Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1903-01-07

the mot@ey power hno vanished. The
smaiiss lights who remained were
In q slate of physical as well as finan-
ciai panic. Each imagined himself
the next victim. Special policemen
guarded all the Offices, and every Wis.,
itor WAS scrutinized as a possible kid
napper- Hundreds of extra police Off
GERS were thrown into the financial
district. All suspicious characters
were arrested. Crowds were not per-
mitfcd Ia assemble and "a condition
approaching marital law prevailed.
The governors of the Stock Ex-
change finally decided to open the
session as usual, reserving the power
to suspend business if conditions |
warranted such procedure. The |
market opened from two to five |
points below the close of the previ- |
Gus day. Several failures were an
nounced. Street & Rogers bought
about 100000 shares of stock i'm the
| first hour and then stopped. With
their support Withdrawn the panic
| Increased. There were rumors that
Street x Rogers were heavily long"
and ON the point of suspcnding This
the firm emphatically denied, and
stated that they could stand fur
Their drop of % points. On call for
margins they promptly furnished
| them
| With the panic at its height the
| governors met to take action. \ mo-
ton was made to suspend business
on the exchange. As member arose
to discuss this proposition, "A messcn-
ger entered and handed the president
IA letter. il read az follows:
Mr.. n J.. Morton New York City:
| Dear Sir: This Is to inform YOU that
I am alive and well. shall be Obliged
to remain away from the city for short
time. possibly several weeks. You and
my relatives and friends need not have
| the slightest fear for the safe return Of
| myself and the gentlemen who are keep
! ing me company. | remain, very truly
| yours. PALMER J. MORTON
| May 2
The letter was in Nj. Morton's
Handwriting and had been positively
identified as genuine by his privat,
secretary and by the Oldest clerks in
his Office. These facts were hurried
~ explained to the president of the
BOARD OF governors, who adjourned
the meeting and sounded the gong
Tor attention on the floor Of the ey-
change At that moment pandemo-
MUM rcigned. \ score of trading
houses had failed, and others were
OH the point of suspension. Banks
were calling loans. Money was
quoted AT 200 per cent. on call loans.
with gilt-edgcd stock as security. |
Sugar was lowering around par. a
drop of more than 90 points in less
than IS hours. The nerve-racl<ed |
brokers expected the announcement |
of yet more disastrous news. and lis |
tened stoJidly as the chairman waved |
his hand for quiet. cleared his voice.
and began his reading. No one heard
more than the close of the first sem
tence: Il am alive and we'll" The |
joyous voice of the gray-bearded old |
chairman told them that the mes |
sage was from Palmer j. Morton.
What "A shout went up. 1t was re- |
echoed by the vast mob which defcd |
the police and swarmed into Broad !
and Wall streets. The enthusiastic |
clerks and customers cheered from |
every window.
The panic was ended. Prices |
moved violently upward. In half an |
hour the face of the market was !
changed In the whirl of speculative |
JOY some stocks passed the high |
figures which had been reached at |
the op"ning on Monday morning But |
while the agony of suspense was |
passed, and it was known that the |
missing men were safe, the case was !
YET Shronded in mystery deep as !
ever Vt the close of the day the |
market stood on Il plane which aver |
aged about ten points below the level |
established before the leaders of |
finance and speculation had vanished. !
IL was noticed that Street & Rogers
were persistent buyers from the mo.
ment the first news Of the Morton !
letter was made public. Their sales /
were 50 small as to show that they /
represented but profit taking for !
regular customers. and not the i'm
menSe holdings of long" stock which 7
had bern absorbed during the height
of the panic. Their profits were
roughly estimated at $3j,OOO.OOO.
The welcome letter was addressed
to Mr.. NJ. l.. Morton. brother
OF the great financicr 1t was i'm n
plain white envelope and written on
ordinary letter paper, with "a single
foId- Tho poStmark on the letter
was indistinct. but when put under
glass tiis- Inscription clearly read.
ProNibretown, Mass" The letter
had been mailed at nine o'clock at
night, and left the Cape Cod town
ON late train. With slow conncc-
iious the letter reached New York
m time for the 1915 q. IN. delivery.
Here was clew worth following.
special train with the best de-
teetive talent i'm New York. was pre-
pared and dispatched 10 Province
town Iut the developments which
! speedily followed. decpcncd the mvs-
terry and puzzled tho cool-hcaded