The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-23
STRONG SUPPORT
 PREVENTS PANIC Stock Market Suffers But
 Makes Great Rally QUIET CLOSE AFTER STORM Center of Disturbance Is Confined To New York City and Advices From All Other Parts of the coun.
 try Are Measuring.
 
QUIET CLOSE AFTER STORM.

New York, October 22.-The stock mar ket in New York has not been subjected b greater strain in many years than vas the case today. Only the most power- iu and persistent support saved it from running into absolute demoralization, and with the best that could be done the re- suits were sufficiently serious, as is abundantly testified by the list of price changes and by the volume of trans greater proportion in former times must be allowed for genuine transactions, owing to the many withdrawals of the great plunging class of operators from the market in recent months.
 The storm of liquidation ragged in vary Ing degree at different times of the day and with varying forces in different quar- ters of the markets. Questions affecting Individual properties gave no explanation for these variations, the banking and trust companies situation, and the ques- tion of it's ramifications and of it's bear- Ing on the general financial position ab sorbing attention to the entire exclusion of all other subjects. severe shock was caused by the announcement of the refusal of the National Bank of Com merce tc longer afford clearing house fa- rilites to the Knickerbocker Trust con- pany.
 The $7,000,0G0 debit of the National Bank of Commerce at the clearing house to- day was ascrbed to eIearings for yester- day for the Knickerbocker Trust com pany and gave a measure of the bur dens which the bank was refusing to assume further. The run on the Knicker- booker company was almost matter of course, in view of the revelations over night and the announcement of the sus- pension of this company caused the stock market to stagger and sent a tremor of apprehension through the whole financial fabric
 This convulsive period of the days liqui- dation ran conditions to the verge of panic. After that it righted itself to some extent and became quieter. Tkis was partly due to hopes that the trust com pany would be able to resume with it's supply of currency replenshed. The sur- vey of the situation, however extended far beyond the affairs of the single insti- tuition immediately involved and embraced the whole banking and money position The feeling of distrust amongst deposi- tors seemed to be restricted to a marrow field in the city of New York itself, and apparently did not seriously affect even the trust companies generally. Advices from the country at large were reassur- ing and indicated comparatively little dis turbance of sentiment on account of the New York situations. These facts were gratifying to the high financial authori- ties, who were on guard, and had much to do with keeping down demoralization. That holders of funds deposit were strengthening their position for possible demand was evident and constituted the active motive force in the days events.
 Credits were recalled on a large scale and the call loan rate ran up to 70 per cent at the stock exchange. There was wide discrepancy in this respect, the National City bank pursuing its usual policy when operating to break a strin- gency of putting out fixed sums at per cent. It was reported that funds were available at rates far below the market rate which. in fact huctuated violently. Some inactive stocks were sold out at sensational declines in consequence of this state of affairs, Westinghouse Electric falling 31 and Knickerbocker Ice 311a points.
 The lack of a sufficient market and forced selling describes the local copdition and accounts for the general severe de- cline in prices. Adviees from Washing ton gave ground for confidence that de- posits of government funds were being added to in New York on a liberal scale. The stock market gave indications in the final hour of the day that the spasm of liquidation there had spent it's imme-