Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-02-03

did nothing. They then began to take
some of the stock as it was offered.
They became the center of riots.
Men fought like fiends to sell them
stock. In spite of their support the
offerings were so numerous that
prices still declined. They bought
Sugar in 10000 and 10000 share lots.
In an hour Street & Rogers had COW
cred 100000 shares.
Two papers appeared with extras
containing dispatch from Philadel-
phia stating that Messrs. Morton.
Carmody, Pence and Kent were In
conference at the Hotel Lafayette.
1t related with great explicitness
that they were considering the de.
tails of gigantic railroad combina-
ton, and the article contained
brief interview with Mr.. Morton In
which he refused to discuss the OBJ
jects of the meeting, but regretted
that the public should have become
alarmed at the secrecy which had
been deemed necessary. The same
news was spread through the bro
kerage and commission houses by
the news agencies and came out on
the tape.
The effect was electrical. The mar
ket rose by jumps and bounds. Every
one seemed rushing to cover. but the
squirt was short-lived. When the mar
ket had advanced an average of ten
points, Street & Rogers and Boston
and Chicago interests turned heavy
sellers. They threw the stock they
had accumulated at the bottom fig
ures right and left. They found
plenty of purchasers. The Philadel-
phia dispatch was so good it must be
true. 1t sounded natural and was
logical reason for the absence of
these men. AT two o'clock the mar
ket was firm and slowly advancing
Notwithstanding the vast offerings
from Street & Rogers. At 2:30 Wall
street was growing optimistic. 1t
regarded the selling as profit-taking,
and bought with confidence. Sugar
rose to within seven points of the
opening figure.
Then came the final disaster. It
was announced that John NJ. Rock
well, the great capitalist, and Hiram
Haven, the sugar magnate also were
missing. simultaneously, word was
received from Philadelphia that none
of the gentlemen mentioned had been
at the Hotel Lafayettes, and that the
dispatch was bogus, having been sent
out by commission house which
took this method to recoup some of
its losses. In the crash which fol-
lowed several houses went to the
wall. Their holdings were thrown
on the market. Sugar dropped an
extreme 40 points. Other securities
suffered in proportion. A man stood
in the middle of Broad street and
blew his brains out. Staid old invest
ment stocks which had regularly
paid dividends for years dropped five
points between quotations. Sugar
fell IL points on a sale of 400 shares,
and did not steady itself for ten
minutes, during which time it was
worth $500 share less than 1t
had been those few minutes before.
Once more it was Street & Rog
ers to the rescue. For two days
they had been selling on good news
and buying on bad news. Again
their brokers stood in the breach
and bought Sugar, B. & o., st. Paul,
Jersey Central, Metropolitan and
Steel and Iron from men who seemed
willing to give it away. When the
gong sounded at three o'clock, the
signal that this awful day was
ended on the Stock Exchange, these
brokers were yet surrounded by
swarms of men frantic in their eff
forts to sell stocks at any prices. Tt
was midnight before the lights went
out in the offices of Street & Rogers.
Scores of haggard men arranged pri-
vate settlements on terms which
would permit them to remain sol
vent.
The profits of the unknown prin-