Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1911-06-16

He would have wept on the bosom of
Barr had not the little man so hustled
him through the process OF signing pa
pers and telephoning the anxious trust
companies.
That evening when he had received
reports from his brokers, Barr found
that the syndicate was now In posses
sion of little over seventy-seven thou
sand five hundred shares Of Suburban.
This included the forty thousand
shares from Schiimbinger and fifteen
thousand shares his brokers had gar
nered during the day. He sent off a
telegram to John, summoning him to
New York. and arranged to all his
place at Palm Beach.
Then, as II to sponge the slate clean
of sentiment, he called In two OF his
confidential brokers and arranged for
a savage attack on the whole market.
Il want Suburban to go to seventy
FIVE by noon on Saturday" he said.
with vicious snap. and l want you
to get thirty thousand shares of the
stock by then"
When the Exchange opened on the
following morning there was WELL
defined rumor on the floor that big
interest" in Suburban was about to be
sold out by trust company, which
had loaned him vast sums OF money on
the stock. The rumor gained birth as
1t went. and it's qualifications soon In.
cluded startling array of reports OF
failures, defalcations and general
crimes against the constituted order
of things.
Almost the first transaction on the
OF Suburban at seventy-eight. point
under Thursdays closing price, and
of three hundred, five hundred and one.
thousand-share lots, which broke the
price to seventy-six before the end OF
the first hour. The floor was convinced
of the truth of the story of drastic &C.
ton by the trust company, especially
as the selling came from brokers who
often acted for It.
There was no way of telling that the
stock apparently hurled haphazardly
at the market simply passed from
Barr's right hand to his open left
through wash" sales by brokers in
his employ. Even the brokers en-
ployed did not know this, and the re
suit was big break in the entire mar
ket.
The tremendous selling. with the
slump. had its effect It brought forth
Suburban stock from the hands of in
vestors and spectators. who. thor
oughly frightened by the panicky ap
pearance of the market, and the wild
flight downward Of Suburban, threw
overheard a stock which no one
seemed to want at any price.
But at two o'clock there came a sud
den change In the markets course
From the floor, John Willis hurried
over to Barr a note, which said:
Brokers usually acting for Rogers
and Urban taking Suburban. Dom
dare sell any more stocks short. ant
am buying back fractions to cover pre-
yious sales"
Morton Rogers and his fellow asso
ciates in the Urban Traction compan!
had watched for some days, with grow
ing amazement, the behavior OF tn,
traction stocks in which they were in
terested. So long as all the fractions
hung together on the decline, they hat
agreed in attributing the movement Il
bear raid for quick profits. When
however, Suburban Trolley cut ava.
from its fellows on Friday. the Urbai
people promptly came to the conclu
sion that the stock was being purpose
ly depressed by Tammany interests
who intended to buy It low, and sell
high after the Bingham avenue fran
chise had been granted.
Convinced that this was the true ez
PLANTATION of the weakness OF Suburb
an, Mr.. Rogers and his friends immedi
ately formed a pool to buy the stock
They were perfectly sure that Tam
many interests would not be buyini
1t unless they meant to grant the fran
chise. The pool was formed at ont
o'clock, and at two o'clock its opera
lions had turned the tide of the mar
ket Suburban rallied from seventy
six to seventy-eight and one-half a
the close. and Its rally bolstered tn,
whole market. which had been fas
slipping into panic.
Barr had feared from the first tina
the low price to which he intended t,
drive Suburban would attract buyini
by the Urban interests. and he had to
ken his measures accordingly In les
than fifteen minutes after Willis mes
sage reached him, two trusted clerk
were on the way to Westchester coun
ty with orders to visit local holder
of the stock and to buy 1t from then
at any price. 1t had cost Barr one thou
sand dollars to secure a list of stock
holders Of the road.
On Saturday morning, before tn
opening of the Exchange. Bars rsem
oranda from his brokers and the tw
clerks showed him to be In possession
of little less than ninety-eight thou
sane shares of Suburban. short
sharp battle followed on the floor G
the Exchange for the shares needle
, for control Under the competitiy
bidding OF his own and the Urba
brokers the stock scrambled hastily t
eighty, to eighty-fiye. and finally t
ninety But the street had been sweI
SO bare OF 1t that at the close at moo
/ Barr was still few houndred share
IL ~ hn lNa