The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-25
BEHIND THE SCENES.
A SIDE LIGHT ON THE GREAT GAME
IN WALL STREET.
Row the Bulls Got the Bears ON the Run
When -. Paul Got to Par-Exciting
Scenes In the New York Stock Ex-
change.

1
The directors Of the Chicago, Milwau-
I lee and st. aul railroad declared the
regular semiannual dividend of per
cent the other day and an extra divi-
dend of per cent That's the cold fact
about it, and the average newspaper
reader probably won't see anything in
that fact 20 get excited over, but if
he'd been in Wall street, New York,
about the time that the announcement
was made he'd have thought that hades
had broken loose and that all the little
imps had fallen out of the bottom, and,
dressed in district messenger and news
bureau uniforms, were running TO COW
er in the Stock Exchange. These little
imps, fleet Of foot were chased by big
ger ones. some of them hatless, some OF
them coatless, all of them gasping.
Here's little bunch of facts that
will help 20 an understanding of the
situation st. Paul used TO pay per
cent dividends St Paul has always
been popular stock-that is, it was
active in the market, and lots Of people
bought and sold it, Hard times brought
st. Paul down to per cent basis
For two months the crop reports and
reports Of other business that goes to
make up railroad dividends have been
favorable enough TO warrant story
that st Paul would go back to per
cent basis
On the day preceding the meeting Of
the st. Paul directors to decide what
the dividend would be st. Paul closed
at 9916 When the Stock Exchange
opened next morning, it sold at 9958
The st. Paul post in the Stock Ex-
change is on the west side of the floor
There were two crowds around there
from the start One was headed by men
known in Wall street as st. Paul bulls
The other party was bearing the stock,
and these opposing factions shouted at
each other
Every once in awhile q man ON each
side wrote something on little pad he
carried in his hand, just as if his OPP
ponent had used some new cuss word
and he wanted TO make a note of it,
The St. Paul directors were to meet at
clock i'll the Office of the company
on the eighth floor of the tombstone
building The Stock Exchange didn't
have a monopoly of the excitement
The two concerns that supply news TO
Wall street and the brokers the mo-
ment it happens were having fits They
gathered together all the available mes
senger force III the city They had spe-
cial telephone wires TO the eighth floor
of the tombstone building and within
four feet of the door of the meeting room,
where they had reporters falling all
over each other They had already in
their offices printed slips telling the
news. There was one slip that said Sc
Paul had declared the regular dividend,
another that said St Paul had declared
the regular and a half per cent extra,
another that said the regular and
quarter per cent extra. another that said
the regular and | per cent extra and
others providing for every possible con-
tingency They were just held there in
neat stacks waiting for the news to tell
which stack was the right one.
Leaving the news-the instant-it-hap-
pens bureaus, the reader can move to
the eighth floor of the tombstone build
ing There at 2 O'Clock the corridor was
lammed with brokers clerks and others
They Were the larger imps that later
chased the little ones in uniform through
Broad street They were stationed there
to find out instantly what St Paul had
done and dash off with the news TO the
Stock Exchange, where they could tell
fha hoo ,.l hos. ,,Ft ho;,
Inside the boardroom of the st. Paul
company were the men who had the
measure of excitement in their hands
Now back to the Stock Exchange.
The bulls and bears were still bawling
at each other and noting new cuss words.
A shiver went down the backs of the
bulls A story started to the effect that
st. Paul would not declare a dividend,
but would postpone action until Sept
H. The bears sprang at the bulls with
it. They sold and sold st. Paul The
price dropped by eighths down to 9S14,
and still the bears pumped it into the
bulls. The shiver of the bulls was mo-
mentary. They bought and fighting
tooth and nail the bears. saw the stock
go up and up to Y956
"A hundred for St Paul.
"Hooray!" shouted the crowd. est.
Paul q hundred!" But it didn't go all
the same, for at the same time st. Paul
was offered at 99A, and it's the lowest
quotation that gets on the board
One by one the directors came out.
One by one they were pounced upon.
'St. Paul" they said, "has declared
the regular dividend of per cent and
per cent extra.
Wow! Whoopr' bawled the crowd
of clerks and reporters and messengers,
just why nobody can tell, for heaven
knows they had no st. Paul, but they
bawled, and then they bolted Down the
stairways they went lickety split. The
lucky ones leaped into elevators, shout.
ing DOWN.
Broad and New streets looked mad.
The figures flew so the unexcited pedes.
TRANS gaped in wonder and demanded.
Who's robbed?"
1.-THE bears" said somebody.
The haad IF t,ic ax,,,,. 49,. l.,