Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-02-27
CHAPTER xXIv.

6l nE6l.
 The loss of much money is com monly a subject to be managed with brevity and aversion by one who sits down with the right reverence for sheets of clean paper. To bewail is painful. To affect lightness, on the other hand, would, in this age, savor of sinsincerity if not of downright 6lasphemy. More than bare recital of the wretched facts, therefore, is not Deemly. .
 The Zines fortune. disappeared much as a heavy fall of snow melts under the Chinook wind. "
 That phenomenon is not uninterest- ing. We may picture a far-reaching waste of snow, wind-furrowed until it resembles a billowy white sea frozen nnotionless. The wind blows half a gale and the air is full of fine ice crys- tals that sting the face viciously.9 The sun, lying low on the southern horizon seems a mere frozen globe, with lus- trous pink crescents encircling it.
 One day the wind backs and shifts. A change portends. Even the herds of half-frozen range cattle sense it, by some subtle beast knowledge, They are no longer afraid to lie down as they may have been for week. The danger of freezing has passed. The temperature has been at 50 degrees below zero. Now, suddenly it begins to rise. The air is scarcely in mo- tion, but occasionally 1t descends as out of a blast furnace from overhead. To the southeast is a mass of dull black clouds. Their face is unbroken. But the upper edges are ragged, torn by a wind not yet felt below. Two hours later its warmth comes. In ten minutes the mercury goes up 35 de- grees. The wind comes at 3o-mils velocity. It increases in strength ana warmth, blowing with mighty roar.
 Twelve hours afterward the snow, three feet deep on level, has melted. There are bald, brown hills every where to the horizon, and the plains are flooded with water. The Chinook has come and gone. In this manner suddenly went the Zines fortune.
 April 30, Consolidated Copper closed at 91. Two days later, May 2, the drop of 40 points Roughly the decline meant the loss of S100,000,0OO to the 15,0O0 shareholders. From every city same ill-fated stock closed at ola of importance in the country came tales more or less tragic of holdings wiped out, of ruined families, of defal- cations and suicides. The losses in New York city alone were said to be $50,0O0,000. A few large holders, re- puted to enjoy inside information, were said to have put their stock aside and sold short" in the knowledge of what was coming. Such tales are al- ways popular in the street.
 Others not less popular had to do wi.n the reasons for the slump. Many were plausible. A deal with the Roths. childs for control of the Spanish mines had fallen through. Or, again, the slaughter was due to the Shepler group of Federal oil operators, who were bent on forcing some one to unload a great quantity of the stock so that they might absorb it. The immediate causes were less recondite. The Con- solidated company, so far from con trolling the output, was suddenly shown to control actually less than 5C per cent. of 1t. Its efforts to amend or repeal the hardy old law of Supply and Demand had simply met with the indifferent success that has marked all such efforts since the first attempted corner in stone hatchets, or mastodor tusks, or whatever 1t may have been In the language of one of its news paper critics, the trust" had beer ~founded on misconception and prompted along lines of self-destruc tion. It's fundamental principles vert the restriction of product. the in crease of price and the throttling o competition, a trinity that would wreck any combination, business, DO litical or social"
 With this generalization we have nt concern As to the copper situation the comment was pat. It had beei suddenly disclosed, not only that m combination could be made to includ ' the European mines. but that the Con 2 solidated company had an unsold sur plus of 15O,Ov0.000 pounds of copper that 1t was producing 10000, 900 pound . month more than could be sold, an that 1t had made large secret sale abroad at from two to three cents be low the market price.
 As if fearing that these adverse cor ditions did not sufficiently insure th stocks downfall. the shepler group c , Federal oil operators beat 1t dow further with what was vertically
 golden sledge. That is. they exporte gold at loss. At time when obligs tions could have been met more chesI Iy with bought bills they sent ou many golden csrgoes at an actual los of $500 on the half million. As none rss already dear. and thus becam dearer. the temptation and the mean to hold copper stock. in spite of all dIi -suragements. were removed from th z.fhs of hundreds of the harried hold CTS.
 incidentally. Western Trolley ha zone into the hands of a receiver.
 failure involving another sl00-01o.o co and Union Cordsss had fallen poiuts through sensational disclosure as to its overczpitslizaiiOn
 Into this uzeIstron of panic mai ket th- Zines fortune had been szcke vith a sviffness so terrible tha- n familys chief advising member "a Lr-. aa-,A a-s .-.-eln-n-s