The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-03-07

NEW YORK, Match Ga very sharp corner
was turned on the stock exchange today. and
in getting around it, several speculative out
fits were badly damaged and narrowly escaped
total disaster. There was nothing in the quiet,
orderly opening of business that presaged the
exciting events which occurred within three
fourths of an hour. AS was to be expected,
the first prices were below Yesterdays figures,
and Sugar, which made the greatest advances
showed most weakness, opening at decline
of q per cent. Some holders of stock started
to take profits, and a few timorous bears sold
on the falling market. bringing the price
down to 49, Then, by eighths and quarters,
the price of Sugar moved up gradually to So.
Meanwhile the short interest was covering
cautiously, for there was nothing in the situa.
tion affecting Sugar to account for this abnor-
NAL rise save the heavy buying, which came
from all around the pit, and it was not un-
natural to expect break at any moment.
But the break came not. and buying stop
orders We're met which, being executed
swelled the volume of purchases. Then it
seemed to dawn on the belated shorts that a
squeeze" was in progress and they rushed in
to buy On the best terms they could. Now
came the climax, and moving per cent at a
time, SO was touched, 9S1a, 99, 991k and loo, the
excitement at this tim e being intense. How
ever, this seemed to be the goal which the
manipulators Of this "corner" had set for
themselves, and with equal rapidity the stock
dropped to 81. A rally to 93I Was quickly
blocked. All this had been accomplished be-
fore ii O'Clock, and by noon, when the price
had dropped to SO, all the previous excitement
had died out
During the afternoon the shares sagged off
steadily, and In the late dealings had reached
to 9014, closing at COX, decline of 9la per cent
from the best of the day, leaving only gain
of n per cent on the days transactions.
Sugar preferred. after an opening decline of
4 per cent to SO, sold up to 92. reacting to S9s.
It was reported that bear short of $1,000
shares of Sugar common, was forced to sell at
100, and other short contracts were settled at
the same figures. Certain it is that those who
were short of the stock were for the moment
at the mercy of the manipulators of the deal
and had to sue for terms. The Keen clique is
given the credit for the operation, which was
one of the neatest engineered on the stock
board in some time
The general market opened fraction lower
and in the early dealings the activelist reacted
"a to "a per cent, the latter in Louisville apd
Nashville, while Lead broke per cent but
quickly recovered half the loss. The other
shares which had receded also made some re-
coveries. The experience the shorts had had
in Sugar made them timid and they began to
cover their lines generally. which caused an
appreciation in values all around, the indus
trials showing most largely in the Chicago
Gas, Lead, and Distilling. Western Union
was also prominent in the improvement,
which ranged from a to l per cent.
With the break in Sugar the rest of
the industrials and the railway list became
heavy and reaction occurred, in which most
of the advance was wiped out. The specula-
tion during the afternoon was weak in tone.
except at about O'Clock, when an upward
turn was taken, the tendency was toward
lower range of values. The dealings were
irregular IN the last hour, but in the main
heavy, and the market closed weak with a
majority OF the active list 2sal1a per cent lower
than at the close yesterday.
The railway and miscellaneous bond market
was strong all day on large volume Of busi-
ness