Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-09-23
WALL STREET METHODS.
"A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE METH.
obs OF CARRYING ON
BUSINESS
Ia That Great Gambling Confer.
The Instability OF The Gold Basis FaIry
illustrated.

all thinking men who are out OF it's at
,mosphere of hopes and fears and there
Sore able to think impartially. A lit
tie ball of yellow metal, perhaps as
much as ten span of mules could draw,
has been rolling this way and that,
drst into the banks and then into the
Bubtreasury, then from New York to
London and back again to New York.
and with each change the sound
money" men i, d yell of Joy or
scream OF fear, alternately shivering
and sweating as stocks rose or fell
now sounding loud paeans thai the
Silver craze is over" and anon CRYING
out that the agit,.t ton is running the
country, and vituperating the ''Popu-
lists, cranks aud anarchists, adulla-
mates and regulators
The first cold lit come on about the
time of the Chicago convention. A
million or two in gold went out, a
shiver went through Wall street, para
lysis seized on trade and stocks fell.
coincidence was impaired you see.
q syndicate succeeded in negotiating
tome advanced cotton bills THAT is,
bills drawn against cotton yet to be
shipped) and confidence" returned.
Stocks rose till these fellows had time
to unload. Then the Lazard Freres.
Heidelbach, lclSelheimer and the rest
announced that $4,000, 900 must soon
go, and everything fell with dull
thud. regular panic set in and last
cd three days. Gold was drawn out of
the treasury to an amount three times
rs great as that required for export
and it was announced that Cleveland
would soon issue another call for
bonds. Within ~ hours bankers were
advised by their western correspon-
dents that such call would break
down the patient ass out there and
elect Bryan and it must be prevented.
It was.
A heavy syndicate came forward and
deposited gold, taking green backs in
exchange, till the reserve was once
more above the 500, OOO, 900 mark.
At the same time they guaranteed bills
FOR exchange ON London far in advance.
mortgaging the crops yet to be gather
ed and shipped, and all New York
broke into loud acclamation of Joy, for
now IL was fixed that gold was not to
be shipped or bonds issued until after
election and EfnnlTs
Why" Simply because 10 or PERHAPS
20 men in New York had taken the
"honor and credit of the nation" into
their keeping. Ten ordinary men. ten
men no bigger or stronger than you or
j, can upset this gold basis just when
ever they want TO and all the coun-
try Is expected To praise their patriot
ism" Isn't it humiliating? Does not
the readers check burn for his share
of the shame which attaches to Ameri-
can citizenship?
Well, few days later the gold began
TO leave the treasury again and an
other panic set in. 1t was found that
part of it was going to Canada, but
great deal of it was drawn ont in small
sums by men who presented green
Backs OF low denomination. Evidently
At was not the heavy banlsers-common
fellows were drawing it to hoard"
which meant loss of confidence" For
five days and during the hottest week
recorded in New York for many wears.
slfI this ~, 4
down till they broke the record since
1877 With them went grain and silver.
When things are at the worst, they
usually mend--for Il little while any,
how. There was a slight upward turn.
Bryan made his big speech, and, as if
pulled by one string, all the goldbug
editors and orators proclaimed that il
was II failure and so the nation was
safe. The boom was temporary in
deed. A few days later another decline
set in which even the magnificent ora
torical burst of Burke Cochran could
not stay. And then strange thing
happened. No one has yet explained
il satisfactorily.
1t was suddenly announced that the
time for gold exports was past aud
that for imports had come Even the
"bulls" in Wall street doubted it. and
the city papers demonstrated that trade
conditions would not warrant it. Next
day the promise was made positive. and
next morning we read in the dailies
: that $1,000, 600 in gold had really left
London and would arrive here in a
week For many day Wall street had
not looked so gay as it did that morn
ing. The joyful acclaim was loud and
extrayagant. Stocks fairly bounded.
For two or three hours there was al
most boom. Then this London dis
patch was posted: decline in Ameri-
cans. Gold shipments depressed gen
eral market" Down went stocks
again. Dispatches. came daily from
London that folks over there did not
understand this shipment of gold To
New York under present conditions
They construed it To mean that mat
tiers here were very desperate indeed
A little later they admitted that the
real trouble was general fright over