CHAPTER XLVI.AN IMPORTANT SYNOPSIS.
A Resume in Brief of the Leading Events Connected with Wall Street Affairs for Seventy-seven Years.
December, 1816.—The first savings banks in the United States went into operation.
July, 1820.—Great financial distress throughout America. The causes were excessive importations and a deranged currency.
August, 1833.—There was great commercial distress, caused by contraction by the United States Bank. The bank defended its course on the ground of the evident hostilities of the Administration, the public deposits, amounting to $10,000,000, having been withdrawn by order of the President.
May, 1837.—In this year commercial distress prevailed throughout the United States. On May 10th all the banks in New York city, by common consent, suspended specie payments, banks throughout the country following the example. In New York about 300 large failures took place. In Boston 168 failures were reported. In New Orleans houses stopped payment owing an aggregate of $27,000,000.
May, 1838.—The banks of New York and New England resumed payment after the suspension due to the panic of 1837. The Philadelphia banks resumed in August, 1838, and in January, 1839, there was nominal resumption throughout the country.
July, 1840.—The bill organizing the United States Sub-Treasury became a law. The act was repealed in 1841, but was re-enacted in 1846.
October, 1842.—The first sub-marine telegraph cable, the invention of Prof. Morse, was laid between Governors’ Island and the Battery, New York, October 18th.
January, 1844.—The first telegraph line in the United States was erected. The telegraph was invented by Morse in 1837.
August, 1851.—The depression of this year reached its height on the 13th. A bad credit system had been in vogue, trade with California had not met expectations, imports had been large, exports of gold heavy, cotton declined in Europe, the banks contracted, property was sacrificed to raise ready money, mercantile credit was disturbed everywhere, and distress was general in all the cities. In Wall Street large blocks of stock were unloaded and the market was broken. Erie went from 90 to 68¾. Later in the month money became easier, prices advanced, and the market resumed its ordinary aspect.
October, 1851.—Panic regarding the value of State money. The Metropolitan Bank made war on the country banks to compel them to deposit with it against their notes, which were extensively circulated in the city. After receiving their bills the Metropolitan Bank demanded their redemption in specie. This led to many suspensions. The bills were well secured by State stocks, and the Metropolitan continued to receive them. As brokers refused to take State moneys of any kind there was a rush to the Metropolitan, and a panic prevailed. Ultimately the brokers bought the bills at a discount and made large profits. Their purchases gradually restored confidence, but not before four country banks had failed.
July, 1853.—A panic in the stock market in consequence of bank contraction. The State Legislature enacted that the banks should publish weekly, in the New YorkTimes, statements of their condition. In preparing for this statement the banks called in a large portion of their loans, andran after each other for specie. The panic was of short duration.
October, 1853.—Simeon Draper, a railroad banker, failed.—Stocks were depressed on the 19th, in consequence of bank contraction. There were several failures.
January, 1854..—California defaulted in its interest on the 1st, and there was much alarm in financial circles in consequence.
February, 1854.—Heavy failures in California.
May, 1854.—The New York, Newfoundland & London Telegraph Company was organized, and was the first company to attempt Atlantic cable telegraphy.
July, 1854.—Robert Schuyler, President of the New York & New Haven Railroad Company, fraudulently issued nearly $2,000,000 stock of the company. About the same time fraudulent entries, made by Secretary Kyle, were discovered in the stock ledger of the Harlem Company, amounting to about $470,000. Frauds were also discovered in the affairs of the Parker Vein and the Vermont Central railway companies. In consequence there was a rapid decline in the stock market, and many suspensions occurred in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
September, 1854.—A severe twist in Erie stock on the 13th.
October, 1854.—Frauds on the Ocean, American Exchange and National banks were discovered.
December, 1854.—There was a severe run on the savings banks of the city of New York on the 9th.
September, 1855.—A financial panic in San Francisco and many failures of prominent bankers.
