The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-06-23
THE BULLS AND BEARS OF
Z WALL STREET.
How Clique were Caught in the ir
Own Trap.

NEW l"hkI Juut -,
The excitement on the Stock Exchangl
yesterday, fully equalled that Of the ii
NOUS black Friday, About the 1st o
April, combination was formed Il
force up the price OF Rock Island stock
and get in ON the bears. The prinCipa
men in the clique, were VIM. S. Wood
ward and Jno F. Tracy, President Of tht
railroad, Starting at the price Of II!
they gradually bought up the Rock Is
laud stock, till Yesterday morning 1t sole
at 1870, The capital stock Of tie Com
pany amounts 10 $l7,000,0O0, on l7,00(
shares Of 800 each On Tuesday evening
Woodward had allhis arrangements com
pletcd for making an enormous sum o.
money, He and his clique had actually
bought 2i3,OOO shares 100000 more
than have ever been issued. Had all gone
right, the dealers who should have sold
the stock, would have been ut their mer.
Cy and would have been compelled
10 submit To any terms they chose
10 offer, but there is many a
slip lwiXt the cup aud The lip" as
Woodward found to his cost. All day
Tuesday he had taken every share that
was offered, and towards Tie afternoon
he became little suspicious Of sellers.
lie was under an engagement TO put up
u large amount of margin yesterday
morning The clique were 10 furnish
him with million dollars 10 pay this
margin. On Tuesday evening, IN COM
pany with his brokers, Scott IL Strong,
hG visited some of the leaders Of the
Clique, when he found to his horror and
amazement that tho one million dollars
would not bc forthcoming In the after
noon. SO little was this result antici-
pated, that at tho opening Of the EX.
change yesterday morning Rock Is.
land stock was quoted ~ l3Oi.
As soon as the trouble was known, an in.
descrlbable confusion ensued; inevitable
ruin stared dozens OF men In the ihce,
many others had to contemplate heavy
losses, and get out Of the mess as best they
could. The yelling andrlhnlng about was
more characteristic Of lunatiCs than Of
staid business men. Boon after the board
wn5 called, several members officially
informed the Vice President that they
must flil, and desired that their stock
might bO sold out under the rule, About
three millions Of stock was sold in this
way, lOweringthe market price from 1901
To no. In less than two hours nine Of
the dealers, exclusive Of Mr.. Woodward,
were publicly announced as failed. Wood
ward will undoubtedly fail; In fact he has
virtually failed, for one Of the firm al.
ready declared failed, informed the Vice
President that they were unable 10 fulfil
their engagements, In consequence Of this
default. Scott u Strong, WOOdward's 8
brokers, are not Affected by IL.
l. 100 .H o. -i. CHICAGO, June 20.
There have been Rpprehensions among
the friends of John Il. Tracy, President OF
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and
Chicago & Northwestern railroads, that
he Is among the unfortunates OF yester.
days operations In the New York Stock
Exchange, but the Chicago Journal Of
this afternoon, says that instead Of Mr.,
Tracy being o heavy loser, he Is on the
winning side. ,-,-, . ..'....,
The Tribune tomorrow will have the
following in reference to the Rock Island
panic: 'Nan. ."' I. '. 9'.
"The general driil of comments, upon
The Rock Island affair was violently de.
nunciatory OF the principals concerned In
II. Woodward was alleged TO have de.
liberately plundered the street Of from five
hundred thousand to q million dollars,
and In doing so to have remorselessly
broken down d dozen or more smaller
filns dependent upon him. He was pro.
nounced n confidence man Of the lirst
magnitude. The basis Of these allegations,
the old story, that atwhile employing one Get
Of brokers to run up the stock 10 prices
which, rs when Splers was bidding 100
for gold on Black Friday, were never In
tended to be paid In, the brokers were
rapidly selling for the clique TO bona fide
buyers, making IL actually q game OF
"heads ! win, tails yo1 lose" The pool
paid out nothing, but received large sums,
In possession Of which the members OF 1t
failed. An incident Of the affair was de-
Veloped yesterday which seems to illus
trate very fully the tactics Of the pool :
A brokerh had borrowed 60shares Of Rock
Island stock from oneof Woodward'stnen
yesterday afternoon, was pefemptorlly
required to deposit Ii large amount Of
money 10 meet the fictitious rise In the
price caused by The pool, He sold stock
at an early hour Wednesday then demari-
ded In return the amount put as the mar.
gin, but was told we have failed. He
brought suit and yesterday the sheriiPs
officer went TO the safe deposits vault un.
der the stock exchange building, TO seize
the contents of the box owned by the fail.
ed broker, but the box was found to be
empty. The victim then attached the
bank account ofthe slippery broker, con.
graduating himself the meanwhile that
he was the first in the field and had then
q fair prospect oil recovering the amount
which, as he claimed, TO have been
robbed Many similar CASES are presumed
to have occurred, growing out OF The
pool system, buying on credit
and eXaCting cash on sales, though
such talk has never heretofore
amounted to anything. Itnow appears
to be quite seriously proposed 10 make
q thorough investigation into the late
corner, and hold 10 strict account all
those found TO have been concerned in the
swlndle Woodward Is said 10 have
failed under similar circumstance.
three or four times during The
last five or ak years. One says II the
money market had happened TO be tlghi
this time, the crash would lave swep
halt ot Wall street. II must be made
actionablc to play games oil this sort, ant
the Board Of Brokers must siit the ntlaii
to the bottom.