The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-02
Belief That IL was Caused by the Eff
forts of Certain Banking Inter-
ests to Injure James II. keene.
PAYING OFF AN OLD GRUDGE.
BANKS RULE WALL STREET AT
FAIRS AND THERE is NO APPEAL.
London Stock Quotations Have be-
come Almost Meaningless Because
of New York Manipulation.
snecial TO the Indianapolis Journal.


NEW YORK, Aug. 1.-There is some IN
side history connected with the failure of
Talbot ]. Taylor & Co., and although it is
yet impossible to write it in anything ike
complete form, the fragments which are
available, when placed together, give
fairly clear idea of how scores are paid off
in Wall street. The failure entailed a loss
on James r. Keene which he himself has
estimated at S1,50o,09o, and which some
other people estimate in larger figures.
Talbot ]. Taylor is Mr.. Keene's son-in-law,
and it was in the Office of Talbot j. Taylor
&s Co. that the veteran operator made his
Wall-street headquarters. He was neces-
sarily involved, more or less, in the for
tunes of the firm, but not to such an ex-
tent that its failure would seriously menace
his personal fortune. When the suspension
was announced and for several days after
ward a great many people refused to be-
lieve Mr.. Keene when he said that his loss
would be confined to the S1,5OO,OO0 he ad-
vanced to tide the firm over, and insisted
that Mr.. Keene had suffered his final defeat
I'm the Wall-street game. Mr.. Keene's per-
sonal fortune not only remains unim-
paired, but his position and standing in
Wall street are unaffected. He will have to
be reckoned with as a stock market power
for some time to come, barring, of course,
possible disqualifications On account Of
health. Two years ago when Mr.. Keene was
at the apex of his prosperity his fortune
was estimated at more than $4,000, 900: About
this time he made handsome settlements on
his wife, his son, Foxha1l Keene. and his
daughter, Mrs. Taylor. Some of his friends
intimate that he took the further precau-
ton of SO providing for himself that he
need never worry in the future, even though
the tickle fortune of Wall street should turn
hsndnd mn him n IN h5 Hd Of age
and the croaking of his enemies was pre-
But to return to the failure of Talbot j.
Taylor & Co. There Is not the slightest
doubt that important financial interests
exerted, to use one bankers phrase, the
minimum of effort to prevent the firm from
says bluntly that certain banking interests
were after the Taylors, and sought through
them to hit bigger game, meaning Mr.
Keene. Last autumn the Taylors were
| forced to liquidate large block of stock
of National City Bank stock. That was the
| first intimation that Wall street had that
Previously block of First National Bank
stock had been dislodged from the posses
sion of the Taylors in manner that did
not attract general attention. The Ma
| tional City Bank stock was recovered from
| the Taylors by a process known in the
vernacular as standing them on their
| heads and shaking IL out Oh tnem. fNnOW-
ing how the firm was situated as to loans,
| etc, the banks who were a party to the
| transaction brought pressure to bear and
| continued it until the Taylors were simply
| forced to yield and throw the stock on the
| market. Ii was all taken by National City
| Bank interests at one price. 1t has been
whispered in banking, parlors for several
| months, in fact ever since this National
! City Bank episode, that an object lesson
was to BE- made of Talbot j. Taylor & Co.
! On their own account, and acting for Mr..
l.. he Rr,xa bod fo6 xyff n a
| great many exploits that did not endear
| them to certain powerful interests. The
ancient feud between Whitney and Keene
Is too we'll known to need retelling. More
recent matters may be recalled, notably the
bear campaign against Metropolitan, in
which Talbot j. Taylor & Co. figured
| prominently. and Mr.. Keene's contest with
| the Union Pacific people, questioning their
right to withhold dividends on Southern
| Pacific stock and even the validity of their
/ control of Southern, Pacific, because
When the failure of Talbot ]. Tay-
| lor & Co., was announced. all but one
| of the financial institutions holding the
| firms collateral agreed to give it time in
stead of forcing its stocks on the market at
| sacrifice prices, and the one institution that
| refused to do this is controlled by the bank
| ing interests most hostile to Mr.. Keene.
| XXX
In the last analysis of things it is the
| Wall-street banks that control the stock
market and there is appeal from their
| Judgments. When they find an Individual
or crowd is unwisely extended they may
force liquidation by calling loans. This is
most always done to conserve the general
| welfare, but sometimes it is necessary to re-
late, the banks use their tremendous power
| for ends that strike the outsider as being
| more private than general. The rich West
ern element that became so mighty a spec
| nj m fwn or
more ago had to learn by experience that
| the banks sit in Judgment upon other peo-
pies stock market operations and permit
them by grace of consent and credit to con-
tinue or cut them short arbitrarily, as the
exigencies OF the situation may require
This was a thing the Western operators did
| not realize when they set up plants of their
| own in Wall street and began TO borrow
| their own money and clear their own stocks
instead of distributing their business among
| score or more of the old-line houses Ii
| was impossible to conceal operations of
! unusual for one Western house TO have
| loans aggregating SO, 10000 or more For
conducted through Wall-street houses. il
| was more difficult to trace them. By doing
| the business for themselves, Western opera
tors exposed their positions. and invited all
| manner OF hostilties In the end IL was
these houses that stood the brunt of the
liquidation that was sorced by the banks
| Loans were called from them 5000 90
| at time. Ii may be said that the situation
| demanded heroic treatment, but this would
| not apologize sufficiently for the fact tina,
the banks encouraged the bull movement
that illuminated a year ago, furnishing the
| money 10 finance Ii, knowing that the crash
| must come. They turned very suddenly or
those whom they had been receiving with
smiles and words of appreciation in thei,
| banking parlors. and forced them to liotIi.
date in manner never before seen I'm Wal
street That happened last autumn, an6
! since then the Western contingent has
| been more conservative In its operations
having learned that there is everything te
| gain and nothing to lose in this commute
by concealing ones operations I'm ever,
way possible 1t is impossible for any on,
4 to fool the banks. They have an intimate
| knowledge of everything that goes on. Siy
or eight Of the leading bankers meet occa
sionally in an uptown club and discuss tn,
market situation They exchange informa
ton as TO the loans and commitments Of
firms and individuals, and decide upon poll
cies in regard 10 them, which afterwart
govern the course of the market with abso
lutte certainty.
OF all the Western interests that hav,
lately become prominent i'm wali-street af
fairs, the Rock Island party alone has helt
its own against this powerful banking syn
dicate. The leaders OF this party financed
their Rock Island deal at the apex of tn,
bull market without paying commission t,