The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-03
BANKER cLEws, VIEWS.
The Financial Outlook as Seen From
wall Street.


New York. Feb 1-During the past
week, Wall street has generally shown
a recuperative tendency. There is still
the same uncertainty about the exact
shape in which the subscriptions TO the
new treasury loan will come out; but the
uncertainty is no longer a cause of dis
turbance, but is rather a matter of Gu
riosity. There is no second opinion about
the whole loan being subscribed; and as
the first installment taken up will call
for only some S22.00.OOO Of gold. no one
dreams Of any difficulty about providing
for those payments. The fact that the de-
mand for gold at dealers hands has sub
sided and that the premium on gold and
legal tenders has almost disappeared inn
plies that the preparations for paying the
nrst lnstallment have been about com
pleteu, winch means that the effect or
the disbursements to the treasury on
the 9Th inst. has already been antici-
pated.
The general conditions affecting finan-
clal affairs are working into more settled
and normal state. The widespread pro-
cess of liquidation that has been in Op-
eraJon Tor many months, indeed Tor near
" three years past, seems to have culmi-
mated. Foreigners have ceased to return
our securities; the scare and distrust CT
english investors has not only been abat-
ed, but is succeeded by occasional spurts
of demand for our stocks and bonds.
Continental bankers are understood to
have shown a gratifying confidence in
American credit by important bids for
the new issue of government bonds,
thereby intimating that they take our cur
rency arrangements less seriously than
do the AnglO-SaXOns. our trade balance
is getting into a more wholesome shape.
The excessive imports that followed the
reduction OF import duties are now rapidly
abating. Our exports, held back Tor four
months following the harvest, are now
going out in much larger volume, and
hat in ha fnn Of n apfFa or
farm products.
BY far the most serious of all obstacles
10 revival comes from the attitude of con-
gress towards remedial legislation on the
currency situation. The feeling is univer-
sal that there can be no abiding confidence
until something radical is done towards
purg1ng our monetary system from its un-
sound elements. And yet it seems impos-
sible to arouse congress to any just COM
prehension of the paramount importance
the people attach to this factor. The ac-
ton of the House is held in suspense be-
tween the clamor of the silverites and the
chap-money advocates on the one hand
and the sound money sentiment on the
other; while the Senate can apparently be
depended on for nothing better than free
coinage schemes. Among political lead
ers the question is not what conservative
sentiment asks or the impending dangers
demand, but what suits the ends of party
politics. 1t Is deemed politically conven-
lent to keep the whole question open, so
that the mere politicians may play fast
and loose with it pending the election ex-
element; and thus not one step is taken
towards settling the most important issue
now before the country. The misfortune
of this inaction is that we can have no
assurance that it will be changed for a
policy of sound reform after the election
purposes have been served. If the party
leaders feel at liberty to make the ques-
ton subservient to political expediencies,
there is no saying how long they may
! choose to continue that treatment, nor
what sort of vicious compromises they
may propose to get II out of the way.
This dangerous dallying with a situation
of the utmost delicacy and of real peril
calls for the prompt and earnest union of
the friends of sound money, irrespective
of party lines and in firm defiance of the
willy influences of party leaders. The one
thing that at this moment needs to be
impressed upon congress is that the solid
sentiment of the country is determined
to put this question outside of political
control, and to arrange their party affili-
| atoms accordingly.