Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-06-07
OUR NATIONAL DISGRACE.
The Gambling on Wall Street The Most
Gigantic Crime of the Goth Century.

0lSduLlC OI1luO VI buC <iOeA O0AsoAy
The following editorial is from
the June "Plgrim,'' OF Battle
Creek, Mich:
Nothing during the month OF
May attracted such general at
tention, not only in the United
States, but in the financial cen
ters of the world, as the extraor-
binary activity in speculation in
Wall Street, eliminating on the
ninth Of the month in a day of
positive hysteria, which well
might have led to a financial
crisis as grave as that which~at
tended the failure of jay Cooke.
Stocks for a long time had been
going up almost uninterruptedly.
Throughout the whole list secur-
tiles had reached prices on
Change which did not in any
degree Indicate the actual value
of the properties which they rep
resented, but which, as a rule,
were wholly fictitious, wholly
speculative. Cool-headed bank.
ers had already forseen the
danger of an impending collapse
in the stock market, and the
word had been passed from the
Offices of certain great financiers
to exert a repressing influence
upon the speculative fever as far
as possible. But within twenty
four hours of the time that this
policy was determined upon, a
struggle for supremacy between
two great combinations of capi-
talists, warning over the control
of the Northern Pacific Railway,
created a condition Of affairs in
Wall Street that set all prudence
aside, and indeed destroyed all
semblance OF business methods in
the trading for the day. North
ern Pacific stock, which a few
days earlier was selling at 1O5,
and which two or three months
ago was below par, was suddenly
put up to $1,000 a share. Be
hind the leaders of each OF the
opposing factions crowded in the
masses of the speculative traders,
SO that before the close OF bus
mess on the afternoon of May 9
so many wanted to sell and SO
many wanted to buy that a mere
riot resulted, and neither buying
nor selling was possible. How
utterly absurd the 1000 figure
was, the sequel showed. For, in
stead OF accepting that as a leg
itimate quotation, the firm Of
brokers holding the heaviest vol
ume of contracts for the delivery
of Northern Pacific stock notified
the "shortso that they would not
insist on the full figure, nor even
on the figure of $50, at which the
days trading closed, but would
accept $50 as q basis Of settle
ment. Except for this action
the speculative community would
have been bankrupt. But while
the excitement continued on the
Exchange, all other properties
we're ruthlessly sacrificed. Men
who had sold Northern Pacific
short and who could not borrow
money with which to buy stock
to make their deliveries, were
compelled to throw their other
securities on the market, and
really valuable properties were
offered at a song. Ii, as is SO
! often asserted, Wall Street is the
barometer of trade, it would
puzzle an astrologer to make out
from its readings for May what
the actual state OF trade or the
level of values may be. The vol.
ume of business in the street has
exceeded anything ever known IL
the history OF speculation. Day
J after day the papers announced
the record broken. May 4 ended
, a typical week. Then securities
, of a value of 81, 600, ,OOt
changed hands,-a greater vol
, ume of business than Wall Street
, ever before had known in one
; weeks time. A limited mum
,, Der of brokers having the privi
; leges of the Exchange, collected
; on these transfers their percent
!, age Of one eighth of one per cent
.lIt is no wonder that seats in tn
> Stock Exchange have gone III
z to price of more than sevent.
/. thousand dollars each, and tha
. the broker has again become tn
. most striking feature in ga,
New York.
II the American people are no