Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1903-05-02
with your Sugar stockq" he demand

| 'One nuNured ana 1Orty-elgnt anu
a quarter" he replied. 1T has been
down to 146h but has recovered
some. Who is doing that selling"
"Sure I don't know" answered Mr..
Haven with some impatience. prob
ably some one taking profits. 1t will
go up again."
"All right. Thank you. Goodbye"
Mr.. Kent studied the tape for o
few moments. The market was
slowly steadying. The public was
obeying the mandate, "buy on every
reaction" Mr.. Kent pondered deep
ly. He rang bell.
"How much Sugar have i bought?"
he demanded of his private book
keeper.
"Forty-three thousand shares"
was the reply.
at will average about 142, will 1t
not?"
The bookkeeper produced a slip Of
paper, ran his eye over the figures,
made a rapid calculation, and said
that the average price paid for this
line of Sugar stock was 1929.
"Very well; that is ALL" Mr.. Kent
said
He called up his broker who rep
resented him on the floor of the
Stock Exchange.
"Sell all the Sugar you can with
out breaking the market" he COM
manded in q voice that could not be
heard ten feet away. Wall Street is
all ears. ''There is good buying just
now. Begin on 500 share lots. Feel
them out at the start, but keep busy.
Sell at least $4,000 shares before you
close, no matter what happens. When
you have sold 10000 shares, offer it
in 1000, 1000 and 5000 lots.
The broker repeated the order
quickly so as there could be no mis-
take. Mr.. Kent returned to the
ticker.
"Some one taking profits, eh?"
muttered Mr.. Kent as he paced the
floor, nervously chewing the end of
an unlighted cigar. III show them
how to take profits! They must
think I am in my second childhood.
They have an idea 1 am going to
hold the bag, do they? This is the
way they keep their agreement" He
rang the bell furiously.
"How much B. & o. have II"
Fifteen thousand shares at an
average of 3d." was the reply.
"Wire Brown & Addy of Boston,
to sell me 10000 B. & o. at the mar
kct. Send word to Blake G. Co. of
Chicago, to sell me $4,000 st. Paul ut
the market. Rush! hurry!"
He was at the private telephone
again.
How much Sugar have you sold?"
TWENTY-FIVE thousand. 1t has
broken point and half"
That's all right. Put it out in
1900 and 5000 lots. Sell me 10000
shares of Metropolitan at the mar
ket. Got it? That's right. Good
bye"
The ticker was singing like a sew
ing machine. Sugar, D. q o., ST.
Paul, Jersey Central, Metropolitan,
Steel and Iron and other stocks came
out in blocks of from 1000 to 1000
and even 5000 lots. But the market
held remarkably well. There was
mot cloud in the sky" and the pub
lie was summing itself. But even
their guileless optimism could not
withstand the impact of the myster-
ious interest which had been selling
hundreds of thousands of shares on
Saturday and during the present ses-
sion, reinforced as it was by the en-
ragged Mr.. Kent, who ascribed this
selling to the perfidy of his asso-
ciates. When the days battle was
over the field was covered with dead
and wounded. Sugar had closed at
145A bid and 146 asked. Baltimore
and Ohio had dropped to 105N; St.
Paul to 1878; Metropolitan to ITO;
Jersey Central to 1857; and Steel and
Iron showed net loss for the day
of three points, and an extreme drop
from its high point at the opening OF
nearly nine points.
When Mr.. Kent had received re-
ports from his brokers, and tele-
graphic advices from Boston, Chicago
and Baltimore, he found that he had
sold $4,000 shares of Sugar and that
all of his other commissions had
been executed. He had accomplished
one of the phenomenal changes OF
position for which he was famous and
dreaded. In n hundred Offices his
name was mentioned, coupled with
expressions which would not warrant
reproduction on these pages. He quiz
city talked the situation over with
his lieutenants, instructed them to
smash" the market at the opening
naxt morning and with an unrufffed