Evening journal., 1896-08-04
went up LII.e q Roeket.


The rise won't on for considerable time
before tho general public had any intima
tion Of what was really behind the ad
vance. In time came the announcement
that the Diamond Match company had
closed a contract with the French govern
ment under which the patents and the
machinery controlled by the match COM
pany were to be sold to the French gov
ornment for a royalty OF sl00, 600 year.
President Barber and Director George ID.
Smith were in Europa carrying on the me-
gotiations. Following tho announcement
OF the closing of the French contract the
stock advanced with great rapidity
Negotiations wero opened for the forma-
ton Of new company in England which
would unite with Bryant & May, the lar
post match producers in Great BYitain, and
would give to the English field the Rdyan-
tage OF the labor saving American ma
chinery A factory was equipped In
Liverpool which was owned by the Dia-
mond Match company and which served
as an object lesson to European mAnufac-
turcrs, showing thom the great advantage
Of tho improved machinery over their
methods of misunderstanding. Negoti0ticns
were also opened In Austria for the forma-
tion CT company which should combine
all the manufacturing interests there.
Other companies were to be organized in
Belgium and ltaly.
Calculations, showing enormous profits
to accrue, made prices thnt hnd at lrst
looked extrnyagant seem cheap. Tho
shrewdest men in Chicago believed In the
property. Some Of the richest Of Chi
cagos speculators operated in the market
heavily. The Chicago exchange had ncN or
before known such activity.
The Moores bought the stock with a
confidence that inspired sonhdenoe in
others. The people who had most infor-
nation about the oompanys prcsrects
seemed to feel absolutely certain OF the
value Of the security, and prices wero hold
through all tho sharp fluctuations In other
stocks-huotuations which carried West
Chicago to tha lowest point I'm its history
and marked startling declines In all other
securities. IL was believed that heavy
short interest had been created by bears
who did not think quotations could DO
held in tho face OF tho decline in the gon-
oral market. Apparently the hopes Of the
bulls rested on tho size of that short in
tercst.
The Load Was Too Heavy.
When the July account camo to be
\ closed, tho carrying charges for stocks in
| to the August account were very large, so
large that faith was shaken In the exist
ence of an extensive short interest. The
great part OF the capital with which the
! denl had beon carried on had boon raised
in New York and New England. Local
| banking institutions are only moderately
| interested I'm the affair Difficulty was OK
perienoed owing TO the general loss Of con-
fidenoe in renewing some Of these eastorn
loans. settlement day was successfully
passed. however, and every one believed
that in spite Of tho heavy carrying charges
the bulls were still in control of the situa-
tion. The stock came out, however, in
enormous quantities The Moores were al
most alone in supporting the market, but
they stood under it with remarkable cour-
age. Yesterday the stock was held with
hardly a waveE at 222, but thero was an
outpouring OF long stock, which led the
keen observers OF the market TO fear that
the load might become too heavy, and the
events later on proved that those fears
were correct
TIE deal in Diamond Match was only
part OF this great speculative operation.
The Moore Bros. had organized the New
York Biscuit company several years ago,
after the first great success OF the Dia'
mond Match company. The panic OF S9t
had hit the biscuit company severely, az
It did al other industries, and the stock
was far below par. Tho success which wal
met with In speculative manipulation o.
! Diamond Match led TO "a desire TO sec wha'
could be done with New York Biscuit,
md that stock was taken several monthi
ago and advanced from 20 to l0s. From
that it dropped back to s2, and for weeks
was hold close about that figure in spit'
of tho sharp declines in other securities
Enormous quantities Of this stock wer'