New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-02
financial.
The Financial World.


over the st. Paul dividend the other day and II
seems as II we were getting back to the lively
times Of the Gould II is general talk how
nearly similar this Tobacco episode has been to
the well remembered Whisky pool incident o.
some years ago The similarity is striking; and
what Is more the chief actors are the same only
substituting Duke COR Greenhut. Then it viii
be remembered, there pool in Whisky
Trust stock; and II was in the same Office that
the Tobacco deal was in: and the gentle
men that the Street is talking about now were
in that pool with Greenhut the President of the
company. And when the stock had, after long
dragging and inactivity. been sent up from the
3Os. into the 70s., it baked; and the pool man.
ager, who In fact was Mr. Keene, was little
taken aback by the amount OF stock which all
at once tImbled on the market. II did not
take him long 10 discover that the pool was leak
ing: whereupon he swung round and sold and
sold the stock until the price OF IT Gu, ie
halves. and certain Of the insiders who had tried
to stop the decline when il had gone far enough
60 suit them. were very much shaken up The
affair made a big sensation at the time. and the
running the pool p)pulary charged 10
Greenhut The boys shifted and remarked that
it the Jew again; but it turned out that IL
was not the Jew at all. but the eminent Chris
tans who had broken faith
Here We have in this Tobacco deal the same
thing over again. A combine with headquar-
ters in the same office: we have the same
familiar figures as chiefs with Duke represent
ing the company as Greenhut had the other
company: and the market handling OF the stock
in the hands Of Mr. Keene. We SEQ the stock
start from below par. and on the scheme to
unite with opposition concerns. sec II mount in
the market until it gets above 30 Here IL
halts and begins TO recede: hut as the general
market is going back. checked hy the disap-
pointment over the 81. Paul dividend. there y
nothing to arouse suspicion The sales records
show that large amount OF Tobacco came out
any day until last Monday morning. when the
price was about rs Then the fun began. by
the noon hour. there had been such unac-
countahe amount ~ stock sold that Mr.. Keene
thought it tme to male inquiries solemn as
surances that none Of the insiders had sold were
given; but they did not seem to have quite the
right ring to them; so as a merely precautionary
measure as it were he dropped a trihe Of 20~0
shares she market before > o'clock The
stock closed that day about 10 on transac-
tons Of over 10000 shares. but the average 81
the 2OVDO referred to was az.
Next morning Tuesday. the stock had a Wild
opening between 1876 and 15S: the transactions
OF the day we're 10000 shares. and the stock
fell to 1921. but closed 13i. Mr. Keene had
doubtless done considerable thinking over night
and coming 10 the conclusion that there was
no time to waste. his orders were To sell To any
body who would buy from 10 o'clock until tina
last OF his holdings had gone No stock was
offered. but whoever opened his mouth tn bid
at any price. got pumped and the Keene bag
was practically emptied at an average Of 1916
Since then the stock has tumbled to ll5l5. which
price was reached yesterday. Whether Mr.
Keene had anything 10 do with that, he does
not say. At any rate. it would appear that
when the gentlemen the Street is talking about
started to SELL they got just about two hours the
start: but from that time 1t was a race to see
who could get out first, and II rather looks az IL
Mr. Keene the winner.
Naturally the Street excited with thou
sand rumors about the affair; and as it became
current that Messrs. Payne and Terrell had sold
out on Keene. the traders jumped on other
stocks 1t was known that he had, and broke
down Leather and Rubber. Whoever was hurt
by the raiding of the latter stock it is not likely
to be the astute trader whose holdings average
him far and away below the lowest prices all the
raiding can make. As to Tobacco, IL is known
. all who have anything approaching inside
knowledge OF that deal. that Mr.. keene had
5000 full shares Tobacco is half stock at an
average Of 30. accumulated when the market
demoralized by the Maine explosion. There
fore the rumors that he had been hurt on the
deal are the widest nonsense The sort Of hair
trigger he is on the market, was not likely to
let the other fellows get ahead of him very far.
About two hours the limit this time. OF
course the profit on tine whole operation was
not so great it would have been had all
parties acted in good faith; but it
profit OF something over eleven hundred thou
sand dollars is not 10 be sneezed at.
man can afford to be clipper under such
circumstances even II he has good cause for
annoyance at the circumstances attending the
taking of such profits The time when Mr.
Keene is most easy OF approach Is in the high
est spirits and the best OF tempers. is in the
racket Of a hot fight just one may have
noticed Ovho had had the experience that cer-
tain officers become most cheerful when bullets
whistling.
Now as TO the future OF Tobacco stock il De-
ponds on various things II new plants are 70
be taken In at preposterously extravagat
valuations (such one recently bought, ana
some OF the strongest concerns left out af'ef
these high-priced ones are absorbed, the To-
bacco Company will have a hard road to travel
and it's dividends will be on a diminishing IN
stead OF ascending scale
The general speculative situation in the mar
ket has not heen improved by the weeks &C.
currences That is obvious The Street is doubt
less convinced by this time that the ST. PAU
dividend affair did mark the turn Of the SUM
rner bull movement Since then the market mas
been developing weak spots. Now 1t Is pam
that the big men who handle large lines OF fa"'
road stocks, Morgan and the STANDARD OH peO'
pie for example. unloaded their speculative ih'''
before the St Paul dividend was declared lhe'
we'll knowing what the effect would ne Inv
other group OF leaders the daring specua'V'
who deal more in the quick moving indus'r"'
have run on each other. quarreled as eohse
Lir,.- Only w