar
with the present anxiety to employ inn
| mense accum ulationS of idle capital will
| have any doubt that. under such clrcum-
stances, ways would be found for start
| ing up a vast amount of non-manu-
| featuring enterprise. The bui ding
trade would revive under the induce
ments of cheaper costs of materials and
work. The last four years of nominal
railroad construction has created oppor-
| tunities for the building of new roads, and
| the needful capital is only waiting for the
opportunity that lower wages would af
| ford. But low rates of interest will not
! out terms of labor that will insure costs of
construction proportional to the lower
basis of prices that has come apparently
to stay. We are therefore upon the verge
of possibility, and we may hope prob
ability in the labor market that will sud
denly change the whole aspect of business
and introduce a return to comparative
prosperity
The remarkable bids for the Paris loan,
amounting to 100 times the sum of bonds
offered, and the offers for the German
loan to three times the amount sought
are striking. evidences of the extraordi-
! employment. This is not without signti-
canoe to our own Investments. When this
questions now pending in congress have
been disposed Of the uncertainties which
now temporarily check the European de-
mand for our issues will disappear, and
New York will be benefited by the in
vestment demand of London, Paris and
Berlin.