The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-09-20

and Their Stock is Snatched Up Greed
lily by the Londoners and Sold and Re
sold at Fabulous Prices-Craze vii
Probably Extend to America and 1t vii
All End Up In Gigantic Crash as Al
Booms 10.
Chicago, Sep. 19-when the financial
insanity of the days of the South Sea
bubble reached its height there was
/ Hoated company without announce
ment of its object nor any information
as TO its plans, and mad public crush
| ed itself in eagernesS to subscribe fab
ulous sums to this unknown security.
| There has been a similar epidemic of
| financial insanity raging in Europe
now for nearly a year, and a few days
! ago exactly the same thing was repeat
! ed in London that marked the heighth
J OF the South Sea bubble madness near
I ly three centuries ago.
! Barney Barnato has for the last year
been one of the most prominent figures
! in the marvellous mining specula ton
which has been going on in England
/ and throughout the continent. He has
piled up a fortune estimated 10 be more
/ than sl00,O60.00 through the printing of
| stock certificates in mining companies
| and the Skilfull manipulation of those
/ stocks in the market. A few days ago
! he announced the formation of the
| B1rnato Bank, Mining and Estate COM
| pany, limited. The capital was e, &c.
600. in shares of Fl. He announced that
! ne and his brother had subscribed to
! the entire capital and had subsequently
! sold a portion of it to a syndicate which
would offer ii on the market. No pros
! pectuS was issued. The public had on
~ the vaguest conception of the OBJ
jects of the company. 1t was given no
! information whatever as TO its plans.
On the day that the syndicate offered
the stock in the London stock market
there was scene that parallel of which
London never witnessed before. The
public was wild to buy the security.
! Orders were given without regard to
price. Business was practically Sus-
pended in all other securities dealt in
the mining market. 1t was first traded
I'm Sep. 2, and the eagernesS of the pub
lie to put its money into this scheme
about which it knew absolutely moth
ing, drove prices for the Il shares up
to f4ss On the first day that the public
was allowed to trade it put a value up
on the shares that made the fl 100000
Of capital have a market value of
60, $50 000
The London Financial Times editori-
ally described the day in the mining
market as follows:
We have reason to believe that bus
mess was done yesterday in other
stocks than ''Barney's Bank" but it
was difficult to discover it. If you hap
pened to come across anybody who had
actually done business in another stock
he would not tell you about the market
until you gave him the latest price of
the bank shares. And if the latest fig
ures happened to be 10 or 10 ShillingS
different from what he had last heard
he ScoTned American rails, ArgentineS,
WeStralian Mines, Kaffirs-even Char
tered-and disappeared in the crowd to
find out if you were right about Bar
ney'S Banks" Dealers in South Afri-
can shares had not the time to spare
to make dealing prices: they were all
too much occupied in the feature of
the day. Support was Withdrawn from
the market-even from other Barnato
stocks-by the all-engrossing subject Of
speculation. In the market the MORN
ing scene was wonderful and the ex-
citement intense. Brokers had orders
at limits based on one or other of the
conflicting runIOrS as to the price at
which the market would open; but the
work of these was simply compared
ders to buy 'at best" and who had to
fight their way through a crowd to get
the opportunity of asking a jobber to
make price. The orders had to be eX-
ecuted, but there will be much heart
burning this morning as to the prices
ait which the purchases were made.
1t was athletics and not ordinary bus |
mess capacity that scored yesterday. |
To have both was distinct advantage,
I. l. g. H.
cal proWess was the essential deSidera- |
tum. We tremble to think of the ques- |
tions with which we shall be assaulted |
by correspondents ir'ate because their !
agents did not get them in at the op- !
ening price. But il they had witnessed |
the scene and heard the noise they /.
would understand that the price ait |
which an individual order was execu- |
ted did not by any means depend en- |
tirely on business capacity. y big man |
with a big voice, might mean a differ |
ence of one or two Thousand pounds |
to the client Of the latter. The market |,
in fact, went mad about the shares, !
and the resultant danger was promptly !
recognized by Mr.. Barnato and his COL !
lea CUES in the fiotation. To check the I
insane demand for the shares ii was /
only necessary TO increase the supply |
and this was done with the result that |
=
About the concern the public knows |
little except that M !
Rarnato has given his name TO it, and /
that name is associated with successes
Of the most brilliant kind. There is !
nothing succeeds like success, il is said,
and Yesterdays market is a nota BILE
example Of the weight of this aplorism
How many million pounds sterling
" Barneyi may be worth is the favorite
subject Of discussion in and
about the stock exchange. The es:i-
mates vary in the most picturesque way
but on all hands II is agreed that he
IS a millionaire as many times over as
IS necessary to enable him TO make a
success of even bigger things than he
has yet taken in hand-and some OF
these are big. There may be bigger yet
to come Meantime his reputation is
largely 5nvolved in the success of the
Institution he has chosen 10 call a bank
and for which he stands as godfather:
and We think the market owes him
4 debt of gratitude for whatever part
ne took IN checking the mad advance
N the shares OF that institution. II is
quite on the the cards. however. that
even those who last night wee bitterly
having got in at the top may
ultimately be pleased with their pur-
chase on st Rarney's day"
This operation in the shares OF Bar
ney's Bank Is simply the latest and
most sensational act IN what = known
As the "kaffiT circus" The circus has
been running now fer nearly a yea
Il was with the beginning OF Octobe-.
S94. that speculation in London turned |
n the direction Of South Africa mining
securities. For several years before |
there mad been but little opportunity 10 |
crafty the gambling passion in the |
stock market Good securities undsr |
he influence Of a money market pleth-