Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-04
THE STOCK MARKET.
It Still Continues to
Fluctuate.
THE TENDENCY Is DOWNWARD.
Scenes at the Board in San Fran
ciscO-The Women Take
q Hand.

ISpecidG to the Hedrld By the Associated Press
SAN Francisco, December 3.--Those
who hoped that the morning in the
stock market would prove brighter than
last nights close were bitterly disap.
pointed. From an early hour the ap.
proaches to the two Exchanges were
crammed with an excited crowd, eager
to learn the news of the first call, whic h
to them would bring either happiness
or dismay. They had not long to wait,
for the San Francisco Board met
promptly at $3.50, and few minutes
later Consolidated Virginia rang out at
$40, quickly followed by drop to $39.
Best & Belcher, which closed last night
at 1923, opened this morning at $2l, and
in few minutes went to $40. The bears
gre making savage onslaught on these
two stocks, but the opinion of the street
is that the bulls are too strong, and that
the bears will go down in disaster. The
middle stocks show an improvement,
the bears devoting lessattention to them
Savage, which closed at SIS IS last night
opened at SIG. and further improved to
$l7. Chollar gained rs cents, going to
S6 so, and Potosi jumped from $6 7S to
SO and then to SlS.S7a. Ophir was the
only north end stock which showed any
Improvement, opening at $25. 80, wish a
further Jump a few minutes later to
$26 so. Over $4,O00,0OO have been
withdrawn from the city savings banks
during the last ten days, every cent of
which has gone into stocks. This shows
that the laboring classes are taking a
hand in the deal.
The excitement in mining stocks was
not permitted to lag. Shortly before
noon the announcement was made Of the
suspension of r. F. Morrow.
Morrow is not broker, but had made
contracts to deliver stocks at a given
figure, much below present quotations.
He claims to be worth ST. ,0O0, 900 over
his liabilities and his embarrassment
will only be temporary.
Immediately after this came the an.
nouncement of the failure Of J. Mac
Kenzie, stock broker. His liabilities
are not known. A month ago he was
worth clean 500, 600, but to-day he
stands stripped of everything.
When the 9:30session of the San Fran
cisco Stock Exchange opened President
Peckham announced that owing
to complications arising from failures
only one session of the board--the $3.50
A. M.-would be held to-day. After the
session informal trading to large ex.
tent took place. Favortes jumped up
ward, and amid wild excitement Con-
solidated California rose to S45, Ophir
to 500, and Others in proportion.
A GOLDEN TIDE.
SAN Francisco, December 3.-Long
before the time for the opening of the
stock boards, this morning, Pine street,
Pauper alley and Montgomery street,
between Pine and California streets, were
crowded with people in all stations of
lie, every one of whom were in a state
of feverish anxiety. They crowded the
offices of unhappy brokers and made
life almost an unbearable burden for
them. A Formidable throng of women
filed the lobby of the Pacific Stock Elk.
change, and in wild.eyed excitement
harangued all who would listen to their
tales of woe. The heavy investors.
whose losses footed up into the thous-
ands, were of course all men, and they
were generally gloomy and silent; but
the women, whose investments ranged
from $50 down, were profuse in their
promises of dire revenge on the brokers
who had been unkind enough to close
their doors and announce that they
could not meet their liabilities.
The market was kept up fairly at the
San Francisco Board at its only session
of the day. The omission Of the after
noon session of this Board was accounted
for by brokers on the ground that they
had not time to catch up with office bus
mess if they had two sessions, which
statement, if accepted. would seem to
indicate something concerning the extent
of the craze. 1t was easily apparent
that the public were the stock dealers.
They came from alleys and streets, from
brokers offices below ground and above
ground, and swarmed the approaches to
both Boards. Every broker in the city
is perfectly overwhelmed with business.
Few of them have any of their old staff
left. The majority of the present clerks
are "green hands" and cannot keep pace
with the sudden rush, although they
may be seen at their desks till
midnight and are bending over them
again before sunrise. The accounts
between the numerous brokers are con-
sequently in most admired confusion.
Nobody can tell exactly where he is or
how anybody else stands, and were this
state of things allowed to continue
longer it might result in something more
serious than mere annoyance and pro.
family. Extra clerks are being engaged
in all directions, and those with expert
ence can quote themselves at high rate.
When the San Francisco Board opened
there was about the same number of at
tendants as at the session yesterday af-
ternoon. A few ladies, seemingly stran-
gers, and others were in the gallery
looking down through the great spider
web of cords upon the brokers below.
Brokers pushed and rushed about in o
state of great seeming excitement, with
note books and pencils, and the babel
Of their voices was added to by the
shouts of spectators who gesticulated
and made minutes in their note books.
The announcement of Morrow's failure
occasioned very little surprise for it was
generally expected yesterday. AT the
same time the announcement was posted
that j. Mackenzie, another stock broker,
had closed his doors. This resulted in
increasing the excitement and within a
short time the offices of other leading
brokers were besieged by people having
business with them. 1t was the general
belief on the street that the downfall of
solid capitalist like Mr.. Morrow would
create panic that would ruin many
other brokers and bring them down like
row of ten pins.
The Pacific stock board came together
at ll:30. AS on most occasions at this
board seemingly poor women made up
the majority of attendants. Anxious
faced groups stood along the tiled floor
from the street to the entrance of the
board. The brokers' Offices which are