The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-24
NEW YORK CURB.
Interesting Facts Given About New
Industrial Feature East,

In commenting on the slump in Nipis-
sing. the Evening Post brings UP me
question. why should curb stocks sGner I.
such violent declines? Why are lhey
in that respect different from issues
dealt in on the stock exchange? says the
Engineering and Mining Journal
Ii goes on TO say the answer lies Chlei-
" in the fact tha, there is no short
account" and practically no possibility
OF selling short" IN curb stocks. ON
the stock exchange, decline IN prices
is often checked by the so-called cover
ing purchases OF traders, who, believing
that the market was going lower, mad
previously sold stocks short at the hlgh
prices and are under the necessity OF
buylng them in again on the decline. To
sell short they had to borrow the stocks
In the first instance. so as 10 make de-
liveries, taking the risk ol puylns the
securities cheaper later on ,-
This sort of buying affords emphatic
support 10 the stock market, but Is
wholly lacking on the curb. for the rea-
son that the outside market has no
loan crowd and stocks can never be
borrowed In large quantities. 1t Is some
times possible for traders on the Cnrb
TO make sellers thirty contracts. which
means that the seller has thirty days
IN which 10 deliver the stock sold at
stipulated price. Such selling rarely as
sumes large volume, as IL Is sure 70 at
tract attention. and I'm the case of Ntpls-
sing. where the Incentive was. most ap-
parent II cut little figure. For these
reasons there is no way OF checkihg
decline In curb STOCKS except thtousu u
bona-fl purchases by insiders or actual
AS the curb is an open market, with
no admittance fees and no restrictions
as TO membership. the questions are often
asked: Can anybody trade there? How
Is the trading done? None but recognized
brokers buy and sell securities on the
curb outsiders seldom. If ever, attempt
ia execute their own orders. II they do,
the regular brokers often concoct a
scheme. as they themselves laughingly
admit 10 make the uninitiated wish thai
theV mad not attempted 10 gam the COM
missions that the curb brokers charge.
The curb has no listing committee. so
new issues can be added any time with
out formality or much of any knowledge
Of intrinsic values.
When the mining craze was al It's
height month ago new Cobalt or
other mining stock was added almost
every day some of which have scarcely
ever been traded in yet. IL takes con :
siderable manipulation 10 create much OF
market for a curb stock. however and
10 make a new issue really active one
or more specialists have TO be en-
ployed.
When the promoters Of mining prop
crty whose issues have since become ac-
tive on the curb launched their enter
prise in this market two months ago,
fhev elected the support OF some OF the
most prominent banking and stock eN-
change interests. This was done ny elE
ing all an option TO puy the stock IN
10 900 share lots at Sl.5O Tor shares oil
81 par value
Deini,e promises were made that we'll
planned manipulation would probably
bring about 4 100 per cent rise In the
price Of the stock within few days
The options were given out on Satur-
| day and within forty-eight hours the
stock became one OF the most active fea-
| lures OF curb trading. II touched ~ be-
fore the week was out and has since
! sold at 81 This campaign was remark
| ably successful and owing 10 the fac
| that IL was launched AT the psychology
! cal moment, the public took the stocE
| i'm such large blocks that II was dis
tributed broadcast throughout the coun
|