The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-01-03
CHAPTER v.
THE WALL STREET PANIC.

tOIy. Lie uloI1lluS pupc1S udu uC-
voted considerable space to the "bear
furry" in Wall street. There were
guarded illusions to the coup per-
formed by Mr.. Kent, who had con-
Quoted his operations with little at
tempt to disguise his attitude. His
profits were vario'lsly estimated at
from $75O,0OO to $3,OoO,OOO, and it was
strongly intimated that he would live
to regret the unwarranted scare he
had precipitated.
On the following Tuesday morning
London ignored the New York break
in prices and opened strong. Chicago
and the speculative west looked on
it's splendid crops and telegraphed
buying orders i'll generous volume.
The galleries around the trading floor
of the Exchange were crowded with
the sight-seers who are always in
force when the market is excited.
The hand of the big clock slowly ap-
preached the hour of ten. The thou
sand or more brokers gravitated to-
wards the various standards which
! bore the names of the important
! trading stocks.
The market opened strong and ut
a slight advance in spite of large
offerings of stock by Kent brokers
and from Street & Rogers-acting
for their unknown principals-the
market held it's own the first half
hour. 1t was at this time that
vague and portentious rumors were
| oil lot Ia Iii
pered over telephones. These ru-
mors were greeted with general in
credulity, but the effect on the mar
ket was apparent from the time the
first suspicion was breathed. London,
Chicago and other speculative centers
continued buying and selling, uncon-
scious of the shadow which was now
darlcning the street.
The storm broke at IL o'clock.
The yellow slips distributed by u
news agency contained the following
paragraph in doublc-leaded type:
"11:05 IL. IN. Andrus Carmody, Pal
mer j. Morton, r. j. Kent and Simon
Pence cannot be found. They were
last seen in Mr.. Morton's Offices about
four o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Their relatives know nothing of
their whereabouts. The police and
detective force have been notified"
A message of similar purport was
recorded on the tape.
Any description of the scenes
which followed on the floor of the
Stock Exchange would be deemed
cXaggcration by those who never
have seen speculative panic sweep
all before it, The tempest was
loosed. Before it's fury the sturdy
financial oaks bent in the blast. The
puny speculative saplings were up
rooted and borne away on the wings
of the cyclone. Staid old men who
had not been seen on the floor of the
exchange for months, rushed hatless
through the streets and hurled them
selves into the crazy mob.
The 60 acres of the financial dis
trict was Bedlam. Men tore pa
pers from the hands of newsboys
and rushed away without paying
for them. The widest rumors, If
of evil purport, became certainties.
The word went down the street that
a great bank had closed it's doors.
There was no fragment of truth
in the statement, but it was accept
ed as an unquestioned fact. 1t was
charged that the great enterprises in
which Carmody, Pence and Morton
were concerned were insolvent, and
that these men were in secret con.
ference, endeavoring to arrange a
compromise with creditors. Mr.
Kent was regarded as the speculator
who had been intrusted with this
news, and commissioned to use it to
recoup some of the losses.
The evening papers were flooding
the city with extras. The news was
so stupendous as to confound the
genius of the designers of headlines
There was neither space nor type
sufficient to depict their emotions
But the Imagination of the report
ers was equal to the crisis. In be
wildering succession the millionaircs
were kidnapped, lured away and muir,
dered by anarchists; had committed
suicide, or reposcd safely in the
bosom OF their families.
at one o'clock Sugar had dropped
IS points, Baltimore & Ohio IS points
St. Paul IA points, Metropolitan 3:
points, Jersey Central II points ant
Steel and Iron 81 points. The stocks
in which the missing men were mo-
known to be interested withstoot
the shock with smaller losses, bu
the whole list was mutilatcd almos
beyond recognition. The news hat
reached London too late to permi
English operators to cover in tina
market, and the cables bore the tale
of their dilemma.
Shortly after one o'clock broker
in the employ of Street & Roger
jumped into the market rs buyers
In the first hour of the session, be
fore the break came, it was estimated
!, that they had sold not less tina,
100000 shares, and Kent brokers ha
sold fully 100000 more. The totu
sales for the first hour reached tn
) unprecedented total of $4,000
shares. From II until 1 o'clock tn
representatives Of Street & Roger
did nothing. They then began to TAX
some of the stock as it was Offered
. They became the center of riot
! Men fought like fiends to sell thel
t stock. In spite of their support tn
. offerings were SO numerous tina
prices still declined. They bougt
!. Sugar in 10000 and 10000 share lot
+, Tn IN honr Street g. ROuars Ind m,