The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-15
NICHOLAS WALL
 STREET LETTER Public Swallows Stocks GIu.-
 tonouSIy NOW HAS INDIGESTION Street Is Full of Stories About Great Profit Taking By the Market Mas
 ers-After-Election
 Gossip.
NOW HAS INDIGESTION
By W. G. NICHOLAS.

New York. November 14-(Speeial. )-The
 public swallowed gluttonously of stocks
 and for several days has been suffering
 from indigestion. That is one of the pen
 alties of overlooking. The stocks of
 which they partook so freely and so indis-
 creetly belonged to the pools and cliques
 which had been pulling the market for
 months, and which saw in the post-elec-
 ton enthusiasm good opportunity to
 unload and bank profits; also to reduce
 their colossal indebtedness to banks and
 trust companies The street is full of stories of great proflt-taking by the mar
 ket masters, and their friends who have
 been helping along the bull movement There is one well authenticated case of
 the liquidation of a 3OO,O00-share pool in Steel stocks-20O00O common and 100000
 preferred. There is supposed to have been an average profit of between b and
 20 points for this one combination. It is
 not often that speculative deal for pool
 account can be closed out at a profit
 of between 4. 600 and $6,00O00O, although
 in the affairs of some of the really big
 men among the great speculators such
 profits or losses are not unusual. It was of common gossip last fall that MT. Prick
 individually lost $s0,OOO,OOo, and the story is very generally believed.
 Mr Prick, however, had enormous re- sources and courage that knows no daunting. Consequently he was among the first to buy on large scale. and he has been one of the most active bulls all the way up. It is more than likely that he has recovered his losses and added to his huge fortune. as the figure stood before the panic.
 MT. Hartman is believed to be far and away the biggest winner on the remark able recovery from panic levels. It comes from the inner circle that MT Hartman is today third in the list of multi-million- aires, John D. Rockefeller ranking first and Andrew Carnegie second. This would be almost unbelievable in the case of any other man than MT. Hartman, for it is fully believed in Wall street that during the acute stage of the panic last fall he was called upon by an authorized dele gation representing the ruling powers of the financial world to eliminate himself from the situation. On that occasion he was plainly told that if he did not so eff face himself the panic would go on and the whole street be involved in common ruin As the story goes, MT Hartman received the notice with unruffled coolness and told his callers that if they really be- lieved that he could be backed off the board in any such fashion, the powers
 had his entire permission to go ahead. He added, so it is said, that if they un- dertook to carry out the implied threat to smash the market and really put him out of business, he would give them an exhibition of stock selling that would make their hair stand on end.
 His position in this respect was similar to that taken by the late Charles T. ferkes, when the banking interests of Chicago called him before them to say to him that they had decided upon his l elimination. MT. Yerkes strolled into the august presence of the assembled bankers and with a light straw hat tilted jauntily on the back of his head, received his sen- tence with the remark that if they really intended to carry out the programme he would break every bank in Chicago be- fore noon the next day, and with that he turned upon his heel and walked out. The decision to destroy MT Yerkes had been reached after hot fight as to who should go, YerlSes or Judge William H. Moore. The banks had decided to carry Judge Moore and throw overheard the street car magnate. After MT. Yerkes' departure from the meeting of bankers, decision was hastily reversed, and Judge Moore was sacrificed instead of Yerkes.
 Similarly the bankers of New York re- versed the sentence of death that had 1.aA sod LIof1- -iaaao. a.a1 lnl was allowed to live on. He bluffed the most powerful interests ever brought to- gether in combination in Wall street. It is not known to this day whether he was bluffing on a bobtail flush or whether he held four aces. From any angle it was magnificent play, and MT. Hartman is entitled to the full credit of the success which attended it. Never in the his- tory of stock markets was there a play for bigger stakes and never more stu pendous campaign conducted than the one which has been generated by MT. Harri- man beginning early last spring. With out the Hartman genius and without the capital and influence which he was able to command, no such bull campaign In stocks would have been possible.
 It was undertaken at time when the overwhelming sentiment of the street was opposed to it, and in the face of the op- position of such men as J. P. Morgan, and almost every conservative banker in any way identified with stock market af- |, fairs. u was carried on with amazing 1 courage and audacity, and upon a scale previously unknown in the streek It gave inspiration to business in general and was probably the most influential cause for the restoration of confidence which everybody now sees and recognizes. ! MT. Hartman seems to be entitled to the credit of having been the most influential ard to have practically moved ahead for | six months or a year that most desirable condition He is not a miracle worker, but merely most extraordinary man.
 Now that the public has been landed |, with the goods. the question Is what is | it going to do with the stuff? The public bought for a profit, mot for a loss, and now that it is apparently going into a | loss on some of the purchases, it is taking | on look of surprise and indecision as | though not knowing precisely what to do. | In the eXuberance or enthusiasm it | fought rectlessly as though certain that | inc market would continue to go right | rp through the skies. 1t looked for no | setback and pyramided with utter aban- don. II is upon just such markets that l the experienced bull traders of Wall | street unload And then If the market is big enough and broad enough. the load | E taken on and carried up the hills still |