October 13, 1900.
RECORD AJSTD GUIDE.
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Vol. LXVI. OCTOBER 13, 1900. 1700.
ON the stock market the week has been one of small busi¬
ness, with fractional declines in quotations, and the mark¬
ing up of rates on call money. There is still an underlying
strength that makes operations on the short side risky, if
not unprofitable. The supply of stocks that enabled profitable
covering of short sales to be made a few weeks ago seems to
have come to an end, and while caution is the motto for the mo¬
ment, confidence in the ultimate situation continues. We are
feeling somewhat the effects of the scarcity of money abroad,
and there are thosewbo do not hesitate to say that this will have
further effect; and, although they believe prices will be higher
before the close of the year, they are holding off in the expecta¬
tion of seeing better opportunities for buying than the market
now affords. This theory is based upon the belief that for¬
eigners must yet be heavy sellers in our market, and will sup¬
ply the stocks, even though it may he imposihle to make people
at home let go of their holdings. In view of the conditions
abroad there is some plausibility about this theory, especially
as the holdings of the Northwestern railroad issues abroad are
large, and these issues feel the effects of diminishing earnings
as a result of the partial failure of the spring wheat crop. Op¬
posed to it is the fact that we have gone through a long period
of liquidation, and prices are away below what they were in
June of last year, when the boom was at its highest, and even
considerably below what they were last spring when the election
bogy was first trotted out. It is possible, and more than prob¬
able that, on this fact and in the belief in a revival of business
as soon as the election is over, new buying may be more than
sufflcient to absorb all the stocks returned to us from Europe.
If this theory is correct the waiting bulls will be disappointed
and will come in later to push quotations up against themselves,
a thing tbat has been known to occur before. Gold imports and
signs of renewed ease in call money are among the hopeful
features of the moment and strengthen the bull view.
IT may seem a singular thing, but it is really only coincidental,
that the Indian famine and other troubles of that peninsula
occasion the sending of a large amount of gold to London at a
time when it is needed there. The $5,000,000 of gold India is
now shipping would have gone under any circumstances of the
London money market. It comes about in this way; Owing to
the general depression in India, so many people have had to
convert their ornaments^which often represent their savings
—into current cash. The metal reduced to bars has been paid
to the government for rupees of which the supply proved to be
insufficient, and recourse had to be had to the silver market
and the mint to meet the demand. This process was facilitated
by the recent act which made rupees and sovereigns inter¬
changeable at 15 to 1, and gave the former a coin value in gold
of 16 pence English, or the equivalent of 32c. United States.
Some of the gold received by the Indian Government had to be
paid out for silver with which to replenish the stock of rupees
and, incidentally, was responsible for part of the recent rise in
the price of that metal, as well as of assistance to the London
market which needs the gold. Reports from European finan¬
cial centres are mostly taken up with the condition of the money
market and the diplomatic-military situation in China; the
efforts of the Bank of England to protect its gold holdings,
by, at different times, raising the prices of eagles and of bar
gold, shows the state of the one; and the concurrent and sym¬
pathetic weakness in German Imperial 3s and Chinese 5s, that
of the other. The failure of the Bank of England to advance
its discount rate this week, ought not to have created the sur¬
prise it seems to have done, because the rate is already a high
â– one, 4 per cent,, and only a great emergency would justify fur¬
ther advance, and then only when other means, such as those
already employed this week, failed to hold to norma! propor¬
tions the demand on the bank for gold—for export. So far
these means were fairly successful, as the amount of the desired
metal secured for shipment was not only moderate, but also
in part obtained from outside bullion dealers. If, and when
the bank's reserves are attacked in force, we may expect the
discount rate to advance, provided there is no supply of gold
from any yet unexpected source. South Africa for instance. It
is not impossible that the results of the negotiations that have
kept President Kruger all tbis time at Lorenzo Marquez may not
have some bearing on this point; this is a surmise only, but it
follows the recollection of the intimation given by Great Britain
to the Dutch Government some weeks ago, that they would
regard it as an unfriendly act if the Dutch Government, in car¬
rying the President of the late Transvaal Republic out of
Portuguese jurisdiction, carried also the archives and treasure
of the extinguished republic, which Mr. Kruger was supposed
to have with him. Vienna was reported this week to have had
had a panic, and although this was promptly denied, its con¬
firmation would not have surprised those who have kept them¬
selves posted on the financial and trading conditions there.
The "Gold Clause" and the Election.
REAL estate men, or more correctly, those who lend on
real estate, evidently take a view of the political situa¬
tion somewhat different from the one they held at the last
Presidential election. Perhaps people are harder to scare the
second time, or possibly they have grown more philosophic or
more hopeful with the flight of years. But, be the explanation
what it may, the fact remains that the "gold clause," that pro¬
vision against disaster that disturbed the peace and haunted
the mind of some unhappy mortgagors in the fall of 1896, ap¬
pears in the records this year very much less frequently than
it did four years ago.
In 1S96, from the week ending July 2d to the week ending
October 1st, 707 deeds with the gold clause were recorded in
the Register's office, an average of SOya per week. During the
current year, counting frora the week ending July 5 to the
week ending October 4, only 303 papers containing the currency
stipulation were filed, an average of about 21%.
Of course there is still nearly a month of electioneering to
frighten the timid, but there is no reason for doubting the con¬
clusion that these figures really indicate the general sentiment
—so far, at least, as the real estate world is concerned. For
instance, this year during the week of September 13, there were
only 34 gold deeds against 47 in the corresponding week of
the last Presidential contest; during the week of September
20th, 20 against 62; during the week of September 27th, 24
against 52, and finally, during the week of October 4th, 42
against 78.
Roughly speaking then there is not in real estate ranks one-
half the uncertainty this election regarding tbe future stability
of the country's currency.
The same conclusion holds if the situation is tested by the
amount of money involved in the mortgages. Omitting the New
York, Westchester, and Connecticut Traction Co.'s mortgage
of $2,500,000, and Harper Brothers' for $1,500,000, the mortgages
for this year (between the week of July 5 and October 4) amount
to $S,174,394. Four years ago they aggregated more tban twice
as much—$16,670,143.
How far the political implication of these flgures may be
carried, we cannot say. Four years ago undoubtedly Mr.
Bryan's ideas had a disturbing effect upon the minds of capital¬
ists interested in real estate (however favorably others were
impressed), which was recorded by the increase in the num¬
ber of deeds containing the "gold clause." Evidently a cer¬
tain number of real estate people feared Mr. Bryan then. This
year it is equally clear this fear is entertained by not half as
many persons—whether because the candidate's ideas are now
more acceptable, or because his election is regarded as more
problematic we leave to our readers jO judge.
THIS year the New York and Kings counties' quotas to the
cash requirements of the State are reduced, the first's by
$801,878 and the second's by $179,058. The rate for tbe State tax
fixed by the last Legislature was 1.96, and this on total valua¬
tion of $5,461,302,752 produces $10,704,158, of which New York
County pays about 50 per cent, and Kings County about 13 per
cent.; Greater New York as a whole pays about 70 per cent,
of the year's State expenditures. By far the greater part of the
special State taxes, like those on the liquor traffic, collateral
inheritances and corporate franchises, are drawn from this city.