The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-08-07
4. WILMINGTON N. G. AUGUST 4 1903.
On, Coal and Coke, ard Pressed Steel

Iron, Coal and Coke, ard Pressed Steel
Car.
To these lists should be added Brook
lyn Rapid Transit, and such speciaIties
as American Express, United States
Express, and corn products, common
and preferred. Fully a dozen or more
other issues sold on a parity with pre-
Tious low prices OF the year.
These stock made the greatest net
losses for the day.
American Snuff Is points; General
Electric IL; Pullman Palace Car
I 3-4; Sugar =; St. Paul 81; Colored
and Southern first and second preferred
. Is; and ga respectively; ConsoIi-
dated Gas s; Brooklyn Union Gas -:
Delaware and Hudson 5; Denver and
Rio Grande preferred 4; Evansville and
Terre Haute I IL; Metropolitan sub
scriptionS 5; Missouri Pacific 5-8: ST.
Louis and San Francisco, Chicago and
Eastern Illinois Certificates 10; St.
Louis; Southwestern preferred ga
Texas and Pacific Land Trust 4; Wa
bash preferred 4 IL; and reading and
Lake Erie first preferred 5.
In the entire list just Z stocks made
net gains, these including an advance
Of 2 1-2 per cent. in Virginia Carolina
Chemical, preferred. Slightly over L.
100000 shares changed hands during the
day. The heaviest trading was in
AtchsOn, Baltimore and Ohio St. Paul
Erie common. Missouri Pacific, Union
Pacific, Pennsylvania, Reading, COM
mon and United States Steel common
the latter leading the list with a total
of more than $4,000 shares.
SHARP & BRYAN FAIL
The failure of Sharp & Bryan, CIV
W. Sharp and c. S. Bryan) excited gem
eral sympathy as these men are mem
bers Of the board and popular on the
Stock exchange. Mr.. Bryan is a mem
Der of the governors of the exchange
The firm was organized in 1891. They
were specialists in several stocks, more
particularly in Virginia-Carolina Chem
ical and their failure is regarded as di-
rectly attributable to the decline in
those shares. During last years boom
chemical preferred sold as high as
134 rs and the common at so. They
closed at so and % ga respectively. Ac-
cording to the statement of the assignee
Sharp & Bryan's liabilities are about
S5,OOO,000 mostly secured. Assets are
said to include several million dollars
of stock exchange securities, the value
of which is almost altogether contin-
gent on market conditions.
HURLBUTT, HATCH & co.
The firm of Hurlbutt, Hatch & Co.,
(John Henry Hurlbutt) (E. Sanford
Hatch, the board member, and J. Frai-
ley Smith was organized in Septem-
Der 1899. Their financial embarrass-
ment has been a matter of general COM
ment in the street for some weeks.
No statement regarding their affairs
was obtainable today. An assignment
was made to Henry 3. Ketcham, a law
yer, of the firm of Reid. Esselstyn and
ketham.
The firm of Sharp & Bryan was Sor-
ganized July 2, 1891; the individual
member being w. w. Sharp and Chas.
S. Bryan, both board members. The
office of the firm IS at % Broad street,
and they were known as specialists in
Chemical, United
States Realty and Construction and
Southern Railway.
The firm had a mercantile agency
rating Of from 100000 to 100000.
G. H. Sullivan of the law firm oh Sui
livan and Cromwell was made assignee
of the suspended firm.
Sharp and Bryan were prominent in
operations on the curb. They were spe-
cialists there in American Bridge,
Northern Securities and Seaboard
shares. The firm offered large blocks
of Seaboard shares. for sale on the curb
yesterday. The greater part Of Sharp
& Bryan's obligations on the exchange,
were liquidated yesterday and several
banks and trust companies threw out
their loans. In fact, the greater part
OF yesterdays liquidation on the ex-
change was for Sharp & Bryan's ac-l
count.
Mr.. Cromwell, counsel for the assignee
of Sharp & Bryan made the following
statement:
The firm made the general assign
ment for the purpose of insuring equal
ity among its creditors without pref
erence. The cause is directly attribu-
table to the sudden and extreme
shrinkage in the market value Of the
securities of the firm. The liabilities
mostly secured, are about $1,000, 600. The
value of assets comprising almost ex-
clusively stock exchange securities to
the amount of several million dollars,
10 OCpCiiOCLl< Oll LllC ILl1l net NOiioAlIoAAS'
Most OF the creditors recognizing that
present conditions are short lived. are
very fairly and wisely withholding
their securities from sale"
An unofficial statement was made to
the effect that the firm had no open con-
tracts in the market and that at todays
prices there was still a fair margin on
their loans. 1t was added that if prices
be able to liquidate its assets on a sat-
factory basis.
r.pSECJE.S DRJNCE,Y GIFT