The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-26
EFFECT is SHOWN IN STRENGTH
OF AMERICAN SECURITIES IN
LONDON.
CONTINUED INFLOW OF GOLD
Prospects That the Balance of Trade
Will Remain in Favor of the
United States.

the upward tendency has been held
In check by the singularly uniform dis
position in all branches of business
to defer operations until the result of
the election is declared. In Wall street
operati tons, this disposition is strength
ened by the still high rates of interest
on time loans. and by the unwilling
ness of the banks to make advances
until the vote of Nov shows
cOncluSiVely what are to be the future
conditions Indeed, this policy of res
olute prudence among the banks ex-
plains much of the postponement in
the mercantile business at large. The
period of postponement is. however.
now very brief; and when the relief
does come it's effect will he all the more
striking and influential for not having
been frittered away by over-specula-
tive anticipation.
From such information as is Access
sible 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 al
luded to, this conclusion does not
materially stimulate buying, yet 1t
makes holders generally unwilling to
sell and keeps the bears" timid and
cautious There are, however, inf1uen-
ces unconnecteed with politics which
are really affecting prices fayora bly,;
among which the most prominent are
the continued large importations of
gold the extraordinary position or
wheat, the firmness Of our securities
in London, in spite of the severe pres
sure upon the Bank of England and
the uneasiness on the Paris Bourse.
1t is a very remarkable expression
Of the growth of foreign confidence
n our investments that, at the very
crisis of our difficulties, and while in
/ ondon domestic and foreign securities
r-r1- n anli in Ayr7n
tcans" steadily advance with the sue
Cessive rises on our nome market.
There was a slight exception to this
lule upon Thursdays advance In the
Tank Of England's rate of interest
from to per cent; but prices be-
tween London and New York were soon
1cadjusted, without any observable
telling by the former 20 the latter.
The arrangements Of the week for
importing gold have carried the influx,
nee the beginning of the movement,
up to $70,000000. For the moment,
there is I, lull in the import engage
lnents, the consequence parity of this
weeks large operations having sharply
Trimmed the supply Of bills, and partly
Ct the fact that the rise in the Bank
CT England rate calls |1r a concession
on STEERING eXchS$II, which, under
this reduction in the supply Of bills,
is not promptly Forthcoming. There
Is, however, no abatement in the large
exports of produce, AMI considerable
foreign orders for silv." bullion are
being received, whilst importers are
buying virSSally no bills, so that in
few days the rate of sterling may be
expected to return to the point adj
hitting of imports Of gold.
London appears to be uneasy under
the present state of the foreign eX-
changes, and suggests that something
Io la,a 10 or HOr So -O1l 10
the United States" 1t isnot, 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 seem to
be ineVitable-and if we continue the
large current contraction of our i'm
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 country. Under ordinary cir
cGmstances, she might, in such trade
situation as now exists, find relief in
forcing a return of our securities; but
the British holders Of our investments
just now appear unusually unwilling to
part with them; and ten days hence
all event may be expected to happen in
this country that will cause an i'm
portant eff1uX Of our securities to Lon
don. Clearly, therefore, England is
likely to find further important ship
ments of gold to this country newt
able; 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
ipcredulity about the entire bona fides
of the 100000 export Of gold to the
United States. 1t assumes that large
sums have been imported by Wall
street houses at loss, in the hope Of
selling the metal to hoarders at a
premium; and hence the hope is ex-
pressed that, instead of more gold
coming this way, some of what we have
received may soon be flowing back.
These guesses will prove deceptive
Gold has been, in some comparatively
unimportant amounts, imported with
the hope of selling it to a few timid
persons disturbed by the political out
look; but the intervals have been few
and very brief when such OPP
erations have been made below
the even par of exchange 1t is
probably quite safe to say that, of the
large sum imported, not over two or
three millions have shown a loss to the
1mporter-irrespective Of any premium
on resales.
Much as the London financial press
has had to say in criticism of our defec-
tive monetary status and projects. it
would not be surprising if, in the event
of great election victory for money
reform, the same critics would still find
reasons for dissatisfaction. though of a
different kind. 1 say nothing of the
opinions very freely expressed by Lon
don financiers that, in the event of our
escaping the silver peril and making
safe provision for our legal tender
notes, American securities would he in
extraordinary demand That IS an
opinion; which may or may not be JUS
Ilhed by the event. But it is more
than an opinion that already arrange
ments have been concluded, contingent
upon Mr.. Mckinley's election by an
ample majority, for London participa-
ting to very large amounts in new
American enterprises of great impor-
lance. Those best acquainted with the
relations between our architects of
great financial undertakings and those
OF London are the men most sanguine
about the extent of the financial reyi-
val which will naturally follow the re-
habilltation of the American monetary
system. Such an outcome would. of
course, be violent shock to the Lon
don penmen who assume the function
of censors of finance.