The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-30
PAN|CKY SCENES ON
THE STOCK MARKET
Furious Storm of Liquidation
Sweeps Away Support
No DEMAND TO MEET IT
Nothing Developed Affecting Intrinsic
Conditions to Account for the Enor-
NOUS Liquidaton-Bank Set
Element Was Strong.

New York April 29-The conditions Of
distrust in the stock market which have
been growing for sometime broke into a
furious storm of liquidation today and
swept away all support Selling under
pressure of necessity found practically no
demand to meet 1t, and the comprehensive
slump in prices was the result.
The weakness was multiplied by the
decline in prices and many additional Of
ferinss were forced upon the market by
lenders of money solieitious for the value
of their collateral by spectators desir-
Gus OF limiting their losses and by hold
ers on margin who were forced out by
their brokers as the margins were wiped
out. The conditions which resulted were
those of panic. The professional bear OPP
orators of course, added their efforts to
aggravate the decline and reaped a rich
harvest in the slump The violence of the
decline, the urgency of the selling and
the lack of confidence argued by the small
demand to buy at any stage of the de-
cline naturally gave rise to many rumors
of financial difficulties. The pressure I'M
der which the members of speculative
pools and various stock market plungers
to this was added fears of financial weak
ness In more important quarters.
Nothing developed affecting intrinsic
conditions to account for the enormous
liquidation. The bank statement made
strong showing. the considerable loan re-
duction together with an effective increase
In cash expanding the volume of the sur
plus by over one-third to nearly 100000.
The break in the market could not be
w.. al
though next weeks heavy requirements
received some consideration. The tone at
the closing gave no clear evidence that
the storm had passed, prices in some
cases closing at the lowest with The fur
ious activity unabated. 1t was twenty
minutes after the signal fer the closing
before the reporting of accumulated trans
actions on the tape was completed. The
extreme losses expected very generally
from 1 to points and for Buffalo, Roches-
ter and Pittsburg there was O. decline or
ia: Northwestern pfd., 9s4 Cleveland,
Columbus, Cincinnati and St. Louis, s;
Atlantic Coast Line, IA United States
Rubber preferred, II; New York Cen
trail. T. and for an inactive list of stocks
from 4 to 515 the latter, figure for st.
Paul.
Total sales of bonds par value, $1,94OOoO.
The market this week has been given
over to paying the penalty of the I'M
Dr1dled speculation Wnlcn mas Deen RAIN
pant previously. The process of letting
out speculative initiation in the stock mar
ket and in the wheat market has inten-
sified the penalties, The parallel such
known in the stock market and In wheat,
was believed to be largely in the same
hands, so that each market was highly
sensitive to the course of events in the
other. Many observers hold the view thas
the collapse of the wheat corner was al
most entirely responsible for the over
throw of the speculative fabric of the
stock market. but this view ignores the
prevalence of similar influences towards
imitation which have figured in the great
rise of stocks.
1t is seldom that a great speculation
has been carried to a elimination In face
of such body of opposing conservative
sentiment Of frequently uttered warnings
and of authoritative disclimors OF the
rurnors upon which the advance In prices
was based. Practically all of these various
suppositons have been suddenly aban-