The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-08-16
WALL STREET NOTES
Powerful Support Comes to
Market as Prices Drop.
NEW YORK CENTRAL IS FIRM
Interests Aid Issue When
Par Is Reached-Banks Hesitate 10
Lend Money, but in Many Cases
They Assist BrOkers-Stories of
Losses Are Now Made Public.

New York, Aug. 15.-In the chaotic
break this morning there was support
plainly obvious 10 any one who looked
at the tape It was support, too, OF a
more substantial and assertive kind than
has been noted at any other time since the
decline began The support brought
reinsurance sufficient to check the
te1sdency to exert renewed selling pres
suro. and many men who were on the
point Of throwing over their stocks paused
and listened longer at the ticker. took
counsel with themselves, and saved the
sacrifice.
The quality of the support was par
ticularly apparent in New York Central
When it broke at the very start below
par It went down on small transactions
AS soon as possible there was put In an
order for the purchase of 1000 shares.
and the stock jumped fractions above par.
It then sagged off 10 par. and at this
price there was executed a buying order
for 4200 shares.
Persons who had never before seen the
tape could tell that some one stood ready
10 take all that was offered at par value.
There is a great difference in the looks
of a stock between price Of three figures
and price Of two and there was an i'm
preston that the Vanderbilt interests
were bound 10 have the better showing.
I don't know whether or not the Van
deTbilts supplied the support" said a
banker. subsequently; but know 1t
was time they did so"
Consolidated Gas. which looked tempting
to bears, was also supported very vigor-
ously There was an order TO buy 10000
shares at par, and evidently here. too
some had determined that the price
should not drop below three figures.
Some Of the most interesting Of the
comments Of brokers to-day concerned
other orders 20 purchase various stocks at
stated prices. These were from investors
who seemed TO have a fixed idea of the
bottom of the market, and wanted a stock
at or below certain figure, and not
otherwise Many OF the prices were
ridiculously low, even in times when men
have ceased to ridicule predictions Of low
records. others were more sensible, and
many Of these latter were from more sub
stantial men.
one Of the encoura ging developments OF
the day was the buying for conservative
and careful men OF wealth, such as those
who came down from the clubs last win
ter, and are now out OF town. From
most Of the resorts frequented by substan-
tial men of wealth. orders Of this origin
came in to-day. The acute nervous ten
sion, due 20 fears of failures, was percep-
tbly relaxed on the report that the sheets
had passed through the clearing house.
The day was nevertheless. a day OF
worry and trouble for hundreds of men
and many brokers' Considerable of the
perpleXity was due TO the shifting Of
loans Brokers who had carried Custo-
mers through the break on the preceding
day in some cases requested them 10 Dor
row the carrying money fer the stocks
from the banks and relieve the brokerage
houses from the burden. The banks were
bad places for a man with a load Of
stocks "a be sent TO. but many a man in
such preGiCament was accommodated
Generally, on account of the reinsurance
over underlying conditions, there was less
closing of accounts protected through the
break than might have been expected.
Mother Eddy's proof of sanity in the re-
mark, Trust in God for life insurance.
and for investments. buy bonds" was
ordered engraved and framed by one
bond dealer. who intends 10 display the
saying conspicuously in his private Of
fee.
Stories Of losses in the break now be-
come timely. one of them, which was
told to-day, sounded a bit like the serial
pool stories of last March. In this case
there was no pool but there was. 1t was
said, distant relative of prominent
member Of the Hartman party who es-
capped the pool in the Pacific. but got in
on them in the course of the upward
movement in July on the advice Of his
relative. and fingered too long. Now, il Is
said, he is down to trust funds, and is
stripped of everything except what a far
seeing ancestor placed where the principal
couldn't be touched. The story came
down 10 the street yesterday from the
clubs, whence also the serial pool losses
came to light.
1t was accompanied by much interesting
detail useful only 10 the society columns.