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Vol. LIII.             JANUARY 13, 1894.





No. 1,348





ALL that can be said for trade and finance is that they are
no worse than they were a week ago. It being reasonable
to suppose that after such a long .spell of bad times better ones
should be near at hand, it is al.so rea.sonable to su])pose that
business generally ;is well as the stoek niaiket is awaiting some
incentive to an upward movement, something that will awaken
people out of their suspicion or indiflereuce. Regarding the
stock market particularly there are mauy issues that are selling
below their value under a fair prosi)ect of better times, but
that market continues to be overshadowed by au adverse
influence. of one kind or another. At the moment
a fear for the condition of the national treasury has succeeded
to the malign influeuce of the ^^'ilson Tarirtbill, whieh was the
inheritor of the powers of depression of tlie Silver Purchase
law. The administration has given notice to Congress of tlie
true condition of affairs in the Treasury and has fallen back on
its dignity, apparently considering that it has now notliiug to
do but await the action of the legi.slative body, no matter how
business outside may be suffering thereby. A similar
course was pui-sued toward the silver question; it was
only after months of appeal <ind in the face of
financial disaster that the President was induced to
call Congress together to consider it. Is the Treasury deticiency
question to drag on in the same way and until it produces simi¬
lar results? So far as can be now seen au issue of bonds is the
only remedy. If, as is stated, tliere is strong opposition to the
issue of a new, low interest, short time bond most suitable to
meet this particular case, the sooner the opposition is met the
better, or if it is thought that such opposition is insurmountable,
the Secretary of the Treasury sliouhl meet the difticulty under
the powers he already possesses. Tlie appearance of friction
between the banks and the Treasury as a result of inactivity of
the latter has a decided tendency to make the outlook less
hopeful.





LOOKING abroad it is found that the investor in English
railway shares is now curious to learn what effect the
bad business of the last half of lSi>3 will have on the forthcom¬
ing dividends. As, however, the raOway companies do not pub
Ush statements of net earnings oftener than twice a year, and
then only when the dividends are declared, this is wholly a
matter of conjecture. However, notwithstanding the great coal
strike the losses of earnings are not so large as on the American
lines. On the great English lines the average loss is 6.9
per cent, the highest loss being only 18.8 per cent,
and that on a line directly affected by the coal strike.
Some encouraging conclusions are drawn from the
fact that the manufacture of pig iron has been
comparatively light for two years past and that only a
small working .stock was left ou hand at the close of hist year.
Agricultural reports in England are not at all satisfactory, but
there is hardly a doubt that business is imi)roviiig there, finding
its incentive in the activity at the great naval stations, and is
only kept within its present limits by the prospect of an early
dissolution of Parliament and the underlying fear that trouble is
brewing in India as a result of the condition of the currency
there. In France, as in the United States, 18118 was a year of
panics, commencing with the Panama disclosures, resulting in the
withdrawal of $-lO,00(>,()t1(t from the savings banks by small
depositors and accomptinied by an embarrassed national treasury.
Customs reports shows that about ^i!3(i,.5(»(>,0O(t of gold was
imported in excess of exports, with an increase of only about
$400,000 at the Bank of France, consequently it is concluded
that some hoarding is going on, though for what reason it
would be veiy diflBcult to say, except that tlie cautious jieasautry
and bourgeoisie have gotitintotheir heads that w.ar isinevitable.
In Germany the losses that have been made in foreign loans
have affected confidence in the large banking agents who have
been prominent in floating them to the extent of reducing quota-





tions'and the shares of other banks have declined in sjTnpathy.
Some of the large iron centres of the Empire are reported to be
more active than they were a few weeks ago. General business,
however, continues to be depressed by tlie discussion of
the proposed commercial treaty with Russia and the
probability -that the Reichstag will refuse to sanction
it by its vote, and for other well-known reasons.
The Austi'ian government is said to contemplate not only the
withdrawal of the one florin notes, but also of the five florin
notes: This measure would give a large field for the use of the
silver the government lias accumulated for some years past.
Vienna is likely to be kept in good condition by the execution
of public works, of which many are proceeding, and to which is
to be added an underground electric railroad. Australia has been
put into a condition of ease by the better market for its loans in
London, which enabled heavy January interests requirements
to be met there without the remission of large amounts of gold,
which the colonies could ill afl'ord to send.





HOW long is the American investing public going to stand
the impudence of the self-elected reorganization com¬
mittee, of which the two latest are the gentlemen who put out
announcements that they will condescend to protect the interests
of the AtchLson and St. Louis & San Francisco, or the St. Louis
& San Francisco and Atchison security-holders, as the case may
be. Of course there are two distinct committees, but, as the two
most important names appear on both, they are practically one,
which in the circumstances of thi; case they should not be. These
gentleineu have no authority whatever for forming a committee,
except what they m.ay hereafter obtain by the acquiescence of
the security-holders in their acts. They say that they liave done
it " at the request of large owners of bonds," but iis the securi¬
ties involved amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, they
cannot have the consent of a sutlirient amount to justify their
position. There ought at least to have been a meeting of bond¬
holders, called by jniblic annouiK'cinent, to give them an opportu¬
nity of judging the litiuss and comiietency of the gentlemen pro¬
posed. As it is, tliese ctmimittces are nothing more or less than
tricks to obtain trust company and other business, to say noth¬
ing of fees for services, etc. The attempt to introduce this
method of "protecting" the holders of securities of bankrupt
corporations is finding prompt resistance in London; but here it
has become the custom to submit to the dictum of certain people
iu these matters, so that it is a general thing to hear bondholders
hope that "they"—referring to tiiese interests—will not do this,
that or the other, as if the speakers were helpless and had no
power whatever of making themselves heard. In the present
case the constitution of the committees is not only without war¬
rant, but is unsuitable, from the fact that the interests in the
two cases are not tlie same. Atchison has been brought down
by the weight of allied lines, i)articularly tl)e St. Louis & San
Francisco, so that its .security-holders might very well ask that
the allied lines shall bear the burden of the reorganization,
which it cannot do very successfully through a Committee
ostensibly represeutiug their interests, but really as much con¬
cerned about the St. Louis & San Francisco bonds. However,
this or any other particular instance aside, security-holders
ought not to permit the continuance of the practice of auy body
of men, who choose to do so, constituting themselves a Com¬
mittee of advice on reorganization, but to insist upon the intro¬
duction and maintenance of a system through which the
interests, motives and intentions of their would-be protectors
can become known and by which guarantees can be obtained
that their particular interests and not some ulterior and personal
design will be served.

THE determination of the Cleveland administration to push
the Income Tax measure is a mistake certain to prove
politically dear. We are uot iuterested, however, in the political
aspect of the matter. Om- regret that an effort is to be made to
re-est.ablish this old and once discredited method of tfixation
arises from the fact that if th(^ attempt be successful another
statute for the promotion of dishonesty will be in force. It must
be clear to everybody that the conditions which make our present
personal property tax a farce and a disgrace will operate even
more powerfully in the case of an income tax. It is a queer
thing that those who are pushing this measure ignore our past
experience. The revenue obtained from the old income tax was
a decreasing one, in spite of the rapid increase of national
population aud wealth, and yielded the Government what was
practically the minimum amount at the moment wheu it was
.abolished. No doubt au income tax is a wise and equitable
method for raising Governmental revenue, but the sentiment of
a people has to be considered in all wise legislation, and a
theoretically admirable law is practically a very bad one if it
clashes with public feeling and produces wholesale perjury and
corruiJtion. We have pointed out more thau once in these
columns a method of taxing incomes which, we believe, would
be unobjectionable.   A tax upon rents would reach everybody's