The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-25
We'll Known Broker
Embarrassed.
WILL GO AHEAD.
Statements Of All Parties
Interested.

Tn suspension of James S. Aborn,
stockbroker, '4l0 Main street, was an
nounced, yesterday afternoon. The Ii
abilities are stated by his attorney,
Henry w King, Esq. to be about s25,
600; assets, office furniture
The announcement came like a
thunder clap out of a clear sky to peo-
pie on the street, particularly to those
who have had dealings with Mr.. Aborn.
and there are no inconsiderable num-
Der of spectators on his list. One of
them voiced the general feeling in a
few words when he said: Il thought
he was as solid as a rock" The man
who spoke thus was the first to be re-
Z fused payment or profits on block Of
i lugar stocks. When he made his de-
mand he was told that there was sim
! ply no money to pay with.
1t was rumored late on Thursday
81 that Mr.. Aborn had refused to take or
h ders from several shorts" but as that
was one Of the possibilities in such a
strong bull market as that of the past
week, no particular attention was paid
to it beyond the usual comment Of the
street, and it was not until the re-
peated and absolute refusals of yester-
day morning came that demands for
payments were made.
The situation then compelled the an
nouncement Of suspension, and Mr..
Aborn's offices were besieged~ imme-
diately with a group of anxious cred-
itors. SinSularly enough, most of them
were the small investors, 10 share
men," as they are known in the mar
ket One of them, a machiniSt, has in
vested over $500 i'll industrials. 1t rep
resented the sum total of his savings,
and when he had learned the true sit
uation Of affairs the tears coursed
down his cheeks and his hands shook
like a leaf. The announcement that
he would ultimately be paid every dol
lar due him seemed to afford him but
little encouragement. His case was
not an isolated one. There were a
number present who had put every
dollar they possessed into margins, but
they were obliged to suffer equally with
those who could afford the loss the
only difference being that they suffered
a great deal more.
Mr., Aborn, personally, refused to
make any statement save through his
attorney, Mr., King. But the claims
are made that he has been carrying a
number of his friends who were short
on Tobacco. 1t is likely that this may
be So Certainly that S the most proba-
bic line in which such a result could
have been brought about, if this was
the cause of the suspension.
The shorts" have been banking for
days on a drop in Tobacco. It was, of
course, generally known how thorough
ly concentrated the Tobacc1 holdings
were, and that they could be manipu-
lated at will by a comparatively few
men, 1t has been generally conceded
that even on a bull market, the chances
We're as good, if not better for losses
$50, IN, h. -a1-r
private settlement by the shorts had
been rumored on the strength of the
slump. But it has been bobbing since
Following the holiday it jumped L
points a rise of Is over the high fig
ure Of Tuesday to 1856, a gain of 5;
points in a week.
Late yesterday afternoon the rise in
Tobacco was explained by an uncon-
firmed market statement of a deal be-
tween the American, the Union and
Legget & Myers, a practical consoli-
dation. If there is one, it means that
there has been an actual consolidation
of all the interests named and that the
tobacco business has passed into the
hands of the American Tobacco COM
pany.
This must, of course, have been
known to the New York correspondents
much earlier in the day. If so, it, of
course, settled all question of the shorts
recovering from the very unpleasant
position in which they found them
selves.
Mr. Aborn's customers are not only
large in a numerical sense, but they
number in several instances some of
the solid financial men Of Worcester.
One of them is reported to be 500 900
short by the suspension, but he neither
affirms or denies the statement. An
other large loser is said to be the treas
urer of a Worcester company. But in
the main the losses are carried by the
small investors.
The belief was expressed on the
street last evening by men who ought
to be able to give fair judgment on
the matter. that the liabilities would
come nearer reaching $4,000 or $4,000
than the sum named by Mr.. King. Said
one of the local spectators: Certainly
the number of his customers has in
creased largely since the bull market
has been on, and in ordinary times
they will run up far over a hundred
Assuming that they were playing only
low line" the dealings must have
carried the profit figures far up above
the $4,000 mark [ am informed that
Mr. Aborn says he has not been playing
the market on his own account Il
that is so, ! would like to have him tel
us where the money is that he has beer
earning the past year 1t is a matter
of common knowledge that his
business has been one of the most
profitable between Boston ami New
York. If he has been carrying his
friends. as his attorney claims, he
certainly is a magnificent exception tc
the rule e
No attempts We're made to serve at
tachments on Mr. Aborn as it was UNI
derstood that he had no money on de-
post at the city Bank. The first news
that President Nathaniel Paine had Of
the AFFAIR was over the telephone late
in the afternoon.
Mr. King stated late in the day
that creditors representing the greater
amount Of the indebtedness had beer
seen, and all We're willing to sign an