Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-05-27
THE NEW YORK STOCK
MARKET. $50.

Leading Operators-How the
Small Fry Have suffered-In-
teresting Sketches Of Keene,
Cammack, Gould and Sage.
From Special Correspondent
NEW YoRk, Saturday, May 22.
For some weeks the position Of man
holding stocks has been analogous TO
that OF the prisoner-you all remember
the story-confined within q room, the
wall, floor and ceiling OF which were
made Of iron and movable. Slowly
| the sides OF his cell closed in on him,
day by day he found his breathing
space getting smaller and smaller. until,
finally, they shut to with . snap and
there was nothing left OF the prisoner
but pulp.
The grouping OF the personal forces in
the stock market seems TO have been
something thus: The public long Of
stocks, large operations either out or
short. The stand that militia makes
against regulars Is we'll known. The
| only power in the market interested in
sustaining prices seems 10 have been
| Jim Keene. But he, instead OF stand
ing on end, both feet solidly planted, as
| a Colossus should stand, seems 10 have
been spread out on all fours. one elbow
i'm petroleum and one in lard, one knee
imbeded In cotton, another wedged in
stocks, and the wheat crop OF 1879 on
his back. Pecking away at his props,
with all the persistence OF Cornwall
miner, YOU saw Addison Cammack,
while serene and smiling on top Of all
sat Jay Gould, holding in his ready
right hand the lever Of an immense
screw which we will designate Outside
Conditions. Russell Sage apparently
was but a sort OF side show through il
all. For beyond encouraging his friends
TO stay in the row and staying out OF il
himself, | cannot find that he played
any part or attracted any attention
whatever. "Stand your ground, don't
be afraid OF the bear, Polly" shouted a
like valiant worthy to his spouse, "Pm
here behind you~ And 40 he was
safe in the wood shed.
IL is the fashion to give the credit OF
every turn in the stock market to Jay
Gould. But | am not so compliment
tary. In the recent great decline MIR.
Gould was but a factOr-a most import
ant factor, il is true, but only factor
after all. The cause of the decline and
final collapse lies deeper and further
back than any pressure that Mr.. Gould
brought or could bring 10 bear. have
spoken OF Outside Conditions. These
may be- very briefly stated. First, Mr..
Vanderbilt had quietly sold lot OF
stocks and invested the money in gov
eminent bonds. Some might think
that stocks with which he was promin-
emily identified, selling in the neighbor-
hood OF par and paying from to s per
cent per annum, were better invest
ment than government bonds, but Mr..
Vanderbilt thought differently. Four
per cent was quite enough for him, and
he was willing TO sell his stocks to those
who wanted more-and thought they'd
/ get il. This, of course, took a large
amount Of securities ont Of strong box
where they had long lain, all paid for,
| and put them upon the street to be car
ried on margins" Then Mr.. Sage and
other great and good men, high in fl
nancial and social councils, had for
months been industriously and ingen-
iously saddling their friends with
Wabash and such. Nor can one SER
iously blame them for doing this. III
one does not sell rotten securities to
friends, willing To take his simple assur-
ance as 10 their value, TO whom can he
sell them? Certainly not to that great
multitude of men popularity known ~
"the street" who would not believe
him ON oath. Well, here was the gen
| eral public loaded up to the muzzle with
stocks, waiting, with no less confidence
| than eayerness, 10 sell them nj 10 To
20 per cent advance. Now To whom
were they 10 sell them? Mr.. Gould,
having perhaps sold few more stocks
| than he happened to be possessed OF, at
/ low figures, did not seem 10 care about
/ LAYING any in at current quotations.
/ Mr.. Sage, busy advising others to buy,
! of course had no time To pick up stocks
/ for himself And Mr.. keene, spread all
over the face Of the earth with sort OF
extension TO the sea AS WE'LL. had no
powcr even had he the disposition to
spread himself further. so TO whom
the public could look to relieve them Of
stocks at advanced prices, unless It were
10 Mr.. Cammack, who is known 10 be
| charitably inclined, cannot see. Well,
weeks wore %earily on; tight money
passed. and easy money came, but no
| one came To buy stocks. Diyidend.pay-
ing stocks could be- had about ss cheap
/ ly as non.dividend paying ones, but
| even AT these nobody seemed
to clutch. Coal stocks. and other
stocks, that showed fair likelihood OF be-
| ing able 10 declare dividends within q
wear or two went begging at %. Stocks
! that never have paid and never can pay
| dividends were drugs IN the market AT
prices ranging from toto 40. Even alter
| they all had healthy reaction OF i or :
/ per cent BUYERS did not come forward.
| Secretary sherman put his shoulder 10
| the wheel, but still prices dragged, and
soon the droop ran into decline. Day
/ after day the market closed lower, NOT
much. but lower. All this while the
greedy fangs Of interest were gnawlng
away al margins, and brokers, stretch
/ ing out their itching palms, asked Tor
more" Operators standing round the
/ "tickers," in uptown and downtown
/ offices, began To grow nervous and look
anxious. Cheerful chips OF " hat would
soon beial the bears, predictions that
the shirt would soon be taken of lay
/ (iould's back, grew less and less ire
| ouent. And fewer steam yachts were
| or lered. by men carrying stocks on
per cent margins Anon came dlscon-
tent. To his discouragemen succeeded.
/ Then a leakage began. DriHEle. drlLEle,
came few long stocks on the market;
/ soon this driLKle became rain. and not
/ long after what began a. graceful slid
\ in, ami AT small spectators became y
siamI ele, Satrs qua pSh! Asat 70 to
~ points higher it had been claimed,
and apparently believed, that stocks
could never cease going up, It was now
quite as popularity supposed that they
could never stop going down. How
/ ever, at the present writing, bottom
seems to have been reached. and the
stock market has at least the appearance
I of stability. 81,
A has been reported, and with some
show of reason, that some little time De-
fore the extreme depression IN prices
I NJ. yn.,li AMI others stpD-