Year: 1871




the week Just closed has been devoid Of important
movement or feature. The wheat trade has been on
rather frmer basis in consequence OF London ad-
vices reporting poorer crop season in Great Britain
than was anticipated earlier IN the year. and also In
response to apprehensions Of partial failure OF the
crops IN the north Of France. Cotton was steady
until toward the close, when 1t showed some weak
ness on the unexpected lncrease-slight as it may
nave been-in the receipts for the week, indicating
rather prompt gathering Of the present crop. The
influence OF these larger receipts is a temporary
one, and operative for the time being outside Of
considerations as to the extent OF the crop itself.
The dry goods market was quiet.


TIE MONEY MARKET.


The stereotyped ease OF the money market was
undsturbed but 1t is only reasonable to believe that
whatever the degree of activity, great lttle to be
experienced In the fall months we have reached the
greatest relaxation Not that there may be any ma
terial change for several weeks TO come, but any
change which may occur will not be in favor OF
easier rates. The chicago papers report that the
country banks are drawing on the city banks quite
freely, indicating beginning of the great fall
movement OF the crops
Prime commercial paper, running sixty days to
six months, Is quoted ~ q IN per cent discount.
Foreign exchange experienced a further decline,
but closed firm on the basis OF lO9zx q 10 for
prime bankers sixty day sterling and IlOA 1lOx
for sight bills.


THE GOLD MARKET


The problem OF the gold market has received such
further solution as given by its obstinate ad.
herence to 1l2 as an apparent average quoration.
The more sanguine ''bulls," who looked for the
periodical summer rise to the vicinity OF 12O and
the equally sanguine "bears," who were orecasting
decline to 105 LOG, have been severally disap-
pointed. Now that gold has tlded over the summer
or good portion Of 1t, without any extravagant ad.
vance, conjecture Is at work to decide the point to
which II must fall in the winter, when we turn seller
instead Of buyer in the grand trade with Europe.
The measure OF that decline must of course be found
IN due allowance for the excess of our imports,
which have been very heavy over the exports of
produce and merchandise the rest OF the year,
the amount of which must undergo considerable
dmlnutiOn in quantity II not in valuation by the
short crop oil cotton We have been very extrava-
CANT people this year, both In sending money abroad
to buy foreign gOOus and in going abroad to spend
our money. Americans In Europe were never so
plentiful. Have we postponed the specie payment
question indefinitely Or is our credit SO good and
has European capital been so abundantly invested
In thousand and one new railways that we have
received as much as we have spent The foreign
exchanges had weak look toward the close, as
| If we were getting more than we were parting





of balancing foreign trade account, but before
these railway bonds Misunderstanding as they do
twenty to thirty years-New York win be the centre
or the financial system OF the world and debtors
will never ask for their money cheerfully content
they will be to get the interest regularly, and,
finally to extend the mortgage or exchange 1t for
similar obligation on some more recent enterprise
The man who can under these circumstances pick
out and limit exactly the resulting influence Of all
the various influences at work IN the gold market Is
wiser than his generation and should i'm.
mediately 60 into the Gold Room ana make
his fortune before three O'Clock tomorrow
afternoon. The HERALD theory will, after ALL be
the most lik ely to prevail. We shall grow up
specie payments. In this connection We glad 10
| see 80 influential journal as the Financial
Chronicle sounding the right note, when 1t says
"During the last SIX years the value Of our
| paper money has fallen from 1,04s,O0o,oO0 to
| A7, 900, or nearly One-thlrd; while the value
| of the paper dollar has risen from 8S 96 to 1920,
| which also is nearly one third. From this move
ment 1t has been inferred that U TIE business OF the
country expand ana enlarge the field for the
use of the currency hereafter, or II o further
contraction be made IN the volume of our paper
money and its aggregate be lowered from
747, 900 to about esq., 900, while the demand
for currency IL the same as ut present, then
gold will In either case 60 down to par or,
more properly speaking, TIE paper currency soHl
appreciate ana rise to a leVel tch cOin That this
theory rests correct principles there is no dOubt
but whether the level of $50 ,O00, 900, II reached,
would restore the equilibrium OF our gold and
paper currencies we shall apparently have no early
probability OF satisfactorily discovering" But as
contraction would be remedy worse q thousand
times than the disease hold to our original doc.
trine. The extreme fluctuations daily in the price
OF gold during the week were az fOllOws:--