The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-15
THE FARMER AND MECHANIC, TUESDAY, MARCH j. 1898.

trading, 3323, 300, was well up to the
average of Il full days business for the
week, exclusive Of Monday and blocks
Of several Thousand shares wore fire.
quHntly recorded. Part of these offer
ings were speculative holdings diSlodged
by exhausted margins but there can
be EO doubt that sales Of investment
holdings such as are not usually inttu-
cnced at all by the speculative movement
of prices. are beginning to absorb an
increasing proportion Of the business Oh
the Stock Exchange. There was no
specific item of the day news that can
he I5intcd to 10 account for the df1nor-
aliZltion of tee market. 1t was caused
rather ly the general CONVICTION tlal
the reports Of the Maine Board 81 III
QUiry and II statement OF the luftn3l
ralicy of the government toward Cuba
are imminent and the un~Wllllngnescs OF
operators to carry open contracts over
Sunday. The weekly bank statement
shows that the gold imports received
for the week have not been sufficient
10 offset continued Withdrawals to the
interior 50 that the cash hOldingS show
Il net decrease of S73G, 700. But as the
heavy drawing down of deposits has
reduced the - per cent requirements
by $2.G34.623, the surplus reserve is
enlarged by $780,. $50.
The stock market ended the week ~
it began it. in a demoralizcd condition.
The New York Exchange shared the
depression existing on every exchange
for securities in the world. On the
London and the European exchanges,
the new demands OF Russia upon China
and tie tension between France and
Great Britain over the West African.
situation were almost It's much causes
of alarm as the relations between tn,
United States and Spain. SO acute WAS
the lIIng depression that so i'm
~Tortamt an incident as the Supreme
court decision in iie Nebraska maxi
mum freight rate case in favor Uf the
railroads Was almost entirely d~isrcgad
ded, although It has been eagerly looke1
for each Monday s;ncc last year. SpainS
prompt disayoWal of any intention to
demand or even request General Lees
recall. the satisfactory adjustment OF
the difficulty over sending provisions to
Cuba in war ships and the voting by
Congress of the $4,000 900 defense
fuad were all cited as evidence Of i'm
proved conditions III our relations witt
Spain. But that rome of them had any
deep seated effect was shown by the
course Of prices later in the week. The
course of the exchange market and the
continued influx Of gold must be accep-
ted also is additional evidence of prep
arations for emergencies. ThcrC has
been no interruption to the engage
merits OF gold for import, which have
now reached Il total of considerably
over $4,000. 600. As high rs seven per
milIe were asked hy the Bank of France
for gold and finally hat institution went
so far on Friday as to refuse to pay
gold altogether. Gold is. however. bein.
taken from the Bank of England for
New York. In view of the current
ease in month rates, this insistcnt de
mand for gold must probably be attrih-
uted to uneaSineSS over the future ana
Il desire to increase the reserves Of the
precious metal against all possible con
t~ingCnc;eS.
Railroad bonds have shown full sym
pathy with the weakness of stocks but
dealings have been mostly in the speech
lativc issues and The liquidation was
not large.
United States new Is have declined
; bid. the IS and the old Is | bid ana
the old Is coupon and the nds y per
cent bid.
The total sales Of stocks to-day were
323.:5O0. including -Atchison preferred,
6.360; {. +. x g.. 2O.00S; l.. & Nj.
100; Manhattan L.. 1920: M%etropo!i-
tan Traction. 6,02o; Reading LIST pro
forred. 1920: No. Pacific. 5.917: New
York Central, 10,G2o; Northern Pacific,
5.42o; do preferred. 1920: Rock Is
land. 1O.92O; st. Paul. 23,42O; Union
Pacific, 5.420; American Tobacco, 1850:
Peoples Gas, 12.36o: Sugar, 44,32O;
Western Union, 1920.