Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-17
People Are Not Investing in
Stocks at Present.
THE GOVERNMENT BUDGET
Is the Most Interesting Event OF the
Past Week--A New Tax
Causes Great Wrath

New York, April 1.-THE Times London
financial correspondent cables:
We got over the stock exchange settle
ment more easily than was expected and
the immediate prospect is that credit will
remain comparatively cheap because me
foreign exchanges are more in our favor
and the Bank of England is collecting a
little gold. Trade, however, is employ
ing much more credit than it did and the
country banks say that they have not in
years experienced such heavy demand
from the provincial branches. Some G5,-
100000 were dispersed over the country
during Eastertide, mainly for holiday
purposes and usually this money filters
back within a few weeks This year
hardly any will return and the Scotch
banks are already drawing away gold to
cover their increased new circulation, al
most month earlier than usual. And
this is against great cheapness of credit
ana also against an increase of stock
specula ton.
People are finding employment for
their means in commerce and manufac-
lures and will not return to the stock
/ markets in large numbers until they have
made money in their business. This eX-
plains why Stagnation prevails in every
/ w ldlNlilcill VI lIle SloCh tAtildiSe. EN eI y
body there declares that there is nothing
dong, which means at present that a
business of six ordinary days is not be-
ing done IN two or three. We have no
| tremendous rushes of speculation but
only the quiet jobbing and small peddling
that Just keeps things going. In the main,
trading in securi ties must be enormous
| for the stock exchange Eow contains Apt
members and 2,U1 clerks. Were the av-
erage gross income of each of these only
s 100 a year, and that is a very moderate
estimate it would imply an aggregate in
come of SCI 100000 per annum from COM
missions and jobbers' profits. DullneSS,
therefore, can only be relative. Still we
are not doing the large and exciting busi-
ness of two months ago and are not like
~ to do it for some ,me to come.
! Inc most interesting even of this week
is the government budget. AS you know
we are leading the nations of Europe in
the fashion of enormous naval and mill
tary expenditures which one party in the
state calls wasteful and provocative of
strife and the other precautionary. But
what may interest you is the manner in
Which the chancellor of the eXchequer
lodged the necessity of imposing more
taxes. For the current year ending on
March 81 next he requires G113, 600 600. SO,
on the basis of existing taxation the pros
pecuNe deficit Is about ga, SOC, 900 He
knocks off G2,000 coo of this by suspend
ing part Of the debt sinking fund and an
ether $500, GOO he looks for from small
, incl eases in taxation. The rest he eX-
poets TO make good by the natural in
crease of the revenue, so he will come
out at the years end with small surplus.
These figures relate to the imperial ex-
pendlture alone but we give $4,000 900 in
grants to the municipal and county
spending authorities SO the total rev.
enue to be raised this year approaches
G12O, 0O000o an amount wholly unprcce-
dentcd in our annals. How long the ma
ton can go on carrying this burden with
eout GrumblIntS, no man can say, but it is
a burden so artfully imposed that as vet
nobody seems to think it is heavy Your
finanIiers might learn a lesson from ours
in the art of extracting enormous reven-
ues from a very few taxes, which leave
trade free and the citizen unconscious of
the great part of the weight imposed
One new tax eXcites great wrath in the
city The chancellor of the excheGuer is
desirous to put a five shilling tax duty
on all bonds and shares of foreign and
colonial origin not already stamped.
This strikes all American railroad shares
and bonds not first issued here and the
contention is that it Will hurt business.
The tax IS only payable once but if
conversion takes place and a new secur-
ity is issued to replace that cancelled.
then there is some fresh tax. 1t means Is
per loo shares on all your shares no mat
ter whether they are worth $40 share or
$500. memorial is being got up against
the proposal but there is a doubt if it
VIII succeed in accomplishing anything.
Meanwhile, the market is nearly paraTy-
Zed If the law passes. arbitrage business
VIII be much hampered at first at least
as no share or bond struck can be trans
ferrcd without the stamp, which the
tfahsferrer must pay, without a chance |
for rccOupment.