The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-25
KEENE FIRM FAILS.
Stocks Go Up When T. J.
Taylor & Co. Go Down.
BANKS COMPLACENT OVER 1T.
End OF Three-Year War on
Whi!ney-Ryan Enterprises.

U. r. Interests Also Get southern Pacific
Stock Cheaper Than the Offer Made
In January Ms on BchaIr Of tho Pool
w. l.. stow 4 Co.. Loaded with Mexi.
can Centre Stock, Announce Their sus-
pension and Some Of the Mexican Cen-
trail Gets Into Mexican National Hands.
II was a cloudy. II not a black, Friday
in several Wall Street quarters yesterday
Three-quarters of an hour before the close
of the Stock Exchange the suspension OF
the brokerage firm of W. l.. Stow 4 Co
Of a Exchange place was announced
Twenty mntes later Wall Street went
wild and stocks went up when the An
nouncement was made that the firm
of Talbot j. Taylor l. Co.. the
senior member Of which is the son-in-
law of James r. Keene. had also sus-
pended After that the failure OF Stow
Il Co had but passing interest for Wall
Street.
The firm of Talbot j. Taylor & Co. is
composed Of Talbot J. and James B. Tay-
lor, formerly Of Baltimore, and Foxhal p.
Keene, who Ia the only son of James r.
Keene and who is interested In the firm
az a special partner for 100000. Wall
Street asked itself how badly James n
Keene had been hit. Maybe 1t will find
out later; yesterday it had to guess, and IL
guessed that he had been hit hard.
In the only official statement that was
! made yesterday on behalf Of the firm the
sole information given about MIR. Keene
was that he is the largest unsecured creditor
of the firm. This information was con-
tanned in a statement given out at Taylor
4 Co. g office, 80 Broad street, at 7:so o'clock
last evening. The statement is as follows:
STATEMENT ON BEHALF or KEENx Pms.
Talbot J. Taylor + 60. have this day exr-
| cuted n general assignment for the benefit
OF creditors to Philip J. Britt. and he has
| accepted the assignment and taken charge
of the property and assets Of the firm
The assignment of the Arm Is due to their
| inability TO liqusdate the stocks which the
having loans with them are well protected.
but the inability to liquIdate the stocks 80
held has caused the suspension. which, IL Is
hoped will be- temporary. II tho banks take
, the reasonable view that, by waiting. gradual
liquidation can bo cecred without disturb
ance to the stock market.
The largest unsecured creditor OF the
hrVn IL Nr. James r. Keene.
END OF rHR WAR ON WHITNEY AND RYAN.
Next to the question OF the amount OF
Mr.. Keene's loss the question that in
terested Wall Street most was the cause
OF 1t. The cause, as given out by tho arm.
or It's assignee, ia set forth in the statement
printed above. Another and rather more
specific version suggested that she failure
followed Mr.. Keens's efforts to impair
the financial standing OF tho enterprises
in which the Hon. william @. Whitney
and Thomas F. Ryan have been for years
Interested.
Those who were inclined to take this
| view of the cause Of tho failure recalled
| the activity Of the Arm Of Talbot j. Taylor
4 Co. and Of Mr.. Ksene In enterprises hos
tile to tho interests OF Mr.. Whitney and
! Mr.. RYAN, This was first manifested In
the attack upon tho State Trust Company,
three years ago, before It's fusion with thu
Morton Trust Company. The State Trust
Company was one OF the Whltney-Ryan
properties, and tho effort to break 10 down
and throw IL into the hands Of q receiver
was generally imputed TO Mr.. Kssns and
| Mr.. Taylor. In fact, the attorney Tor tho
trust company openly charged that Kssns
and Taylor were responsible for the ~
tack and said that Talbot ]. Taylor 4
Co.'S check had paid FOR the stock ln tho
name Of which the application was made
to the Banking Department for the IN
stitution OF proceedings.
More recently. Taylor and Ksene wno
mixed UP with william N. Amory In ths
attack on the Metropolitan Street Rail-
way. Taylor supplied Amory with W,too
and contributed other sunas 20 meet tho
expenses Of expert accountants. He wss
also shown on the trial OF Amory's suis for
| libel to have been short 5000 Sharss OF
METROPOLITAN stock when Amory was 30
letting District Attorney Jerome 20 begin
J actions against the Metropolitan company.
The so-called report Of Baltimore expert
accountant whion was Injurious to tho
Metropolitan and which found It's way Into
a newspaper office was Last seen, before the
newspaper got IL. In the hands OF MIR. Keene.
Thomas F. Ryan was seen at his ONCE
In the Morton Trust Company yesterday
afternoon and was asked what he had to
say about the failure Of Talbot j. Taylor
4 Co.
Il have nothing to say Mr.. Ryan re-
piled, "of an unfrlendly character OF man
| In misfortune
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC LOAD.
The general opinion of Wall Street was
that it was the firm q load OF Southern Pacific
that originally made 1t vulnerable. In this
stock Mr.. Keene formed pool many months
ago. The veteran operator had been so
successful In the operation Of pools and the
manipulation OF stocks that when he sug-
gested the formation Of pool in Southern
! Pacific many Of the best known Stock Ex-
change houses took subscription in IL.
1t was commonly reported that out OF
something like 100000 shares OF the total
issue OF Southern Pacific the Keene pool
acquired about 10000 shares. The pool
acquired its stock in the beginning around
OF and ran the price up to 80. Tho stOck
closed yesterday at AK. Tho story was
that tho real object OF Mr. Keene was to
compel the Southern Pacific people to do
clare dividend on It's stock or compel the
rIn;on Pacific people. who control South