The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-12
Important Steps Have Been Taken Gradually Since the
 Outbreak of the War {
SITUATION IS NOW
 VERY NEAR NORMAL
Even Securities Held Abroad Will Be Dealt in if Liquidation Does Not Prove Too Heavy
 at Opening
Rx HoLLANn

New York, December 11.-(Special) When the New York stock exchange opens its doors to stock transactions almost wide open, but not quite-to- morrow, the climax of all the co-opera- tive actions which began in the middle of August will have been reached. Aft erward, there will be no more to do than to remove such restrictions upon trading in the exchange as expediency has for the present made necessary, and then there will be nothing left to be accomplished excepting those things which can be done, and probably will be done, by the people. The governors of the stock exchange did not decide upon the instant or after a few days preparation to open the doors of the institution. Their action was directly related to the various steps, some of them of unprecedented magnitude, which have been carefully and slowly taken since mid-August or the first of September. It is possible now to look back and clearly to discern those steps.
 The stock exchange governors. act ing in cooperation or upon the advice of some of the leading financial author
  weeks ago. For a day or two after panic-Iike conditions were paralyzing the London and continental markets exchange transacted business and it was for few hours hoped that it would be able to continue to transact business no matter how great the sale In other lands of American securities was. That hope was speedily ex- tlnguished and in self-protection the Exchange was closed. The effect of this was from one point of view similar to the effect of a moratorium. For 1t was Impossible for considerable time to pay for the American securities which had been sold in Europe. The closing of the exchange made it impossible for a general sale of American securi- ties to continue. The action of the ex- change in closing it's doors was the visible demonstration of the immediate effects of the European war.
 After two or three weeks, confer ences carried on by the leading finan- ciers resulted in definite proposition and it's acceptance. This entailed the organization of a gold pool aggregat- ing $S2,000, 900 which was to be utilized by sending 1t to Ottawa, Canada, for the purpose of providing New York city with funds neededsto pay for short time notes sold by the city a few months earlier and which were, for the most part, held abroad It was vital that these notes be paid; otherwise New York city would have been pro claimed. temporarily at least, bankrupt. That would have tended still further to impair credit and to destroy confidence completely.
 The First Step
 This was the first step toward the reopening of the stock exchange, the great market in the United States where security values are disclosed. The second step was taken when all the banks of the national reserve sys- tenn subscribed to gold pool of $100,- 100000. There had been discussions and conferences in Washington In which the federal reserve board took part At these conferences all of the 12 federal reserve districts were represented. A comparison of statistics which were in fact no more than estimates was made at these conferences and the result was that 1t seemed to be fairly well estab- lished that American merchants, im- porters, manufacturers and others owed on current account to creditors across the sea not less than $250 000,- 900, perhaps as much as $300000,000. All of these American debtors would a month earlier have found it easy to procure the necessary funds or for eign exchange with which to make settlement. But our commerce had tenn porarily ceased and exchange was quoted at prohibitive figures The s100, 100000 gold pool furnished abun- dant means for those who wished to pay their indebtedness abroad, and be- fore the funds were exhausted the re- sumption of heavy exports made it possible to secure foreign exchange which served in part to lquidate these debts That was the second step in the direction of the reopened stock ex- change doors.
 In the Clearing House
 The administration at Washington, in cooperation with some of those who were of authority in the world of banking in the United States, made ready to furnish to the banks emergency currency, so- called in any amount, and 1t was even the purpose at one time of the federal reserve board to recommend to Congress that 1t authorize an increase in the amount named in the emergency statute These funds were, of notable assistance at that time. and the use of them facili- tated preparations which were soon begun with a view to reopening the stock ex'