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iDecember 24, iHgi:
Record and Gui*
9-17
Bi/iiWESS Hia Thehes or CEjitfl^ Itmflf ^U
PRICE PER YKAR <^ /iV/MI &IX OOLLACS
Pubiisliea every Suturdoy,
TRLKPBONF. (OBTLAtJDT 1370.
Communicadoua should be addre^seil lo
C. W. SWEET, 1-l-IG Vesey Street.
J. 7. LCXnSET Bvsinesa Maxaapy.
" E'-'er-ii a.' 'hr p s 0£i. e "t S'-w Tiiri. y T.. ..suf.'iiii-f'-.ss â– al er."
VcL LXII.
DECEMBER 21, IS9S.
1.C1C
TTTT AS tiiere ever anyLhing like the enthuEiaHia tha; pr^^a!:i
W in Wall Street? FvcLaLly nc cr.e, net efeii the mc t
ancient cf the haLiiues cf the streel, can recall a limiiar o;c :i ior..
when cr.e distinct Luying mcven'.ect had gene cn fer mcnths
â– withcut hieak. and was as biicyant as ever cn the eve cf a scm -
what extended hcliday seascn. Even the mcvement cf 1885-5
was not as extended and peiEislent as this. Net cniy ars theie
new issues ccmiiig to the frcnt, luL new movensents ara tein.';
engineered in Lhe eld cues, the Urangar stccks fer initancs. tha:
were the first to disecunt the iir.prevement in the sittu.i^u a.ui
wete Euppcsed to have Lenc^:ted as much by it as iheir merits
warranted. The secret cf the whole matter, if iher; is a:.y .ecr.^^
about it whieh is very douhtful, is the abundance and c-ea; n £;
of mcney which has become less piciitable to hold than stcclis,
even these whcse chances of permanently keepir-g the pcsi-ioiis
they have recently gained as dividend payers are by no means
assured. It is ewing to this abundance cf money that the talk ^F
a Russian lean has arisen. PerhcFS the fact that Ru sia is llie
most enterprising beggar in the world has also someth n; to .'o
with it. Having wciked Lender, Faris nnd h.t in sue e slvely
and siiccessfully, it is net uniiRely that she has teen a tracts I
by the sight of our bursting ccffars. It is dcut)t_"ul if the Russi.1.1
three per cents eeuld ccmpele against cur cwn issues and it
would be an altcgeiher tco startling evidence cf ihs grcw.h of
wealth here and cf cur trade abrcad if we began new. when hoili
are so ycung, to accept ft^reigii secuiities in settlement cf oo.-
balacces aLixed. Kcwever, there is no resis.ing the cp iraistic
feeling which has heen aroused in the minds cf people havinj
money to invest cr to gamble with; at the m.cment, there i.;
nothing to do but go with the tide, bearing in mind, however, no
matter hew far qtictalicns are carried up, that events will luD-
sequently bring values down to intrinsic levels.
PROBABLY the subject of highest political Impcrtance dl -
cussed by the British press in the past week or two is th^t
of the Claytcn-Bulwer treaty. Judging by such expressions riii
have reached this side of the Atlantic, British commercial inter¬
ests would be glad to see the United States Gcvei'nmmt under¬
take the work of building the Nicaragua Canal and to that end
would endorse the modification, and even abrogation under co -
diticns for equal use of the canal when built, of the Ir.aiy. it is
very doubtful, however, if those same commercial interests wo^ilJ
like to see their Government burden iherr.selves with tie fina -
cial obligations that the fathering cf the canal would involve. It
Is fair to say, however, that whoever the bui.der cf ihe canal may
be, if it ever can be and is built, the chief ccnLributor tt. its re/. -
nue will be the British shipper. Iheie is no ch..ngG in thj
European industrial or ccmmercial ccnditicns since last we.k.
except perhaps that the ircn industry in ali its branches show;
Eome increase in activity. In hraiice the proviJcnal r=tur. s <:t
the vintage are not favorable, though the qua:i:y cf the wine is
good and the alcchclic strength supeiicr to that cf last jesr
Berlin is reported to be bcrrcwing largely frcm Lcndcn ar.d,
through the latter frcm Kew York. The statement cf the Im¬
perial Eark shews a ccnsiderable less cf metal and a tiige p \.-
porticnate increase in disccunts compared with thi cl.se ct la .1
year. These facts show that this cen:re wiil still bear watching.
though it is reascnabie tc expect that the precautions taken wi.l
tide the business community into the New Year withcut seiicua
trouble. Tte Impeiial budget Ccr 1899 pr.-.v;d..s fer an inc ea^j*
in expenditures cf abcut $28,000,000, cf which nerrly h.lf is '..T
the army end navy. EusincES in Vierna and Euda-Pe-t';i co-
tinue to te swaytd cccciding to whether the indica ions or the
mcnieni pcint lo a olcsing r a widening cf ihe diffirences b -
twe^n .^ustiia ai'd Hungary cn lhe Siaies Treaty. Chi.ian fin-
sncps have been imprcved by ihe fact that exrar;rrlina-y mnit;!ry
and other eipensiB have been rendered unaeess;ary cwing to lat-
tlPirrm cf the bcundnry di?pute wjih .\rgeniina: for tho snnio
reaFcn ,'I may be laken that the latter also exp&riences .^i;iii>3
pecuniary relief. Siaiisiics relating lo llie movement of p p.i a-
lien in France shew ihai in IS97 ibere was an tncrfa.ie tf l-.S USS;
the dtncEfe in births ccniii.ued by il.4"i9, but there was also a
decrease in deaths which creaud lhe favorable balance. Fran-;e
Etards alcce anciig th j greal Powers cf Eurrpe for a decrpa-.i ig
birth rale. A comparison be;ween ihe decennial p^ri^ds lSiO-*0
ard ISSI-UO. shews that in Germany, Aiisii!.i. and England il rv'-
mr-ined stationary, at an average cf ^S per ihr.usand iiih,ii)ila:U.?.
