Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-08-08
CHICAGO STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSED
INDEFINITELY.
Greatest Speculative Move in the
History of the Windy City
Brings Disaster.

in Diamond Match and New York Bis /
cult has come 10 an end. Moore Bros. |
have failed. The greatest speculation |
ever known in Chicago has eliminated in |
the failure of the people who are behind !
the deal. The Chicago stock exchange |
will adjourn at 10 o'clock tomorrow morn |
ing for an indefinite period. This action |
was decided upon at a meeting held to-
night, at which were present the members |
of the stock exchange governing commit |
tee and a number of prominent capital |
lists. This meeting was assembled IN
formally after the announcement which |
was made late in the afternoon by James
II. Moore that margin calls no longer
could be met. The announcement was
made to a few of the men most heavily
interested. Those who assembled as
cussed the best means of restoring CON
fidence after the check which would be
given to speculative circles by 1ne an
nouncement of the failure. 1t was the
opinion that it would be the wisest pos
sible move to close the stock exchange for
a period The points were made that
nearly the entire business at the stock
exchange for a number OF weeks mas
been in Diamond Match and New YORK
Biscuit, and that the closing OF the eX-
change would interfere only in slight
degree with the general financial AFFAIRS.
1t is thought the adjournment Will lost
but few days and that matters can
within that time be Strengthened out
So far as the banks are concerned, they
are Indifferent personally as to Whether
the exchange should be closed or not Inc
stocks held by them are marglned TO
point which leaves them secure in any
event.
The speculative deal of which the fail
IRE is the elimination is by long odiS
the most important in the history OF ne
| Chicago stock exchange AFFAIRS.
If began early in this year. The STOCK
of the Diamond Match company had been
, selling along 30 for a time. Just prior
to the Venezuelan incident the tip haa
gone out in inside circles that there were
to be some important European develop
nents in connection with Diamond M1tch
affairs, and the buying of stocks com
menced by strong people. The ven u
relan panic interfered with the specuId-
ton. and the stock dropped during the
general decline at that time to 10 From
there the rise started which is the most
remarkable in the history of the eX-
change A strong group OF SpecuIatoFS
headed by James II. Moore and Wllndm
H. Moore, began buying the stock. II
moved with scarcely a halt. The rise
went on for a time before the general
public had any intimation of what was
really behind the advance. In time came
the announcement that the Diamond
Match company had closed contract
with the French government under "illcn
the patents and the machinery controlled
by the match company were to be sofa
to the French government for a royalty
of 800 900 a year. Following the an
nOuncement Of the closing OF the Ffeach
contract the stock advanced with great
rapidity. Negotiations We're opened LOT
the formation of a new company IN eng
land which would unite with Bryant *
May. the largest match producers III
Great Britain, and would give TO the
English field the advantage of the labor
saving American machinery.
A factory was equipped in Liverpool
which was owned by the Diamond Match
company and which served as an OBJECT
lesson to European manufacturers Ne5o-
tiations were also opened in Austria for
the formation of a company which should
combine all the manufacturing interests
there. Other companies were to be or
ganized in Belgium and Italy.
Shrewis Men Bitten.
The shrewdest men in Chicago believed
in the property. Some of the richest of
Chicagos spectators operated in the
market heavily but the head and front
of the speculative movement was the
Moore Bros. The stock sold up as hlgh
as 81 AS When the decline in stock mar
kets generally came, following the demo-
cratic convention, the stock was selling
at about 1924 and was held steadily with
out so much as fractional decline. The
Moores bought the stock with confidence
that inspired confidence in others. The
people who had been the best Informed
about the companys prospects seemed to
feel absolutely certain of the value of the
security and prices were held through all
the sharp fluctuations in other stocks. 1t
was believed that a heavy short interest
had been created by the bears who did
not think the quotations could be held in
the face of the decline of the general mar
ket.
Apparently the hopes of the bulls rested
on the size of the short interest. When
the July account came to be closed the
carrying charges for turning stocks into