September, 1856.—Charles B. Huntington committed forgeries amounting to $15,000,000 or $20,000,000. The forgeries were used as collateral security for raising money, and for a time were taken up before maturity.
April, 1857.—Freight-train men on the Baltimore & Ohio struck. Trains were molested and many fights occurred. The military were called out and a desperate fight ensued, in which many were killed and wounded.
August, 1857.—The financial panic of this year began on the failure of the Ohio Trust Company, with liabilities about $7,000,000. Banks either failed or suspended specie payments everywhere. The New York banks resumed in December. Business was generally prostrated until the following spring, when improvement became perceptible.
July, 1860.—Congress authorized a war loan of $250,000,000. The National debt was $64,640,838.11. It reached $2,756,431,571, its greatest point, in 1885.
August, 1860.—Treasury notes to the amount of $50,000,000 were authorized by Congress.—The first well ever sunk for oil, and the first petroleum ever obtained by boring. The well was at Titusville, Oil Creek, Pa. It gave 1,000 barrels a day. This was the beginning of the petroleum business.
December, 1860.—The Southern banks suspended specie payment on the 12th.
April, 1861.—The lowest price at which United States bonds sold during the war was 75 for the 5s of 1874, quoted in this month.
December, 1861.—The National Bank system was recommended by Secretary Chase.—A premium for gold was quoted at the New York Stock Exchange for the first time, on the 30th.
April, 1862.—Gold was first quoted at a premium on the 12th, and by October 1 it had advanced to 123.
February, 1864.—Speculation in stocks was “rampant” and “wild.”
March, 1864.—There was a panic in the coal stocks on the 10th.—The month was noted for a rapid rise in gold.
April, 1864.—A semi-panic in Wall Street on the 18th.
June, 1864.—National currency to the amount of $300,000,000 was authorized by Congress. The full amount was issued before the close of 1867.
August, 1864.—Gold touched 261¾, its highest point.
July, 1865.—The Stock Exchange made a rule inflicting a penalty on members who attended Gallaher’s up-town night Exchange.
August, 1865.—Edward B. Ketchum, a junior partner in a prominent banking house in New York, forged gold certificates to the extent of $1,500,000, and they were negotiated at the banks. In addition he abstracted more than $3,000,000 from the vaults of the firm. The firm failed.
October, 1865.—Call loans were made as high a per cent. and a heavy commission added. Tight money checked a rise in stocks. Money was wanted in the West for the moving of crops. Relief came on the demand from the West subsiding, and by temporary loans from the Sub-Treasury to the banks.
November, 1865.—Prairie du Chien common stock was cornered. On the 6th 29,000 shares were bought at about 40. The trap being sprung 200 and more was demanded, and the shorts settled at rates ranging from 110 to 210. There were several failures. It opened on a Monday at 96; on Tuesday it ranged between 160 and 225, and closed on Saturday at 110.
December, 1865.—The new Stock Exchange building was opened for business on the 9th.
February, 1866.—Toward the close, on February 20th, everybody seemed to want to borrow money, and no one was willing to lend. The market verged on panic. People wereafraid of the course of the Government in selling upwards of $12,000,000 gold.
April, 1866.—Michigan Southern was cornered. The price rose from 84 to 104. The pool closed out and the price dropped to 80 within 24 hours. Other corners were made in the same month in Reading, Rock Island, Hudson River, Cleveland & Pittsburg and Northwestern preferred. Money was plentiful and speculation was rampant.
May, 1866.—The marketing of Erie stock by Daniel Drew caused a drop in its price from 74½ on May 18th to 60½ on May 31st. The movement had very little effect on the remainder of the market.
July, 1866.—A panic in stocks followed the failure of Overend, Gurney & Co., London bankers.
August, 1866.—London markets were first quoted by Atlantic cable in New York.
November, 1866.—There was heavy speculation in stocks, produce, dry goods and real estate. Poor men became rich by a single turn of the wheel. Unexpectedly the Treasury drew about $15,000,000 for its own purposes, money became tight and the bears became very active. Prices declined about 10 points, and outsiders lost upwards of $25,000,000.
