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January 6, 1894
Record and Guide.
__^ ESTABLISHED^ (i\ARPH21^^ 1868
WoteD to He^lEstoe.Building AR.crfiTECTui\E.HouseholdDEGO^ATiotl,
Bi/si(/ess Atto Themes ofGej^eraL 1i^tef\esl
PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS.
Piililishcd ervrii Soliirdiiij.
Telephone,......Corti.ankt ]:170
Commtmications should be addressed to
C. W. SWEET, 14-10 Vest-y Strwt.
•J. 1. LINDSET. Business Manager.
Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Stkket,
OPP. PO.ST Okmce.
' Entered at the Post-office al New York. N 1'., as second-class matter.'
Vol. LIII.
JANUARY 6, 1894.
No. 1,347
For additional BrooMyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immediately
following New Jersey records {page 28).
THERE is uiKloulitodly n l)Pttcr feeling in Wall Stieet, not
brought about simply by tlie moderate ri.-ie in (luotation.s
of the last few days, but because the year has opened witli nniny
of the worst anticiiiatioiis and predietions unfuliilled. The fail¬
ures for the first week of the year have been many, but they
have not includ'd the institutions ami huf;-e liouses that it was
feared they would. Tlie evident disinclination of a large sec¬
tion of the Dennicratic members of the House to t.ike uii tlie
Wilson Tariff Bill has raised the hope that the measure is
doomed to fall a victim to the obstructive tactics of the
minority. There i,s no doubt that could this be made a cer¬
tainty it would have a very beneficial intlueiKc on trade
in general as well as on trading in securities. It would
indeed look as if tlie Democratic party had r(^sf)lyed
on hari kari if they pressed this measure in the face
of a distressed C(nninunity that is longing tor some sort of
respite from financial worry and trade disturbance, iu order that
it may set to work to repair the damage it has suft'ered in the
past year. How foreigners are affected by the reckless treat¬
ment of trade and finance in national aud state legislature, is
shown by the figure ])ut out by the Bureau of Statistics, relating
to the movement of securities between this country and Kurope,
from which it appears that the net return movement haslieen in
the neighborhood of a hundred millions of dollars in the conr.se
of one year. Some railroad men are talking encouragingly on
the prospects for business in the near future and here
and there may be found cheerier manifestations in trade
than were to be found a week ago. But the result
on actual operations is yet very slight and in Wall
street the change of feeling has not brought many customers to
the commission brokers. The continued falling off in the earn¬
ings and the other unfortunate conditions of Missouri Pacific
will subject the stock of that property most probably to bear
attacks until it finds refuge in the hands of receivers as Atchison
did, .and this will not be without its influence on the market,
if the management cannot defeat the object of bear opi-rators.
Taking one thing with another all that can be said is that there
is a more cheerful feeling for the moment, but there have not
been sufficient developments to make it safe to say how long this
condition will last.
IN England the financial condition appears to be clearing up
somewhat. The opening year has proved that many fears
are unfounded, and while there is consideriible prostration as a
result of strikes, lockouts, foreign competition in various lines
of trade (wherein the United States figures prominently in
screws, carpets and shoes), aud the retarding influence of the
financial condition of India, resulting from the continued uncer¬
tainty of the value of silver, there is a better feeling and pros¬
pect for 1894. The (London) Times exi)resses the opinion: That
the cycle of depression whicli followed the Baring collapse of
1890 is now showing signs of exhaustion. In France the present
is taken to be a fitting time to agitate the question
of the conversion of the debt paying 4I3 per cent,
and it is now tinder the consideration of the Minister
of Finance, who is expected to announce a plan for that purpose
shortly. Ou the Bourse the mid-winter settlement passed off
satisfactorily. A bill has been introduced into the C'hamber of
Deputies for the purpose, by a sliding scale of import duties, of
fixing a minimum price for home grown wheat. Its proposer and
the author of the anti-oi)tiou biU ought not to be kept asunder
by so many miles of ocean. Business iu Germany is dull on every
hand, with correspoudiug results iu the financial centre, Berlin.
