The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-18
BANKER CLEWs, VIEWS.
The Financial Outlook as Seen From
Wall street.

wall street.
New York. Jan. i6.-In Wall street. the
year 1897 opens with a marked improve
ment of tone. Among the banks, in the
investment market, in speculative opera
tions and in the various branches of credit,
the recovery of confidence is very con-
spicuous. The change is no artificial pro-
duct; it has come about through grad
ual natural process, and is the result of a
growing conviction that a reaction has set
in from the various adverse conditions and
moods which, for the last three years, have
so completely shaken the foundations of
public confidence. Not that the future is
regarded as entirely exempt from some
important uncertainties; for it is conceded
that adjustments remain to be accomplish
ed which are needful to establishing a
complete sense of public security.
One of the main things tending to this
current recovery is the evidence on every
side of a more conservative, Intelligent
and rational public sentiment. Our three
years of severe trial has served as an in
valuable education. 1t has exposed GER
tain radical but unsupported dangers in
our currency system and In our financial
machinery. The first effect of those rev.
Citations was to produce a paralyzing
alarm, under which capltai and industry
became utterly stagnated. The exposure
of our perils. however, stimulated investi-
cation; and investigation has enabled us
to understand our complication of dis
cases. to measure their dangers, and to
put a reasonable estimate upon the reme-
dies proposed for their removal We
have thus come to understand our case
and are able to see the
way out of it; which first
~ ,I,-.~s ,,or .skn .af
fright, and then establishes more than
hope that the national judgment will pro-
vide a way of escape from our industrial
and financial arrangements. Having thus
passed beyond the stage of confused mis-
conceptions into that Of an intelligent
comprehension of the situation, the battle
with our adverse conditions is virtually
won. Among active men of affairs there
is now a general consensus of opinion as
to what is needful to put our varied in
terests upon sound and safe basis; and
it is this matured understanding of the
situation and it's wants, together with the
public urgency for applying prompt rem
edies, that largely accounts for the great
improvement of tone which is now appear
ing in Wall street
The foreign exchange market continues
steady and affords no symptoms of the eX-
portation of gold which London and Paris
have been so confidently telling us must
appear soon after the opening Of this year.
We have already mentioned the fact in
these advices that, at the end of last year,
about $S5, 600 900 in bills of exchange was
held here as a temporary investment, in
place of forwarding the bills to Europe in
the usual course. These obligations have
now begun to fall due. Were the collec-
tions RENTED in the ordinary course, we
should now be importing considerable
amounts of gold the foreign bankers, how
ever, are glad to issue other bills against
these maturities, so that this large foreign
indebtedness to New York is being to
considerable extent renewed as it becomes
payable. This operation suits the large
holders of idle balances here and helps
to sustain the local rate of interest; and
it still better suits the convenience of the
foreign centers which are afflicted by a
comparative derth of gold. This situation
strengthens the probability that little gold
| will be sent hence to Europe during the
| first half of the current year.