December, 1866.—Northwestern preferred and Cumberland Coal were cornered.
January, 1867.—Prices broke on the 18th with a rush. Cumberland Coal declined 55 points, and the general list went off in sympathy. There were several failures. Money was tied up by bear operators.—President Yelverton, of the Bank of North America, on learning of the failure of A. J. Meyer & Co., the firm having overdrawn its account $219,000, was seized with apoplexy and died.
May, 1867.—A pool in Erie was broken by the sale of a large block of English stock.
October, 1867.—Daniel Drew was turned out of Erie, and the stock advanced 10 points.
December, 1867.—Vanderbilt secured control of New York Central.
January, 1868.—A corner in Rock Island was broken, owing to the company throwing 49,000 shares on the market. The stock declined heavily.
February, 1868.—The contest between Drew, Vanderbilt and Frank Worth was at its height.
April, 1868.—There was a break in Atlantic Mail, with subsequent complications.
June, 1868.—An unsuccessful attempt to corner Pacific Mail was made.
July, 1868.—Jay Gould became president of Erie.
October, 1868.—Money became stringent, owing to the withdrawal of funds from New York for the West. The associated banks lost $20,000,000 in deposits and $12,000,000 in legal tenders, with a reduction of only $9,000,000 in loans. Special efforts were made to break the stock market, but the bull leaders had provided themselves with time loans, running to the end of the year, and were thus enabled to hold prices.
November, 1868.—Erie was cornered, and a panic extending through the whole list occurred. It was helped by the inability of a leading operator, a director of St. Paul, to meet puts on that stock. The common and preferred fell about 20 points. Erie made an extraordinary issue of shares. Later on money became more plentiful, prices advanced and the market became very strong.
April, 1869.—A bill to consolidate the New York Central and the Hudson River railroad companies passed the Legislature.
May, 1869.—The New York Stock Exchange and the Open Board of Brokers were amalgamated under one management. The new Exchange began business with 1,030 members and $750,000 in its treasury.—The era of consolidations. Active stocks advanced to prices never before reached. New York Central sold at 192-5/8. A movement to depress prices at the close of the month met with some success.—The last rails of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were laid. Trains began running across the continent on the 15th.
June, 1869.—Many brokers failed, the result of a successful bear attack on the market.
July, 1869.—Heavy speculation in the Vanderbilt stocks. New York Central advanced to 217-7/8. Money was stringent.
September, 1869.—New York Central dropped 25 points on the 22d, and a panicky feeling was developed.—Gold reached 165 on Friday, the 24th—Black Friday. Transactions ran up into hundreds of millions, and business was conducted with so much confusion that bids running from 135 to 160 were made at one and the same time in different parts of the room. Between 11 and 12 o’clock the shorts settled on a basis of 148@158, the market price being 5@15 higher. At noon it was officially announced that the Government would sell gold next day and buy bonds, and within 15 minutes the price had fallen to 135, and the great speculation had collapsed.
April, 1870.—The cliques who had bought stocks on the decline after Black Friday, started an upward movement in the last week of the month. The public came in and top figures were reached about May 10. The cliques unloaded, turned bears, depressed prices until margins were wipedout, bought in again at the decline and were ready for another advance.
May, 1870.—The process of “shearing the lambs” was repeated in this month.
June, 1870.—James Boyd, carrying 40,000 shares of stock and $5,000,000 gold, failed. The market showed signs of breaking, but was sustained by the cliques.
July, 1870.—Congress authorized an addition of $54,000,000 to the national currency.
January, 1871.—A prominent operator repudiated his orders to buy Reading. Several brokers failed in consequence. The market was only slightly depressed.
April, 1871.—There was much speculative excitement in the stock market.
