Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1907-09-19

10 LnlnK OI INC Ouiy dS you hucW ~
then, as you know hat should now
be, but for the SYSTEMS curse"
The clerks were pounding on the
door; through the glass showed many
forms. They had been gathering feE
minutes while Bob talked in his low.
sad tone, a tone that no one could be7
lieve came from the same mouth that
a few moments before had poured
forth a food Of brutal heartlessness.
Bob went to the door. The once
was in an uproar. Twenty or 80 or
Beb's brokers were there, aghast at
not getting a reply to their callG-
Many were pouring in through tho
outer office Bob looked at them cold
~. We'll, what is the trouble? n
It possible we are down to a point
where the stock exchange PUSHES
over to a mans Office when his wine
happens to break down."
They saw his blum. You cannot de-
ceive stock exchange men, at least
not the kind that Rob BROMLEY en-
ployed on panic days, but his cool
ness .reassured them. and when they
saw me it was odds-on that they
guessed to n man why Bob had iE-
nored his ,wires-guessed that .haG
been pleading for the life Of the
street"
well, where do you stand?"
Frank Swan answered for the
crowd: 1.-THE panic is in full swing
She's = cellar.to-ridge-pole ripper.
They're down 40 or over on an avA
erase. AntiPeople's is down to %.
and still coming like sawdust over
broken dam. Barry Commits houBS
and a dozen other of Remnants have
gone under. His banks and truss
companies are going every minute.
The whole street will be cverboar6
before the close. The governing conn-
mittee has Just called meeting to see
whether II will not be best to adiQuTK
the exchange over to-day and to-mcr-
row.,
Bob listened as If he had been .
master at the wheel In gale, 70
ceiving reports from his mates.
There was NO trace now Of tha
scene he had just been through. He
was cold, maSterful like the seasoned
seadoE who knows that in spite Oa
the oceans rage and the winds howl,
the wheel will answer his hand and
theScraft its rudder. "Jim, come over
to the exchange" The crowd fol-
lowed along. I'VE have but 4 minute
and l want to have you say you for
give me-" he said to me. y know
Jim, you understand 1t all, but I naust
tell you how sorrowful l am that in
my madness l should have so forgotr
ten my admiration, respect, and love
for you, yes, and my gratitude to you.
as to say what did. I'll do the only
thing can to atone. l will stop this
panic and undo as much as possible
of my work; and now that I have
wrecked Reinhart I am through with
this game forever, yes, through feS-
ever
He pressed my hand In mis- strong.
honest one and STROBE into the eG-
change ahead Of the crowd. All was
chaos. although the trading had toned
down to a sullen desperation. So
many houses, banks, and trust COM
r1nies had failed that no man knew
whether the member he had traded
with early in the day would on the
morrow be solvent enough to carry
out his trades. The man who ha4
been long IN the morning, and ha4
sold out before the crash, and who
thought he now had no interest in the
nSnIe, found himself with his stock
| again On hand. because 81 The failure
of the one to whom he had sold, and
the price cut in two. The man who
was short" and who a few minutes
before had been eagerly counting his
profits now knew that they had BEEN
turned to loss, because the man irons
whom he had borrowed his short
| stocks for delivery would be in ne
condition to repay for them, the next
day, when they should be returned t0t
him. The short" man was himself
therefore, long" stocks he had
bought to cover his short sale. In
depressing the price he mad been
working against his own pocket IN
stead OF against the bulls he ha2
thought he was opposing. All was
confusion and black despair. There
is, indeed. no blacker place than the
! floor of the stock exchange after
| panic cyclone has swept it, and in
yet lingering in its corners, while the
| survivors of its fury do not know
whether or not 1t will again gather
force.