New-York tribune., 1911-11-11
BROKERAGE FIRMS FAIL
WI. Stevens & Co. and Ball &
Whieher Announce Suspension.
BOTH ON THE BEAR SIDE
Rapid Advance in Prices Said To
Be Cause-Total Liabilities
Estimated at 100000.

came OUT a nttle before noOa. but had no
effect upon the strong market. The assign
r1.nt of Bail whcher was not announced
until after the close OF business on tho
stock Exchange.
The rapid advance Of prices during the
last few days is reported 10 have been the
primary cause Of the failures. both houses
having been classed as among those or
the bear side Of the market and both being
said also TO have suffered through having
cold calls extensively in the privilege mar
hot
The liabilities of W L. Stevens & Co,
for whom no assignee has been named. are
thought to be about 100000
Sail & Whicher issued statement. say
irg that they had made a general assign
.nsrt for the benefit of creditors 10 owen
T. Abrahams. who Is associated with the
lew Arm of Parker & Aaron. No Sc Broad
esv. The firm places its unsecured liabil
i'ies ~ less than 500. 00O." but declines
70 give the amount Of the secured liabilities.
which. il is supposed, will total several
hundred thousand. The cause of the sus-
pension is stated by the firm as inability
10 realize on assets and 20 collect accounts
due They expect 70 he able 20 resume
business. 4 general meeting Of creditors
of Ball & whicher will he held on Novem-
her IS, next Thursday. The firm was be-
fore the governing committee of the Stock
Exchange last July.
The firm OF Ball & Whicher is composed
- Charles r. Ball and Louis +. Whicher
,hs latter being the board member Mr
Ball was for several years manager Of the
branch office of c. I. Hudson & Co. at No.
III Fifth avenue, where Ball & Whicher
now maintain one OF their branches, in
charge Of George Macallister, the other
branch being at No. ls West 33d street with
Alfred VI. Vernon a. manager. Mr.
Whicher, who has been a member of the
N.w York Stock Exchange since December
-. 1895, became soon after that date part
ner with L. p. Sch9fed in the firm Of
Sclo6ed WhicheT e Co, Of Boston. Ter
minatng that connection early in 1902. he
made his headquarters with Dick Brothers
& Co., of this city. until November. 1903
when he formed the firm Of Ives & which
or, his partner being William Ives
Firm, Was Formed in 1906
The firm OF Ball & Whicher was formed
January ., Dos, The partners being Messrs.
Rail and Whicher and L. Leroy Chinn
with George a. Helme. formerly president
Of The American Snuff Company and now
a director of that corporation and the
american Tobacco Company, as special
partuer Oliver Wren, who used TO be sec
rotary 20 Charles NJ. Schwab. was also
special partner in 1907.
Mr. Chinn continued 70 be a general part
nor until the end of 1905 and Mr.. IIelme
was special partner for about four years.
retiring at about the time the present part
nerslip was formed, on January l. 1919.
Mr. Ball is in the Directory of Drec-
tors as vice-presldent and director Of the
Jamaica Sea View Company and NJ.
Whicher as director of the Quicksilver
Mining Company. Both are also interested
in the United Verde Extension Mining
Company. Mr. Whicher being president and
r -Nr.s-ssll treasurer. while owen n. Abrs I
hams is one OF the directors. The property /
4 TINS company IS near Ex-senator
William T. Clark's United Verde mine. in /
arizona The company is a reorga nization /
OF the United Verde Extension Gold Silver
and Copper Mining Company. and it's stock. /
the par value of which is SO share sold
about a year ago at &. In the Boston I
curb market. where It is traded in, United
Verde Extension sold as low as So cents a
share within the last month, and as high
as Sl.S1 a day or two ago.
Messrs. Ball and Whicher. it is under
stood, recently made arrangements to sell
their intere1 IN the property but the sale
fell through. The firm have had the repu-
tation of being an active and enterprising
house. but they have been in no sense pro-
lIoters. NJ. Ball declared yesterday
rrw Years ago, it is said, they formed a
Ian FOR financing the big hurley tobacco
cool. IN which the Kentucky tobacco grow
ers are aSso -iated, but did not carry it out.
In January. 1910 the Appellate Division
affirmed a Judgment for s2i,9o6 obtained by
Ball q Whichcr against the failed bond
firm Of T.. u. Shepard & 90. arising out
Of transaction in Yankee Fuel Company
bonds
Heavy Seller of Privileges.
W l.. Stevens & Co. n is said. were
short about ten thousand shares Of stock,
mostly Steel common and Reading, on
'T5ursdav, when the sharp advance in
pgices took place. and as a result were un-
able 10 mako good their contracts. II was
reported also that the firm had been
heavy seller Of privileges in the put and
calf market lately and had suffered a con-
eiderable loss in these commitments
through the rise IN the marset
The nrm was organized OF April Is. 1910,
and was composed Of W Lewis Stevens
snd James ". Benning. the latter betng
the board member. Neither Of the part
nars appeared at the offices of the nrm
yesterday and in their absence u was i'm
possible 10 get an authoritative statement
Of the amount OF the ns blities. Unofficial
estimates were that these would not exceed
iaaG0 TIE hrn made no assignment and
no steps were taken by any of the creditors
~ 20 q lare hour toward having a receiver /
sfpointsd
The clerk in charge Of the Office said that /
Nv Stevens who has recently returned !
from rrip 70 europe. was III at his home
and that Nr Henning was in consultation |
|itt bis lswyers Who the lawyers were /
ne did not know The clerk attributed the /
onaeuitiss Of the firm 70 failure Of custom /
ers 70 respond 70 calls for margins. lie
could give no estimate Of the liabilities and /
assets The firm mad branch office at No. /
2 West 5sth street which was In charge of /
baysrd Stevens.
iias Is Mr.. Henning's second failure on /
me Stock Exchange. OF which he became a |
member on June s. 1895 on October - |
=" the firm Of j W. Henning q Co, OF 1
shicb h Bas the sole member. failed FOR |
hearty Sb09ga on that occasion he was |
also caught short OF the market. Some OF /
MS friends on the Stock Exchange came TO /
rs 3sssiance and through their aid he /
sss able 10 straighten out HIS affairs and |
'sssIne bisf1ess He was reinstated on the /
. fFr14vae on Tlsc.y,shsf. % fqI- and until he |