June, 1871.—Rock Island was cornered. The pool began buying at 114½ and advanced it to 130-7/8. On liquidation the stock declined to 110. Many failures occurred and bad faith was charged.
October, 1871.—The week beginning October 9, 1871, was one of the most eventful in the history of the Stock Exchange. The banks had expanded beyond precedent and were compelled to contract loans to raise money for crop purposes. The payment by France to Germany in settlement of war claims caused the Bank of England rate to advance from 3 to 5 per cent., and produced a feeling bordering on panic in London. The New York market was very sensitive when news of the Chicago fire came. Prices broke 4@10 points. On Tuesday there was great excitement; sales were enormous and fluctuations wide. On Wednesday there was a rally on the belief that the Government would purchase 5-20s. The lowest prices, however, were made on Thursday. On Friday there was more steadinessand prices were higher. The bank statement was favorable and matters quieted down.
December, 1871.—The Ocean National Bank, the Union Square and the Eighth National Bank failed. Money was scarce, but stocks were firmly held. Operators and brokers were loaded up with stocks and they sustained prices, awaiting an opportunity to get out.
March, 1872.—The Erie revolution occurred. The Board of Directors was overthrown, and Jay Gould resigned the presidency. Gen. Dix became his successor. The operation caused great activity in the stock market, and money became tight.
June, 1872.—Stock dividends on Lake Shore and Michigan Central were declared.
August, 1872.—Gold was cliqued.
September, 1872.—Erie was cornered. The Gould-Smith clique was short of it. The stock first became scarce on purchases by German brokers for foreign account. Then Drew became a heavy purchaser. At the same time the German brokers were long of gold, and with the double idea of punishing them and compelling those carrying Erie to sell out the Gould-Smith clique endeavored to lock up money. This plan was defeated by the refusal of two banks to pay out legal tenders on certified checks. Just then, too, the Government bought $5,000,000 bonds and sold the same amount of gold. This completely broke the speculative manipulation of money, and a panic was averted. During the height of the panic there were no quotations for money. Among the failures of the week were Northrup, Chick & Co., bankers, the Glenham Woolen Manufacturing Co., Paton & Co., dry goods, George Bird, Grinnell & Co., stock brokers, Hoyt, Sprague & Co. and A. & W. Sprague. The banks suspended their weekly statements, and they were not resumed until late in November.
November, 1872.—Jay Gould was arrested on criminal charges based on his management of the Erie Railroad. He surrendered securities, the face value of which was more than $9,000,000, in December.—Northwestern was cornered. It opened Nov. 20 at 83¾ and closed at 95. On Thursday it sold at 100, and at the close on Friday 200 was bid. On Saturday buying in under the rule ran the price up to 230. The settlement was made on the following Tuesday, when the price declined to par, the highest bid made being 85. Jay Gould, Horace F. Clark and Augustus Schell conducted the corner, while the cornered were Drew and Henry N. Smith. It was one of the most profitable corners ever made in Wall Street.
February, 1873.—There was a noted corner in Northwestern.
April, 1873.—The preliminary panic of the year occurred in this month. The stock market was uneasy. The failure of a firm of silk importers was followed by that of Barker & Allen, the members of which were related to Vanderbilt. Three other firms also failed. Confidence returned and quiet prevailed until the 26th, when the Atlantic Bank failed. This brought about another depression, which was followed by a quick rally.
May, 1873.—Heavy break in Pacific Mail. The further retirement of greenbacks was prohibited by Congress.
August, 1873.—Fraud was discovered in the issue of certain bonds of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.
