The herald., 1896-02-07
SCHEDULING THE BOND BIDS
The Accepted Rate Is Not Yet
~ Known
MORGAN & co. TAKE HALF
Treasury Officials Rejoice Over the
Popular Feature
President Cleveland Expresses the Opinion
That Hueh Of the Gold Comes
From Small Holders

scheduling and classifying the bids opened
yesterday was resumed today. Un:il il Is
completed no definite information can be
obtained as to the amounts bid for at each
of the several rates or how low a rate will
be accepted.
The bid of J. P. Morgan and associates
undoubtedly will be accepted for large
amount, variously estimated at from s45,-
100000 to $50 100000. All legitimate
bids at ratio above that submitted by
Morgan QlO,667) will be accepted, and
all bids below that rate will be rejected.
Itwas expected by treasury officials the
secretary would be able to exercise some
discretion in the acceptance of bids, and
therefore be in a position to give prefer
ence to parties who would agree to. obtain
their gold from abroad, The fact, how
by Morgan must be accepted, precluding
the possibility of his making any discrim.
ination whatever, except in rare cases
where the bidder shows he has foreign gold
on the way here, and asks for a slight ex.
tension of time to make his deposit. IL is
believed the secretary will grant such re-
quests.
Treasury officials are especially eratified
| at the success of the popular subscription
feature of the loan, and stated that while
| the schedules of the bidders undoubtedly
will show very large percentage of banks
| and monied institutions, 1t is indisputably
true that in very many cases and possibly
| in q majority of them the banks act as the
! agents of the private individuals who are
| the real purchasers. This 10 shown to be
true by an instance cited al the time Of the
| last subscription issue. A New York firm
bid in $1,0O0,O0O of the bonds and the
| treasury officials took sufficient interest in
| the matter to follow them to their final deg
tinations. 1t was found that the bank act
! ed for four large interior banks and each
of them in turn acted in part for number
OF country banks and they for individual
! customers, that the bonds we're finally dis
| tributed among several hundred private
| parties. This will be the result, it is be-
lieved, in a very large number of cases. of
| bids for the present issue. 1t is also be-
| lieved that the certainty that no bid can be
accepted at rate lower than 81 l0.6S77
will have the effect of releasing large
! quantities of gold which have been accum-
| ulated by unsuccessful bidders. Having
no further use for their surplus holdngs,
it is argued that large portion of 1t will
! find it's way into the sub-treasury.
= TIE souEcs OF THE GOLD,
| New YORK, Feb 6.-The Evening Post
publishes an interview with President
Cleveland regarding the bond issue, in
which he says:
"From such information ss comes to me-
from private sources, AMI convinced that
the more small holdings of gold will be
drawn into the treasury by the present ar
rangement than appears,on the surface.
The small country banks, for instance,
which are buying bonds for their custom
ers, have made their bids through their
New YORK and Boston correspondents and
ing been taken UP by the big financial in
sttutions at the money centers, although
as matter Of fact not a little of it will
ultimately come from small investors"
The subject of the syndicate contract of
February, 1895, having been mentioned,
Mr.. Cleveland remarked that he had never
had reason to question the wisdom of that
arrangement under the conditions then eX.
isting. -
That contract" he added, "helped us
at time when forty.seht hours delay
might have produced serious results. I
sympathize, nevertheless, with some OBJ
jections to that form OF placing a loan
The difference between the price obtained
from the syndicate and the price currently
quoted can be twisted into an argument
which will appeal TO the people who do not
stop to calculate the actual cost to the syn
dcate of floating the loan at that time
My preference would have been to have
had the present loan more popular than it
appears on its face. but we have done the
best we could, The people who hoard
email savings of gold or the equivalent OF
gold are unaccu5tomed 10 transacting bust
ness on the basis on which those bonds had
to be issued; they are unused to premiums
or to the formali;ies Of making bids. If we
could have sold Them 3 per cent gold bonds
at par think it would have brought out a
good deal of this gold; but the only bonds
The Law allows us to issue have to be sold
considerably above par in order to keep
the net rare of interest within reasonable
limit"
The NATION s ABILITY
NEW York, Feb. 6.-The chamber of
commerce held mee'ing today and
adopted, on motion of President j. Ed
ward Simmons of the Fourth National
bank, the following resolutions:
Resolved, That this chamber recognizes
that the grateful pride and confidence of
the people in the financial strength of the
country as expressed by the large sub.
nounced yesterday. The chamber believes
the extraordinary success Of this loan
should dispel every doubt as to the ability
and intention of the United States govern
ment to redeem all its obligations in the
best money of the world.
ENGLIsH CoNGRATULATIoN
LONDON. Feb. 1.-The financial article in
the Times this morning., speaking of the
bids for the United States loan, says:
Allowing for all deductions through du-
plicate tenders, etc., tue result must be as
salts factory to the United States govern
ment as such q loan could be. Probably
the gold held in readiness will not
only supply the first installment,
but will also furnish portion
Of the second installment, If 1t can be re-
tanned for that purpose. 1t is quite plain
that the American people. including all The
leading men and business and financial
institutions, are not afraid congress will
pass measures yet committing the country
10 the silver standard. Still we cannot re.
gard the loa1 as anything but a tenn
porary palliative. The second in
stallment may be Forthcoming, but
it is difficult to see . how the
three succeeding installments can be met
in gold unless European confidence re-
wives to such an extent that American Sc.
curities will again be bought freely in Eu-
rope. Undoubtedly the present remark
able display of confidence by the Amer
ican people will help in that direction, but
the careful investors will continue to feel
rnisgivings until the present monetary sys-
tenn is reformed. g.ss.
The Times also has an editorial on the