The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-08
BLACK FRIDAY ON GREAT LIVERPOOL COTTON EXCHANGE How Blight of Warfare Stopped Wheels of the
 Big Industry SHOCK CAME WITH AWFUL SUDDENNESS fetupendous Character of the Transi- ton Made July 31 Day To Be Remembered With Awe By
 Cotton Men

Liverpool. October 1T.--tspecial3-To ret the true perspective either of . structure or an event. we need to view it from g distance. Thus, after the in- tervening weeks we are now better able to review the critical developments which fpresented themselves on date which will not readily be forgotten by commercial men. especially in the cotton trade, viz: July s1. 1914
 Although with the actual outbreak of hostilities more stupendous days fol- lowed. July s1 was probably the most dra- matic, inasmuch as on that day the bar riers which stand between a state of peace and state of war were suddenly shaken to their foundations. Like a quiescent
 volcano, the European situation, with all its potentialities had long been with us
 and its constant presence had fostered that proverbal familiarity which breeds contempt Some had perhaps felt that an eruption was inevitable some day, but the vast majority had grown accustomed to the view that modern civilization the con trolling power of finance, and the fears Of the gigantic consequences of a Euro pean outbreak, would be sufficient to pre- vent such a catastrophe, and so the world had gone on for years, building and en- larg1ng it's vast commercial machinery,
 and extending it's ever-increasing labyrinth or mutual credits, the foundation of all
 countries, with but little regard for un-
 seen seismetic political influences.
 Physical science teaches us that the most terrorizing convulsons of nature are those which are the outcome of forces which work slowly and silently. So the European volcano, though outwardly quiescent had for years been developing potentialities in it's hidden depths, which
 reached their explosive point without 2warning to the world, and precipitated
 An upheaval which. besides staggering
 civilization, threatened the commercial
 machinery with annihilation.
 Suddenness of Transition
 It was the suddenness, and the stupen- dous character of this transition, which k3nade July S1 a day to be remembered
 with awe. The cotton world had been looking forward with keen interest to the Limited States agricultural bureau report. which Was to be issued at noon Gnted
 States times) on July sl. and it had been
 arranged on that important occasion dm- portant because the bureau referred to is an index to the probable yield of the crop then reaching maturity, for the Liv- erpool market to remain open until p. n
 On the morning of the day in ques- tion, the Livefbool market had failed to
 
 the American markets. and prices fluctu-
 ated in an cratic and inexplicable man. |l ner. There was an undercurrent of al most electrical sensitivceness and a grow
 ing feeling of indescribable tension as
 the day proceeded From o'clock (Eng-
 fish tfme), when the opening quotations of the New York market are due to reach
 Liverpool. until the closing of the mar
 kets, events followed each other with dra-
 matic suddenness. The first was the crash
 which occurred in the New York cotton
 market immediately after the opening,
 due to- the failure of a big firm there,
 which in itself precipitated panic In both
 markets. Cables from New York followed k each other in rapid succession revealing P iwild and gigantic fluctuations even before the failure referred to was made known here. Holders of cotton were unable to gauge the value of their holdings within . range of cents pound. and sought wildly to cover their contracts. Another Galvanic Shock After the failure had been announced, the market was again subject to a gal vanic shock by the news that the Bank IA of England rate had been advanced from INA to 8 per cent. The whole scene became {. one of turmoil and confusion, the shadow of war being by now clearly defined over the whole panorama; but in the midst of this came the startling intimation that the New York market had been peremp- torily closed without a moments notice, and hundreds of buying orders which had been cabled out to New York in view of the heavy break in their market came back unexecuted, necessitating operators here covering their sales In the Liverpool market and thereby driving prices up 8 points in a few moments
 The panic then became so acute that the Liverpool market was closed at 15 minutes notice. and hour and a quarter ] before the official time, and up to the E time of writing all cotton markets have remained closed.
 The agricultural bureau report was duly published, and, although it has been Nteagerly looked forward to, and the pub gtfics tion under normal conditions would ts in itself have created great excitement r its announcement was preceded by the k premature closing of the markets and 1t f failed to attract the slightest attention x In Liverpool the cotton trade had * looked forward to Fridays closing July X S1). because of the two days holiday E which usually follow at that date. and N many merchants and brokers were an- r tfcipating the August vacation, when | they are accustomed to go away to the 1 sea side with their families.
 |y What contrast was here presented <hbetween anticipations and realizations On IA the Saturday and Monday (bank holiday), |4 instead of the exchange wearing it's usual holiday aspect, the floor was occupied by 'E Groops of brokers and merchants with