The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-10-11
TIE FEELING AMONG NEW YORK
BUSINESS MEN.
Hope ard Fear, Excitement and Fluctuations in
Wall Street. The City Insurance Companies
That Have Suffered and 1hose That
Have Not-Dry Goods Merchants
and Their Losses
wall street Yesterday.

Wall Street Yesterday.
The general sentiment day before yesterday In
regard to Wall street-that 1t shows q striking de.
gree OF elasticity as soon az tine first excitement
created by the disaster has subsided-pr0ved hap
PLY to DO thoroughly wen founded. With tey
exceptions prices yesterday soon recovered to Z
considerable extent the ground they had lost.
and towards the close or the day the market
was comparatively buoyant. or at the worst lairly
steady. Such was the general story OF the dOingA
OF the day; but It must not be supposed that thus
was the uniform tendency from the outset, or was
unmarked by some very extraordinary fluctuations
OF confidence All through daylight, indeed stocks
we're highly sensitive and trembed sympatneticaily
with every little TICK from the telegraph wires from
the West
EVERYBODY DOWN TOWN.
The day opened with an unusual attendance or
brokers and operators ION the street." Men In le-
Ultimate business, who merely now and then "take
a fycr" in some favorite STOCK might be seen weni
ing their way to the speculative centre. though
In that arena OF excitement lay tn cir chief interest,"
Sidewalks Offices, the Stock Exchange and the Gold
Room were thronged with altogether unusually
large crowds OF interested Spectators. The reality
OF the crisis might. indeed have been guessed By
shrewd observer merely from the appearance
or the men In the cars and stages as they
travelled down-townward.
COMING OVER THB NEWS
How eagerly the HERALD was scanned lat least
by those who able to procure one, for by nine
O'Clock most OF the uptown newspaper stands had
SOLD out. How gravely the news was discussed and
turned over from every possible point OF view As
yet-eary morning-the intelligence from the Ill
fated city was still very gloomy and no one waa
able to assign any limits to its possible proper
lions. The previous day many had buoyed up their
hearts with hope. 1t had seemed well nigh impos-
q ffv rtr
single npbt be laid in ashes and utterly destroyed.
But this first natural emotion OF surprise had worn
of and had given place to the conviction that havoc
and destruction were possible TO any extent how
ever vast even the favored soil OF America. The
news OF yesterday morning, therefore, sank into
ground IN which II easily sprang up into dimen-
son5 OF exaggerated terror and anxiety.
PREDICTING TIE FUTURE.
"What VIII be the end or ity said almost each
man to his fellow 43
..God Knows,r came the reply almost invariably.
"BrOken banks, bankrupt In surancc COMPANIES.
beggared merchants, insolvent railroad companies.
rum and distress and misery and suffering all over
the country. That's what Is going to come Of It,"
"But the papers say that there will probably be o
reaction oil confidence to-day"
Eyes, but how long will It lastf Let US suppose
by the flames ascertained. Those losses cannot we'll
fall short OF hundred millions, and when you add
to that direct amount of property destroyed the
unsettllng OF the established channels OF the Western
trade, the loss OF expected purchases and such ike,
the ruin rises far more terrible proportions Sup
being. There is then an outbreak OF American
elasticity. We shall hear confident predictions that
the city will be built up again by magic And
they will PROBABLY be fulhlled. But where viii the
money come from to do it9 From the East ncces-
sary. We are the lenders for the entire Western
country. We shall. therefore, suffer constant
drain OF capital. and money will be frishtlully
values and must inevitably break up all small
operators and business men In every branch OF
trade aud speculation. Pretty times ahead. tell
you. You may rely upon 1t that we have got
rough road to travcln
ON TIE STREET.
On the street. for the first two three hours AFTER
the opening OF business, the tendency downwsu
other three per cent. Every rev minutes telcgrams
arrived. but bore but doubtful udings about the con-
nagration, and nothing short OF positive statemens
have restored general confidence Three laiqresr
CambloSs Co., e. ID. Monroe n Co. ana v. v. w.
Van Dyck-the first two houses Oeing very large
vang sense OF insecurity and alarm. more failures
may possibly have occurred, but these were the only
ones generally bruited abroad. As usual, there was
vcntured It to ' speculate on theit own account.
WHAT BROKER OUGHT TO DO.
"Why can't broker c0nfne himself TO commits.
risks. lie must know that he Is practically playing
with other peoples money and cndangering the Imam
cia security or all MIS- fellow brokers' VINO GUY from
such was the general tenor Of the vrtuous trades
poured f0rth-in many cases Dy men az guilty IN
this regard the delinquents they verbally ashed.
As II men could keep still In the centre OF roaring
maelstrom like Wall street, Is U reasonable TO cx-
pcct that broker, trained to think about nothing
but the market, and convinced pv score 0l rightly
formed predictions In the past that his estimate OF
the coming movements OF values Is IN majority Of
indulging In that peruous game where tho gains
maH be an on0rn0ua Wltune AMI all the power ana