The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-10
Speculative Craze Reaches Climax in Rapid
Declines Of All Holdings, Except North
ern Pacific Shorts Badly Squeezed.
GENUINE PANIC BARELY AyERTED
Bankers Unite Prevent Wide Spread Disaster By Pooling
and Supplying Money Some Of the
Heaviest Dealers.

nouncing the closing of the days pro-
ceedings. The casualties were great
and the field of battle was strewn
with the wounded and maybe with the
dying. But of actual fatalities none
was recorded of Importance during
the day.
During the height of the panic ru-
mors of insolvencies were handed
about more than they could be report
ed. But no combinations could be
had of the intimations of financial
wrecks. Those against whom the
most rumOrs pointed refused even to
show any signs of distress and pro-
fessed themselves ready to meet all
obligations. In more than one in
stance the answer to these rumors
was for representative of the house
to go on the stock exchange and place
loans to large amount, as indicating
the abundance of resource at hand.
But notwithstanding these and similar
devices for keeping up credit and con-
fidence, the fact was too obvious from
the craze of values on the exchange
that credits and borrowing power
were shrinking at too prodigious a
rate not to leave the minds of the
whole financial world in condition
OF intense strain.
But the Indications at the close Of
the day were strong that the principal
damage had been wrought upon the
speculative class or upon holders of
securities on margin, for whatever
purpose. The banks have been so well
protected by recent extensions of the
margins eXacted on the market value
of collateral over the amount of loans
placed that they had little to fear
short of an absolute Wiping out OF
market values.
The shrinkage of collateral made it
necessary for the banks in many cases
to exact additional collateral during
the day and this added much to the
distress for time. But in the late
dealings the principal banks in the
financial district agreed to form
pool and raise fund to loan the
money rate down to 6 per cent on the
stock exchange. The bid for mon
ey had been run up to so per cent and
was threatening to keep alive the
panic The dozen banks quickly came
to an agreement to raise $16,O0O,OO
with willingness to increase the sum
if necessary There We're very heavy
loans placed also by individual banks,
ranging in some cases to $25,0O0,000
anu $3O,OO0,0O0.
Old Customers Favored.
Through the early part of the day
bankers exacted the market rate for
loans But with the growing need to
suppress the panic they offered lie
rate down to per cent. Old custom
ers of the banks were not charged over
per cent at any time, but when out
siders came in asking for new loans,
the law Of supply and demand was
allowed to run it's course.
The state of excitement was very ap-
parent all through the financial dis
trict during the hours of panic, but
there were no sensational scenes.
Now and tnen a white-faced woman
| would peer from a cab outside a
brokers' office and would be driven
off in a fainting conuition, after re-
ceiving a message from the interior.
Wherever any near approach could be
made to a ticker or to a board on
which quotations were posted there
were great throngs of excited specula-
| tors scrambling for view of the
course of the market.
| But the real stress of the occasion
came upon the men who were shut up
in either their private offices or those
| of brokers, or who were struggling
and even fighting on the floor of the
exchange. The outside country could
| nave little idea of the actual occur
RANGES on the exchange as the brok-
ers are remote from the pubic gal
| leries in their temporary quarters IN
| the produce exchange ana are half
! shut off from view by the 16-foot wall.
In the brokers' offices sat many men
who were reduced OF absolute pain
as a result of Is minutes proceedings
on the stock exchange. Some OF these
| have been made opulent within few
weeks past as result of the unparal-
lelled rise of prices. With the true
gambling spirit they have replaced
| all their winnings in new ventures on
each successful turn. Today's drop,
therefore, wiped them all out. In
many cases you could see the gam
bler's fortitude with which the chances
of gain were accepted. But the gilt
tering attraction of this market has
4 brought into it constantly increas-
ing assortment of more staid and In
experienced spectators, men and Wo'
men who have brought long standing