The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-09
VIOLENT SQUALL IN
The STOCK MARKET
Was Purely the Result OF Re-
cent Initiation
PANIC STRUCK EVERYBODY
Fever played Havoc While 1t Lasted
but Was Dlssipated Almost
as Quickly as
II Came.
PANIC STRUCK EVERYBODY

New York. December S.-A violent squall
event over the stock market today which
wrought havoc while 1t lasted, but which
was dissipated almost as quickly as 1t
icame. Compared with the stormy scenes
,pf the day the final market was as placid
as a summer lake, and the buying Of
stocks was going on as systematically as
though no disturbance had occurred. A
review OF the days net changes reveals
not a few gains. and even the losses are
confined to moderate proportions.
Unfortunately for those who sold their
stocks either from fright at the crumbllng
tendency OF prices, or from necessity to
repay borrowed money, the final prices
of the day by no means represented the
prices at which the largest part of the
days sales were made. There was time
during the market when there was no ap-
parent demand for stocks at any price.
IOrders to sell a few hundred of shares
could only be executed at concessions of
a to points from the preceding sale.
Such haste and confusion characterized
dhe selling that the same stock sold ST.
simultaneously a few feet apart at varia-
lions OF 50 to 50 share. There were no
such frantic fluctuations as that in
Northern Pacific in 1901 owing to the cor
ner which existed in that stock, but other
wise the movements in the market resem-
bled those on that day. and the days total
sales of 1905, 400 shares compared with g.
Os1 7O1 on May Q. 1901
The day undoubtedly will go down In
the history OF the stock exchange as one
of those in which the assurance which
usually sustains men In action on pre-
conceived determinations deserts them
and they do things under the influence of
unreasoning panic. A list of some of the
days extreme declines is the best evidence
of this fact, taken in connection with the
subsequent almost complete recoveries,
when reason had reasserted its control
Colorado Fuel fell an extreme In, Anal
Eamated Copper, TO- Tennessee Coal, Iron
and Railroad 9A; Lake Erie and Western,
So; st. Paul, Tx; Brooklyn Transit 7A;
United States Steel preferred 7ss; St
Louis Southwestern. T. Sugar. 62s; United
States Steel, 6A; Union Pacific, 81; Mis-
souri, Pacific, 5ik; Metropolitan Street
Railway, 5s Metropolitan Securities, 8;
Consolidated Gas, 5h; Louisville and
Nashville, AS, and many others lesser
amounts.
These low prices represented a drop
from the high level of this week on Mon
day of such figures as "a for Amalga-
mated copper, q for Colorado fuel, 1919
for Tennessee coal, liz for United
States steel preferred, 11Hs for Union Pa
ciac, lava for sugar, 1888 for Brooklyn
transit, and II for st. Paul. The rapidity
and violence Of this shrinkage of values
abundantly accounts for the fears aroused
by tenders of money on stock collat eral
and the urgent demand for additional
margins, sent out by brokers carrying
stocks for customers
There was undoubtedly some sudden
discrimination asserted against the char
acter of collateral, which agreed to the
stringency of the situation. The source OF
the selling was not accurately known, but
1t seemed to come from widely distributed
sources. 1t was somewhat remarkable
that reports of financial embarrassments
did not get afoat at any time during the
break. The call money rate went slight
ly above the seasons previous maximum,
but as everybody was liquidating, the ac-
tual supply of cash was being replenished
instead of depleted. The sever break in
the foreign exchange market reflected q
quick resort to that source of relief and
there were large offerings Of bankers
finance bills in the market. London 8
heavy absorption of our stocks on the
break at once made a large supply of
exchange. The same was true of foreign
purchases of cotton and grain on the
break in those markets under the re-
Elected pressure from the stock market.
The extreme weakness of Amalgamated
copper had reflex effect in the market
for copper metal. both here and in Lon
don. There was the usual gathering of
bargain hunters" on any sever break in
priees of stocks, and there was evidence
of investment buying Of more substan-
tial and sustained character. The first