The Metropolitan National Bank alone requested time to
liquidate.
The issue of these certificates was very rapid: $3,800,000 on the 15th
day of May, $6,800,000 on the 16th, $6,700,000 on the 17th, or more than
$17,000,000 in these first three days; then on the 19th, 20th, and 22d,
$1,500,000, and that was all. The remainder of the amount was given in
driblets. Payments, although slower, were made from the 1st of July to
the 1st of August.
Let us now run over these occurrences: in 1873 instead of $24,900,000 in
certificates $26,565,000 had been issued; $22,000,000, had been issued
between the 22d and the 29th of September, the redemptions took place
from the 3d of November to the 31st of December.
In both cases the same amount, so to speak, had been sufficient to
answer for all needs. If so small a difference sufficed to save a
disordered market, people could not understand why panics could not be
provided against. It was necessary to remember that this assistance was
only felt when the decline of prices had already re-established an
exchange of goods, bringing about the liquidation of houses
unfortunately involved.
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