Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-06-06


ali interests. But the great heads of
the money power had vanished. The
smaller lights who remained were
in state of physical as well as fnan-
cial 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-
mitted to assemble and 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 in the
first hour and then stopped. With
their support withdrawn the panic
increased. There were rumors that
Street & Rogers were heavily "long"
and on the point of suspending. This
the firm emphatically denied, and
stated that they could stand fur
Their drop of Is points. On call for
margins they promptly furnished
them.
With the panic at it's height the
governors met to take action. A mo-
ton was made to suspend business
on the exchange. AS member arose
to discuss this proposition, a messen-
ger entered and handed the president
a letter. It read as follows:
Mr.. NJ. L. Morton New York City:
Dear Sir: This is to inform you that
I am alive and well. I shall be obliged
to remain away from the city for a 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. I remain, very truly
yours. PALMER J. MORTON.
May 2.
The letter was in Mr. Morton's
handwriting and had been positively
identified as genuine by his private
secretary and by the oldest clerks in
his Office. These facts were hurried
ly explained to the president of the
board of governors, who adjourned
the meeting and sounded the gong
for attention on the floor Of the ex-
change. At that moment pandemo-
MUM reigned. A score of trading
houses had failed, and others were
on the point of suspension. Banks
were calling loans. Money was
quoted at 200 per cent. on call loans,
with gilt-edged stock as security.
Sugar was lowering around par,
drop of more than 60 points in less
than 4S hours. The nerve-raeked
brokers expected the announcement
of yet more disastrous news, and lis
tened stolidly 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 SEN
tence: II 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 defied
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
G 81, L
the opening 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 shrouded in mystery deep as
ever. At the close of the day the
market stood on a plane which aver
| aged about ten points below the level
established before the leaders of
finance and speculation had vanished.
It 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 SO small as to show that they
represented but profit taking for
regular customers, and not the i'm
mense holdings of ''long" stock which
had been absorbed during the height
of the panic. Their profits were
roughly estimated at $35,OOO,OOO.
The welcome letter was addressed
to Mr.. M. L. Morton, brother
Of the great fnancier. 1t was in a
plain white envelope and written on
ordinary letter paper, with a single
fold. The postmark on the letter
was indistinct, but when put under a
glass the inscription clearly read,
''Provincetown, Mass" The letter
had been mailed at nine o'clock at
night, and left the Cape Cod town
on late train. With slow connec-
tions the letter reached New York
in time for the 1O:45 a. m. delivery.
! Here was a cIew worth following
A special train with the best de-
tective talent in New York, was pre-
pared and dispatched to Province
town. But the developments which
| fo11 L,