The Washington herald., 1917-11-07
U. S. FINANCES
AT HIGH MARK
Huge War Loans No Drain
on the Treasury, Says
Holland.

There Is not one of the leaders in
finance or In banking or who Is prom
inentIy identified with the Treasury
Department who does not concur in
the opinion that notwithstanding the
stupendous financing that has been in
progress for six months, the country
is financially sound, IL not sounder
than ever before. There Is not the
slightest reason for any apprehen-
sion.
Therefore, the curious course OF the
securities market last week cannot De
reasonably explained excepting upon
one Of two hypotheses. Either greedy
speculators were taking advantage OF
certain hysterical conditions that had
been fomented by men who did not
have the best interests OF the country
at heart, or else the action in the Sc
curities market in New York reflects
a new phase of German propaganda.
Whatever the course of the market
may be from this time on there Is no
doubt that the real values that are In
the majority of the securities are not
at all reflected by depreciation in
price. should this depreciation be con-
tinued, we are likely to see a repeti-
ton Of that quaint and curious in
yasion of Wall Street which always
takes place when security quotations
are believed to be far below the real
value of the properties.
On Hunt for a Bargain.
In other words, the day of the bar
gain hunters may come, and these
searchers for bargains do not custom
arily buy on margin, but they bring.
sometimes in queer. old-fashloneo
pocketbooks, large amounts OF actual
cash with which they pay for the Sc
curities they buy, and, having op-
tanned these securities. they carefully
tuck them away in inside pockets and
then disappear.
Nobody knows where these bargain
hunters come from or whittier they
go after they have secured the bar
gains. But in the past they have al
ways appeared when securities quota
tons were believed to be far below
the actual values that were In the
properties.
The Comptroller Of the Currency,
John Skelton Williams; Gov. Strong.
of the New York Federal bank, and
every one of the leading bankers Of
New York emphatically assert that
the financial condition Of the country
today is not only excellent, but prob
ably constantly improving.
The reason for this view is to be
found in the reports which tell Of the
money and loan conditions in the
United States. For instance, the
latest report Of the stock of gold
money in the United States places the
figure at s3.Os1, .Oc0, round numbers.
This Is greater by a little over $780,
900 than was the stock of gold
money a year ago. 1t Is the basis OF
very much Of the credit which, If
NEEDED, will be made available to the
American people and to the govern
ment.
Based on Sound Reserve.
Then again, the latest returns re-
ceiyed by Comptroller Williams which
tell of the loans of the national
banks. show that they amounted to
a little over nine billion dollars or
a million, one hundred and forty mil
lions more than the loans of a year
ago. These loans do not reflect dan
gerous imitation. They are all based
upon soundest reserves now held by
the Federal Reserve System.
Then again, the relation of the Fed
eral Reserve Banks to the general
COuulllOl VI lllc NOulllg
enormously increased within the past
twelve months. These banks dis
counted or bought bills at the very
time when the securities market was
showing a stead depreciation. which
were in the aggregate five hundred
and seventy-five million dollars. round
numbers. or considerably over four
times as much as were the bills dis
counted or brought year ago By the
Federal Reserve Banks.
Everybody who has of late been
receiving cash from his bank or from
his customers cannot have foiled to
observe that the majority of the notes
are those issued by the Federal Re-
serve Bank. There are now nearly
eight hundred and fifty millions of
these notes in circulation or consider
ably over six hundred millions more
than were in circulation a year ago.
The Federal Reserve Banks have am
pie gold reserve and other resources
! with which to secure their notes.
Month of Great Service.
The banks of the United States
passed through the month in which
that wonderful body of salesman all