September, 1873.—The New York Warehouse & Security Company failed on the 8th; Kenyon, Cox & Co., in which Daniel Drew was a special partner, on the 13th; Jay Cooke & Co. on the 18th, and Fisk & Hatch on the 19th. Innumerable brokers failed. There were runs on the FourthNational Bank and the Union Trust Company. The secretary of the company was a defaulter to the extent of $500,000, and its doors were closed. The Bank of the Commonwealth failed. There was a panic in the stock market, and the excitement ran so high that the Governing Committee closed the Exchange at 11 o’clock on Saturday, the 20th. The Gold Exchange Bank was unable to effect all the clearances, and dealers were unable to get their balances. The result was the temporary suspension of some dozen firms. The Gold Exchange Bank having been enjoined by the courts from making the clearances, the Bank of New York undertook the job and failed in it. Next a committee of 20 was appointed to do the work, but it failed also, because Smith, Gould & Martin refused to render a statement to it. The final settlements were made between members themselves. Smith, Gould & Martin, with contracts amounting to $9,000,000, settled on a basis of 135. Business was resumed on Sept. 30.
December, 1873.—The Credit Mobilier was organized for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. It was composed of stockholders of the railway company, and had a capital of $3,750,000. Profits were large, and the stock was quoted at 400. Certain Congressmen were given stock at par on their personal notes, the object being to gain their favor in case adverse legislation was proposed. Oakes Ames, of Massachusetts, was expelled from the House for his connection with the bribery, and James Brooks, of New York, for accepting bribes. Other Congressmen were censured. A proposition to impeach Vice-President Colfax was reported against by the Judiciary Committee.
January, 1874.—The value of the pound sterling was fixed by Congress at $4.86.65.
February, 1874.—Two letters, purporting to come from the Wabash and Western Union companies, were receivedby the Stock Exchange, announcing an increase of stock by the directors. The market went off three points before it was discovered that the letters were forgeries.
April, 1874.—The President’s veto of the inflation bill unsettled prices and caused depression. The bears raided the market, causing a heavy decline, but a quick recovery followed.
February, 1875.—Wabash went in the hands of a receiver.
May, 1875.—A receiver for Erie was appointed.
July, 1875.—Duncan, Sherman & Co. failed.
August, 1875.—The Bank of California failed. Cashier Ralston committed suicide.
March, 1876.—Jay Gould made his famous attack on Western Union.
April, 1876.—The National Bank of the State of New York failed.
November, 1876.—Many savings banks failed.
January, 1877.—Commodore Vanderbilt died on the 4th.
February, 1877.—Jersey Central went into the hands of a receiver.
July, 1877.—Great railway strikes; rioting and incendiarism in Baltimore and Pittsburgh; losses $10,000,000. Over 100,000 laboring men took part in the movement.
January, 1878.—The Vanderbilt combination, including Michigan Central, Lake Shore and Canada Southern, was made in this month.
February, 1878.—The purchase of silver bullion by the Government to the amount of $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 per month, and its coinage into legal tender dollars, was ordered by Congress on the 28th.
May, 1878.—Congress passed the Resumption Act.
January, 1879.—Specie payments were resumed after the suspension which took place soon after the opening of the war of the rebellion.
April, 1879.—Gould and Field combined, and under their auspices the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern and Wabash Railways were consolidated. Gould already had control of Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific, and afterward secured control of Missouri Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande.
June, 1879.—Western Union declared a scrip dividend of 17 per cent.
August, 1879.—There was a serious tumble in prices in this month.
October, 1879.—The stock market was very active in October and November. The bull movement of the year was at its height and transactions were so numerous that it was impossible to record them all. The drop came in November.
November, 1879.—William H. Vanderbilt sold 250,000 shares of New York Central & Hudson River stock at 120 to a syndicate headed by J. S. Morgan & Co., of London. Early in the following year the same syndicate took 100,000 shares on the same terms.
May, 1880.—Philadelphia & Reading Railway and Coal and Iron Company failed. There was a flurry in the stock market in consequence.
June, 1880.—A scrip dividend of 100 per cent. to the holders of Rock Island stock on the purchase and consolidation of the Iowa Southern and the Missouri Northern with Rock Island.—A leading German Wall Street banking house, in view of the large exports of gold, offered a premium of 1/2 of 1 per cent. for a call on $1,000,000 gold, the privilege to extend for one year.
