The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-04
MOORE BROTHERS BUSTED"
DIAMOND MATCH AND NEW YORK
BISCUIT DEAL FALLS THROUGH.
Almost Entire Business on Chicago
'Change for Weeks Was IN shares
OF These Stocks.


stock has come TO an end. The Moore
Brothers have failed. The greatest specu-
lation ever known I'm Chicago has cuimin-
ated in the failure of the people who were
behind the deal. The Chicago Stock Ex-
change will adjourn at 10 o'clock to-mor-
row morning for an indefinite period.
This action was decided on at a meeting
held this evening. at which were present
the members OF the Stock Exchange gov
erning committee and number OF prom
inent capitalists. This meeting was as
sembled informally after the announce
ment. which was made late I'm the after
noon by James III. Moore, that margin
calls could no longer be met That an
nouncement made TO a few of the
men most heavily interested. and IL
was thought best 10 call
meeting to discuss the situation. Inose
who assembled discussed the best means
for restoring confidence after the shock
which would be given TO speculative cir
cles by the announcement OF the failure.
II was the general opinion that IL would
be the wisest possible move TO close the
Stock Exchange for period.
The points were made that nearly the
entire business at the Stock Exchange for
a number OF weeks has been I'm Diamond
Match and New York Biscuit: that the
| closing of the exchange would interfere
| only in the slightest degree with general
financial affairs, and that the present was
| a particularly opportune time. owing to
| the fact that the settlements in the July
| account had just been completed and there
had been as yet comparatively little trad
| ing i'm the August accounts. The govern
| ing committee OF the Stock Exchange dis
cussed the situation at length and passed
a resolution TO adjourn the exchange az 10
o'clock tomorrow morning indefinitely.
FEW DAYS ONLY.
| 1t is thought the adjournment will last
! but few days and that matters can within
that time be Strengthened out in a way
that will make the losses easy pos
sible TO bear. All those present at the
meeting this evening said that should tho
exchange open as usual tomorrow morn
| ing the bears would make a slaughtering OF
values that would cost a great deal and in
large measure unnecessary loss. They
| believe the closing Of the exchange and the
| prevention of the making OF speculative
/ quotations for the securities which would
| enable brokers having open trades TO close
/ them and the situation could be liquidated
| in a large measure without the sharp de-
| clines that would follow the trading on tho
open market
So far as the banks are concerned they
| are Indifferent personally as TO whether
the exchange should be closed or not The
| stocks held by them are margined 10
point which leaves them secure in any
| event.
ure is the elimination is by all odds the
| most important in the history Of Chicago
! Stock Exchange affairs. IL began early in
| this year The stock of the Diamond Match
Company had been selling all along at 40
! for quite time. and ther had been special
activity in the market Just prior TO the
| Venezuelan incident the tip had gone out
| in inside circles that there were to be some
| important European developments in con-
nection with Diamond Match affairs. and
| strong people. The Venezuelan panic in
terfcred with speculation. and the stock
time TO 1l5 From then the rise started
which is the most remarkable IN the
history of the exchange. A strong
| James II. Moore and William III. Moore be-
| gan buying the stock. IL moved up with
| endeavored to interfere with the rise, but
! they each time found that there was both
speculative genius and financial strength
behind the deal which was unlike anything
they had ever encountered in local specula-
| tive affairs. The rise went on Tor con-
| siderable time before the general public
had any intimation of what was really be-
hind the advance In time came the an
| nouncement that the Diamond Match Com
| pany had closed a contract with the French
government under which the patents
| and the machines controlled by the Match
4 Company were TO be sold to the French
/ government Tor royalty or tlbJ,V1V a year.
| President Barber and Director George ID.
Smith were in Europe carrying on the ne
| gotations.
DIAMOND MATCH BOOM.
Following the announcement OF the clos
ing Of the French contract the stock ad-
vanced with great rapidty. In the early
speculation the bulls had named 200 as an
extreme figure, but as the prospects OF
further profitable arrangements I'm Europe
appeared. much higher prices were pre-
dicted. Negotiations were opened for the
formation of a new company in England
which would unite with Bryant & May,
the largest match producers in Great Brit
ain. and would give to the English field
| the advantage OF the labor-savfng Ameri-
| can machinery. A factory was equipped in
Liverpool which was owned by the Dia-
/ as an object lesson 10 European manufac-
| turers. showing them the great advantage
| OF the improved machinery over their
| methods of manufacturing. Negotiations
were also opened in Austria for the forma-
| ton of a company which should combine all
the manufacturing interests there. Other
| companies were TO be organized IN Belgium
| and Ita3y. Calculations showing enormous
| profits 10 accrue made prices that had at
| first looked extravagant seem cheap
The shrewdcst men in Chicago believed
| In the property Some OF the richest OF
/ Chicago's spectators operated I'm the mar
never e before known sneh actyaps 6s fha
/ head and front of the speculative move-
1 ment was the Moore Brothers but they
were ably seconded by the most prominent
1 local and Eastern spectators and kept in
absolute control Of the situation. The stock
| sold up as high as 2fS The Moores went
| through the break without the slightest
] difficulty and IL was generally believed that
| they had been glad TO the decline 80
| that more stock might be accumulated.
From go the advance began again. but
/ had hardly the snap that had characterized
the first rise. There was no question about
| the implicit faith Of the people who had
| the closest information regarding the COM
pany's prospects They were steady buv-
ers. When the decline in stock
I markets generally came following
/ the Democratic convention the stock was
! selling at abont 81. The values or other
securities tu.b sd day after day. but Iafch
| held steadily without much as a
| fractional dec inc. The Noores bought the
! stock with confidence that inspired (Cnf-
| dence in Others. The people who had the
best Information about the compaays pros
| poets seemed 10 feel absolutely certain OF
| the value OF the security and prices were
held through all the sharp fluctuations IN
other stocks-huctuaf,onS which carried
| West Chicago 10 the lowest point In its
| history and marked startling declines In all
other securities.
1t was believed that : heavy short inter
est had been created by the bears Who dld