The San Francisco call., 1904-04-10

quiries and put four and four together
-four names and four other names
He saw through the time-worn device
of the fictitious short selling. He knew
the only people who would dare 10
sell such a large amount must be ms
colleagues. He also was convinced
that their breach of faith was not
concerted effort, because If they had
discussed the matter they would have
sold a smaller quantity. He knew
where nearly every share OF STOCK
was. 1t was his business to know
everything about it.
Two" ne said to his secretary,
may play at that game" And he be-
gan 20 play.
By seemingly reckless plunging pur-
chases he started the stock rushing
upward with a vengeance-63, 81, 90, %,
four points in as many minutes. The
floor of tho Stock Exchange was the
scene of the widest excitement. The
market-why the market was simply
Turpentine. Everybody was buying
it, and everybody was wondering how
high it would go. Greenbaum and the
other seven included. 1t looked as IL
the stock had resumed it's triumphant
march 90. par.
Then Sharpe called in all the stock
his brokers were loaning to the shorts
and he himself began to borrow it.
This, together with the legitimate re-
quirements of the big short interest,
created a demand so greatly in excess
of the supply that Turpentine loaned
at a fourth. at a thirtysecond, at
an eighth and finally at quarter pre-
MUM over night 1t meant that the
shorts had either to cover or to pay SIS
per diem for the use of each 100 shares
of stock they borrowed. On the 81, 400
shares that the syndicate was borrow
ing it meant an expense of nearly $4,000
a dav, and in addition the stock was
rising in price The shorts were losing
at the rate of many thousands min
ute. There was no telling where the
end would be, but it certainly looked
stormy for both the real and fictitious
shorts.
Mr.. Sharpe sent peremptory mes
sage to Greenbaum, Lazarus & Co., /.
& M. Wechsler, Morris Steinfelder's
Sons, Reis & Stern, Kohn, Fischel e.
Co.; Silberman & Lindheim, Rosenthal,
Shaffran & Co. and Zeman Bros. 1t
Send me at once all your Turpen-
tine stock"
There was CONSERVATION and dismay,
also admiration and self-congratula-
ton, among the recipients of the mes
sage. They would have to buy back in
the open market the stock they sold
few days before. 1t would mean losses
on the treasonable transactions of fully
a quarter of a million, but the pool
stood to win" simply fabulous sums,
if Sharpe did his duty.
There were some large blocks of stock
for sale at Sc. but Sharpe's brokers
cleared the figures with a fierce, ire
sistible rush, whooping exultantly. The
genuine short interest was simply
panic c-stricken, and atop 1t all there
came orders to buy an aggregate of
31400 shares-orders from Messrs.
Greenbaum, Wechsler, Lindheim, Stein
fielder, Refs, Fischel, Shaffran and Ze-
man. The stock rose grandly on their
buying 1000 shares at Sc, 2200 at 66ss,
700 at 675s. 1900 at 68. 5000 at 691a. 1000
at 70, 5700 at 7015. 1900 at 72. Total,
g., 400 shares bought in by the Skin
dicate'' Total 81, 400 shares sold by1
Samuel Wimbledon Sharpe to his own
associates in the great Turpentine pool.
In all he found buyers for 41,700 shares
that day, but it had taken purchases
of exactly LOO TO stampede the
shorts earlier in the day, and in ad-
dition he held 1880 shares acquired
in the course of his bull manipulations
which had not been disposed of when
he discovered the breach of faith. so
that at the days close he found him
self not only without a share of stock
manipulatively purchased, but short"
for his personal account of $500 shares.
On the next day came the second
chapter of the big Turpentine deal.
Mr. Sharpe, having received the pools
114,40O shares, divided it into three lots
10000 shares, $4,000 shares and 24.4O0
shares. The market had held fairly
strong. but the lynx-eyed room trad
ers failed to perceive the usual sup
port in "Turp,'' and began to sell it
in order to make sure.
Slowly the price began to yield All
that was needed was leader. Where
upon Mr.. Sharpe took the first lot of
the pool stock-40 600 shares-and
hurled it full at the market. The i'm
pact was terrible; the execution ap-