The enigma was not one which the financial world could dismiss or ignore. It bore too vitally upon the welfare of the country. One hundred and twenty-five million dollars in cash from nobody knew where had completely changed the financial situation in two short months. It had been an amazing demonstration of the superior power of actual money over any other form of wealth. The investment of this $125,000,000 had really increased the quoted market value of stocks and bonds dealt in on the New York Stock Exchange by an aggregate of fully $500,000,000. Western Union, for instance, had sold in December below 80; now it commanded 115. The capital of Western Union is $100,000,000. The advance in price of this stock therefore represented an increased market value of no less than $35,000,000. But it had required the purchase of very much less than $35,000,000 worth of the stock to effect this advance in price. Many stocks and bonds which had not been touched by the brokers who had managed the bull movement had risen materially merely from sympathy with the rest of the market. The situation, however, was not sound or satisfactory from any point of view. The market was not self-sustaining. It required continued heavy purchases to maintain the abnormally high range of prices. If this mysterious support should be withdrawn a sharp collapse would be inevitable. Sensible financiers recognized this fact and conservative opinion was momentarily in fear of disaster. This feeling was so widespread that it paralyzed ordinary financial affairs. Naturally it led to such a general unloading of all manner of securities by investment holders that it did not seem possible in the estimation of competent judges that the tremendous burden could be borne much longer. On the other hand, money became very cheap--on good security. This was an advantage in the commercial world, and a considerable revival of business set in. If the boom in Wall Street and easy money could be maintained for some weeks or months longer, perhaps the country’s general prosperity would warrant the inflation of prices that had taken place under such strange circumstances. But nobody believed it could be maintained, and so it was pointed out that if a collapse must come, the sooner the paralyzing uncertainty was ended the better.