The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-05-10
Wall Street Panic.

New York, May 9.-Panic, absolute
and unrestrained, took possession of
the Stock Exchange at the opening
In the second hour. Meanwhile other
stocks We're thrown overheard regard
less of price. The general list then
showed declines of from 10 to 60 points
in nearly all active stocks.
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. issued statement
saying that they had agreed with J. p.
Morgan & Co. not to enforce any de-
hveries of Northern Pacific during the
day. This was done to allay the panic.
1t is believed in Wall street that the
Morgan-Hill interests have the stock in
hand, but that the Hartman interests
have contracts for stock with shorts
and if deliverable would give them con-
troll.
The closing price of the stock was
325.
The opening was nothing short of
chaotic. The one desire seemed to be
to sell-sell anything, to sell to any
body who was willing to take stock
and give money for it. When it APP
peared that the corner" operators were
determined to have their pound of
flesh from the rash people caught in
their net, everybody felt that he must
free himself from his load of stocks
and stand from under lest worse
should happen. They had hoped that
before the opening of business some
announcement might be made that the
Northern Pacific speculative shorts
might escape on agreed terms, but the
first sales of that stock dispelled the
illusion. The tape read $500 at ITO
200 at IT'S, 300 at $50, 200 at ITO, 300 al
100, cash." The stock went on by
leaps and bounds to "225, 2S0, 300
400, $50, $50 700, 1000"
Arbitrase Houses Protected.
Arbitrage houses, whose shortage il
the stock had been legitimate in thai
they trade against shipments Of the
stock between here and Europe, hat
been protected by loans of such stocl
as they needed, the large interests be
neved to be in control having announc
ed that they would look out for all sucf
persons.
The brunt of the attack thus fell OF
the big spectators, most of them th'
western contingent, who had beel
caught between the upper and thu
neither millstones-Mr. Hartman an(
his friends on one side, Mr.. Hill ant
his friends on the other, with james
| ri,Nrx In, eyrsit m V1IIltirll
their agonies. Everybody expected
that this or that Spectator must Civ
! in. Fortunes made out of the stee
mergers were momentarily being deci
mated. Men who a month, even ;
week, ago seemed lucky beyond pos
sibility of failure and who complained
that they ''would like to lose mil
lion" were doing this thing with ever,
yard of tape that was reeled relentless
ly off.
Meanwhile prices in other share
vacillated, weakened, crumbled. Tha
the conditions We're not worse was du
to the fact that many large commits
sion houses sat down" on their bust
ness trades till more settled condition.
prevailed. Nobody doubted that thes
would come when panic fears subsid
ed, but there were many people VIII,
could not afford to wait, and thes
threw stocks overheard practically re
CARELESS of prices.
How the stocks Fell.
BY the end of the second hour o
trading many heavy falls in the pric
OF stocks were recorded, the creates
being In Delaware and Hudson, whicl
dropped 90 points.
Some of the other most notable dc
clines were: Manhattan. 40; Rock II
land, 8b1a; Atchison, S21a; Missouri Pa
] cific, 80; St. Paul, 3O1a; Union Pacific