The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-10
NORTHERN PACIFIC STOCK
SELLS AT $1,000 PER SHARE.
SHORTS FORCED TO The WALL
Continued From First Page.

Continued From First Page.
cumstances. Brokers, messe ger boys
telephone boys, clerks and the like haze
learned during the last few weeks t.
waste little time in demon stations. They
do things in the Qui tie t and sh rte t
manner and so made tn ngs go smoothly
Today at a period wren lack of GOODNESS
might have meant disaster to many pc
sons. There was a strong Re ling this
morning before proceedings had COM
menced on the stock exchanga that a
panic could be ave ted only by the
strongest measures and with the greatest
difficulty. The ct was app rent that
the corner in Northern Pacific was till
unbroken. The excited bidding last mig t
to secure the stock for delivery to iay
made that very apparent The first stepj
TO avert the panic were devoted to cis-
culating reports that the conference be-
tween the contending interests in North
ern Pacific which continued in one form
or another throughout the night had re-
suited in compromise viii h woul / &c
the shorts IL the st ok from her com-
promised position. These efforts proved
utterly ineffective in face of the first
quotations of Nor -heIn Pa ifc on the
tape. The price paid fer tie stock ran
up quickly to $40 per share a d then to
500, to 500 and even to $70L per shs re
on regular transact ons and $1,000 per
share for cash.
D. N P. SHORTS SQUEEZED.
The cash price paid meant that unfor-
tunate shorts who were unable to borrow
the stock last night for delivery today
had to pay whatever cash price the en-
gineers of the corner chose to ask for it
The figures indicated in these opening
transactions meant ruin for a very large
outstanding short interest in the stock
The perception of this fact was the pr n
cipal impelling cause in producing the
decentralization in the stock market. The
concerted effort to support the market
by buying all stocks which might be
Offered, which is always the most effec-
tive manner of dissuading persons from
selling and which was undertaken, ac-
cording to the current belief in Wal
street, by some of the most powerful
capitalists in the country, was SWEPT
away like a whirlpool under the deluge
of offerings which came upon the market
AS prices began to go down. the DISPOSE
ton to buy decreased and the determine
alton to sell seemed to grow in geomet-
rical ratio, as a falling body gains in
velocity the farther 1t falls. Such a
showing out of stocks as occurred during
the second hour of todays stock market
was never seen before. After a sale had
been made at a fixed price a broker
would throw in an additional block at
anywhere from five to ten points lower
without stopping to demand any interme
date price for his Offering. The extent
of the decline during the half hour was
as great in some cases as has taken
weeks to attain on the advance, although
all observers have agreed that the rate
at which prices have been going up has
exceeded any previous experience. The
figures alone suffice to Indicate the pro
portions of the drop.
BOTTOM FELL OUT.
In Delaware & Hudson the extreme de-
cline was So points, Manhattan 3S7s,
Rock Island 351a, Union Pacific 3S, Atchi-
son S412, Atchison preferred 2S12, st. Paul
301R, Missouri Pacific go. while a range
of five to thirty points would cover the
collapse in nearly every active stock in
the exchange In the outside market the
stress of the demand for funds was
shown by the perpendicular drop in the
price of Standard oil of III points over
night The stock scld at $50 compared
need was reflected in the bond market
where all grades of bonds We're offered
on declining scale. The sacrifices there
were naturally much less than in the
stock district of the market. After the
turn in the market came, which it d
about noon, some noticeable selling of
bonds still continued and this was eX-
planned as being due to a wish to sc -ure
funds to buy stocks at the attrac i've
level of prices TO which the market had
fallen. In fact the bargain hunter was
on hand and alert and even in such a
scene of disaster as that presented, there
are those who reap the benefit. The
crop in. prices carried stocks of m my
substantial properties down to a Level
ct which the current rate of dividen S
paid upon them, and well assured, make
them attractive investments.
1t was a very notable fact that
throughout the most acute period of to-
Jays disturbance there was nothing
Beard to indicate doubt of the so nj
and prosperous conditions of industry
and business at large in the country.
CAUSE OF CO! LAPSE.
The stock market colllese was at
tributed exclusively 10 owe, 81 eculation
and an over eXtensi IN of ere its used in
holding stock which it was not designed
to keep, but to sell at a hi her price.
The shock which clused the cola was
the Northern Pacific corne', without dis
pute. The harm which might result from
the Northern Pacific episode was by no
means so great in any ones mind as to
justify the extent of TIE C lapse in
prices. But the delicate situation of the
market due to the over extension of spcc-
ulation made it vulnerab TO this shock
The decline once in foLce gain I'd cumI-
lative strength. SIP culat RS ma gins
were WiTe1 out aud b okers had to sell
The securities plsced wtl ten as col
lateral to save themselves from loss,
thus adding to the weight of the selling
The Shrinkage in the market value of Sc
curities placed with bankers as collateral
made it necess ry t. at they should de-
pand increased Collate a. or call tn
bans with which spectators were hold