Thai cf Italy arose frotn 3T per thcusar.d in ihe former period ".o
3S in the lalter; Russia has an annual incria.-e cf a miliii,ii a i
a half in her pcpulailcn. while in j'rar.ce (he ra.e cf '11 pT
thciisand in 1841-50 has declined to 24 in 1881-DU. aiiil wa^. u:.tldi-
22'^ in IS97.
••EXPAND: IXPE.ND '
i»T F tbe durnrd things would only tall.." as a per;ile:;ed s'atls-
â– *â– tician once exclaimed, "'how intere:£iir.g ligur s would be!"
Eecrelary Gcge must have fell this when ii.vii.g u; draw some¬
thing articulate out cf the long columns cf ciph. r^ which he re¬
cently presented 10 Congress, as a statement cf ti:e nation's
finances. To the reader, too, who glanced over tbe::i in his mcrn-
irig paper,scme thcught of a similar sort must havs occur, ed. Ths
"durn^.d ihings" remained so cbslinateiy n.uie. And jet at this
juncture tf our ccuniry's hisicry hew eloquent and i.i.cur,ii;e
they might easily have Leen if cniy the power of tpetch were
tI:Liis! Indetd. it Is most astonishing that the signiocance of
these statisiics has been so entirely missed, for tbey iniica e in
a nicisi pi,inied and unmistakable manner tl.e Lnormciis st^i.'.es
civi.izaiicn is making wiih us and how ntile the CbsLrujii-uiats
lo the progress cf iheir country havd to hepe for.
Let us abstract one or two items frora Secretary Gage's i-eport.
Id 1897, the ordinary expenditures cu acccunt of ,ha MilLary Es¬
tablishment were rcundiy $49,000,000; in I8;-i8. thsy were $..2,000-
OuO. an increase cf about $43.COO,001), 'lhe Navai Establishment
in J897 ccst ?34,5110,000. and in L89S neai-ly J59,U0L).0ilO, an increase
cf 5j4,5U0,O0O. Pensions, tco. bobbed up serene.y af,er their
faLhicn, ficm $141.0UC,Ll.O 10 $14'i,5tlC.0O0, seme six and a half
millions mere. These three items, then, give us for IS'JS a total
cf nearly Ihtee hundred millicns, and we aie told the estimates
foi next year increase these expenditures to over four hundred
ar.d i-fty mil.icns!
We can haid.y imagine a Patriot an;i a Chrislian reading thess
trunipfii liguiei wiihcut a ciy cf exultaticn, particularly when
he itcalis us lecall he must that this is merely the beginnii.g oi
cur naticn&l tiibuie to the "forces" of clviiizaticn. We k:;cw,
for the multitude, unfortunately, Patrictisni cannot briiig cthrr
rewards than a glowing consciousness of great things shared in;
tut any bcn:ely ta.\pajer who doesn't derive satisfacLion frcm
these expendi.ures must be hard to please. The cidlnary u:a;i,
however, who Is neUher a Mugwump, nor a Pui'iian, m.r an cdi-
cusly Cultured Person will surely recognize thai he is g;;tling hii
money's wcrth and wi.l be fii.ly content we are persuaded with
Secretary Gage's report, unless hij eye happens 10 ;Ge. after read¬
ing Lt.eie figures, that the expenditures <in account of ih^ Smith-
Ecnian InslitUiicn were increased icur hurdrtd and sixt en dol¬
lars in 1SS8, cr to be precise, frcm $12?.551 10 $12i,yi;8. Tiilj iLay
seem like "rutblng it In"—taking an unwarranted iidvanrage oC
a liberal puree. Eecause a free handed and weal.by n:itlon .3
wi:iing to spend cue hundred and fifcy millions extra for ci^ilUa-
licn, tliat is no reason why a government shculd fur.uely ci,n-
Irttute fcur hundred addiiicnal dollars to Science. l'rac,ic„l
people, whc are net easily fooled, will pcsiibly-regard ihis as
pandeilng to culture, and vve all knew that if ever there is a rift
in the .''Ute cf national pientness It will be cultuie that wiii causj
It. Cf ccuree the few who take stock In cultur.':, peacj an ! jilcu^'i-
shares, who refuse lo recognize thai war is a Cr.ris.i m and manly
discipline wcuid delighl 10 l(e ihat fcur hundred and lifiy
mii.icns spent en libraries. ins;Itu;es and technical echotls and
cniy the 41G addillci:al dollars cn the Mi iiary and .\av.il estai:-
lishn.ents. Eui, tMr.k of a ccnnii'y giv(.n up 10 that sort rt
policy! What kind cf civilization would it ha\el Wha: a siiec-
ttcle rf imbecility it would present to the world in the cloiinff
years cf the twentieth century!
CJ course, there is net th.; slightest c'.iance Ibat any mi for uno
of that kind will overtake ns. We have outgrown mr.si of the
namhy-pamty ideas abcut peace ihat illellgured ;he ccncep.i,u
which the fcunders cf this nation fcrmcd cf Its "Destiry" in t.ie
wcrld ard I s "Cuty" to Kun-cniiy. The lerrlMe fp carle of.
arired Euixpe is bcccme more atlractive to us ihan th â– !i;iue!ier
afpiraiicns 0' cur cwn forefathers. Fcur tun[i;ed antl llf y
n.iliicns a year for army, navy and pension wciil 1 ra h ,r .^lail'e
tl.cie c!a fellow;—almcst as much as it dses a few of 1 u*- i'i;Izpn.r
lotlay who believe that all people's watches run al:ka thcusli
•