The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-26
JAMES R. KEBNE'S TASK.
Depended Upon to Protect the
Steel Trust Stock.
Armed With Unlimited Cash He
Watches the Market md Keeps Up
the Prices for Morgnn's Combine
Despite Unfavornbic Developments


the Prices for MorGnn's Combine
! NEW YORK, Aug. 25.-Never before ir
the history OF Wall Street has there ever
| been delegated to any one man such a
tremendous stock jobbing undertaking
| as that which has been put upon the
/ shoulders of James X. keene by j. Pier
! pont- Morgan and AIR Morgans sssoci-
! ates, who depend upon Mr.. Keene to reg
, ulate, keep up and protect in the markets
OF the world the value of the Billion Dol
| lar Steel Trust. Never before was there
81, 9oo,0 o0,0Oo worth OF stocks in any one
corporation to be taken care of.
The Importance of protecting the value
| of this enormous issue of securities was
one of the first things thought of by Mr..
Morgan when the formation of the great
United States Steel Corporation began TO
| take definite form in his mind.
1t is not alone the interests OF stock
holders In the United States Steel Cor
poration that Mr.. keene is protecting.
Upon his work is really depending the
stability of prices fa: the entire market.
But for the work which he has accom-
plished during the last few months there
is every probability that panics which
really developed in the stock exchange
would have extended outside, and any
one of these might have brought whole
sale ruin in its train.
Holding up Steel stocks means in reali-
ty holding up the equivalent of one
fourth part of the entire active list of
st ocks that are dealt in on the exchange.
1t is true that the active list of stocks
embraces much more in amount than four
!
would cover the entire capital stocks of
the companies whose securities are dealt
in actively day by day On the days
when a million shares or more are dealt
in on the exchange, Steel stocks. common
and preferred, form usually at least n
quarter Of the whole amount and fro
quently run up as high as a third part of
the entire lot.
To watch over such vast interests is
no child's task. Clear of eye and quick
of thought, Mr.. Keene sits day after day
in his office on Broad Street watching
every pulsation of the market
There are no vacations for the man who
has to carry a billion-dollar Steel Trusts
stocks through such troublous times as
these, and Mr.. Keene has taken no vaca-
tion this summer Neither has the time
come yet when he can plan for vaca-
ton. Mr. keene's headquarters are on
the fifth floor of the Johnston Building at
Broad Street and Exchange Place. Ev-
erybody in Wall Street knows where to
find him, although his name does not APP
pear on the directory nor on the door of
the offices. Talbot ]. Taylor & CO."
appears on the doors of the offices. Talbot
J. Taylor is Mr. Keene's son-in-law. Mr.
Keene is no. even member of the firm
but his son Foxhall is a special partner
In a little office that opens off to the
right sits Mr.. Keene. BY the side of his
desk is a stock ticker, and telephone and
telegraph wires reach out in every direc-
ton from the offices.
Mr. Keene's task, as it is understood in
Wall Street, is double in character. AS
the stock market representative of the
S200,00O,Glo syndicate formed by J. +.
Morgan to underwrite the Billion Dollar
Steel Trust stock, he must never let the
stocks sag below the average of the mar
ket. and at the same time he must not
neglect an opportunity to unload them
on investors or spectators when they
can be sold for profit to the syndicate.
Not a culver in the market, but it reach
es Mr.. Keene over the wires, and is rec
ognized just as a spider knows every
thrill that comes to him as he watches
for prey in the centre of his web.
Immediately In response there may go
out flood of orders to buy or to sell.
and half the brokers on the floor be in
SANITY carrying out Mr.. Keene's orders
without one of them knowing the purpose
that set them in motion
1t is through the house of Talbot J.
Taylor & Co. that the machine is work
ed. and their harvest of commissions
ought TO be enough to satisfy anyone.
For such Titanic battles as those which
Mr. keene engages In to carry out the
purposes of Mr.. Morgan, he has not been
left without adequate weapons. 1t IS es-
timated that at times. when unlimited
orders to buy Steel stocks were necessary
to keep up prices. Mr.. Keene must have
required 500, 900 or more In cash and
credits to cover his operations.
These enormous purchases were all dis
tributed and taken care of without caus-
ing an outward ripple on the face of
Corporation stocks were put out original
ly at IS for the common and so for the
preferred. Only once. and that at the
worst time OF the Northern Pacific panic
of May, has the common stock fallen be-
low this price, and then less than point,
while it has been as high as So. and the
preferred run uD to 1G2 Even with
strikes and rumors of strikes, steel stocks
were not allowed to fiuctuate more than
a point or two beyond the average
changes of the general list.
The most critical time that Mr.. Keene
has had to meet was when the negota-
tions were first broken off between the
mill managers and the Amalgamated As
ISOLATION. and 1t became almost assured
that a great strike would follow. For
two weeks Mr.. keene did little but buy
before the tide turned
sample of Mr.. Keene's methods was
exhibited about a week ago, when Steel
common seemed determined to drop. Mr..
Keene ''pegged" 1t at 40. The first offer
al that price was 300 shares. Then came
lots of 5000, 5000, and one of 5000 shares.
Mr.. Keene's brokers took them all at 40.
Once in a while a lot would be allowed
to pass to test the general market. Some
at
Keene's hands were busy again, and 40
was the mark.
In ten minutes the rush to sell was over,
and buying began. Every thread that
led from Mr.. Keene's lair carried forth
orders to sell with caution, and before
the day was over MIR. Keene had dis.
posed of a handsome lot of stock at
prices profitable to the syndicate.
What amount the 500, 600, coo underwrit
ing syndicate may earn in prohtS Is as
vef nIly a mntter of conjecture.