The herald., 1896-03-05
CLEW'S WEEKLY LETTER

street, affairs move on with little change.
There is strong un(lertoEe in values, but
no marked activity in operations. The in
vestment movement shows some revival !;
but it is principally confined to railroad
mortgages, in which there has been some
improvement i'll prices. In railroad stocks,
the transactions arp largely confined to
professional operations, the general con-
dition of business and of commercial cred
its being apparently unfavorable to partici-
patton by outside parties. For the last few
days, influences from London have been
unsatisfactory. The market does not
not appear to have yet recovered
Venezuela scare. There are symptoms
of preparations there for another "bul"
campaign, but with little to indicate that it
is to include "a :nericans;" unless we ere
to suppose that sales here on London ac-
count are used to depress this market pre-
liminary to the sellers becoming buyers;
if so. the tactics have had little success.
Probably the truer explanation of these
London sales IS to be found in tho per-
sistent unfriendIy tone of certain infiuen-
tal journals, which lose no opportunity for
using our currency situation to dissuade
English investors from holding our invest
mems.
Domestic conditions affecting the market
are more or less conflicting AS rule the
interior trade appears to be in fairly
healthy condition. Buyers arrive here pre-
pared to take about the customary amount
Of goods. They find the local atmosphere,
however, chilly and discouraeing, and are
apt to buy sparingly and return nome TO
await later chances of supplying further
wants at lower prices. There are reasons
for this difference of tone as between the
metropolis and the interior centers. Here
merchants are feeling the results of an
over-sanguine yielding to the exhilarating
effects OF the work of the loan syndi-
cate about year ago. For the
spring and fall seasons of 1895
importers brought in extraordinary
amounts of goods, which they have not yet
been able to dispose Of They have, dur
ing the last three months, largely dimin-
shed their importations, but i'll many cases
they still remain overstocked and have to
depend upon the forbearance of the banks
"a condition never favorable to prices.
Home manufacturers then fell into the
same error of oversupply, though probably
not to the same extent as the importers;
and, what now proves to be worse, they
made large voluntary advances in wages,
thereby increasing the cost OF their goods.
These, together with the still deranged
financial conditions, which are more di-
rectly felt here than elsewhere, are the
main causes of the difference in trade feel
ing at New York az compared with the in.
terror. With some curtallments OF pro.
duction. however, industrialists are getting
their affairs into a more wholesome condi-
ton; and symptoms indicate that they may
soon make further progress in that direc-
ton through reductions in wages.
The stock market n ,turally feels the ef-
fects of these local condtions: but at the
same time it can hardly fail to benefit,
at an early day, from the innu-
is not to be overlooked that
the great interior, on which this center Is
dependent, ia in n reasonably healthy con-
dition and capable of taking. in the long
run, the surplus stocks that at the moment
lie heavy on the hands of our local mer-
chants. In other words. there is sound
reason forexpecting that these adverse cir
cumstances will prove only temporary, and
that, as stocks of merchandise 70 into con-
sumption. the discount market will work
into a condition of composure and conf
dence, thereby producing better feeling
in banking circles.
The current railroad movement best in
dcates what is the real state of business
through the country at large. The reads
show n remarkably uniform increase of
earnings. OF tifty-four roads reporting
their earnings for the second week of Feb.
ruary, only nine show decrease and, in
all OF those cases but one. the falling-off
is nominal. The total earnings for the
if y.four lines amount to So 200, 900 COM
pared with 81 ,400, 900 FOR the same week
of last year, the increase being at the
extraordinary rate of Is per cent.
Eere is evidence of a growth of
trade that admits of no question
from the most lugubrious "bear." 1t is
plain evidence that, in the great produc-
ing regions, where men know and care
little about the treasury question that
harnesses lis so much here, business is TAX
ing on confidence and productive capital
finds ample employment. The classes
.<-t,t Il tk<s
same that make business for our markets,
and what they are doing affords the truest
evidence OF the state of business in the
country as whole.
The truth is that New York is fretting
and alarming itself about financial ques-
tions which after all are not SO vital as to
control the disposition or the ability of
producing capital to keep at work turning
out wealth. We keep our eyes so intently
fixed upon the irregular action of a piece
of local financial machinery as to lose
sight of the huge wealth creating organiza-
ton, worked by 70,000,0OO of people,
which alone makes the destiny of the United
States. Our farmers, our mine owners and
our manufacturers do not care to study
currency systems. nor to find out what
politicians are going to do; they act upon
the symptoms of the national markets and
upon orders on their books, ami the
amount of products they are sending to the
state of the national trade. Whilst New
York need not and should not abate it's
interest i'll the great money question. yet
equally it should not permit its discontent
with an unsatisfactory monetary system to
produce pessimistic feeling towards the
material interests of the nation at large.
Our monetary tools may be bad but they are
only tools after all; and hitherto we have
been able to accumulate vast wealth
through them in spite of their faults. The
true spirit therefore is to keep confidence
in the great producing and commercial in
terests, and guard against exaggerating
the practical effects of a faulty money
system, while relaxing no effort to mend
1t. This seems to he the attitude towards
which Wall street is tending and much is
to be hoped for from this calIner and more
rational drift. HENRY CLEws.
Wanted Verbatim Reports
One of the Irish members of parliament,