The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-01
BANKER oLEws' VIEWS,
The Financial Outlook as Seen From
Wall street.

The Financial Outlook as Seen From
Wall street.
New York, March SO.-London continues
10 exhibit renewed confidence in our
securities. There has been no important
realizing here on account Of that market
and the operations on the London ex-
change are assuming a quite active phase
1t is evident that British investors have
regained. in an important measure. their
former confidence in our Investments.
The first condition of buying having been
realized. there are other hopeful conse-
quences that are likely to follow. Nearly
everything delt in on the London exchange
has been forced up by recent speculation
to unreasonably high prizes; the main
thing in which IL is now possible to create
an exciting interest is new gold mining
enterprises, which appear to be of a very
dubious and unattractive character. I'M
proved confidence IN our obligations and
their current relatively low prices, to-
gether with the prospect of their Increased
earning capacity, can hardly fail to re-
store very materially the demand Tor
American investments. The extent TO
which this source of demand might alter
nately develop may be inferred from the
fact that the amount of our stocks and
bonds returned in 1898 and 1894, under the
effects of the silver scare. has been gen
orally estimated at not less than $4,000
600. The amount of goldAbearing bonds
exported last week was $2,OO0,00O: but this
week the shipments have been light.
This revival on. the London market is
important as having a direct bearing on
the foreign exchanges. As it was almost
entirely the return of securities that
caused the extraordinary exports of gold
during the late depression, so the renewal
of exports of these obligations will tend TO
hold the shipments of specie in cheek,
thereby facilitating the restorative work
of the loan syndicate and strengthening
the position of the United States treasury.
1t Is also a matter Of some weight, in
our relations with European investors,
that there is now every assurance of an
immediate return to a state OF general
national prosperity AS state OF panic
and depression has always an unfaVorable
effect upon the foreign credit of a nation,
so state of prosperity encourages con-
fdence, for the plain reason that indus
trial activity is conducive to good earnings
and diminishes the risks of investments.
1t may be said that we have not yet
escaped from the unfavorable contipgen-
cies connected with silver; which is true,
But do the United States stand alone in
that respect? Judging from the accounts
that reach us, the commerce OF Great
Britain and her dependencies is suffering
much more than ours from this cause.
And in Germany the important agrarian
interest has espoused the cause of
bimetallism with an energy which shows
that country to be vitality concerned in
the silver question. Indeed, it may be Sc
riously questioned whether, as a political
issue, there is more danger of unwhole-
some legislation on this question in the
United states than theresis in either Of
these two nations. Under these circum-
stances, it is not easy to see why Eng
land should single out our investments
for special discrimination on account or
our silver agitation. The truth is that the
late alarm among British holders of our
securities was caused less by the silver
situation as such, than by the fact that
the United States treasury might be-
come incapacitated for keeping its demand
obhgations-gree and Sherman
nOtes-On a parity with gold. They were
less concerned about the amount of our
silver circulation than about the supply of
gold available for keeping the legal ten
ders at par. They have the utmost conf
dence in other countries whose stock OF
silver is propoHtonately quite equal TO
ours; and they would have had no dis
trust in our case had the treasury been
assured of a stock of gold which could
not be exhausted by the holders of 500, 00o,
0oO of government demand obligations.
The United States government had no
such assurance; and consequently It was
subject TO a drain which might possibly
involve inconceivable arrangement to
every form of investment, excepting pos
sibly such as were payable in gold coin.
That was our weak point, and It was the
chief cause of the return upon us of the
immense amount Of foreign-held obIiga~
lions not payable specifically in gold.
That danger has been remedied by the
loan syndicate, which has not only replen-
ished the gold reserve of the treasury, but
also affords reasonable assurance that the
government will be protected against any
such contingencies as have brought the
treasury so near to the suspension of gold
payments We risk little in saying that,
for. so long as the government is Shielded
at this point, there viii be no effective
reason why Europe should not maintain
it's former regard for American securities.