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J. T. LINDSEY, Busineas Manager.                                           ___





Vol. slth





APRIL  18,  1891.





No. 1,305





THE stock market betrays a commendable tendency towards
strength in spite of news and conditions which would
m'dinarily be most depressing. The continued shipments of gold to
Germany are caused by the sale of American securities held in
Berlin which have been realized on by bankers for the sake of pro¬
tecting tbemselves in case of more weakness in Italian and Argen¬
tine securities. This is shown by the decline in Northern Pacifies,
in which the Deutche Bank is interested, and which were very
strongly supported by that institution during the panic. These
securities are no raore and no less sound at the present
time than they were three months ago, and their present decline
must be laid to the account of the selling of those who in the past
have been their principal supporters. General business ia not at all
good just now particularly in the West. The busy season started
very early with large orders from the lelaileis, who, however,
because of strikes or declines in wages, have not been able to dis¬
tribute tbeir stock to advantage, thus causing a slackness of the
demands on mauufaclurers and wholesalers. In the course of a
month or so, this will be felt in the returns of railway earnings.
Nevertheless, the year is likely to average very well; aud there is
but littte cause for discouragement in the outlook. It must be
remembered that we are depending almost solely on our own
resources. Generally, in the case of a rise in prices, much of the
buying comes from abroad, whereas the foreign factor
at the present juncture is a depressing one. We may be sure,
however, that this money will return as soon as Europe can feel
herself secure from past indiscretions. If there had been less
chicanery in the management of our own railroads in the past,
investors abroad would make this country their favorite field of
operations. In the news column of tbe 81171 of yesterday there is
a statement tbat there will be a meeting next week in Philadelphia
of the stockholders ^of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St,
Louis Kailroad Co. and the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania
Company, adding ; " Ever since lhe consolidation was effected and
the name of the Pan Handle Eoad was changed to the Pittsburg
Cincinnati, Chicago & St, Louis there ha? been considerable strife
among the stockholders, many of whom objected to the change. It
ia now propcsed to make an amicable settlement of the relations
betwcn the different lines, and thereby stoji any further disagree¬
ment among the stockholders." AU tbis is rather vague, but prob¬
ably means that the Pan Handle stockholders are not as meek aud
patient as tbe shareholders of theChicago,|,yt. Louis & Pittsburg R.
R. This much may be predicted, that whatever is conceded
to the Pan Handle shareholders to stop their energetic opposition
will not be conceded by the Pennsylvania Co., but will be at the
espense of the shareholders of the C, St. L. & P. R. E.
That bluff railroad brigand, Jim Fisk, always resented the term
robbery as applied to wrecking a railroad and then gathering
it in. He called it " rescuing property from its owners;" but noth¬
ing ever done by Fisk and his associates equals the raal-administra-
tion of the C, St. L, & P. property from tbe time the Pennsylvania
Company took it over as the C, C. & I.e., dowu to the present
day. The late consolidation with the Pan Handle, while its terms
were uot regarded as at all favorable to the Chicago, St, Louis &
Pittsburg, was humbly accepted in the belief and hopethatitmight
mean a change of heart, aud that after two decades some liitle
income would be accorded them, but if tbe matter is going to be
juggled with again, it would appear as though nothing is left them
but a suit for au accounting, and, in tbe interest of tbe investing
public, we hope auch proceedings will be begun and firmly pushed
to a finish.

THE Bank of England has been compelled to raise its rate of
discount because of tbe actual or threatened demand in the
market for gold on the Gei-man account—that is for the same
reason that has caused the large withdrawals of the same metal
from New York. It is scarcely likely, however, that the demand
will be so persistent and urgent thafc more stringent measures will
be necessary.    Tbe conditions of the London market itself do not





