The herald., 1897-01-28
AS CLEWS SEES 1T

Henry Clews continues to discuss the
| business and financial situation, and a
good deal of what he says shows that
the old man can get away from Wall
street influences occasionally. Among
other things Clews says in his Special
to the press that "one of the greatest
aggravations of the unfortunate finan-
cial troubles of the last four years has
| arisen from the profound distrust they
have excited among the bankers and
capitalistic clases on the other side Of the
Atlantic. After sending home their Sc
curities and withdrawing less perma-
nent forms of loan to the combined ex-
tent of probably hundreds of millions Of
dollars, they are now surprised, I may
almost say astounded, to find us in no
real sense weakened, but competent to
lend them large amounts of capital, to
defer payment of fifty millions Of gold
which it is within our power to draw
| hither, and thus to afford great relief
to a very stringent condition of the Eu-
ropean money markets-thereby ex-
hibiting a potency in international
possessed. These are facts which must
tell for something in the future status
of American credit"
AS concerning the question Of taking
the government out of the banking bust
ness by retiring the greenbacks by sub
sttutng bonds for them, Mr.. Clews
says "the agitation against the green
backs is ill-advised in connection with
the feature proposed-to issue bonds in
their stead. That would be to convert
a non-interest bearing obligation of the
government into one that would tax the
people about s10,50O, 900 annually for an
indefinite period. That to say the least,
is entirely unnecessary; for. when the
government comes to retire the notes,
a large portion of its gold reserve could
be devoted to the liquidations; and be-
yond that the treasury could lawfully
use its contributions to the debt sinking
fund to the extent of about forty millions
a year, when the revenue was restored
Instead of liquidating the greenbacks
through issuing bonds in the way that
has been proposed, the first step taken
should be for the government to do what
is possible to improve the notes in public
estimation. This could be done by in
crea sing the government revenue so as
as it is this unfortunate condition which
has inspired the feeling with many that
'greenbacks must be got rid of at any
cost If congress would provide ample
revenue for the government and pass an
act debarring the REISSUE of greenbacks,
after they have once been presented at
the treasury and gold demanded there
for, excepting in exchange for gold,
greenbacks would then be regarded all
over the world as being as good as gold.
The notes that the government should
first take up are those issued under the
Sherman law, replacing them by sill
Yer coin as fast as the country can safe
ly absorb silver. This should be limited
to about s25, 900 per annum; and the
Bland notes should later on be treated
in a similar way, but on a larger scale.
If the greenbacks are to be retired by
their conversion into bonds, as proposed,
what will the national banks have to
hold as their reserves, and for the re-
demption of their notes? 1t is better not
to be too precipitate in dealing with the
greenbacks."
Referring to the business situation,
Mr.. Clews says the recovery in the in
vestment market appears to be at
tributable almost entirely to the con-
sciousness that at last we have entered
improvement in financial conditions
The condition of the railroads is contrib
uting little towards this recovery, for
their earnings are at present unsatis-
factory, although the storms may be
held largely responsible for that
Neither has trade yet developed any sur
prising recovery; although the symp-
toms are not wanting that in the manu-
factures and the distributing trades we
are in the beginnings of a healthy re-
vival."