Year: 1872

TUESDAY, Sept. If NJ


On 'Change to-day nour was active and higher.
Wheat was irregular and mostly heavy. Cotton
closed quiet and steady. 1t remains to be seen
what will be the result in commercial circles of
the current


| EXTRAORDINARY SENSATION


in the Wall street markets, the development of
which transpired ut too late an hour to-day to
have an effect upon trade The Erie ''corner,"
with which public attention was occupied since
Friday last, has been followed and attended by
two other speculative d6nouements Of similar
character. While the people have been watch
ing with curious interest the great tripartite
conference at the capital Of Germany,
great triple "corner" has been preparing in
Wall street. the subjects embraced being
no less various than Erie Railway shares gold and
money, the progress of the corner" being in the
order specified. Indeed, it is now quite evident
that the "corner'' in Erie was the father OF the
corners in gold and in money, and begot the lat
ter, not as things usually are begotten, for love,
but for revenge. The speculation and the relations
of the parties interested in all this curious matter
make a combination and complication parallel to-
If not as ridiculous. as the famous


TRIANGULAR DUEL


of Midshipman Easy At least the position OF the
several parties whose conflicting views of the mar
ket led to their antagonism has placed them each at
the three points of a triangle, the one Operat-
Ing against the other in about as original
field OF combat as Wall street In its diversified
history has ever seen. The beginning of this re-
markable situation OF affairs dates back to the lat
rpart of last week, when pool Exchange place
10 cked up all the certificates of Eric stock which
they owned and could control precipitating "cor-
ner' that has proved a most costly one to the
operators for q decline. 1t is q sort OF tradition in
Wall street that the great scarcity Of q stock is
indication OF the elimination Of its price in
the market. Hence Erie grew scarcer day by day
despite the heavy closing OF ''short' contracts by
parties unwilling to pay the rates for borrowing,
the places OF whom were Immediately and more
than filed by the hosts of professionals who acted
the theory OF speculation referred to. As If to
justify the reputation OF Wall street for the


FICKLENEss OF FORTUNE


therein the rule didn't work this year, doubtless
because, like every good rule it has its exception,
and the exception happened just at this time. The
immense dividends which Erie thus paying
its owners, averaging about fifty dollars day to
each possessor Of a hundred shares, tempted the
venerable Daniel Drew, who is always on the look
out for dividend-paying investments, and has Sc
cured quite numGer of them, such as Wabash,
Canton and Quicksilver. lie became purchaser
TO the extent OF many thousand shecrs" but
whether con- ointy with the original pool or inde-
pendently OF them is not very clear This point is
not OF Importance, however, differ as opinion may
to whether the pool unloaded on Mr.. Drew or
struck hands with him for a further earning OF
these very remunerative dividends. The street is
rather inclined to the belief that


DANIEL DREW


now sustans the Erie "corner'' all alone; but 1t
Is hardly probable that the pool had time to trans
fer their enormous holdings so soon, even II dis
posed TO abandon their speculation. Now Mr..
Drew In all this prepared for himself sea OF trou
ble, at the same time that he had been cogitatlng
the extraction OF further dividends from his Erie
shares, the money to pay which was to come, not
from the traffic of the road, but from the hard
earned savings OF the Industrious operators who
had been selling the stock Short To buy so much
Erie as was requisite to keep up the 'corner" IL
was necessary TO have money. Now Mr.. Drew Is a
very rich man, but his wealth is not always readily
convertible into cash. and good deal OF


TIE LOOSE CHANGE


which he habitually carries about with him in wall
street has been locked up In his iavorite Wabash,
Canton and quicksilver. To pay Tor his newly
bought Erie he had, OF course, 10 borrow money
and it was the demand from him On Monday that
caused the sudden advance In the rate for loans on
that day. 1t may seem curious tnat he should have
20 borrow money upon stock which was lending
not only free OF interest, but was worth something
Tor use; and the explanation is that TO make the
stock scarce enough to maintain the corner lie lad
TO lock up and put away and sink money Ia two
thirds Of the stock which he bought. Meantime
another operator OF rising fame, whose history and
whose exploits in the market so back to the early
days Of


THE OLD ERIE FOOL,


aud whose career has been more brilliantly sue
ccssfu as a leader of the great reaction in stocks
following the depression caused by tho Chicago
panic had been looking about for speculation
after period OF nertness and complaccnt repose
upon the fence. He had been bung gold all sum-
mer anI hal got 1t as high as ll5H, when lie found
tic fates agaiust him In tho unirsually low rates
for foreign exchange and the exceeding folly OF
Europeans In continuing TO buy our government
and railroad bonds. lie did the philosophical
thing, and qui.tly sold out before his conreres in
the movement knew OF the change In his sent-
nents. Cold fell TO l12h, illustrating the sagacity
which caused him TO change his views OF the mar