November, 1880.—The Louisville & Nashville declared a 100 per cent. stock dividend.—Western Union declined from104-7/8, on November 22d, to 77½ on December 17th.—Jay Gould purchased most of the stock of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad, in the following month a large block of Iron Mountain and a majority of the International & Great Northern.
December, 1880.—Seats in the New York Stock Exchange sold at $25,000. A great number of new securities were listed. So numerous were the combinations, consolidations and extensions of railways that in many cases the analogy with former periods was lost, and comparisons as to earnings were of little value. In 1886 seats in the Exchange sold at $35,000. In December, 1870, when speculation was stagnant and the market was clear of all outsiders, seats sold at $3,000.—B. G. Arnold & Co., the largest coffee importing house of New York, suspended. They were the principals in a combination to corner Java coffee, and met disaster in the attempt.
January, 1881.—Western Union, American Union and Atlantic & Pacific consolidated. The former company declared a stock dividend of 38¼ per cent. The capital stock was made $80,000,000.
February, 1881.—Call loans were made at 1 per cent. per day on the 25th.
May, 1881.—The Gould southwestern railway system was consolidated.
July, 1881.—President Garfield was shot by Guiteau. The stock market broke on the news of the shooting, and a panic was only prevented by the intervention of Sunday and the National holiday on Monday.—The Oregon war debt was paid.
August, 1881.—There was heavy speculation in wheat and corn in Chicago and New York. Money became scarce, and call loans were made at interest and commission.
September, 1881.—The Hannibal & St. Joseph corner.
January, 1882.—The trunk line railway war of rates was settled.—Gould and Huntington purchased a controlling interest in the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway and half the ownership of the Atlantic & Pacific Railway.
February, 1882.—The market showed some animation early in 1882, but it soon collapsed and became very weak. Bottom was touched on the 23d, the recovery being based on talk of a settlement of the then existing trunk line rate war.—Richmond & Danville plunged from 219 to 130 and a semi-panic ensued on the Stock Exchange.
March, 1882.—To allay reports that he was in financial straits, Mr. Gould, on the 13th, displayed his wealth. He took from a tin box $23,000,000 Western Union, $12,000,000 Missouri Pacific, $6,000,000 Manhattan Elevated, $2,000,000 Wabash common, and $10,000,000 bonds of Metropolitan, New York Elevated and Wabash preferred. He offered to show $30,000,000 additional railway stocks, but his visitors had seen enough.
October, 1882.—A syndicate headed by the late W. H. Vanderbilt purchased 124,800 shares of the common and 140,500 shares of the preferred stock of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway at 13 and 37 respectively. This stock afterwards became the property of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway.
December, 1882.—The Municipal Bank of Shopin, Russia, failed with liabilities of $60,000,000.—The railway war in the Northwest lasted from September until December 15. On the announcement of the settlement the market improved and the year closed with a better feeling all around.
February, 1883.—Western Union absorbed Mutual Union by lease, the rental being interest at 6 per cent. on $5,000,000 bonds and 6 per cent. on $2,500,000 stock.
March, 1883.—A block of Hannibal & St. Joseph stock was sold to Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. At the same time Wabash was leased to Iron Mountain.—From the 19th until the close of the month there was great depression. Money on call loaned at 4@25 per cent. The public was heavily loaded with stocks.
May, 1883.—Jersey Central was leased to Reading.
June, 1883.—The National Petroleum Exchange and the New York Mining Stock Exchange consolidated.—McGeoch, Everingham & Co., of Chicago, failed in consequence of an unsuccessful attempt to corner the lard market. The firm lost $6,000,000.—The movement against the circulation of trade dollars at par was begun in Philadelphia and extended throughout the country.
July, 1883.—Western Union Telegraph operators struck for increased pay. The strike lasted a month and ended in failure.
