Daily inter mountain., 1899-10-09
.[0NDONF|NANCES
There Is a Decidedly Un=
quiet Feeling.
USUAL SUPPLY OF GOLD
Will Be Cut Off in the Event of Trouble
in the TranSvaal--Bank Rates Are
Advancing in all of the Continental
Markets.

New York. Oct. 9--The Times LOndo
financial correspondent cables: One must
go back to 1873 to find an adavnce in the
Eank of England, when the rate rose
from 6 to 10 per cent in less than fort
night, to discover circumstances equally
disuuieting to those now coming to the
surface Altogether apart from Boer war,
which is uncertain and from the first has
been contemplated by the British gov
ernment, ominous weaknesses have been
revealing themselves in our credit market
for some time past. In the course of
another year almost two of these weak
nesses would have eliminated in another
crisis such as thatwhich visits all money
markets periodically. Instead of Bar
ing difficulties we should have had some
joint bank failures. panic on the stock
exchange and general set back.
The materials calculated to produce
this explosion have been rapidly accum-
ula ting for the last five years, but were
not ripe for a fire. ordinary conditions
prevailing The Boer is calculated to set
them all in abiaze. Our great safeguards
against credit blizzard have been new
supplies of gold from the Transvaal For
three months at the shortest and prob
ably for six, this supply of metal will be
increasingly acute. Leaving the United
States out of consideration, all Europe
wants gold because all Europe has over
strained it's credit. The bank rates on
the continent show how the struggle is be-
coming increasingly wolfish. Both the
Austro Hungarian and the German state
banks raised their discount rates to six
per cent last week and the bank of Thu
Netherlands moved up to five per cent.
The Bank Of France must soon go up al
so. although it works it's note issue with
great skill and protects it's stock Of gold
by putting a premium on it by paying out
worn coins and in other ways. A poin:
will soon be reached where these tactics
must be abandoned for fear the Frencls
people should take fright owing to the
convertiblity Of the notes.
At present the Bank of England is still
the strongest of all European banks in
many respects because London is a cred
ibor of both France and Germany. OF
the German, French, Russian and Dutch
bills of exchange not less than e25,O0O,-
600 of our banking resources is currency
invested. Hence continental rates Of ex.
change have all moved sharply in our IA
vor this week and still we do not re-
ceive gold as fast as it goes away. prin.
cipally to South Africa. The truth il
that no market can spare gold either to
us or to the United States. TO protect
themselves therefore. foreign bank rate"
must go farther up and the Bank of Eng,
land is bound to follow. The open mar.
ket recognizes this probability and
quotes is to 5 IA per cent for January
bills as to drive business direct to the
Bank of England.
The immediate prospect is one of great
err ease. Call money has fallen to from
3 to per cent and discount rates have
sa gged until "a per cent is the true
working figure. Trouble is likely to arise
among the Scotch banks over whiskey.
They have locked up many millions in it
and cannot escape without disastrous Ii,
quida ton.