Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1903-07-30
HEAVY FAILURE
IN WALL Street
Two Big Brokerage Firms Are
Forced Into Hands of
Receivers.
JAMES R. KEENE is HARD HIT
Fight With Whitney-Ryan Interests
is Thought to Have Led to Difficulty
Decline in Southern Pacific stocks
Is Also a Factor.

- .
Is Also a Factor.
New York, July 27.--It was cloudy
If not black Friday in several Wall
street quarters. Forty-ive minutes
before the close of the stock exchange
the suspension of the brokerage firm
OF w. l.. Stow & Co. of A Exchange
place was announced. Twenty min
utes later Wall street went wild when
the announcement was made that the
firm of Talbot j. Taylor & Co., the
senior member Of which is the SON.
in-law of James R, Keene, had also
suspended After that the failure of
Stow & Co. had but passing interest
for Wall street.
keene Is Involved.
The firm of Talbot ]. Taylor & Co.
is composed of Talbot ]. and James B.
Taylor, formerly of Baltimore, and
Foxhall P. Keene, the only son OF
James r. Keene. The former is in
terested in the firm as a special part
ner for 100000. Wall street asked
itself how badly James r. Keene had
been hit. Maybe it will find out later.
No statement of Taylor & Co.'s as
sets and liabilities has been made,
but from the president of leading
national bank it is learned that the
liabilities may be well on to $5,0OO,-
600.
Estimates of Stow & Co.'s liabilities
range from SIPS. 900 to S2,500,O0O.
In the only official statement that
was made on behalf of the firm, the
sole information given about the
elder Keene was that he is the larg-
est unsecured creditor of the firm.
Cause of Failure.
Next to the question of the amount
of Mr. Keene's loss the question that
interested Wall street most was the
cause of the failure. The cause, as
given out by the firm or its assignee,
is set forth as due to it's inability to
liquidate stocks held in bank. An
other and rather more specific version
suggests that it followed Mr.. Keene's
efforts to impair the financial stand
ing of the enterprises in which Will
liam C. Whitney and Thomas F. Ryan
have been for years interested.
Those who were inclined to take
this view of the cause of the failure
recalled the activity of the firm of
Talbot ]. Taylor G. Co. and Of Mr..
Keene in enterprises hostile to the in
terests of Mr.. Whitney and Mr.. Ryan.
This was first manifested in the at
tack upon the State Trust company"
three, years ago, before its fusion
with the Morton Trust company.
Attack on State Trust.
The State Trust Company was one
Of the Whitney-Ryan properties, and
the effort to break it down and throw
1t into the hands of receiver was gen.
orally imputed to Mr.. Keene and Mr..
Taylor.
In fact, the attorney for the trust
company openly charged that Keene
and Taylor were responsible for the
attack, and said that Talbot ]. Taylor
e. Co.'s check had paid for the stock
In the name of which the application
was made to the banking department
for the institution of proceedings.
More recently, Taylor and Keene
were mixed up with William N. Amory
In the attack on the Metropolitan
street railway. Taylor supplied Amory
with $4,000, and contributed other
sums to meet the expense of expert
accountants. He was also shown on
the trial of Amory's suit for libel to
have been short 5000 shares of Metro
politan stock, when Amory was solicit
ing District Attorney Jerome to begin
actions against the Metropolitan COM
pany.
Southern Pacific Pool.
The general opinion of Wall street
is that it was the firms load of South
ern Pacific that made it valuable. With
this stock Mr.. Keene formed a pool
many months ago. The veteran oper-
ator had been so successful in the op-
Grafton of pools and the manipulation
Of stocks that, when he suggested the
formation Of a pool in Southern Pa.
cific, many of the best-known stock
exchange houses took q subscription
In 1t.
It was commonly reported that, out
of something like 100000 shares of
the total issue of Southern Pacific, the
Keene pool acquired 100000 shares or
more.
Big Drop in Stock.
The pool acquired its stock in the
beginning, around, 81, and ran the
price up to 80. The stock closed Fri.
day at Ala. The story was that the
real object of Mr.. Keene was to COM
pei the Southern Pacific people to de-
clare a dividend on its stock or compel
the Union Pacific people, who control
the Southern Pacific, to buy the stock
holdings of the pool at practically any
figure that Mr.. Keene might name.
In statement published by Edward
H. Hartman, chairman of the Union
Pacific board, in April last, it was set
forth that in 1902 Mr.. Hartman was
informed that Talbot ]. Taylor G. Co.
would make trouble for the Union Pa
cific interests unless settlement was
made with the firm; and that in Janu-
airy an offer was made to the Union
Pacific interests of the Keenes' South
ern Pacific at rs, and the POOLS stock
at 70; which offer was declined.
Then followed the suit instituted by
.~O~.>-o.~S>~.~~.o~-~-~ S~~~~~-~-0
Britons Guard Seals.
Victoria, B. c., special: The Brit
ish warship Clearwater will sail July
20 for the Boring sea to patrol during
the pelagic sealing season. The Fear