The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-08-15
STOCK MARKET
NEAR PANIC
Failure Rumors Cause De
cline of Railroad and In
dustrial Securities.
LOT OF TRADING DONE
Heavy Selling Places Many Issues at
Low Record for Decade-Hurry
to Sell Holdings.

New York, Aug. 14-Trading reach
ed close approach to panic conditions
in the stock market this afternoon.
With all the gain in the previous days
rally wiped out and the list generally
selling at lower than panic prices.
there came. in the last hour of trading,
frenzied rush to sell which swept
everything before it.
Only in the active stocks was it pos
sible TO sell except at prices which
were ridiculous concessions from those
of the previous days, and for many we'll
known and long established though
generally inactive railroad and in
dustrial securities there was practically
no market at all. In some of the active
stocks there were repeated declines of
81 share in one or two sales.
Failure RumOrs Chief Cause.
Unconftrmed reports of money string
encies in many large concerns through
out the county was one of the chief
factors for the break. Many of these
concerns were equal in Importance to
| the Pope company, and it was rumored
that there might be a recurrence of
| industrial failures equal to those of
1898. In all cases, it was said, the
cause is the same as in the case of
pany-an overextension of credit and
inability to market securities.
| In banking circles also grave ap-
| prehensions were felt over the solvency
Of some houses in the financial district.
Few data were given in any of the
| rumors, but a market which was rapid
! " exhausting margins on loans could
not fail to increase fears to much
greater extent with every decline. Ev-
ry break of few points, a banker
pointed out, exhausts margins more
! rapidly than the preceding few points.
Hurry to Sell Holdings.
Much prominence was given to the
| Pope failure by professional operators
and the traders, but the apparent de-
| termination of the Washington author
tiles to do nothing to insure investors
was effective in compelling liquidation
| by big holders.
Disgust with the anti-corporation
propaganda evidently has settled into
a determination to dispose of the larger
part of their securities as soon as
possible and without regard to prices.
AS on all previous days of the move
ment the liquidation was the heaviest
in st. Paul, Almalgamated Copper.
Southern Pacific and Union Pacific, the
!
by the Standard Oil party.
The beginning of the investigation
into Brooklyn Rapid Transit was &C
i aompanied by a net loss of four and
one-half points in the cOmpany's shares.
All the other local fractions Jared badly
the Interboroug h-Metropolitan shares
established new low records, Manhat-
tan Elevated losing five points, and
Third avenue one-half
Low Levels for Decade.
In many stocks there has not been
seen such low prices for more than a
decade. \ string of Amalgamated Cop
per came out ca the tap a prices run
ming down from 6S u to sc Is. and show
ing a loss CT 1 Is points on five trans
actions, aggregating but 1900 shares.
Previously the same stock had broken
from 70ls to 6Ss4 in not much greater
volume of trading.
Shelters at one time had broken
from 95 to 81 on a single small trans
action. The ordinarily more conserv-
alive New York Central and Steel PIE
ferred lost Is each between sales
Louisville end Nashville dropped from
1855 to 1o4E with similar suddenness
Union Pacific. which was again the
market leader. dropped all the way
from 129 to 121%. New York Central
! sold to within Il of point of par.
Other Heavy Declines.
Other significant and important new
low records for the movement were
recorded in SHELTERS at 90; Sugar, no
Anaconda. IS; Atchison. sax: Canadian
Pacific, 1929; Brooklyn Rapid Transit
411a; St Paul. HIS; Northwestern
1879; Consolidated Gas. 104: Delaware
. and Hudson. ISM; Erie, first preferred
50A; Great Northern. 1857; Great
Northern ore Certificates. 10. Genera
Electric, 1273z; -Metropoli-
tan common. So; marlborough Metro
politan preferred. 26sk; National Lead
441a; Pennsylvania, rs; Reading, So 4
Southern Pacific. so; Steel preferred
= 91%.
The exhausted nature OF the pur-
chasing power has not been as striz
ingly in evidence since the decline be
gan, ten days ago. Stocks IN tremend
Gus quantities were offered for sale an,
the aggregate of transactions woul,
, have been much greater had those de
string to sell been able IN many cas-
to secure offers.
There was one fairly well know
railroad stock for which the best hi
was at 8 price showing a depreciation
of more than 80 per cent from III
7 sale of single loo share lot Of Wells
Fargo was at price $50 cheaper tina
market price of the preceding day. !
on the last previous saIe-