The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-05-17
NOBODY BUT GAMBLERS HURT.

standard, anyone who is free from
political prejudice will have no trouble
IN seeing that the gold standard had
nothing to do in precipitating the
panic upon the street, for it hardly
went farther than that. But after it
had come, there is no question but
That the excellence of our financial sys-
tenn had much to do in preventing
widespread ruin. There was no feel
Ing OF dlstrust in our money system
and that help much to prevent ma
tional panic. 1t was simply a fight be-
tween stock gamblers in which indi-
viduals here and there were drawn in
in the hope of winning for tune in a
hurry. The whole trouble grew out of
the fact that one great financial inter
est wanted to get hold of the majority
of stock controlled by another interest,
and were willing to pay most any
price. No other stocks were injured
or affected except momentarily. Ac-
cording to all precedents widespread
ruin should have followed but nothing
of the kind happened. Outside of the
stock market the business of the
country moved on as usual. As the
Pioneer Press says in commenting on
the situation and it's results:
'But when the storm was over it
was found that practically nobody was
hurt except the small investors and
the gamblers on margins. 1t was
purely local distur bance. And even its
local effects were confined chiefly to
| this class of small operators and third
rate brokers. Not a financial institu-
ton is involved. Not even a member
of the stock exchange failed to meet
his obligations. The banks were not
only undisturbed, but by lending their
timely assistance in loans at moder-
ate rates tided many who were heavily
involved over the crisis. The country
at large was wholly unaffected by the
commotion in Wall street. 1t was too
| busily at work in its productive and
prosperous pursuits to be at all inter
ested in what was going on in Wall
street. The extraordinary disturbance
there had for the general public of
business men only the interest of a
strange spectacular play, full of sensa-
tional situations, but in which they
had no concern except that of wonder
ing but not at all alarmed spectators.
Not bank or business house in the
United States was apparently touched
in the slightest degree by the local
hurricane which ragged around the
ancient graveyard of Trinity church in
New York. That is circumstance
which distinguishes it radically and
broadly from any previous Wall
street cyclone of similar character on
the surface.
Moreover, when the excitement
was over, instead of the expected re-
dictionary decline in the railroad and
industrial stocks, which many conserv-
ative men believed to be overated, it
was found that they quickly and gen.
orally recovered from their temporary
collapse on Thursday and went back
nearly to the average level of the pre-
vious week. This is a significant fact
4! as showing that the reigning quota
tions are deemed to represent normal
and solid business values. Otherwise
the hurricane of Thursday would have
winnowed them like chaff from the
list of investment stocks.
1.-THE explanation of these porten
tous facts is not far to seek. They
mean that the business prosperity of
the country never before rested on
such a solid foundation that never be-
fore were its productive activities or
ganized and operated on such stu
pendous scale or backed by such vast
fund of accumulated wealth that
never before were workingmen of every
class so extensively employed at such
good wages with such abundant re-
wards to the capital invested and to
the labor employed; that it's unparal-
leled expenditure of productive energy
is supported by a corresponding de-
mand for its products. Chief among
the agencies which have brought about
these prosperous conditions is the es-
Establishment of sound and stabl e
money standard. This has afforded a
rock bed foundation for the vast super
structure of CT edits through which the
business of the world is transacted,
and by which capital is modified or
q organized for all business enterprises
6 great or small. The benef is of the
, gold standard are not be measured
+ merely by the volume of good money
q which places at the disposal of the
business needs of the country, but by
the enormously vaster volume of SOL
q vent credits which it renders available
y for business transactions. 1t is to be
t the expansive credit facilities afforded
q by stable money standard that we
I owe the chief impulse to the reorgan-
5 ization of the industries of the country
L on a larger scale. The economies thus
: effected in the machi merry of manufac-
g ture and business methods have so re-
duced the costs of production in many
:, lines of staple articles as to have en-
abled our manufactures not only to
drive out all foreign competition from
! our own shores, but invade foreign
, markets and thus widely extend the
, market for our products. These are