The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-15
FINANCIAL IDEAS
UNDERGO CHANGE
NRECKaGE FOLLOWING NEW
HAVEN DISASTER SlGNJTT-
OANT OF TIMES.
ATTITUDE OF PUBLIC
PERM SS1BLE LINES OF COR
poIsaTI1 ENDEANOR ARE MORE
RESTRICTED THAN THEY
WE'RE DECADE AGO.

NEW YORK. Dec. 1.-THE Suns
weekly review Of the financial situa-
gaon tomorrow Will say:
such a wreckage OF investment for
tunes a. is involved In the suspension
Of dividends or the shares Of the
New York New Haven and Hartford
railroad must be both significant OF
The tflaes. and have consequences
which cannot yet be adequately
measured.
IL denotes the most consptcious col
lnpga 81 weakened positions this year
,,naer the strain Of adverse econo-
mil. conditions and the pressure OF
change in public attitude toward the
permissible lines Of cooperate en-
,seavor. Ideas which Aourished IN
the fnsnciaI world decade ago and
were Y,epularly accepted, are no
longer current. and the New Haven
disaster syrnbolized their passing
Cphiil Journey Ahead.
The country and other countries
have now more uphin than downhin
is,uyrcy nK ahead but II heights are
- be added and held they are not
te be gained in hurry. The New
Haven railroad was ten years OF more
arrivtue at its present pass IN the
language ri Wall Street bull!shness
an prices is not the same thing ny
bnil!shness ef fundamentals. IntA
the foundations 81 finance and bus
jncxs have been stoutly strcngi heued
There is nor likely e. be much pro
ftable Improvement In prices,
whether If securities or goods, nor
profitable expansion Of volumes
JUST as IN the case of the New
Haven railroad, the siackening Of tho
world trade. tBe depreciation of Sc
esr.tiss fire liquidation which has
been. and ts going on, are owing 20
Widespread. profound and long en-
r1uria4, causes OF strain which must
De eliminated from the capital and
credit markets If any permanent ro~
coverE In to set in.
TX Is highly Characteristic Of mod
ern supatlence that wall Street
should even now he feve rishly en-
mazed in attempts TO anticipate re-
furn II speculation activity. There
are reasons for believing that values
have sscd through most Of de
structiYe period. and that the APP
prosc1 Of an era Of constructive eff
fort is ia sight
Why Speculation Died
Although the lowest depths Of the
- Il aei.I.@a--.4elfa MAJ nat haNa
been reached by the financial mar
Eeis. and the business community.
the probabilities are that the way
which stretches ahead does not lead
aownhill as much az II does uphill,
but this work which has 20 be done
= uphill work Tnis IL why specula-
ion In Wall Street Ia SO dead and
WIN a certain futilitv attaches to the
1lotioA that the stock exchange. by
taking thought To itself, can revive
AT an Early date the speculative mar
kets Il years not long past.
II is AN excellent thing and a pro
tact worthy of all support for the
stoc.s exchange 10 seek To commend
itself more favorably to public re-
gard han In the recent past. but spe-
cH3u4on Ia dead not SO much on aG-
rup2t IT the abuses which had fas-
tened them selves 70 the service that
Wall Street rendered but because
economic equities have for tho time
beet NJ thoroughly exploited and cap.
sialiged and because there Is NJ
PLETHORA of funds seeking employ
naent an excess which always re-
salts IN speculative furOre.