New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-19
finGntial.
The Financial World.

In last weeks article IL was anticipated ina,
the market would decline. unless the Treasure
Department came in with big bond purchase
This was done. Although the circular was not
sent out till Wednesday afternoon. and although
Secretary Gage had declared that no one want
ed money except spectators. yet the strength
OF the market on Monday and Tuesday was
pretty good evidence that these speculators
knew what was coming. OF course, after the
circular was out, 1t was simply a question OF
how high prices would open up on Thursday
morning. They opened UP from one to two
points, and the business OF the day large
There was Stacking off on Friday, and some
irregular declines; but yesterday the market
became strong again. and closed with bull
look on II.
The bank statement was about expected
1t restored the surplus reserve TO the legal line.
close to it; and it is anticipated that the bond
purchases will so figure in next weeks state
ment as to bring the surplus we'll above that
line. Up to the close Of business yesterday.
there had been paid out for bond redemptlons.
nearly S5.5O0000; so there are S20OO0000 still
ahead, If the people owning the bonds want
to turn them into cash II the total amount Is
not turned in by November Both. most likely the
Treasury will extend the time. We know that
the time Of real contraction in the money mar
ket starts about the middle Of December. when
all the great financial institutions begin to draw
in their loaned funds in preparation for the
January disbursements. Help from the Treas
ury about that time may be much more Of
necessity than at this time.
Indeed many bank people. whose interests are
always on the bull side; and some people who
have bull interests in the stock market, are
rather doubtful Of the wisdom Of the Treasury
buying bonds just at this moment. Their argu-
ment is that the situation was correcting itself
Interest rates were higher in New York ran
anywhere else. and this bringing money
here under the natural law which carries IL
where the highest price is paid for it. In two
weeks" said leading banker. I'VE should have
been importing gold; but OF course as soon as
the bond purchase came, exchange which was
going down turned and went up" AS above
said, the real pinch in money must come the
year draws to a close. Will Wall S.-eet require
some more help from the Treasury at that time?
Most likely ii willard the chances are very
large that it will get it.
1t is unfortunate that the L. s Treasury ma
| chine should be Of so awkward and obsolete a
type that it requires the Government to do by
unusual means and often with appearance OF
favoring Wall Street speculation what this
| same machinery ought TO do regularly and
| tomatically-that is to say. there never should
| be in the Treasury at time any money
than is necessary to keep the machinery Of the
| Government going That is all the Treasury
| Department exists for. However. there II Is;
! and we have to take it and make the best OF
| it until 1t is changed for the better.
| It does not look as If money cou become very
| cheap anyhow, for some time to come. With
business in a state Of driving activity, and prof
! it's large men will be willing to borrow 1t for use
! In trade at much higher rates tl.an they coul1
or would pay in times of dizziness and small
| profits. Therefore country banks will not keep
! much money here at low interest rates, when
| their customers eager TO borrow at higher
rates for use In business. Let general business
| slack UP. and accumulation of moaey--or better,
! stagnation of money-at the fl ancial centres at
once begins.
The movements in the stock market the past
! week. were at times erratc; but the direction
| of things as a whole was decidedly upward
| London was quite liberal buyer. This was the
| more remarkable. the war news was scarcely
| calculated to make the London Spectator very
| buIlish Nevertheless, London bought We
shall probably get most Of this stock back ain
! next week II the market continues to advance.
Atchson and Southern Pacific were apparently
| most in demand. The latter stock is reported
| to have a strong combinc..on back Of 1t in
London. which doubtless comes from the fact
that the banking house which is handling the
| eec,iriries ha a London bra This house has
bought the Croker stock and the Stanford
| stock in bulk The Croker heirs (there
! four were glad to sell because. in the first
place a nearly dead asset was turned into CASH
| and secondly, the representative member OF the
family could not get along with Mr. Huntington
| Mrs Stanford has other object in life than
the Stanford University. and she also was glad
to convert a dead asset into cash Her holdings
are understood TO have been acquired around 40
| Since these purchases were made. about lOOOU
shares have been sold in the open market by
| people who have held the stock for long
while. OF course the great bulk OF this must
have been taken by the syndicate, otherwise
the price would have broken under such q
weight of long stock. There are 200 millions
of stock altogether 1t will be seen that the
handling OF Southern Pacific is Job big enough
| for any
| There was good buying of Union Pacific com
mon. which went above 30. The time for de-
claring a dividend upon this stock would not
be before next spring anyway and IT is very
doubtful whether IT will be done then The d.
rectors are not disposed to rush things. They
did not do it in respect to the preferred stock
which began with per cent instead of 1; and
they may think the common can afford TO walt
These gentlemen are believers in the future OF
the property; and while it is earning now at the
rate of per cent on the common stock they
are not specially concerned about beginning
payment of dividends In hurry.
In the latter part of the week. considerable
business started In the b. & Q. stocks, which
rose sharply The preferred may be about TO
hacnnne q dividend naYer. and therefore an adj