The true northerner., 1873-09-26
PANDEMONIUM In NEW YORK.
A Day OF Unparalleled Excitement
Scenes on the stock Exchange and in
the Streets.

Scenes ON the Stock Exchange and I'm
the Streets.
New York (sept. 2O) Cor Chicago Times.l
The blacklist day in the financial his
tory of Wall street was passed to-day
The morning dawned brightly after the
dull, rainy drip of the preceding day.
The great operators came to their places
of business with smiling faces, for all
had argued clearing OF the financial
skies. The failures, they said, was the
result of panic, and not of any shrink
age of values, and nights rest can
only have restored public confidence.
In this spirit influential members of the
Stock Exchange crowded around its
doors, and awaited the opening. Even
that early curiosity turned out
III force. 1t was curious to note the
changes in the countenances of the col
lecting men of finance. They sauntered
jaunty air, carelessly smoking their
cigars, but when they had compared
opinions, their jaunty air changed to
one of anxiety, and they chewed the
ends of their cigars viciously, as If
those unoffending luxuries were the
cause of their miseries. Before the
doors had opened, the failure OF the
Union Trust Company was announced.
The fact was not wholly unexpected,
for sundry transactions of that cencern
had given n decided color of doubt to
their asseverations of solvency and i'm
mediate resumption. On the heels of
that announcement came the news of the
suspension of G. L. White & Co., and
Ketchum & Belknap. The panic was
resumed. The excitement within the
Exchange has never had parallel in
the history of that institution. The
crowd of members, as they surged into
the institution, were stilled a moment
as Vice-President Wheelock raped with
his gavel to command attention. The
members seemed breathless in expecta-
tion of the price for the first Offering.
New York Central was called. 1t was
sold at 95 before the call. After Sec
ond's hesitation some broker called out,
" Ninety offered" and the little rift in
the cloud of ruin has disappeared.
Then followed scene that can never be
adequately described. Half a dozen
men seemed to control the bids for all
classes of securities. All the rest were
sellers, and very large ones at that.
Lake Shore was called in, and fall of
three per cent. recorded in it. Western
Union tumbled ten per cent. at once,
and so all down the list. In the midst
of their seeming angry wrangling, the
gavel of the presiding officer would
command silence. Failure after failure
was announced. At each succeeding
announcement securities tumbled from
two to five per cent. Within the first
half hours business, three firms in adj
dition to those already named were re-
corded in the list of dead ducks, and
those left seemed frantic to dispose of
their securities. The eliminating point
was reached when the suspension of the
National Bank of the Commonwealth
was made public. The faces of strong
men blanched, for such failures con-
frmed theirw worst apprehension. "Close
the Exchange" said one broker "help,
if coming at all, will come too late. "
As he spoke, the Chairman raped
again, and, in doing so, his other hand
fiourished great package of what all
knew were confessions of bankruptcy.
They were surfeited of stories, and the
frantic rush to unload stocks would not
stop a second to listen to any such
dreary reports. Their anxiety became
self-centered, and to compass self.
preservation the men on the floor began
to thin out. This time the few that
were left showed no abatement of the
suspense. Suddenly a lull came as
President Chapman mounted the ros-
trum, and said 4 am requested to
say thata meeting of the Governing Com
mittee will be held in the committee
room"
"What does it mean ?" was the
cuckoo note of the brokers. They gave
up the conundrum in their turn, and
the work of realizing on sinking stocks
was resumed. A runner came in with a
story that the Union Trust Company
had suspended on account of small
defalcation of Cashier Carleton. That
makes the matter more binding" said
shrewd brokers. "He has been specu-
lating very heavily lately. Speedy re.
sumption is very well to promise. IL
the midst of their discussion President
Chapman and the Governing Committee
fled into the body of the Exchange,
and the close of the doors to further
speculation till further orders was an
nounced. Not more than 80 members
were on the floor at the time, but the
effect was magical. The men who haC
been shaking their fists in each Others
faces, and gesticulating withsthe energy
of madmen in the rush to buy and sell
now grasped each others hands as mel
do who have overcome imminent dan
ger. cit is the right thing to do" sale
sellers. Buyers, who had been in {
small minority, vanished quietly, no
very well pleased but not greatly dis
pleased, for the time was known to b,
at hand when neither buyers nor sellers
could reap profit, because neither woult
be able to complete their contracts.
The closing of the Stock Exchange
the first time that such an event has oc
CURED in it's history, was done at l.
o'clock exactly. The order closing i
read as follows
"The Stock Exchange is closed until furthe
orders from the President. All operations il
the street are prohibited under penalty of ex
pulsion. IL. q. CHAPMAN, President;
1t was obeyed quietly, and within
half an hour of its promulgation th'
iron doors were closed, and the shutter
put up, and the unexampled spectacle
presented of stock transactions being
ruled, as TO values and amounts o