The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-12-15
MARKET UNSETTLED
BY PEACE TALK
8nny Margins Begin to Look Thin
md Customers win BE Called
On to Put Up Real Money.
BANKS VERY CULPABLE
HAD Been Insisting on Brokers Loading
Up Heavily--Now They Are De-
naanding Money--Aiany Holders
VIII Lose Out
BY RROADAN WALL.

New York, Dec fs--Becsuse the
Il allies lie; II be known today that they
II would give respectful consideration to
Il GSrmany's peace terms, Wall Street
had another exciting market IN which
4 the volume of trading eQuRlled tho
/ huge tota! OF Tuesday and IN which
losses greater than these Of Tuesday
were added TO the large ones already
recorded.
Lowest prices Of the cay were made
near the close. and there was 10 EVIL
dence OF support il can be said. as
D IL was said after Tuesdays sesslo on.
tina, the technical condition OF the
I market has been weakened rather
than strengthened ny the decline,
severe break. But commission
houses admitted that until late this
afternoon practically all the selling
sincs the German peace proposal had
been due to fear of peace rather than
20 impaired margins
Margins Look Thin.
Today margins began to look thin
and thousands Of calls for additional
funds Will be received by custom ers
all over the United States tomorrow
. fuorn.ng Margins that stood twenty
per cent and better on Monday morn
,ag are now under ten per cent In
Tho activ. issues.
Most OF the customers will have to
sell whom they receive these margin
calls because they were trading on
money they had made N the market
and haEe no more al home or in bank
TO pu; Up,
about puttug Up real money even II
they have t. Many will he discour-
aged at the sudden loss Of the cam
paign's profits. TIE market has re-
celyed very serious setback
Brokers Heavy Borrowers.
IA One feature az the situation was
OF intense interest This was the po-
sEiticn IN which certain leading bank
ers stand Ia regard - the market.
II is true. as the bears persist that
sthe market had been rather freely
bought by the public and the loans
for the account of STOCK exchange
i houses had grown to unheard OF pro-
portions. But " aile this was true of
4the market IN general The individual
customers had rot been overtra ding.
I Only now are margins becoming So
riousiy impaired. The public was
saniply protected with the usual trad
ing capital. but the numher Of GUS
toner WAS SO great and ths volume
OF business so large that even with
.asssiIis ample Individual protection the
Nbrokers Were compelled to borrow
from tho banks far IN excess Of what
\ they ought to have borrowed.
hanks Much to Biume.
Here is where the culpabiilty OF the
banks began. Until L few days age
whom the money rates suddenly began
$40 shoot up brokers were accomino-
sssaated freely without question They
Were encouraged to increase their
loans and TO buy industrials for GUS
Tumers, No warning was given out
\ until suddenly u few leading bankers
i abruptly turned against the market
over night The market could have
(. been let down by easy stages If brokers
had been discoura ged when they came
to borrow money throughout the few
weeks
NV Usually when Fl market IS breakins
there is some basis for an opinion as
TO when IT Will stop ana at what level
II IL safe TO purchase securities. Now
however, the only thing that can fur.
nish the safe basis for ar opinion Is
I n definite statement from the allies
as 10 whether they VIII reject th-
4 peace proposition ar begin negotia.
stions.