Year: 1872

up efforts of the gold clique.


THE NORTHWESTERN CORNER"


The great feature of the day was reserved for
development In the stock market, however
zealOusly the Gold Room had already bid for excel
lence In the creation Of a sensation. The reader
who has got thus far in the money article would do
we'll at this stage OF record to peruse the adjon-
ing narrative OF the legal proceedings in connection
with the arrest Of Jay Gould, on which incident
hinged the more important events of the stock
market. He will be able by doing to underst tand
more readily the influence which this circum-
stance exerted upon the OF speculation dur
ing the day. The early tone Of the market was
rather indifferent II we except the dealings In
Erie in which stock there was further prosecution
OF the speculation the part of Mr.. Drew and his
friends, and an advance to 5714, although the Lon
don price still came only 52ls 52A. Sellers op.
tions of fifteen days were offered at SO, showing
disposition to sell for English account. The rise in
Erie led to great


DIVERSITY or OPINIONS


and snrmises, and some Of the onlookers at the
telegraph tape were even sagacious enough to be-
lieve rumor that the new lever in the Erie rise
was Jay Gould himself, although the movements OF
Daniel Drew were largely intended to ensnarc the
supposed short" ventures in Erie OF that operator
as partial satisfaction for the losses the
more venerable of the two SPECTATORS had suffered
by the corner In Northwestern. The general
market was weaker in face of the example of Erie,
and slowly declined under the pressure of the
strngency in the money market, the removal
of which later on failed to exert its nat
ural influence and produce the usual reaction,
because OF fear that the trouble in which the
Northwestern speculation had involved so many Of
the street would invite panic II not a .'break' In
the rest OF the list. The prevalence of this feeling
a n fhp Iat ttara
treme occurring in the case OF Pacific Mail, while
the


DECENTRALIZATION OF THE "BEAss'


in Northwestern was reflected in decline OF Erie
to 54a. Meantime Northwestern had opened weak
at 81 0S, and on q light business had de-
clined to 95 at which the pool fixed
their limit OF purchases and took all that
was offered the sales for cash forming quite
an item of the days transactions at this figure.
Sales OF odd lots were made at the same time at 92
a 9a, or two to three per cent below the market.
BY the time that money had shown some signs
OF relaxation the price had risen to 100n,
u higher than the highest point on Thurs
day, the buyers being parties who had taken the
chances Of speculative sale when the
voice of the street had been almost unanimous
agans. so dangerous procedure and were now
constrained by these fears to undo their venture
despite the wisdom OF the current admonition of
the market to ''sell stocks when they are hgh'-a
piece of advice the falibility of which will be long
remembered by


THE VICTIMS or THE ''CoRNER,"


and all the more poignantly because If anything
was high 1t was Northwestern at 100, which Is
about 90 per cent above the ordinary and average
market quotation OF the shares. Toward three
O'Clock the great rise began to manifest itself In
series OF such quotations as 101 1922 bid;
lo3, 1o4 and los following each other in rapid
succession on the telegraph tape, and drawing O
crowd OF brokers and spectators to the arena and
ratings OF the Stock Board. To the great mass OF
both brokers and dealers who thus 1ocked to the
Board, colliding with and intersectng each other
In the Railways and upon the street in their
passage to and from the Exchange, or as they
darted in or out OF its portals, tossing aside In
their mental abstraction the umbrellas so needed
to shield them from the falling torrents OF rain the
arrest OF Jay Gould was wholly unknown, the fact
not transpirng until quite near the hour for ad.
journment. The


PROGRESS OF THE RISE


was henceforward In geometrical rather than
arithmetical ratio. From 1O5 the price next leaped
to 108 and then to 106, small lot OF shares sell.
ing at 100 at the same time. The next sale was at
! 107 the next at 1857 and third at l0s, The
buyers now took all that was offered up TO l12 and
| then bid 120 for more. desperate 'bear''
grabbed hundred at 1875. The next sale was at
| 1870 and the succeeding one at $50. This brought
out some long stock and 0ccasoned relapse to
40. But the recovery to $50 was almost instanta.
neous the next sales being at 1885, 16o 1e1 165 and
! back to 100. Here there was o breathing spell oil
\ i've or ten minutes and the ''sh0rts" who hadn't
covered began to felicitate themselves that the
corner had eliminated. But their happiness
was brieflived. few omin0us sales at 165 began
to appear on the tape. Next It's was bid, and then
180 was offered. The last sale had been at 165.