The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-05-17
WHY THEY STOPPED.


that the stock panic of Thursday was
really stopped by an order issued by
the court. This order was issued by
Judge Gildersleeve, sitting in the
supreme court, and was secured no
doubt by some of the brokers who were
short and were getting badly squeezed.
Previous to the issuing of this order,
representatives interested in securin g
it, worked for an hour or more with
representatives of both sides to avert
the panic that was upon the street,
but the effort was in vain, as both
sides remained firm and would not
yield particle. Then haste was made
in securing the order, and no time was
lost about it. The Hartman and the
Morgan-Hill interests were made the
defendants, the name Of the plaintiff
was not given but Judge Gildersleeve
later stated it was Bernard Smith.
The order provided that the defenda Mt
brokers be restrained from purchasing
any stocks of the Northern Pacific road
in order to close the account of the
plaintiff or for any other purpose. 1t
also provided against the carrying out
of any orders in n. P. stock by any
one. Armed with this order of the
court, the gentlemen securing it at
once notified the contending interests
that unless relief was Immediately
granted, the order would be served and
that orders by other houses would also
follow. This put Indifferent face to
the entire situation and the great
financial antagonists who, a short time
before were unwilling to make set
element, were now more than willing
to do So Using the order of the court
as club, the parties holding the
same, secured the agreement which
was given out yesterday making 100
the base of settlement, and the restor-
ing of money rates, which were then
ruling at 20 per cent, to be restored to
6 per cent and obliged the defendants
to send out notices to that effect. The
court order remained unserved, but
was retained in possession of those Sc
curing it, and could be served at any
time.
1t is not probable that those securing
the Injunction order from the court
are any more deserving of sympathy
than are the men against whom it was
directed. The instigatOrs were caught
short, and ruin was undoubtedly star
ing them in the face unless some move
of this kind was made. Had they
been in the saddle they would have
been just as cold blooded in their de-
termination to put the screws to their
victims as were those who were made
defendants in the order. Nevertheless
they rendered great public service in
that to save themselves from ruin they
took a method which brought the
great financial magnates to their senses
and caused them to take such steps as
put stop to the wild speculation and
so save thousands from ruin who
would have plunged headlong into the
speculative whirlpool. 1t was believed
late yesterday that not an important
financial house would go down because
of the wild break, though losses
among some of them will reach large
figure. But many of them have made
immense Sums in the stock market d1r-
ing the past month or two and can stand
the strain. 1t is among the individual
classes where the ruin has been
wrought. Many clerks and others with
small savings have lost all they have
The full extent of losses in this field
will probably never be known. Many
of them had dabbled along in the stock
market for several weeks and had
made more or less money, and as
prices shot skyward, dreams of great
riches filtered through their minds,
but only ruin was realized. When
matters finally steady down, it is alto
gether likely that the wild speculative
spirit will be absent, at least for while.
The public has had it's experience,
and will wait until the bad taste wears
off before it INDUCES again. AS one
writer puts it 'Blue Thursday" will
be remembered even longer than
''Black Friday" was.