The Topeka state journal., 1899-09-25
MARKET IS FLAT.
English Financial Circles WOr-
ried by America.

New York, Sept. 25.-The Times London
financial correspondent cables:
We are suffering from an acute spaSm
OF military dementa, disease to which
modern empires seem peculiarly liable.
business of all kinds is suffering from
bad set back Whereas during the first
seven months of the year new joint stock
undertakings were poured on the market
every week in scores, now none at all ap-
bly, their absence is but slight misfor-
tune. for they are mostly Jerry built, like
Not since the months following the cris-
is of 1890 has there been such stagnation
rs now exists all over our market. The
public simply refuses to deal and what
time is with trying to shift each his load
on anothers back In the process prices
from inanition unless the clouds lift
wrangle with the Beers is settled one way
or another, our public can not even be
persuaded to buy American railroad
But. politics apart, the English stock
exchange would not have much heart for
cause it threatens to become dearer than
much because no great state there has
our gold bllt Won do bother MS most de-
cfdedIy. We know that you are able to
take whatever amount of gold you require
and should a New York demand arise CO.
incidentally and shipments of sOvereigns
complete of the Rands monthly. our mess
would be considerable. AS matters stand
many bankers now urge an advance in
the bank rate to per cent forthwith be-
cause the market rates are above the
present minimum. In fact, some discount
houses are now disposed to ask 3$4 per
cent on three months paper and bankers
prefer to lend their baiaces at ~ per
cent for week rather than buy bills at
31a per cent. The actual market discount
rate yesterday was barely 35s per cent,
but the Bank of England was doing most
of the business.
There is nothing very terrible in all
this, it may be said and that is true
enough in one sense. Consider. however
the position of our stock exchange. It
worked prices up during the long years
of ? per cent money until the great bulk
of the best classes of our securities could
not be brought to pay 3 per cent Scarcely
great railway companies yield today 3l5
then rule for many months at 4 or 5 per
cent as it has done lately and great
pressure to liquidate, with the inevitable
accompaniment of lower prices, must en-
sue But lower prices mean exhausted
many directions. No wonder. therefore
that our market is very nervous and dis
From one point of view the Bank of
England looks much stronger now than it
Then we though ourselves shielded from
every form of adversity when the bank
Today it is almost e10, ,000, coo above that
ancient safety figure.
The risks of interna tionaI banking bust
ness force US to look more carefully at
our bullion reserves and the more we look
sess only about &S 200. 900 in gold in excess
of the amount in Bank of England notes
in the hands of the public and &17.000. 600
out of 223. 900 notes held in reserve is
mere paper issued upon government Sc
centuries old. We might easily lose eS.-
100000 of gold in the next few months un-
der the conditions described and then the
conyertibility of bank notes begins to be
joint stock banks would endeavor to ex-
change the notes now held by them for
g, golq, com com se IneEsepy aggraVatl1g the trouble
ened with deadlock.