The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-05-28
Williams, Birnie & Co.

~ lllloli!o, DllHlO ~ W.
WHAT TIE NEW YORK PAPERS
SAY ABOUT THEIR SUSPENSION.
How Mr. Williams Checked the Vast
Cotton Ventures Undertaken by, the
Housewife Charleston millionaire
Equal to the Emcrscmcy--Thc New
York House Dissolved and all Obi
cations Promptly met.
.NcWS und tnnpi,r.
The New York papers of "Wednesday have
Il variety OF statements concerning tho SuS-
pension of the firm of Wilii;IIIS. liirnic 4 Go.
II Will be noticed that they generally speak
OF the :irln ~ Il branch Of the house OF Il.
W. Williams * 60. Of charleston. but IN fact
there h no connection | tween thea, except
that Mr.. Williams is the senior member ui
the charleston i:ousc and had an interest III
the firm OF Williams. Hirnir n Co. The trlc'
grams of Mr.. Williams pubii>l"l yesterday
give Il days later news than The New York
papers had, and show that Williams, lIirnir
< Go. pay every draft on them. and did NOT
suspend for want OF money. but because MIR.
Williams refused tGallnw the firm 10 take the
risk of any lurthc: loss.
\ Morning Advance Of Fifty-si1
Points Followed by Il Heavy Fail
urc--PandcmOnium Iii the Exchange
--"'BuIis' at the South Enriched by
Northern "Ecars.'
IFrom the World u Wrdncsday.l
The Cotton Exchange was again in 4 fer.
mcnt of excitement yesterday, and thrtluctu:
atoms were 81 violent that the old house OF
Williams, liirnic & Co., OF - Beaver street
WAS forced into temporary suspension. Very
few hrnk CrS had suspected that the house WAS
embarrassed. and the Exchange became p;,n-
drnlonium when The lOlloWlllS nOtlcc was
posted at l.l5 L. NJ:
NEW YORK, May 20. 1879.
Nr. T.. X. PnprcrS. Superintendent Of the Neu
York Con~n Erchrngc:
Strive be- you toinlorm the members OF
the Exchange that we are unable to meet Our
liabilities to-day. Yours truly.
WILLIAMS, BIKNIE 4 Co.
During the early morning hours the market
had been rampant and had advanced 81 points
81 point is l.lw Of Il cent In the price per ib.l
from last NIGHTS quotations. As soon az the
i;li!urS was announced j. turnblcd IL ointS
eventually closing irregular and unsettled 1T
Is points advance on contracts. The :raliSac-
lions were almost unprecedented, reaching
the enormous total of ~ .Cn bales. 1t was
generally known here that Williams, Rirnic
4 Go, had become associated with Il pool that
had been short OF the market Tor several
months. though it Is not clear that Mr.. Will
liHlHS, The senior partner, who lives IN tliar-
lesion, was advised of tie extent OF these OPP
cratiunS. The advance in future contracts
has been 81 sudden and large that the drain
for rrady money 10 meet the market differ,
cncr> was alarlnin".anl Mir. Williams sought
for AN explanation ihm,l! by letter and telc:
graph last week. The heavy losses that
threatened the firm brought Mr.. Williams To
New York. Ike arrived SrSdny night. y
consultation was had betwccH the two part
ncrs ON Monday afternoon. Mr.. Williams
thought the market warranted the closing oi
all contracts. but Mr.. lIirnic was of opinion
that It would be wiser to remain ON the
short" side Of the market. Mr.. WilliainSr re-
trrrcd to the rapid fluctuations, and deter
mined thai II the markc Shuu!d after ycstcr-
day he aS wild us it had been for the past
few DAYS he would notify the Exchange OF
the inability OF the firm to meet It's engage
mrn.S.
and the suspension was accordingly %nnmonnc'
ed. The liabilities are estimated 1T :Sii1,OWJ, OF
which the differences on about 1I,WD bales ol
future contracts that are open amount .OSlIl,-
tO. These LOSSES Will fall temporarily upon
the larger houses. ~ most OF the smaller bro
kcrS have cut their margins very close To the
market. II was expected that the failure
might involve Il nUlntcrol weak brokers who
had acted in behalf Of Williams. Birnic & Go.
but all OF them WCnthrrcd the storm. The
principal houses which have executed the
contracts for Williams, Hirric d Go, are War.
les & Walker, Charles IirN>ich and Henry
Goldthwaitc. some large houses were EN-.
pl0yru but are fully prUtcctrd. one firm had
bought some arrival cotton in tic Liverpool
market for Williams, Hirnic d Co. and tho
profits III these transactions fully countrrDHl-
ance the differences IN this market. Tho
heaviest creditors arc Lehman Brothers with
claims of between $1,000 and $5n,uOO and j.. j.
Dnnncl S30,EW. The latter said that he had
every confidence la the stability OF the house
and believed that he would eventually, be
paid in Ilif. Another prominent creditor
said tina Mr.. Williams had decided to pay the
liabilities in full, but tll:, This would involve
the dissolution Of the firm, and thai the mon
cy would come out OF the senior partners prl-
waite resources. 1t is expected That an early
settlement will be made us the firm has In
hand Sij9,Tu in United States IDS and other
convertible securities.
For the past five years there have been no
failures OF any magnitude on the Cotton f.
change. The daily fluctuations have up To
this season been confined within narrow linz
its. Most of the prominent houses have on
lrollcd the market with their capital. but
when the visible supply became 80 reduced
three mouths ago, Il Wild "bu!i' speculation
Was started. The Southern houses were the
first 10 grasp tho opportunity, and colossal
fortunes are reported To have been ll;sue al
ready. The proi!incul New York houses
were mostly caught short Of the market,
and have been lighting the advance cTcr
since. II is reported that two firms had To
make II private settlement with Their creditors
last week, and that another Is Crippled. AS
an instance OF bow the cotton speculation has
spread all over the country. it Is related that
Il cotton factor of Savannah, Ga., The other
day seeing his o;iicc-hOy, twelve years old. to
wiiCm he paid Il salary of - a week, with assn
suit OF clothes on, QUESTIONED him; "Mhcrc
did YOU get the money -
"ididn't Steal. il, boss replied the boy 81
bought one hundred bales OF futures in New
York"
And what would you have done IL the mar
kct had gone against you, my boy"
ooh, it was 4 certainty" replied Inc boy.
Many large amounts of monry have been
taken from this market by New Orleans firms
and planters in the South. 1t Is rcpOrtcd That
several operators have melted S)JJ,OU apiece
By this seasons s~pcculationS.