The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-03-22
Failure of Big Cotton Operator Causes Wild Ex-
Citement.--A Slump of $50 Points
in the Market
THE FIRM WILL PAY ITS DEBTS

double guard was placed at the doors,
and admittance was refused to all but
those accompanied by MEMBERS.
1t was estimated that something
like three-QuarterS of a million bales
Of Gotten were traded in during the
twenty minutes of the panic that fol-
lowed the announcement, and that of
This, upwards Of half a million bales
represented was forced liquidation
or the selling out of men whose mar
gins have been nearly or quite wiped
out.
A Slump of $50 Points.
AS the market slumped ESQ points
during this period, the loss falling on
this element amounted TO something
over a million dollars.
The market steadied after about
twenty minutes and then there was a
sudden upward hoo of about an even
hundred points. This sharp Upward
rise was brought about by the buy
ing Of brokers and spectators who
saw that the market had slumped too
far and would react just as it did Part
or the excitement on the floor OF the
exchange was caused by the scram-
bic of k h wanted just such
bargains and had to fight to get in
the ring to get them. The buying
rush was almost as exciting and just
as noisy, If not more so, as the panic.
Effect on the Stock Exchange.
The announcement of Sullys' sus-
| pension was put out on the. tickers
| everywhere within a few moments
| after it was made, and there was
] somewhat of a furry on the floor of
the New ork stock exchange after
| the news reached there. Mr.. Sully is
| a membe of that exchange, having
purchased a seat two or three months
II 0Cn SfnnN-c "n 0~ f~1 ~1f -
| point to a point and one-haf on the
| fear that the failure might bring a
rush OF stock selling there. The
weakness was only momentary, how
| ever, for n word was passed around
that Sully had not been trading in
| stocks and, in fact, that the clearing
house sheets had never shown a sin
| gle transaction by him. The market
was treasured and stocks went up
| again.
| Upon the announcement of the fail
1 ure, the representatives of the news
| papers hurried to see Mr.. Sully for
the purpose of getting some state
ment. Mr.. Sully, however, shut him
self in his private office and would not
be seen. Shortly after 8 o'clock, Sui
ly went into conference with counsel
and later, Edwin Hadley, Jr., of Prov
| idence, r. l.. one of the members of
the firm, sent out a message by his
secretary which read:
mo statement of any kind or de-
~scription, Mr.. Sully directs me to say,
will be given out from this Office to-
day. Possibly a statement will be
ready early Saturday morning."
The Firm VIII Paw It's Debts.
Nh. Hadley later was quoted as stat
ing that the firm would pay it's debts
in full, N the suspension was due to
the i1npoSs1bilbty of meeting demands
for large sums of money due the Sui
ly firm from European sources, sums
that the quick slump in the market
made payable too quickly for them
to be able to meet.
Nj. Sully left his office at 4 o'clock.
Explanations of the Failure.
All sorts of explanations, were made
for the suspension. One of the rea-
sons given was that the New Orleans
bull party had sold cotton while Sully
was pulling it in the confidence that
they were supporting him. Another
was that Sully's following in the mar
ket had sold their long cotton without
advising with him. From two we'll in
formed sources came a denial that
there was any treachery from New
Orleans. A cotton operator with New
Orleans connections said that the bull
party there was still bullish on cot
ton
Another account. hat came from
one Of the six or seven best known
cotton operators in this country, was
that the bear party had made a DELHI
crate and we'll planned attack to over
whelm Sully and had succeeded.
The bears according to this author
ity, had figured out the OF
Sully's position. due to immense hold
ings of spot and contract cotton, and
to his operations on the Liverpool
market, and planned an attack on the
market that it would carry it down
just far enough to make it impossi-
BILE for Sully to meet his margin calls,
knowing that his failure would send
the market so much lower that they
could cover at figures to recoup them
No definite idea of Sully's commit
' ments in the cotton market could be