Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-27
Within Five Minutes of Opening of
The Market Common Rose
Thirty-one Points.
SOON SETTLED BACK AGAIN.
A SILVER OF Fear Ran Through the
Stock EXchangc-HndE Lar Marks
or q Corner Movement.

leet movement that had all the ear
marks of corner. camo today when
the common stock OF the Rock Island
company within five minutes Of the
opening rose from sos to 81. when It
settled back again, after heavy trading,
to 90.
All this startling pyrotechnic advance
OF 81 points and the equally surprising
precipitation to the opening sale price
caused a shver OF fear on the stock
exchange which spread itself across
the continent on brokers' wires that
a corner" had been effected In the
stock of the Rock Island company. A
block OF 1900 shares was sold at 81,
the top price. Rock Island common
closed at 1917 last Friday.
| Fears of n corner caused heavy SELL
ing throughout the securities list and
! there were numerous declines of l to 3
| points.
1T seems as though some ono has
been selling that which he did not
| own" said a director of the Rock Is
land. The management and officials
| of the company have had nothing 20
! do with the spectacular advance and it
| looks as If there was considerable
| short interest in the stock and this in
terest was apparently badly squeezed
| today"
OPENING SALE.
The opening sale of Rock Island was
GOO shares at SOS and then the stock
advanced an eighth, a quarter three
quarters and then leaps and bounds 10
the high price to 81. On the advance
blocks of stock from 100 to 1000 shares
charged hands.
At the top figure enormous supplies
of stock came out and a violent relapse
ensued The decline, however, WIS
much steadier than the advance, the
recessions running generally by frac-
tions and from to points. Within
10 minutes the price had fallen back to
80. Traders generally believe that a
corner had been engineered in the stock
and there was a general rush to unload
securities throughout the speculative
list.
The market became quickly unset
tied through fears of consequences of a
bear panic In Rock Island. Southern
Pacific, after opening up 1 point, ran
off below Friday. Amalgamated
Copper dropped back 39s under Fri
days closing and there was a general
unloading of securities, causing acute
weakness. The loss IN Pennsylvania
reached 21s in the first half hour; Read
ing 2$s, United States Steel 1, Union
Pacific preferred ~ and American
Smelling 2.
The spectacular rise in Rock Island
common stock was generally credited to
q frightened short interest, since it was
quickly recalled that the control of tho
company does not lie with the common
stock and therefore any suggestions
that competitive bidding by interests
ha T,ar-fxr
not to be entertained under the circum-
stances.
One of the directors of the Rock Is
land and also connected with the bank
ing interests of the road, said,
There is nothing in the affairs of the
company to account for the advance in
the price Of stock irr such a violent
manner. 1t appears to he a squeeze of
the shorts"
This same Rock Island official said
that to the best of his knowledge neith-
or w. II. Moore, who Is now In Chicago,
nor Daniel G. Reid was In any way con-
nected with today's movement.
HUNDRED THOUSAND SHARES.
Trading in Rock f'land common stock
in the first 10 IN I utes were approxi-
mately 100000 shas,s
Rock Island rallied at 53lk. but there
was renewed evidence that there were
large supplies of that stock in the mar
ket and the price ran off again. This |
served to tranquilize the rest of the
market and prices began to recover.
Southern Pacific rose to 1897 and |
Amalgamated Copper to SS1s; Pennsyl-
vania to 1878 and other stocks in less |
degree.
first hour was over and prices had |
ceased to fluctuate as widely as at first. |
The Rock Island episode was the one |
subject of discussion In the financial |
district 1t was intimated that an in |
vestigatlon probably would be made |
Into the matter by the governors of |
the stock exchange. The report cur
rent on the stock exchange floor was |
that clerk In handling an order Of |
1000 shares made an error and made 1t
read 10000 shares.
The best opinion obtainable In all |
financial and brokerage circles was
that a short interest had been caught
in a carefully laid trap. the springine
of which was only possible because of !
the absence of several OF the larger
operators.
Tho Rock Island bonds which wero
concerned In last weeks speculative
movement in the Rock Island deal
feverishly.
Rock Island collateral 4s sold. at So
In a block OF s500.O00 and then slumped
to SO. The Wabash refunding As sold |
at 7Sh and then ran off to 77A.
Wabash preferred dropped under Fri
days close
One hundred and flfty-five thousand
shares of Rock Island common were
traded In during the first hou
The market fell into duness after Rock
Island had ceased Its violent gyrations
that stock settling down In the neigh
borhood of 81 Whenever 1t started I'D
stock was forthcoming to give assurance
against danger to the shorts. The pam
icky feeling amoDG the bears subsided
Prices made substantial recoveris in
the general list and came almost to a ,
not far from the level where
they left off on Friday last. Much nm
ensiness remained to disinclino the
speculative element to entor on new COM
until some satisfactory explain
alton was forthcoming of tho extraordI-
nary action OF the Rock Island stock
A report from the west that Edwin
l1awley had acquired the Rock Island
developed an emphatic denial from Mr..
Hawlcy,
"Therc Is no truth in such a report
and moro than that. have no such idA-
In mind.' he declared
Control Of Rock Island Is centered in
the preferred stock which is controlled
by w. II. Moore. d. C. Reid and their
friends Mr.. Moore and Mr.. Reid re-
Gently acquired largo interests IN the Lee
high Valley railroad. and It is confident
y believed that some connecting road |