Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-09-27
WHY AMERICA PROSPERS
INDUSTRY STIMULATED BY THE
GOLD STANDARD.


Driven to admit that the country is
prospering as it never prOspered be-
fore, the Populist party
replies that the Republican party is
''simply lucky"
Nature has been bountiful, and
would have been SO If Bryan had
been elected President. But the Dem
ocrats deny that McKinley's election
in 1896 either strengthened private
credit or enabled people to take bet
ter advantage of natures kindness.
The campaign Of 1896 was fought
on two great issues-sound money VS..
a debased currency and protective
tariff VS.. free trade. These are still
live issues and, in fact, the issues.
Mr.. Bryan, in addition to the declar-
alton of his party platform, stood then,
as he does now, pre-eminent person
ally for both.
Even on the day after election in
1892, when it was known that the
protective tariff would be repealed,
credit began to grow weak. In 1898
57S banks failed, and failures among
business men and manufacturers
reached the high-water mark in the
country's history of 1850, with total
liabilities of $4O2, 427, ,S1S.
That Mr.. McKinley's election
strengthened private credit by reaf
firming and reinstating the protective
tariff principle is shown by the fact
that Bradstreets reports for the first
six months Of this year, 1900, record
the fewest number of failures in the
United States within eighteen years
in spite of the fact that we now have
a national bankruptcy law. In 1893
the bank clearings, the great barome-
ter of the country'S credit and busi-
ness, were smaller than in any year
since 1888. The total bank clearings
of the country for the entire year of
1893 We're 1880, ,994,52 In the first
six months of this year, 1900, they
We're $40, ,S57 ,261 ,316, almost as much
as for the entire year of 1898, while
the grand total of the bank clearings
for the year 1899 were $93, ,507 900, 900.
The private credit of the men and
firms of the country had been so
strengthened by the election of Mr..
Mckinley that they were able to do
nearly $4OO0O,OOO,OOO more business
through the banks in 1899 than they
did in 1898 under the Wilson policy,
for which Mr.. Bryan stood.
But it was the election of Mr.. Nc
Kinley and the victory for sound
money that, equally with the assured
repeal of the Wilson tariff bill.
CT oprfhopaI priy-ata cro1it op1 ana
bled the people to take full advantage
of natures bounty. 1t has also
strengthened the national credit, and
made it the highest in the world. Our
per cent. bonds are eagerly sought
after, and are commanding pre-
MUM. The money market is the in
dex of private credit, and the changes
therein Immediately following Mr.. Nc
Kinley's election We're most signif-
cant
Despite the prevalence Of belief
that the free silver candidate was
doomed to defeat, the feeling of ap-
prehension was most acute during the
few days preceding the election. The
preparation on every hand against a
possible mischance, the locking up of
gold, curtailed the supply Of money
and seriously impaired credits. Money
was only loaned at the highest rates
Brokers in New York City dealing on
the Stock Exchange could only bor-
row money at Il per cent. commission
and legal interest for the three days
from Friday to Monday before the
election. and the two days from Mon
day to Wednesday, the day after the
election. On this basis the rate per
annum for call loans was equivalent
to % per cent The present easy
money market and low rate on call
loans in New York, as reported in the
Tribune to-day, shows how private
credit has been strengthened under
the gold standard and MI. Bryan's de-
feat.
The whole situation of credits and
the money market put before election
day, 1856, represented the culmina-
tion of the distrust created by the
mere possibility that the country
might go upon a silver basis. On
Wednesday morning Mr.. McKinley's
election was announced and credits
were SO strengthened that the rate for
call loans in New York, which take
rs basis in the feeling in the money
market, promptly dropped to g per
cent. with the opening of the days
business, and before the day ended
money was freely offered at as low as
3H and per cent
Immediately the large amount of
gold that had been boarded, estimated
by leading bankers to have been over
$50,000,000, was released. For two
months before the election there was
rsprcmium of n per cent. on gold
Ht ing the brokers, such was the de-
q. ld for boarding purposes. One
ling broncr sold in single day.
the week before election. $2,000.000
of gold in amounts which ranged from
a few hundred dollars up to large
sums. This showed that all classes
We're putting it away for the future.
With credit strengthened because