The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1922-07-19

ohooAu hColldLS u lily II
troubled with womanly ailments.
For sale everywhern. Elsa
Most of these transactions had been
carried on margins. In order to facili-
tate them, banks in the financial dis
trict had advanced so per cent of the
money in the shape of call loans
Country banks I'M every part of the
Union had hundreds of millions in the
shape of demand deposits in Wall
Street institutions. And now Wall
Street bankers had tied up the bulk
of the countrys money in stock gamb-
ling ventures.
A money stringcncy asserted itself
as demands arose for capital needed
in legitimate business. The rates for
call money jumped to eight and one
half per cent, to 10 per cent, and
finally one day they advanced to the
stupendous figure of 1875 per cent
That meant that the broker was ask
ed to pay an interest rate of $1.25 on
every $1.00 that he was borrowing
from his bank This was more than
the traffic could bear. The brokers'
could not pay off their loans. The
banks began to throw the stock COL
lateral upon the market for any price
it might bring, and the Stock Ex-
change suddenly staggered under the
greatest break in prices it had sus-
tanned for many years.
Desperate scenes now took place in
the private Offices of great banking
houses. White-haired brokers wept
and pleaded with bankers not to sell
out their loans. For in the demoraliZ.
ed Street, the first blow fell upon the
commission men who had been gamb-
ling in copper shares. Their firms
went dow Mike houses of cards. The
Mercantile Trust Company, which had
financed them, became embarrassed.
The public, calmed by reassuring
statements, was as yet unsuspecting
The heads of the great National
banks alone knew the danger of the
situation. They held a secret meet
ing, at which they determined upon a
plan to save their institutions at the
cost of others, and sustain the corner
in Tennessee Coal & Iron stock, from
which the banking leaders hoped to
profit.
In great cities, when a fire gets be-
yond control, it is the custom Of fire
men to bomb the intervening buildings
with dynamite to stop the progress of
the flames. The National banks that
controlled the destinies of Wall Street
decided upon a similar step. They
planned that the force of the panic
should be directed against the trust
companies, which in those days were
not members of the New York Clear
ing House.
After banking hours that day, one
OF the largest National banks an
nounccd that it would refuse to clear
for the Knickcrbockcr Trust Company.
On the following morning there en-
sued run on the Knickcrbocker
Trust, after paying out $8,OOO,O0O,
closed its doors. The day before, it's
stock had been selling at $1,000 - -
share. This day it's shares were not
worth a dollar. It's president, Charles
L. Barney, at once resigned. This i'm
mense failure shocked tie world. IT.
even became feature Of ribaldry in
London music halls.
Punish Another, Save Selves
Mr.. Barney was q Sybarite. He
had loved the beautiful things in life.
ne was never accused Of wrongdoinp.
but he had made the mistake of haV-
ing associated himself with one of the
speculative groups. Only short time
before this, Mr.. Barney had shown
me some Of the treasures which he
had gathered in his splendid home.
In his foyer was an antique Venetian
ceiling A green stone niantel, which
ne had imported from Italy, filled
nearly the entire length of his great
dining room. Two weeks after the
bombing Of his trust company, the
banker was found lying dead beside
this marvel Of Italian Renaissance of
the thirteenth century, revolver in
his hand and bullet in his brain.
On the day when the Knickerbocker
Trust closed its doors, Wall Street
was filled with direful rumors. That
night, the leaders Of the Street held a
meeting uptown in a private bankers
library. The panic was still out Of
hand. They feared that there would
be runs on al their banks next morn
ing. All this while the newspapers
had been true to the best traditions.
Ihey still treasured the public, and
rcfraincd from mentioning the name
OF single institution against which a
run might be precipitatcd.
But the suave and polished gentle
men who rule Wall Street can show
themselves to be as hard and cruel as
the Scaly monsters Of tho Sorr;on