The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-23
LATE FEATURES OF
 THE STOCK MARKET Decentralization Reigned, With
 Crashes in Prices. CALL MONEY TO PER CENT. Trust Company Collapse Bad Blow to Market-Enor-
 nous Liquidation.
CALL MONEY TO PER CENT.

nous Liquidation.
 Generalization bordering on panic prevailed on the Stock exchange pe- tween 12 and i o'clock yesterday reaching it's height on the announce ment that the Broadway office ot the Knickerbocker Trust company had temporarily stopped payment Frees fell one-half to point at a tune amidst widest excitement, with some extreme losses up to i o'clock, extend inc to 8 and 10 points. Sensational features were Union Pacific, which ran off to 108 1-2, as against 117, Monday closing; Northern Pacific 1O9 ITS against 119 IA; Reading 7S against 85 8-4; St. Paul 1O6 against 115 1-4 and Pennsvlvania 113 7-S against 117 SIS. Many of the specialties were virtually unstable and the bid prices were of- ten 5 and 10 points below previous transactions. After 1 o'clock the de- cline halted for a while, then thefe was another frenzy of selling, and prices cruqnbled away again to new low records. In the closing hour the market regained it's equilibrium, put was highly unsettled, although prices rallied fairly, In the late excitement the rate for call money advanced to 70 ner cent. the highest rate in months, hut ot1ly S200O00 was loaned at that figure. Several bankers formed a pool of s4000, ,O00, which was loaned at be- tween 40 and 50 per cent This was of fered on the Stock exchange in blocks of $1OO,0O0 each. Some of the large brokerage houses obtained loans at this rate as a protective measure, and there was no complaint at paying the high rate so long as the money was obtainable The National City and First National banks made large loans at and 3 per cent. Money ruled at around 50 per cent. at the close.
 The Knickerbocker Trust Co.'S meth ods will now receive a thorough over- hauling as to the investment ot lts funds and maintenance of a reserve.
 Fortunately, the bank depositors of New York city are not in the habit of giving way to unfeasoning panic; a run on an institution of the sort, when it does occur, happens because tfere was plain and ample provocation for it which was unhappily the case with the Knickerbocker.
 Late yesterday afternoon a general meeting of responsible bankers was held to take charge of the situation. A fun report of their doings appears in our telegraphic columns.
 London sold 10000 shares in this market yesterday, probably represent ing the throwing over of purchases made during the last two business days, on the notion that stocks were at bottom and that financial troubles were over The trust company reyela- tions took foreign traders off their feet. This was shown by declines of 2 to points in the London market be- fore the local opening.
 Selling orders in great volume came in right at the opening of the market, causing declines about on a parity with London Following this some little attempt was made to support prices, though it is more likely that the rally which occurred represented short covering. The knowledge that conferences were in progress all the morning and had been held until after midnight Monday night, by leading bankers, with a view to bolstering up the trust company sItuation, made Wall street very nervous and brought in further selling orders from the country The rise in call money to 30 per cent, then 50 and again disturbed sentiment and a fresh break in prices occurred at midday, bringing the low est figures of the day.
 The story of the day in the stock market was simply one amending stream of liquidation from the open ing to the beginning of the final hour. In certain directions support was at- tempted, but it failed absolutely to check the decline except in very few of the lower priced issues. The high priced railway issues were the storm center throughout The metal shares and other industrials held relatively better. But there was scarcely any distinction worth observing between different groups of stocks.
 
 The heaviest liquidation in stocks appeared to be over by 2:30 o'clock on the news from Washington that Secretary Cortelyou was on his way to New York to extend aid to the f. nancial situation, and on the belief that the meeting of the trust company bankers in the afternoon would be productive of good. Sentiment was very much helped, and stocks rallied.
 General Electric fell to 105 against 118, Mondays closing; Manhattan Elevated to 10S IA against a bid price on Monday of 112, and Consolidated Gas to S2, against a closing Monday of S9 The dribbling out of Ameri- can Ice securities continued, and il sold down to 71S against 8 high price this year of 88. The collapse in this instance has been most complete Interborough- Metropolitan common sold down l 1-2 points, to B. and h. terborough-Metropolitan preferred