Year: 1874

not always recognized IN the Unlteu otate5
Treasury Department seems now to be looked
upon with respect and consideration. This is
hopeful sign. 1t appears to indicate that
we have passed a threatening crisis in our
transition toward sound sentiment from those
patriotic Mysteries which associated them
selves with the genuine patriotism OF the war.
At one time it was not sufficient to be capa-
BILE tnancer, or good general. or brave
soldier, or a devoted friend of the country
and an unquestioning believer in its destiny,
but he must always b. given to cant; and If
he could can't with a forty-parson power so
much the better II man prayed on his
housetop it was well; but if he did it up IN a
balloon and gave good notice, so that the
whole country had an opportunity to brush
up its spyglasses, his success was independent
of the limits of human capacity. 1t WAS the
era of Christian statesmen. They fourished
to such a point that the green bay tree
was a withered shrub by compari-
son. They were the righteous, and they
necessarily inherited the earth. Christian
statesmen and Christian bankers and import
ers and Treasury agents and congressman
were at premium, and hypocrisy was more
profitable in half an hour than all the virtues
in thousand years. Jay Cooke built
church, and the man who thus gave the profits
to the Lord deserved to flourish So piety car
red the Treasury in its sidepocket until the
| Northern Pacific Railroad, the Credit Moblier
and the other explosions of kindred iuiquities
opened the peoples eyes.


If we count upon soldier whipping the
enemy not by his talents for military science
but by the tervor of his presumed piety, and
upon a banker for the same reason rather than
for the more relevant one of his comprehen-
sion of finance in its relations to national
economy we readily find plenty of bankers
and plenty of generals, but we do not score
many victories, aud we insure in our financial


operations just such hmentable catas-


trophies as have fallen upon our people.


1t is, therefore, sign full of promise for the


future to see the Secretary of the Treasury
handling the finances financially, not piously
or patriotically. Not that We would contemn


pety or patriotism but they ore easily feigned,


and to accept them, whether true or false, as
reasons in finance leads to bad results.


Compared with Jay Cooke Co. on the
side of piety and love for this country
the Rothschilds would cut q lamentable
figure but as bankers and as men capable OF
dealing honestly in large transactions their
history is rather the more presentable of the
two. They have TAKEN with other equally
legitimate bankers, forty five millions of the
new loan on good terms-and it is likely they





more-and it is certain the Secretary of the
Treasury could not have done better than he
has done in dealing with men whose opera
tions are plain and comprehensive, and are
not befogged by pretences. At the present
moment there is no good reason for paying
to bankers for the sake Of their piety and love
of country percentage considerably larger
than that for which we can get our loans
taken As the war is over and the comet is
, out of sight, and the country is still safe,


hedging OF that sort seems hardly necessary !;


though Of course we must deal gently with
apprehensions that catastrophe may be the
consequence.


BY the present experiment we see how little
disposition there is on the part Of own
bankers to take the loan at strictly fair terms,
and without such opportunities as have been
hitherto given for extravagantly large profits.
There are no doubt good reasons why our


bankers should be shy in such transactions IS
, unless exceptionally favorable terms are given.
, They can do better with their money. Just
, now it is true the chances for the use of
, money are not so brilliant but people who
are accustomed to scan the whole horizon OF
, trade confidently anticipate that the fall will
, see q very energetic revival Of commercial and
industrial activity and the hope of what may
, then be done deters the many from opera


ton only favorable in the eyes of those who
seek permanent investment ALI the money


here, in short is very much in the
position Of Micawber, and is simply


sGyng back for q spring" and dealers
will not deprive themselves of great
future opportunities by undertaking a


transaction that seems only fairly remunera-
tive, and to which they are not melted by any
; patriotic or other than strictly financial rea-
sons But with foreign bankers the case is
different At the present moment there is


an almost universal inactivity in the great
money markets of Europe and an unusual
, volume of money held in comparative idle
| ness In addition to this however, Is the fact
: that investment for long terms, such as in


yestment in the securities Of the various gov
| ernrnents, is far more of a feature of financial


operations in countries where accumulated
t wealth is great than with people who, like
9 ourselves, are almost earning our bread as w
D eat it, Opportunities for return of from tel


to twenty and thirty per cent on capital arr


always either before our eyes or not far away
: and this is the rule with new countries and al
. . energetic and commercial people. But wher
Il large fortunes are in the hands of trustees al