Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-03-10
oOC6RnMCRs OF INTEREST.


-.
Van Street In q Panic.
II v<Sa day bf srvat excitement In Wan
okregG When The Stock Exchange opened on
the nogning Of the 3lth the current OF spocuisr
tion startedtn o level channel II moved strong
n and sorn06ly for moment only. thcn rusneo
wildlyRtbver p3ecipitous rapids until about
noon, when an order of Secretary sherman al
res1ino AhVP purchase Of elo0oooo OF bonds
over tho counter OF the suo-Treesuy wss ~
cefved This order. served 20 dam the ssrr-'
rent for q moment. mon breaking over al
obstructions the tide tumbled madly down
ward like a cataract Every second ~ Gnin-
cred momenfum snd dliktlyfe nakee
Niagara-like plunge. when IL was stopped ~
tho magic sound OF sne Foug q snrcs o'cSock.
closing all transactions aTT
Wall street seemed to have recovered o
little courage durins tbs night and the box
srs and their thousands OF Customers Ap
preached the marissf yesterday moaning with
more conndenoe than they had left t Thnrsday
afternoon. But fresh courage and sumuoncd
confidence avsiled nothing asafust Tho down
ward tendency. Both wero swept away In the
first ten minutes after the stock Exchange
opened. Eight or nine hundred men crowded
tho Inadequate space OF tho Deuv room.
whore for six hours they .sbouted sceamcd.
yelled, hallooed and oenov&,A. lshiSss they
clawed,- pushed. pulled and jammedI one m
other I'm their efforts TO sell. stocks. The
height Of the Exchange was contracted one
half by huge scsnold, erected to. project the
brokers while repairs, upon the building are
being made. II made the room close, and
confined tbs deafening racket OF the brokers
The work before them was hard enough. and
was made difficult OF accomplishment by the
condition of the building. Between the stock
Exchange and the brokers Offices hundrcdsof
messengers few all day long. The scenes In
those offices were ns inspiring rs that In the
Exchange was exciting. Tho spectators Who
hung over the tickers did not indulge In loud
talk ms on ordinary days. hut spoke seldom ana
I'm subdued tones. Most or them were reading
I'm the ceaseIess tick OF the stock niachinesgof
vanishing fortunes, and those fortuncsthc
own. Those who wore so lucky as 20 be upon
the bear side of the market were also inclined
to silence, for the rapid fluctuations bctokcncd
possible cvir ane they appreciated the feet
that, while they wore proitine by tho collapse
OF prices thousands of others were LOSING their
all.f' - ~ TKnh -
In the Stock Exchange tho dtstsuctions of
bull and bear were for the greater part lost
sight of. The majority Of the brokers were
acting for some one else, not for themselves.
Their care for themselves was that none OF
their customers should endangcr their own
safety. To this end the call for more margins
went thrours and out OF the brokers' Offices
all day. There are many brokers IN the stock
Exchange who have suffered the aRonies OF
Black Friday, the panic of 1873, and remem-
Der the more recent collapse of November 20.
1879. Many of them were tadly crippled by
those sudden revusions, owing TO tho inabil-
ity or refusal of their clients to come TO the
front. The younger members have learned
wisdom from their older brethren. SO thattho
rule of to-day Is ample margins or no stocks.
The history OF Thursday and yesterday
shows the insufhciency of the customary ten
per cent. margin. Thousands of shares held
upon such margins have gone by the board
during the last two days. In many instances
the margins were swept away and the stocks
fred upon the market before tho spcculator
could lay more money upon his brokers couu.
ter 10 secure them. The man who wanted to
buy stocks yesterday had. In nearly every In
stance. TO deposit the purchase money with
his broker. With prices tumbling heels over
head and no certainty of raising money TO
carry stocks, few brokers would accept any
risk whatever. The universal motto was,, 'If
you want stocks you must pay for them"
The amount Of money brought into Wall
street and lost yesterday IL beyond compuss-
ton. aIl "a u
welkknown sporting man walked fntothe
Office of his broker at noon, and mid twenty.
Ave $1,000 notes upon the counter to make
good his margins and save his stocka He had
already seen $4,000 disappear. and before
three CLOCK the twenty-five new Sl,UU notes
had followed the original margins.
1t was a general clearing out OF small nc
counts ON small margins, and under tho I'M
even pressure prices dropped and fuctuatcd
wildly and quickly. Sales OF two or three
thousand shares Of one stock. but In several
lots, would DO reported upon the tape con-
secutively at prices ringing from onc-half of
one per cent. to two per cent apart. The diff
ference would perhaps DO explained By the
fact that some Of the sales were for cash and
others the regular way-to be delivered and
paid for on the day After the transaction.
There Is always q difference In prices between
such sales, and yesterday the difference varied
from one to two per cent. r4afr
when the sound OF Trinity chimes striking
three O'Clock reached the ears OF the operators
a feeling OF great relief spread over Wan
street simultaneously the Chairman of the
Stock Exchange. pounding vigorously with
his huge gavel, and the doorman, with the
nendish gong. drowned the shouts and yeIls of
the brokers. These came pouring into the
streets hot and uneasy. Within ak hours
they had sold 72O, 100 shares OF stock, the Iarv.
est number ever dealt In In one day In the FL.
change. That number were recorded UPON the
tape, but the Official reporters of the Exchange
say that in such market as yesterday large
percentage of the transactions escape them;
that II 10 absolutely impossible to get all of
them.-N. T. Sun, February 70. ...-..