The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-08-02
FROM PANIC TO BOOM
IN LAST Il MONTHS
war Has wrought Grca< Change In
Financial and Commercial
situation
rsoRDrNATE PUBLIC GAMBLING
Speculation in War Stocks Carried 20
Dangerous Point. For Recon- f"''S
Upon Participants--Ffrm fo"i'ua-
stor, Estabitshed For Future.

New York. Aug. 1.-The Suns week
Nv review Of the financial situauoh
tomorrow win say.
wall Streets progress from panic W
boom in the last twelve months
the guage OF the vast change "iien
\ year of the European war mas
wrought in the countrys nnanciA@ az
commercial situation and outiook' ~
he sure IL has been a one-sided boom
=, Far ana srctesquely feverish on oe-
rasforr but II is very real response
10 factors that have begun 10 WORK
70 make industry and trade Increas-
tnSly active and to enhance the values
dependins on the volumes OF bdsi-
ness which the country does
To the extent that the speculation
In war stocks has represented moral
nate public gambling. II liz reprehehsi-
HE and dangerous, but these features
~ .he main are of concern only TO
those who engage in 1t, for the dan
gers of such performances usually re-
coil chiefly on the participants In the
long run speculative boomhs exhaust
themselves or suffer collapse without
essential harm TO any substantial IN
terests. The concrete consequence Gus
tomarly is the ignorance Rvariee mas
learned a lesson without any oetS-
terious impairment of actual values
usually remain as reflection or the
prosperous expension of enterprise
throughout the land
Practical Note fs struck.
All speculation lie bred OF oondi-
ssar which conduce TO and there Is
This to be said about the successive
waves Of speculation In Wall street
stnce the reopeninK of the Stock Ex-
change last December, that the aug
ruauted speculative surge of last month
simply confirmed the forecasts OF IN
formed economists a few months ago.
They predicted, on the history of war
time financial experience that specnia-
tive phenomena having more than a
tinge of gambling furrore. were to be
looked for during the war. The re-
cent demonstrations Of the validity
OF these prophecies not only come as
no surprise, but they tend to prove the
existence of conditions which give
speculation much TO anticipate In the
way OF economic expansion.
That a arm foundation has been es-
tablished for the structure OF security
values cannot be doubted when basic
industry Ia In such shape as current
facts of the steel trade denote. II
the tide of confidence rises mors
strongly. especially II the brilliant
promise OF the crop season Ia realized
the probabilities are that domestic
buying in all lines of business vii
come in TO supplement. as IL has no.
vet done, the impulses for expansion
which have emanated from the for
etgn trade field. Moreover. factors fol
Increased confidence are diseernible II
the new note of practically which pol
tics liz striking. Washington's avoweC
purpose to take the necessary step
10 Increase the oountry's preparedness
not for war, but against war. is th'
most convincing testimony vet give'
that the regime of fantastic theoris
politics that did 30 much to cheel
business initiative in the past de
cade has come to an end.