change, the Stock Eschange business remaius in  that limp and
lifeless condition wbich has been its tooat important characteristic
since the beginningof the year, and fhe proepectsao not encourage
hopes for much improvement in the near future.    Great masses
of   securities    are    being    temporarily   financed,   pending   their
realization, or are in weak hands, and the knowledge that  thia is
the case does more than anything else to restrict speculative activity.
The stagnancy may be shown by  the  banker's clearances, which
have decreasedduring the flrst three months of this year from the
figures of the same period during 1890 by £5. ,575,000, or 15i^ per
cent.    The prices of commodities during the same quarter do not
exhibit any  important changes.    Coippared  with  1890, some of
them show a decline, but a compaiison with previous years leads
to different results.   The most noticeable variation is that in iron,
the decrease being due to the esceptioual  depression which has so
long overhung the industry, and which caused the cessation of work
in Scotland.     Most of the  testile prices  have either  improved
somewhat, or have been almost stationary ;  raw cotton is cheaper,
and food products are generally  higher  in value.    As far as the
movements,  iu the'prices ■ of commodities may he   used aa an
index to the condition of trade it ia considered that there is reason
for gratification ; that the effect of  the rude shock to finance and
commerce experienced during the latter  parfc of last j ear has not
been more marked.     In  Berlin no sign of improvemt nt is visible.
The  opinion is spreading  that any hope for a rising  movement
during  the  next six mouths ought to be quite abandoned.    The
backbone of the  home  market, the shares of the  iron  and steel
trade have completely surrendered to the receding movement, and
the reduction  in  prices in  those commodities  have not gone far
enough to bring relief to the trade.    Official  reports of the condi¬
tion of the croiJs both in Hungary and Austria have   been drawn
up.    Wheat has borne the long winter well, because during nearly
all tbe time it was protected by a thick covering of snow.    Rye and
oil aeed are not iu such a good condition, but are improving daily,
The retmn to specie payments is still under discussion between the
Finance Ministers of Austria and Hungary; but the present unset¬
tled parliamentary situation precludes any decisive steps.





IT has been curious to watch the gradual disintegration, by £1
process of inner logic, of the arguments against granting the
Manhattan Company the needed strip of Battery Park. When the
proposition was originally advanced by Jay Gould some years ago,
all that was thought necessary by the newspaper editors everlast'
ingly to condemn it was a mass of loud verbosity against monopo¬
lists and affirmations ad libitum about the sacrednesa of our parks.
They could not afford to go into details, because their reasoning
rested on a process of judicious abstraction, and wind \\as not
wanting to fill in the many empty spaces. Furthermore,, they
depended largely on the assertion, which no one in his
senses will deny, that the elevated roads cannot give
us the kind of transit required by more exacting
future conditions, and that consequently a more elastic
and more eflEcieut system waa needed; but they utterly ignored the
true reason for granting the increase of facilities, viz., fche necessity
of immediate alleviation. When the rapid transit bill was passed
they probably thought that the flght was over; bufc the fact that it
has been kept up so sturdily by people uot at ail interested in the
Manhattan Company, is proof positive that the demand for au im¬
mediate improvement of service has a logic of its own. So the
newspapers retm'ned to their good old arguments about the abso¬
lute sacredneas of parks and the deteatability of monopolies, etc.,
etc. Now, this sort of easy and airy reasoning does very well for
a time, hut its emptiness palls even on those who force it ou the
public. The mere fact that it is advanced by people not without
rational faculties, leads in time to an sndeavor to reinforce it by
filling in the bare abstractions with a little common sense
detail. The first effort, however, in this untried field, was pitifully
weak. Gould, from this new point of view, did not want iiis strip
in order to run more trains; he would not improve the service of
tbe roada at all, in caae he got it. He simply desired the extra
space for tbe unhallowed joy of " grabbing " public property and
preventing the poor working mau from enjoying the fresh sea
breezes. It took two or tbree days to realize that thia argument
was not even specious, but, on the contrary, waa downright silly.
Nevertheless, since the assertion has been n^ade that the service
would not be improved, it must be stuck to ; but with their tele¬
pathic knowledge of the inner workings of Mr. Gould's
mind, these writers decided to vary bis motives. From
the latest accounts, his real purpose iu desiring the strip,
and spending untold thousands at Albany in order to obtaiu
it was the need of the company for additional storage room. This
may be simply an ingenious way of insinuating that Mr. Gould is a
fool; for if it is supposed tobeaserious description of the movement
of that great man's mind, itis not very successful. The writers
bave not taken advantage of theu opportunities. They cau make
him " think " anything they want to; but if it is necessary to read
his thoughts in an imaginative way the imaginative efforta ought,