Huntsville gazette., 1883-11-17
Speculative Tricks.

"There is the strongest and boldest
| bear combination at work in shis market
that / have ever known IN twenty
years experience said the head of
prominent stock house on Saturday.
''Just fancy their going into the Board
and selling 126,000 shares of q single
stock, as they did the other day, when
more than one-third of the whole days
business was in the shares OF one COM
! pany In the absence of buying pub
lie to furnish support their attacks are
almost resistlesS. The combination
| know if they hammer stock down, say
| five per cent. they will bring out lot
of shares which brokers have been
carrying for customers on stop orders
orders to sell if the market price de-
clines to certain figure. Then, if they
produce continuous decline day after
day, they count upon frightening the
banks so that they will not lend money
upon that stock as collateral. In con-
sequence the brokers must force their
customers to sell out their holdings.
and the stock being thrown upon the
market the bear combination take it
in to cover the short sales by which
they brought about the decline
Il think there is no cause for alarm
in the situation" said the president of
q leading Wall street bank, .'and L
don't think there is any big bear COM
bination to smash the market. The at
tacks on certain stocks are the work Of
those slashing Board Room traders.
There are a number of men in the Ex-
change whose names are unknown to
the outside public, but each of whom is
able to sell five or ten thousand shares
of stock in a day. These men are
always watching and manGuvring and
prying out where blocks of particular
stocks are held and how they are being
carried. If they find that big Block is
held on stop order, or that numerous
scattered lots making large aggregate
are held in that way they will combine
and by short sales depress the price so
as to bring the stocks so held upon the
market. As the brokers sell out the
combination quietly pick up the shares
at low prices and divide their profits.
Perhaps one of these trains will throw
upon the market 5000 shares of stock
that does not seem to be protected, and
he may happen to hit stop orders which
will bring out 10000 shares. After COW
ering his shorts and making hand
some profit, if the stock looks weak he
may be emboldened to dump 10000
shares on the market, break down the
price and cover again when long
stock is brought out. In this way he
may trade in 1000 shares Of stock dur
ing the day and yet at the close have not
a dollars worth of interest in the mar
ket. aa r
'As for the general situation,n this
gentleman continued, II think we had
more of a panicky feeling on the stock
market on the 18th of August than we
shall have again for long time. The
mercantile community is looking much
more cheerful, is doinga first-class busi-
ness and is making fair profits. The
country is rich, and until about week
ago all kinds of grain and produce was
coming along very freely, Indicating
that the farmers were selling as the
crop was harvested. The movement of
money this week is little more active
because cotton has begun to move freely,
but it is, / think being sold right out;
parties are not attempting to carry it,
and the consequences will be much
shorter season of stringency than usual
in the money market
eff affairs are all so promising, why
is it that some Of the big operators don't
advance prices in the stock market?'
"Tll show you why they do not at
tempt it," said the bank president, and,
seizing pencil and bit Of paper, he
drew the following: