The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-26
BANKER CLEWs' VIEWS.
The Financial Outbreak as Seen
From Wall Street.

From Wall Street
New York, Oct. 25-Business in the Sc
curities market has shown much strength
of tone, during the past week, and prices
have made a net advance of to g points;
but the upward tendency has been held
in check by the sigularly uniform dispo-
sition in all branches of business to defer
operations until the result of the election
is declared. In Wall street operations.
this disposition is strengthened by the
still high rates of interest on time loans,
and by the unwillingness of the banks
to make advances until the vote of Nov
3 shows conclusively what are to be the
future conditions. Indeed, this policy of
reSolute prudence among the banks ex-
plains much of the postponement in the
mercantile business at large. The period
of postponement is, however now very
brlef; and, when the relief does come,
its effect will be all the more striking and
influential for not having been fritttered
away by over-speculative anticipation.
FROM such information as is accessible
to the higher ranks of finance, the defeat
| of free silver at the election is regarded
| as certain beyond question: and while,
for the reasons above alluded to, this
! conclusion does not materially stimulate
| buying, yet it makes holders generally
| unwilling to sell and keeps the bears"
timid and cautious. There are, however,
| influences unconnected with politics
! which are really affecting prices favor
/ ably; among which the most prominent
| are the continued large importations of
| gold, the extraordinary position of wheat
and the tirmness of our securities in Lon
don, in spite of the severe pressure upon
the Bank of England and the uneasiness
on the Paris bourse. 1t is a very re-
markable expression of the growth of for
eign confidence in our investments that
at the very crisis of our difficulties and
while in London domestic and foreign Sc
curities and even consols are declining
Americans steadily advance with the
successive rises on our home market
There was a slight exception to this rule
upon Thursdays advance in the Bank of
England's rate of interest from 3 to per
cent; but prices between London and New
York We're soon readjusted, without any
observable selling by the former to the
latter. The arrangements of the week
for importing gold have carried the influx
since the beginning of the movement, up
to $70,000000. For the moment, there is
a'lull in the import engagements, the con-
sequence partly of this weeks large oper-
atoms having sharply thinned the supply
of bills, and partly of the fact that the
rise in the Bank of England rate calls for
a concession on sterling exchange, which,
under this reduction in the supply of bills,
is not promptly forthcoming. There is
however, no abatement in the large ex-
ports of produce, and considerable foreign
orders for silver bullion are being receiv-
ed whilst importers are buying virtually
no bills, so that, in few days, the rate
of sterling may be expected to return to
the point admitting of imports of gold.
London appears to be uneasy under the
present state Of the foreign exchanges,
and suggests that Something must be
done to stop the flow of gold to the United
States" 1t is not, however, very easy to
see what that Something may be. If
England and India and Australia, to say
nothing of other countries afflicted with
short crops, must continue to buy our
wheat and maize, and If they have to pay
20 cents more for their wheat than the
price of two months ago-both of which
seems to be inevitabe-and If we continue
the large current contraction of our inn
ports which at present is the actual drift,
then England may find her trade balance
with the United States in such a shape
as to compel her to remit still further
considerable amounts Of gold to this coun-
try. Under ordinary circumstances, she
might, in such a trade situation as now
exists, find relief in forcing a return of
our securities; but the British holders of
our investments just now appear unus-
ually unwilling to part with them; and
ten days hence an event may be expected
to happen in this country that will cause
an important effiux of our securities to
London. Clearly. therefore, England is
likely to find further important shipments
of gold to this country inevitable; and the
something" which she needs to do must
be done with some financial metropolis
other than New York.
Press opinion at London shows some in
credulity about the entire bona fides OF
the seventy millions export of gold TO the
United States 1t assumes that large
sums have been imported by Wall street
houses at a loss, in the hope Of selling
the metal to hoarders at a premium; and
hence the hope Is expressed that instead
of more gold coming this way, some of
what we nave received may soon be flow
ing back. These guesses will prove de.
ceptive. Gold has been, in some compar-
atively unimportant amounts, imported
with the hope Of selling it to a few timld
persons disturbed by the political outlook;
but the intervals have been few and very
brief when such operations have been
made below the even par of exchange. It
Is probably quite safe to say that, Of the
large sum imported. not over 100000 or
100000 has shown loss to the importer
irrespective Of any premium on resales.