268 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OP 1894. 



live stock, and not to allow the managers of rail- 

 roads to delay stock longer than one hour at any way 

 station. 



That all grains and seeds to be put upon the market 

 graded according to quality should be graded by a 

 sample of legal halt' bushel,* and that no smaller 

 quantity than that should be a lawful sample from 

 which such grade shall be determined and fixed. 



That there should be no reduction in the present 

 rate of postage of any class of mail matter before 

 there is free dailv mail delivery in towns and villages 

 and throughout farming regions. 



That any article used as human food which shall 

 contain any substance not legitimate in its manufac- 

 ture, or which shall contain any adulterating ingredi- 

 ents, should bear on every package containing any 

 such article, in plain, legible letters, the word" Adul- 

 terated." 



That, in all States, farmers of whatever political 

 party should demand a just share of all delegates in 

 nominating conventions who distinctly and positively 

 represent agricultural industries. 



That the Congress of the United States should es- 

 tablish a Board of Arbitration, or so amend the Inter- 

 state Commerce Law as to give the commission the 

 right to investigate the cause of strikes, that have 

 been so disastrous to life and to the movement of 

 commerce, especially to live stock and perishable 

 farm products ; and that said commission should have 

 the right to adjust any grievance that may exist be- 

 tween capital and labor. 



The liquor traffic as represented by the saloon 

 business is the cause, either direct or indirect, of the 

 poverty, crime, and misery that prevail in the United 

 States ; and we call upon our National Congress, and 

 the various State legislatures, Lo enact such laws as 

 will suppress the liquor traffic at the earliest date 

 possible. 



That the laws with reference to foreign immigra- 

 tion be strictly enforced, in order to prevent the land- 

 ing upon American shores of foreign elements that 

 have come in competition with American labor, and 

 that have constantly bred discord and anarchy on 

 American soil. We respectfully ask the Congress of 

 the United States to take prompt action in these 

 matters. 



We recognize with great satisfaction that the 

 Farmers' Congress, in its several sessions from 1886 

 to 1893, inclusive, has been recorded in the " Annual 

 Cyclopaedia"; and we hereby extend the thanks of 

 this congress to D. Appleton & Co, the publishers 

 of this valuable work, and also to Hon. B. F. Clayton, 

 now president of this body, who has written the re- 

 ports thus published. 



An excursion was given during the congress 

 to Blennerhassett's island, where a banquet was 

 spread on that lovely and historic ground. An- 

 other excursion was over the Ohio Valley Rail- 

 road to Sisterville, the center of the great oil 

 regions, which was extremely interesting to the 

 delegates. 



During the three day*' session many questions 

 were introduced and ably discussed, and resolu- 

 tions covering nearly every agricultural and 

 productive industry will be sent to the Congress 

 of the United States. 



The fifteenth annual session will be held at 

 Atlanta, Ga., in October. 1895. The session just 

 closed was one of the most important in the his- 

 tory of the organization. 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1894. The 

 feature of the year was the congested condition 

 of the money markets in New York, London, 

 and Paris, reflecting the absence of confidence 

 which was the natural result of the financial 

 crisis in this country, and of the unsettled state 

 of affairs in Great Britain, caused by the Baring 



crisis of 1890, and by the Australian and the 

 South American embarrassments last year. The 

 New York associated banks in February held 

 the largest amount of cash and of surplus re- 

 serve ever recorded. Toward the end of August 

 the Bank of. England reported the unprece- 

 dented sum of 39,880.099 bullion, and, Dec. 27, 

 the Bank of France held 82,783,141, and the 

 Bank of Germany reported 40,334,275 gold. 

 During the greater part of the year call money 

 at the New York Stock Exchange loaned at an 

 average of 1 per cent., and frequently loans were 

 made at i of 1 per cent. Discounts in the open 

 market at London were at one time in the sum- 

 mer as low as ^ of 1 per cent, for sixty-day bank 

 bills, and at the same time the unofficial rate at 

 Paris was f per cent. A comparatively small loan 

 offered by the city of Paris, in April, attracted 

 subscriptions from London, and spasmodic ac- 

 tivity in the open market rate at Paris stimu- 

 lated shipments of gold from New York. In 

 very many instances merchants anticipated set- 

 tlements abroad, taking advantage of the ex- 

 treme cheapness of money here to adjust ac- 

 counts which carried 5 per cent, interest in 

 Europe. Though capital was in such great 

 abundance, America offered little or nothing to 

 attract it for investment. No sooner had the 

 Secretary of the Treasury announced his inten- 

 tion to issue bonds for the purpose of increasing 

 the gold reserve, than members of Congress. Ir- 

 resolution, declared that no part of the proceeds 

 of such loan must be used except for the re- 

 demption of legal tenders, and owing to this 

 opposition failure of the negotiation was threat 

 ened. The silver question was early in the yea 

 agitated in Congress, and in March a bill pro- 

 viding for the coinage of the silver seigniorage 

 passed both Houses, but it failed to become a 

 law by reason of the veto of the President. 

 Even then a proposition was made in the Senate 

 to coin Mexican dollars at the United States 

 mints with American silver, notwithstanding its 

 manifest impracticability. The renewal of the 

 silver controversy in Congress, and the delay of 

 the Senate in acting upon the Tariff bill after it 

 passed the House, early in February, discouraged 

 European investments or speculation in Ameri- 

 can securities. The movement of the ''Army of 

 the Commonweal" was regarded abroad as of 

 far greater importance than it was here. The 

 strike of the bituminous coal miners in May, 

 and the sympathetic strike of railroad employees 

 in June and July, likewise tended to deter opera- 

 tions by Europeans, and it was not until the Tariff 

 bill became a law, in August, that much interest 

 was taken in American railroad stocks, and then 

 only for a brief period. But while Europeans 

 had so little confidence in our securities, they 

 apparently had not much more in their own. 

 Speculation in internationals was very tame, 

 influenced in great part by the socialist demon- 

 strations preceding and following the assassina- 

 tion of President Carnot, of France, June 24. 

 The outbreak of the war between Japan and 

 China, July 27, was at first regarded as likely to 

 give some employment to idle European capital ; 

 but Japan's requirements were met with home 

 contributions, while China borrowed only spar- 

 ingly, and it was not until toward the end of 

 the 'year, when new loans were negotiated by 



