The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-20
More Failures May Fol
low Yesterday S Stock
Market Crash.
TWO HOUSES ARE
FORCED TO w ALL
Manipulators of Columbus and
Hooking Coal and Iron Com
pany Overreach Themselves
and Stock Collapses From
SO II to 25-Another
Investigation.
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1nVeStl6atlOn.
>-[special TO The Times Dspat ch.
New York. January 11.-Speculativc
manipulation in the stock of the Co
| lumbus and Hooking Coal and Iron
Company, which has been going on for
over year on the Stock Exchange,
| overreached itself to-day, with the
/ result that the two strong financial
! houses were forced to the wall, and at
least one, IL not three others, arc tot
{tering on the brink or ruin.
The full effect of the collapse of
! the stock from SS1s TO % in the space
1 Of few short hours will not be known
until Tomorrow afternoon. when the
!! governing body Of the Stock Exchange
will decide whether the firms that de-
c1ined to-day to take several thousand
4 shares of stock bought for their ac-
count off the hands of Roberts. Hall &
4 Criss must take them, or whether that
firm must keep them. If the firms are
/ icompelled to take them their loss will
be considerable
Roberts. Hall & Criss made spe-
cialty of Columbus and Hooking. They
1 bought 1t on every decline, and bought
1t when there was no decline every day
during the past few months.
/ .sNHen inc Crash came LO-QdS, IluSil
Criss, the board member Of the firm.
4 was swept off his feet. He bought the
stock right and left while his resources
I lasted and then fled from the floor of
/ the exchange to escape the avalanche.
Without his supporting orders the stock
i was hammered from 6S, where he left
lit. down to %, and the disaster was
4 complete.
Failures Announced.
The suspension of the firms Of Lath-
A rop. Haskins & Company. of GO Broad
way. and j. NJ. Fiske & Company. Of
slAe Broadway, was then announced.
1.-THE failure of the two firms means a
\ loss estimated at from s2,o0o.0o0 10
!. s4.ooo00'o to the members of the firms
4 and their customers. The market
y ya.xa ottti1e 10000 shara. of Hooking
common alone fell from Ss.155,00o TO
4 -ls1,750.oo0. a drop of S4445.0oo. The
pool. which drove the stock from 10 a
year ago to 81 u a few weeks ago, held
! about half OF the stock before the
cras 1t is estimated that the mem-
bcrs of the pool caught in the panic.
! lost about half of the entire drop IN
n the stock, or approximately. s2.22o,oO0.
e.t,No accurate statement of the liabilities
and assets of either of the defunct
! firms could be obtained tosdaS
puldllOU VI AioSNAi1o
t began over a year ago, when the La.
tnrop, Haskins & Co. firm was reor'
; cauized after the death of L. G. La
RI throp. senior partner. Wall street:
ell most conspicuous bear operator. Whs
@ was a large owner OF Columbus ant
: Hooking stock. The reorSanized firm
t took in Mr.. Lathrops widow as specia
u partner, and it is supposed that she
Z too, was caught in the failure.
\ JaS
! brokerage firm. was president OF tn
Columbus and Hooking Company III
firms interest In the pool was sal
to be over 1000 shares. The poe
a iprospered so persistently that some Q
the wiser traders began to grow war
I. of Hooking, and some of the brokeras
!. houses tab6oed it altogether. Ther
. were few setbacks in the market price
10 even fractionally, and this rigfdity wa
IS accented as warning of straine
II and unhealthy condition. The bank
e began to refuse it's collateral, eve
rs though the stock rose to 70, and the
- higher
l. Lathrop. Haskins & Co. then &C
,e friendly exchange houses to buy 1t fe
al them, renewing their loans on the stoc
D daily.
Of Cause of Break.
+ The psychological cause of the brea
e. to-day is attributed to the selling
IN one of the pool members. who, it
said had accumulated a large priva
"a holding. 1t is also attributed to
~ call for cash by a bank that had
t. large loan on the stock. The cras
rs came as out OF a clear sky, for IT
l. victimiaed pool members looked To-
l. ward TO plain sailing, and the prit
l. of the stock went UP over point
s. the opening to IS IL. 1t stayed thel
es for an hour. and then II began
le slide off First one block OF lot
shares was offered for sale. Then al
= other of 1000. Hugh Crisis was read
:. with buying orders, and he stood
=, his post until he was showed unde
- Mr. Criss said tonight that lie M
= not bought over 5000 shares, but
=. was understood from other sourc
. " that his actual purchases totaled &c
y 900 shares. He was busy on II
: firms hooks tonight to lay his eNa
record before the Stock Exchange t
= =, morrow to compel the firms for who
- 1t is claimed that most of the stot
4 was purchased to take up their order
:, a curious phase OF the failure Is Il
~ loss suffered by professional trade
: who sold Hooking short. They thougl
they had made small fortunes aft
they disposed of their stocks any
{ whGre from u w ~ ppIllS ASs'S VIZ
thev paid for It. They found. in mos
cases. that the stock they sold weI
&c, a the account OF either of the co
lapsed firms, involving them in heay
IS losses. At least a score, or shol
le, sellers were nipped in this manne
nd and their chagrln was deepened
lct their previous exultatlon,
~ Louis H.. Moose, attorney Tor ISL
M & Co., said his clients had assets
e en- s2,9Oo,ooo and llabihtles q $a,ooo,o.
IT. Mnndny night He, said the susnei
or sion was due to the failure OF ru
"a ! toners to respond TO calls for add
.rs tional margins on Hooking When Y
Oa stock declined 8 !
'as f95I'' Hastcns the Crash, ss3i
ye The refusal Of the banks 70 nal nal
M fu,t6er8 loans on the stock hastent
sml the crash Anflnvoluntary PEI tltion 4
u Continued gl Page Nao-column ~