The San Francisco call., 1898-02-25

NEW YORK, Feb. PA scene re- sembling the great panicky scenes of the summer of 1893 was enacted on the floor of the Stock Exchange when the market opened this morning. Crowds of excited brokers clustered around the standards and made the air thick with their shouts to sell stocks. Sell, sell, sell, was their cry. It made no differ ence whether stocks were granger, spe- cialty, industrial or coaler, the senti- ment was the same.
 The bears got out their war scare club and used it right and left on hold CTS of stock. The result was the most extensive throwing over of issues that had been indulged in for months. Union Pacific preferred was one of the first of moderately high priced securi- ties to suffer- Three thousand shares were sold in running order, prices rang ing from 531R to 52, and later sales were registered at 51%. The stock closed last at SAYS. Manhattan was most conspicuous loser. The stock opened with 20O0 shares running sales from 1O5 down to 102. This was sufficiently sensational as a starter in view of the fact that the closing price of Manhat- tan was 107&.
 But the bears were not yet done with the stock of the local transportation company. They hammered and ham mered and the price fell to 9S1a in short order, drop of 9A points. Metropoli- tan street railway sold at 139%, as against a closing of IA, and soon lost PI1r1 n nctn c also pounded, starting in at quotations of 9434, against closing of 96ss and re- ceding to 92!a. There were 20O0 shares of St. Paul at the opening, showing a loss of a point to that granger.
 Sugar was another object of attack, selling off on heavy transactions to 1231h, against a closing of 125B. Rock Island yielded up a point; so did l.. and N; Northern Pacific gave SIS; Reading per cent, and, in fact, the whole market was affected by the handling of the news from Havana.
 Authorities in Wall street were of the opinion that the avalanche of selling orders put in at the opening of the market had most to do with the early slump. These orders came from com mission brokers. There was very little demand for stocks at the start, and stop orders caused large drop in Man. haitian, Metropolitan, Sugar and other easily moving securities There were abundant indications that the bear element, which has been working actively in the market for week, was an important factor in depression This element bought stocks as low figures were reached The decline was so rapid as to make a large profit in ar bitrage business, and foreign houses for short time had all they could dc to fill their dates. After the first slump the supply of stocks decreased ma terially, and led traders to work for a rally.
 Standard Oil opened at 365 and sold down 15 points. The activity of the market was shown at an astonishine decrease after the congestion of selline orders at the opening had been worked off. The first swift recovery of 1 to points was partly lost, and then prices began to work back slowly to the higher plane. Commission houses re. ported selling orders received from widely distributed points through the country, indicating liquidation of lone holding of securities.
 Government bonds fell a quarter to per cent, latter in coupon fours bott of 1907 and 1925 Spanish fours fell 2 half per cent additional in London There were large purchases hert TOT London account during the morn. Ing, the rapid decline making the arbi. trage operations profitable. Railroad poAas shared in the, weakness of stocks