Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-16
WALL STREET GOES WILD.
THE BIG COLLAPSE CAUSES INTENSE Ac-
TIvITY FOE A TIME.


NEW YORK, November 15-So much of
sensational character has been printed
about. Wall street the last ten days that the
statement that the financial community was
startled to-day for the FIRST time may seem
surprising to many people. Yet that is the
TACT. There has been great deal of sup
pressed excitement in and about the Stock
Exchange ever since the election, and there
have been developments, notably the col
lapse of the North American Company, a
speculative blind pool which dragged
stock brokerage firm down with it, that
have served to make life in Wall street
more interesting than usual.
But when thei news came from London
this morning that the great commercial
house of Barring Bros. s. Co. was embar-
rassed and had been assisted by syndicate
formed by the Bank of England, a very
large proportion of the people who deal in
stocks experienced decided shock. The
fact that the firm had been guaranteed for
three years by the syndicate referred to, did
not for the moment seem to carry much
weight.
PEOPLE WENT CRAZY.
To tell the truth, a great many people ap-
peared to lose their heads for about an hour,
during which period they played havoc with
the prices of stocks. Without being con-
scioas of it, Wall street has been discount
ing the misfortunes of Barring Bros. & Co.
for two months past, and more particularly
during the last week. The undertakings of
the Barings in the Argentine Republic have
been the talk of the financial world ever
since they were made, and it has been freely
predicted, especially since the collapse of
enterprise and speculation in that part of
South America, that all of the large foreign
houses, including the Barings, would have
10 pay dearly for their South American
ventures.
Until recently, however, very few people
suspected that so old and conservative a
concern as the Barings had been betrayed
by errors of Judgment into making ventures
that ieopardized its credit. Such proves to
have been the case. The action ofthe Bank
Of England averts the insolvency OF the
firm and enables it to Gquidate its Argen-
tine Republic ventures at its leisure or
rather as market may develop for them.
CONDITION OF THE BARINGs.
The condition of the firm is briefly stated
to be as follows: Its total liabilities are
estimated at e15 900, 900 or about S75, ,0OO,-
600, while the assets of the firm at their
present deprecated value, show a surplus
of "a, 000, 900 or 800 600, 900. The guarantee
syndicate has subscribed fund of Ell, 900,
900 or S55, 900, 900. The Bank of England
| subscribed 81 ,000, 900 and private bankers
1900, 900. The first news of this i'm
| portant transaction came to hand on
Friday night, but definite information was
not obtainable until to-day, when a number
| of private cables were received on Wall
street and Others by the news agencies.
AS the figures relating to the firms affairs,
as we'll as the amount of the guarantee sub
scription, were made public, the street seems
to have had a sudden appreciation OF the
calamity that had been averted, which for
half an hour at least, produced quite as bad
an effect upon the stock market as if the
firm had actually suspended.
A PANIC SETS IN.
The streets second thought appeared to
| be of the agents of the Barings in this
country, who are Kidder, Peabody & Co.,
of this city and Boston. For the first time
since the present heavy liquidation set in,
the market became panicky, but that con.
dition did not last long. Large buying
orders came into the market at decline
The bears were only too glad to take advan.
tage of the spasm of alarm to secure greater
profit than they had ever dreamed OF, anG
toward the close of business the weekly
bank statement appeared, showing decided
improvement in the condition of the banks
during the week.
The recovery was as rapid as the decline
had been, and probably if the Stock Ex
change had remained open until O'Clock
the early losses would have been prett,
much recovered. A few prices will suffice
to show the extraordinary fluctuations o
the entire list: Chicago, Burlington anc
| Quincy dropped from 81 to 80, and recovered
to "a at the close. Atchison, in which i
was assumed that the Barings or thei
agents here might have large interest
broke from 20 to 23Z, and recovered II
25Z.
IT'S AN ADDITIONAL STRAIN.
AS no delivery of stocks is made on Sat
urday, and very little is done in money, i
was impossible to discover how the Stoci
Exchange community will bear the addi
tional strain which was put upon it during
the last two days of the week. Rumor
were current, of course, but they referred tt
one or two small concerns. The suspicion
which was hardly disguised, that Kidder
Peabody & Co. might be embarrassed b,
the troubles which have overtaken thei
London correspondents, was promptly dis
posed of by that firm. Its members did no
hesitate to tell its business associates ex
actly how they stood.
The firm is Ioaning between S., 600, 900
and Sc, 900, 600 in the street and has large
amount of cash on hand. 1t is asserted by
those in position to know that the firm
has been shaping its affairs so as to be il
the strongest possible position to meet an,
demands that might be made upon it in con
sequence of to-day's developments in Lon
don.
PREPARING FOR THE PRESSURE.
1t was reported in the afternoon that mum
Der of the down town banks would on Mon
day take ont round amounts of clearing
house certificates not because they neet
them but in order to give greater accommo
dations to their customers in case they
might require them but could not be sub
stantiated. The general feeling of the stree
after the close of business was one of grea
relief because it is now known what wa
hanging over the market.
Very great stress was laid by banker
upon the point that in spite of their embar
rassment, Barring Bros. & Co. remained
solvent. They are really stronger to-da,
than ever before, because they have back o
them the Bank of England, which is tn
next thing to the British Government
the Rothschilds and all of the other power
full banking houses of London.