The herald., 1898-04-28
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,
LOS ANGELES, April ~, 1898.
Unto the we'll that supplies thee witt
water, cast no stones"

: te
Unto the well that supplies thee with
water, cast no stones"
In his weekly financial letter, dated New
York, 2Sd inst, Henry Clews says:
}F The temper in which Wall street has re-
ceived the intervention decree of congress
and the presidents ultimatum to Spain
confirms the view that the Stock ex-
change had discounted the worst prob
abilities In the Cuban situation and ad-
justed the values Of Investments. in ad-
= vance to the outcome that has at last
; happened. With it's rarely erring instinct
of forecast, the financial community has
foreseen the end from the beginning Of this
long and tedious excitement; and, now
that war has come, 1t has no further ad-
5ustments to make, no selling under the
Impulse Of new fears. The men Of the ex-
change had made up their minds as to what
. amount of discount from the normal mar
&. ket value of securities a war with Spain
called for; and the remarkable steadiness
Of Wall street during the past week is ev-
idence of a fixed confidence in their conclu-
sions. This absence of panic or sensation
In the very presence of war is something
remarkable and has rarely been witnessed
In the world money markets under the in
fiuence of like conditions. Such catastro-
phes are invariably attended with panic or
the bourses and violent fluctuations In the
money markets, which extend to other
countries than those directly concerned
In the hostilitiB. In our case, we have
stood peculiarly exposed to suffer from
effects Of this nature. We are probably
the most largely debtor nation in the
world. England, Germany, Holland and
Yy..~. -.Nt
mate, fully $4,000, 900 900 of our Investments.
These creditors have recently had
their confidence severely tested by the late
silver agitation; and 1t might be expected
= that those fears would be acutely revived
by the financial strain to which this war
may subject the country. That such ap-
prehension would cause a more or less
important return of corporate securities
from Europe was naturally to be expected.
and in fact has been looked for. But no
such movement has appeared to any appre-
ciable extent American securities have
held their own by the side of the issues of
other countries. while Spanish As have de-
clined thirty points, and the amount Of
stocks and bonds returned to our home
market has not been at all abnormal in
amount. This experience Is the more re-
markable in view of the fact that the
floating indebtedness of Europe to the
United States Is SO altogether extraor-
dinary as to furnish a strong motive for
influencing the return of our securities in
order to avert shipments of gold. Within
few weeks about $65 900 900 OF gold have
been sent hither in the settlement of trade
balances, and a balance Of not less than
$3O,O0OON still remains to be liquidated
Under ordinary conditions, such state
OF the exchanges would have caused large
sums of our securities to be sent home
but no such movement of any moment has
occurred. This fact can be accounted for
only upon the supposition that the foreign
holders of these investments feel salts
fled that, at present prices, they are sound
and safe, even In the prospect of the un-
certainties of war. This tacit verdict ex-
presses the opinion of the banking and in
vestment interests of Europe upon the eff
feet the war is likely tosehave upon the
commercial and financial stability of this
country. 1t would not have been sur
prising had our foreign creditors deemed
1t wise course to sell their holdings Of
our securities in anticipation of the war,
with view of buying them back after the
pressure of the struggle had worked its
full effect upon them; and the fact that
they have not done so can only be re-
garded as implying confidence not only in
the future value of these investments, but
also in our being able to sustain the bur-
dens of hostilties without serious conse-
quences, and in our being able to bring the
struggle to an early and successful issue.
The barometer to watch just now,
as the best indication as to war possibili-
ties, is Spanish IS. They are down today
to 81, which is on a basis of over 12 per
cent interest, as against United States As,
which are on basis of 8 per cent interest.
Their bad break makes it apparent that
Spain is inclined to fight rather than take
up her bed and walk-out of Cuba.
O O O
The next annual meeting of the National
Board of Fire Underwriters will attract
to New York in May we'll known insurance
men from all sections of the country The
board is the Oldest organization of the
kind In existence, and has done much to
bring about cooperation concerning mat
tiers OF great Importance affecting fire
underwriting in the United States. The
feature of the last meeting was the dis
cussion attending the adoption of the re-
port Of the committee on legislation de-
claring against attempted discrimination
against foreign companies. Important re-
ports are expected from the committees
on lighting and heating and fire depart
ment inspection. The former committee
has done much to promote better care Of
the electrical hazard in small cities. In
teresting statistics showing the experience
of the companies in all parts of the coun-
try will also be made public at the meet
Ing.
o o o
T. B. Armstrong retires from the presi.