Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1899-12-19
4 BLOW At TRUSTS.
Wall Street Panic Through
Fear of Combine Stocks.
CONSERVATIVES TO THE RESCUE.

Money Rates Down by Putting $4,000.
900 Into the BreacIi-Two Failures, One
Trust Company Handling Combine Stocks
New YORK, Dec. 19.--Panic condi-
tons developed on the stock exchange
with the imperative need of money de.
yeloped by the violent contraction in
values. Stocks were being thrown
over without the slightest regard to the
prices they would bring and at distress.
ing sacrifice of values. In the last halt
hour of the market some $10,00O,000
was offered ON the stock exchange by
the concerted action of the clearing
house banks to force the rate ARBITRARILY
down to 9 per cent without regard to
distracted bidding at higher rates viii ID
was being done by other brokers for
distressed operators. The collapse in
the money rate checked the decline and
drove the bears to cover. The reeoy-
cries produced by their urgent bidding
were almost as violent as the declines
had been, but the losses were by no
means entirely retrieved. Large offer.
ings of stocks continued at the rally,
and at some points of the list prices
broke anew before the close, making
the closing exceeding irregular and un
settled.
the seriousness of the crisis called
forth the best efforts OF powerful and
conservative financial interests, who
were busy concerning measures to tide
over the money difficulties which beset
the stock market and which, by reason
of their extent and the importance of
the interest involved, threaten TO affect
the country's business interests unless
obstacles were opposed.
There was suspension by newly
organized trust company and by firm
of bankers and brokers who have fig
ured as traders in stocks TO an extent
of some Importance. Neither event in
itself would have been sufficient to pre-
cipitate crisis. But they were supple
mented with whole crop of wild and
| incoherent ramors.
The reason for the widespread effect
upon sentiment of the trust companys
| suspension was that it was one of
large number of institutions recently
| formed on similar lines and which have
| thriven upon the multiplying OF securi-
ties incident to the industrial combina-
! tons which have been a feature of the
past year. The securities of these COM
| binations as a class have been i'll dis
favor in Wall street for many weeks
past and, in fact, ever since the head
long initiation in their prices and subse-
quent collapse last spring. The princl-
| pal allegations against them are over
capitalization, exorbitant prices paid for
constituent properties and vulnerabihty
to existing and threatened legislation
| against combinations.
1t has been obvious for many months
| past that great deal of money had
been locked up by capitalists in these
new industrial combinations, which
We're becoming burdensome to carry by
reason OF the heavy demands for money
| in the regular channels, the large abb
sorptlon of funds by reason of the gov
ernment's surplus revenues and the
urgent needs of the London money mar
ket growing out of the Transyaal war
/ Last weeks threatening situation in
| Boston was the outgrowth OF the burden
! of copper stocks, Thus it was that the
| trust company failure, coming upon last
/ weeks events in Boston, aroused the
| fear that the suspected class OF securi-
ties were on the point of succumbing to
| adverse influences. In the efforts to
protect these securities others were also
involved, including some of the most
substantial stocks on the list. The fall
in prices, instead of relieving the s1tua-
ton, added to the weakness with cumu-
lative force by reason of the snrinkage
in the value of collaterals.
Before the concerted relief by the
clearinghouse banks the money rate
| leaped to so, 10 and 100 and, according
to the official record. 125 per cent.
| Credible reports assert that 1856 per cent
was paid for money during the day
The official record of such transaction
was lost in the excitement. An idea of
| the severity of losses may be gained
| from few specifications. Thus, Anieri-
can Tobacco fell an extreme 2l1s, Met
ropohtan 2014, Peoples Gas Ia, Sugar
! 1919, Continental Tobacco II ., Tennes-
see Coal H. Manhattan 8 and Leather
preferred ola, all In the list of indus
trials. In the railroad list such stocks
| as Northwest, New York Central, Great
| Northern preferred, Rock Island, South
| ern Pacific. the Union Pacific, the North
ern Pacific, Atchison preferred and, in
fact, the most prominent and active
railroad stocks in the whole list showed
| losses all the way from to points.
The rallies with the final offerings
down of the money rate to per cent
ran from to 10 points. The days
transactions ran up to total of nearly
| 1860, 900 shares, which is the record for
days business. The excitement was
intense all day and there can be no
doubt that a large volume of transac-
actions and record OF many quotations
was lost.
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 19.-The Phila-
delphia stock market did not escape the
panicky conditions that ruled in the
New York exchange, though the losses
here were not so serious save in one
stock, United Gas Improvement. which
lost 91a points, having opened at 155
and closing at l451a. Great interest was
taken here in the Wall street slump, as
many traders here had invested in New
York stocks. The market held up fairly
well until the last hour, when a semi
panic ensued. Union Traction met with
net loss of 21s, Reading first preferred
IL. Northern Pacific 4. Camden Steel