Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-07

Z
the world w. "
This is an inter ~
esting fact, and
important fact and means much to every citizen of
the country. 1t will affect position in the comfy
of nations far than any single the build
ing of great navy any iperialistie expansion. 1t
will mean new economic conditions and possibly
radical legislation, as compared with our present
tariff regulations and great national problems
that will call for solution. Money IS the great
social power, and to be the foremost nation finan-
cialy will bring to responsibilities much greater
than any which we have assumed latterly.
For centuries the world financial center has been
London From the time when the Lombards
brought banking from Italy to London, gave
England the :" E S. d. which is still the symbol
of her currency, and gave Lombard Street its name,
England's wealth has increased steadily and tre-
mendously. As she sent her money out to all parts
of the world for investment and as the profits,
great flood of wealth. flowed back to London, she
gradually gained the worlds confidence financially;
all nations went to bank there, and for many gen
erations all nations have gone there to borrow money
The money-rnarket is precisely like any other
market. Where the desired commodity exists in
the greatest quantity and is to be had at the cheapest
rate, there will the seekers go to obtain it. This
is as true of gold of fish or beef. And London
has served well her broad world clients Con
sentative in management, exhaustless in her re-
sources, equipped with many great banks whose
names are historic and whose credits have been
passports throughout the world for generations,
China South America the whole world has gone
to bank there. Wherever a might be the
earth banking credit in London good
having the money in his pocket; and of other
city could this be said
And SO the change, when it comes will be
great one As France has furnished the language
of diplomacy, England has established that of
commerce, and if that language is to become
American it will be great triumph for us indeed.
But before it can come many important changes
must take place in methods, way of doing
things and some of these changes will be considered
here The dominant factor in the question is
rapidly increasing wealth, an increase SO rapid
that it is leaving all other nations far behind.
The few acres of territory which comprise Wall
Street, so-called, occupied by body of men
with the greatest ability and largest aggregation of
wealth of any similar space in the world. No pre-
vous period in the history of this country has pro-
duced SO many forceful and brilliant financial men
as the present one. The men of mark in the past
would not amount to much if they should
back and enter into competition with the
present kings of finance Who could have dreamed
that institution like the Equitable Life Insurance
Company would have grown up in so brief time,
from a capital of hundred thousand dollars,
which has never been increased, to possess
four hundred millions of assets The Mutual and
New-York Life companies are equally conspicuous
for their hercuean growth. Take banks, for
instance: the National Bank of Commerce,
possessing twenty-five millions capital surplus
about twelve Millions and deposits one hundred
and forty-eight millions; the National City Bank
with a capital of twenty-five millions, surplus
teen Millions and deposits one hundred and eighty
three milonsl The worlds highest credit is now