The losses consequent on the failure of Greece to meet its debt
and interest engagements pressed heavily on Berlin, where some
of the later Grecian loans were placed. There is talk of a move-
menlrtoittdace the great powers to take united action against
Greece .as the.y did against Turkey in ISKl, and previous to that
against Egypt, in both of which instances the results were
beneficial to the holders of the bonds. The Austrian Minister of
Finance, in introdiuMng his budget recently, made a .statement
that will be of interest to this country in view of <mr nervous¬
ness in regard to gold exports. While admitting that the reform
of the currency of the country necessitated the acr|iiisition of
more gold, and that a reserve mu.st be created for the hani cash
payments of the (iovernment, he said gold would not be juir-
chased all at once as it was re(iuired, but slowly by iiistallnients,
according to the opportunities jiresciited by the market. Both iu
.\ustiia and Hungary the use of oiic-llorin notes is to Vie ,sto]i]ied
and silver coins .substituted in their place, i^pain's unfortunate
financial and commercial condition is likely to be aggravated by
taiiff changes, as a result of the mixed cinidition of its
commercial treaties with other nations. Favorable treaties
have been given to Holland, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland
and Denmark, which became ojierative on the first instant, and
now, as the larger [towers will be at a disadvantage, i-eprisalsare
feared, while the treatment to be accorded to them presents at
the moment an uiLsolvable difficulty. The condition of att'airs
in Argentine and Brazil is a .source of anxiety in the foreign
m.arkets where their .securities have been placed. In the case of
Argentine it is feared that she is unalde to cany out the Roth-
schild-Bonieid agreement for the settlement of he]- debt abroad,
and the uncertainty of the outcome of the conflict now raging iu
Brazil gives room for all manner of conjecture.
IF the news))ai)eis are right, so many iineer things are done in
the name of " I'liblic Ojiinion " that one would be forced to
conclude that the iicoiile of New York are a very unbalanced
crowd were it not that we know the real name of I'nblic Opinion
is Mr. Brown, Mr. .lones, or whatever other cognomen the news-
pa]ier writer, masquerading as " Public Opinion," is known by.
These individuals tell the public that it has said so and .so, that
it believes so and so, that it desii'es so and so, and in obedience
to editorial iiresninption and a.ssnmption the Public acquiesce.
This sort of " Public Opinion" ]iroduces at times very queer
results. Take, for instance, the recent events in the District
.\ttorney's office. The announcement was made that Mr. Pente¬
cost was to be .iiqiointed Assistant District .Vttorney. " Public
Ojunion " in two or three newsjiaper offices awoke, and because
Mr. Pentecost had uttered in the iiast some extrava¬
gant words upon .subjects which cannot be «(nite satis¬
factorily treated even by the strongest and sanest thinking, they
deniuinced liiiii ott'-haiid as a jierson utterly unfit to fill the po.st
to whicli he had been called. Thei/ knew Pentecost. Shake a
few of his .speeches together, and it is easy enough to evolve
him. Of course, there was no necessity to stop to consider
whether his ojiinions had changed, even as editors' opinions
change in the course of time. It was quite unnecessary to make
any allowance for the fact, which mtist be well ^vithin editorial
experience, that men are sometimes more extr.avagant in speech
than they ever would be in action. Neither was there .any hesi¬
tation in order to inquire whether Pentecost's very outspoken¬
ness (allowing for the element of falsity which is more or less
present in all articulate speech) did not betoken an earnest
nature, which would perhaps be a ', not invaluable
novelt.y in the District Attorney's office. No, it was
a much easier matter for " Public Opinion" to shake its
editorial heads and proceed to score Mr. Pentecost. Personally
we have very little sympathy with that gentleman's economic
ideas. He says he renounced them some time ago as erroneous.
We do believe, however, that no .small part of his public life has
been actuated by an earnest belief in certain theories, and by a
desire to improve the conditions of others. But look what
"Public Opinion" does. It prefers Barabbas. Mr. Pentecost,
it declares, is unfit to be Assistant District Attorney in company
with Mr. Fellows, that " simple Christian gentleman," now Dis-
ti-ict Attorney. What an edifying lesson to inculcate subtlety.
Has Mr. Fellows been a more logical or thoughtful student of
economical questions than Mr. Pentecost? Certainly he has
been more iiolitic and suave, and ever as insincere as the average
politician is in dealing with any ]uiblic matter. He fares bettei-,
consequently, with " Public Opinion."
THE soft-coal uiteic.sts have not given iqithe hope of securing
the profitable business in suiqilyiug the great furnaces in
New York with fuel notwithstanding the setback they received
in the case of the Steam Heating Coni])any. .<Vt present they are
attempting by gentle and insidious arguments to remove, what
they are pleased to call, the jirejudice of the citizens of New
York against being befouled in a liuiidred or nnue places as
they were a few weeks ago in the neighborhood of Cortlandt
street. What this interest asserts, however, is not supported by
facts. It is true that New York has an insular position open to
the wiuds in .all directions, and that the prevailing winds are
those that blow fromSfthe Land to the sea. It is also true that
there are appliances that mitigate the smoke nuisance.'But these