The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-14
BANKER cLEw's VIEWS.
The Financial Outlook as Seen From
Wall Street

wall street.
New York, Dec. 12.-The feeling in trade
circles continues buoyant and hopeful.
Here and there. however, the question is
asked, Where is the great Improvement
in business that was promised as the
consequence of Mr. McKinley's election?
The answer is that it is on it's way,
and will put in its appearance as soon as
the march of the seasons permits. Some
critics of the situation seem to have i'm
agned that the promise of better times
meant that merchants and traders who
had already bought their winter supplies
and were busy clearing them out would
proceed to restock themselves for the sea-
sons trade, and so duplicate their bust
ness at the end of the years business.
This, of course, would not be a revival
of trade, but a commercial madness or a
trade miracle. No intelligent merchants
| have cherished hopes of any such impos-
sihility and yet they have generally ex-
pected great business recovery, and have
no doubt that it did really arrive few
days after the election, and further feel
assured that it has come to stay. They
consider that it is an improvement in BUSH
ness when confidence is well restored,
when hope takes the place of paralyzing
apprehension, when under the influence of
country start into activity, and when the
distributing trades largely increase their
orders Tor the spring business. That is
| the Kind of recovery practical men of
business have anticipated; and the realiza-
| ton of their hopes has not fallen below
their expectations, sanguine as they may
have seemed to pessimistic minds The
full fruition of these Improvements will
| be in evidence when distributors and re-
| taliers begin to supply the demand for
| the spring market; when the unbeeving
| depreciators will have to confess that the
| recovery growing out of the sound money
victory is something more than a myth
There are also bilious persons and pa
| pers who express a great deal of disap-
| pointment because Europe has not been
| led by the election results to buy a large
amount of our securities but has on the
contrary sent home large amount of our
stocks and bonds. This Is another case of
disappointment at the non-appearance of
| miracle. The election came just after
we had imported some $4,000, 600 of gold
| from London and the continent Between
| the beginning of August and the end of
| October the Bank of England had lost
| $56, 500, 900 of gold, the Bank of France S28
100000, and the German Reichsbank slS,-
| 100000; making total loss in the three
great banks of $97,0O0000. The Bank of
| England had consequently put up its rate
| of discount from to per cent. and the
| Reichsbank from 3 to per cent; while
| consols had fallen 81 points and German
| imperial bonds had declined 215. The Lon
don stock market and the continental
bourses were In a, condition closely Dor
| deFing on crisis and all kinds of stocks fell
| heavily except Americans. The controil-
| ing foreign banks were using all their
power to check the adverse course of the
exchanges, including especially discour-
agement to the importation of foreign in
w in
foreign finances that Europe received the
news of our political victory. The intel
ligence was received with 1attering rec
ognitions of its bearing upon our credit,
and was followed by rise of to III per
cent. in stocks at New York. In the i'm
pecunious condition Of London and Berlin.
this temptation to make a handsome
profit on our stocks and at the same time
stop the shipments of gold to
New York was too strong not to be turned
to account, and some $20000,000 of our Sc
curities were sent home within few days
This retiux of stocks was taken here with
out a vince and with no very visible re-
suit upon prices. 1t had, however, the
gratifying effect of liquidating twenty mil
lions of our indebtedness to Europe, in lieu
of Increasing it by sending out a fresh
large amount of our obigations-which
had been anticipated. Thus if, owing to ex-
ceptional conditions, the effect of the cleo
out in the way anticipated, we had instead
result quite as beneficial to ourselves and
better calculated to bespeak confidence in
American finance. Nor is this the only evil
dence of the revival of home finance. Our
capitalists are to-day holding some 20 to
% millions of export bills, which had they
gone forward after the usual course. would
have created virtual panic in Europe by
bringing hither equal amount of gold.
BY thus virtually lending a large amount
of gold to the European banks, we are saw
ing them from threatened serious difficult
ties Contrast this condition of financial
resource with the condition Of affairs in
Wall street up to the election, and some
estimate may be formed of the extent of
the recovery of financial confidence since
Nov g. A little reasonable patience will
later bring still further evidences of the
great REVIVAL consequent upon the defeat of
free coinage.