Passaic City record., 1899-12-23
A WALL STREET PANIC.
Securities Drop Many Points and I've
Failures Are Announced.
BANKS COME TO MARKETS RELIEF

The Stock Exchange Experiences One Of
the Worst Days in It's History-Treas-
ury Offers a Plan of Relief-Proffsred
Loans of S11 ,OOO, 900 Aid the strin-
gent Money Market-MiIIions Lost.
New YORK CRY (speciaD.-Much the
worst panic that Wall street has seen since
the memorable crash OF 1898, commonly
known as the "Cordage Smash" came up.
on the Street Monday, and when the day
was over market values had declined mil
lions upon millions of dollars, men who
but few hours before had counted their
money by the thousands were ruined, and
gloom was everywhere. In many respects,
indeed, it was probably the worst single
day panic the Street had ever known.
Recorded transactions on the Stock Ex-
change reached the enormous total of
,53l $50 shares. On the exchanges of other
cities there were also crashes and abnor-
mally heavy trading. From various cities
throughout the country came reports of
disastrous speculative losses, both in local
and in New York stocks.
Money was lent on call as high as 1856
per cent. per annum, and there was a
meeting of bank presidents, followed by
offers to lend 100000 to stem the tide
OF liquidation.
The Produce Exchange Trust Company,
a concern with more than $1,000 900 capt.
tai and surplus, closed its DOORS and there
were false rumors that one other trust
company and half dozen banks had sus-
pended payment.
1t did happen that the Seventh National
Bank served notice on the Clearing House
banks that after twenty-four hours it
would cease to act as Clearing House agent
for tine International Bank and Trust Com
pany. That company deposited city bonds
with the bank to protect its checks and its
secretary announced that it was absolutely
solvent.
The Stock Exchange firm of Henry Allen
Il Co. collapsed with estimated liabilities
OF more than 81 100000 There was vio-
lent collapse in values on the Stock Ex-
change, where prices of shares dropped
from S8 to $21, the declines of 50 to So a
share between sales being frequent hap
pening.
Late in the afternoon the presidents Of
the larger banks met at the Clearing House
to adopt measures to relieve the situation,
but it was not until the bankers had Of
fered to lend millions OF dollars at six per
cent. that the backbone of the panic was
broken.
Meantime the actual and contingent
losses were enormous. Trust company
stockholders had $4,000 900 tied up, while
depositors' money, to the sum OF from $2,-
0e0, 900 to $1,000, 600, had been locked up.
A brokerage firm had failed with liabilities
of more than 81 900, 900, while securities
worth several times that sum were in
voIved.
And the loss to holders of securities,
when the slump in the market prices is
considered, had mounted up into many
more millions.
The crash was purely speculative in its
character-similar to the Grant d Ward
failure in 1884 On Monday the failures
were comparatively few, and none of the
Clearing House banks or big investment
houses in Wall street was threatened. In
fact, the break from the high interest
rates came when J. P. Morgan l. Co.
dumped $1,0O00 900 into the Stock Ex-
change and lent it at six per cent, al
though the firm might have got 100 per
cent.
The panic in money was provoked by
the failure of the trust company when the
tension in the money markets was great,
for fear the foreign markets might be up
set by news from the Transvaal. Already
spectators had been crippled, and tie
fear that more bubbles would burst threw
them into panic.
The investmen ent and conservative trading
element of the street took it as matter of
course. They had expected speculative
whirl of some sort. 1t happened that the
bears won because weak spot in local
financial institution had been uncovered.