October, 1883.—A notable feature of 1883 was the gigantic losses made in speculative operations. The failures of McGeoch, of Chicago, and Ranger, of Liverpool, were notorious instances, but thousands of private individuals were squeezed out by the pressure.—In the summer and fall of this year there had been a shrinkage in prices of stocks, when, in October, the Northern Pacific Company announced a proposed issue of $20,000,000 new bonds. This precipitated a heavy decline in nearly the whole list. The market became largely oversold, when a sharp twist was made in a number of stocks, and prices advanced with great rapidity. Northern Pacific preferred jumped from 56 to 78½ within a few days, and Oregon & Transcontinental went from 34½ to 51. Then Vanderbilt came into the market and put up Michigan Central from 77 to 96½, and the other Vanderbilt stocks to a less extent. Great depression followed this manipulation.
December, 1883.—The mercantile failures in 1883 amounted to $173,000,000, against $81,000,000 in 1881.—The triple alliance between Union Pacific, Rock Island and St. Paul was made.—Villard resigned from Oregon & Transcontinental and Oregon Railway & Navigation.
January, 1884.—Firmness in the market on the announcement that a syndicate had made a large loan to Oregon & Transcontinental on the pledge of its stocks. A quick move against the shorts caused a sharp advance.—Henry Villard resigned the presidency of the Northern Pacific Railroad.—John J. Cisco & Co., New York bankers, failed.—The surplus reserve of the New York National banks was wiped out.—James R. Keene, operator in wheat, failed.
March, 1884.—There was a squeeze in New York Central. It sold up to 122.—Delaware, Lackawanna & Western was cornered, and its price was run up to 133-1/8 regular and 139½ cash. S. V. White managed the pool. Another move in the same stock was made later in the year. The pool closed out at an average of 102. Then the stock dropped to 86¾.
May 6, 1884.—The Marine Bank failed May 6th, wrecked by Grant & Ward. Grant & Ward suspended two days later.,
May, 1884.—During the panic the New York banks issued Clearing House certificates to the extent of $24,915,000, of which $7,000,000 went to the Metropolitan Bank. Similar certificates, to the amount of $26,565,000, were issued in the panic of 1873.—The height of the panic was reached on the 14th. The storm had been brewing for nearly three years, but it was in no sense a commercial panic. Stock Exchange values had shrunk to an unparalleled degree, and the crash was precipitated by the developments regarding Grant & Ward, John C. Eno, Fish, of the Marine Bank, and a few others. The disturbance was over by July 1.—The Metropolitan Bank failed. Eno’s frauds on the SecondNational Bank discovered. George I. Seney failed. The Atlantic Bank failed.
June, 1884.—The greatest depression following the May panic was reached. Large overselling led to a sharp rally.—Charles Francis Adams, Jr., became president of the Union Pacific.
August, 1884.—The Wall Street Bank failed.
November, 1884.—The Metropolitan Bank, on May 15th had $11,294,000 in deposits; on October 1st $1,338,000, and in November it went into liquidation and retired from business.
December, 1884.—The Lackawanna pool of 1884 closed out its holdings on the 12th, and there being no further support to the market prices declined, and the year closed with much depression.—The largest corn crop ever grown in the United States was that of 1884. It was estimated at 1,800,000,000 bushels.
January, 1885.—Henry N. Smith, a noted bear operator, failed, and carried down with him the brokerage firm of William Heath & Co.
November, 1885.—The trunk lines came to an agreement and advanced rates. This gave confidence, and an upward movement was started. The Vanderbilts and the Grangers were the features of the market.
December, 1885.—Texas Pacific stock collapsed. A receiver was appointed for the property on the suit of the Missouri Pacific, a large holder of its floating debt.—William H. Vanderbilt died suddenly on the 8th. The fact was not known down town until after business hours, but it had a very unsettling influence. The next morning the market opened 1@3 points lower, but the bulls had combined to support prices, and bought freely. In many instances prices were higher at the close than on the previous day.
February, 1886.—The trans-continental pool was ruptured. The railroads declined to continue to pay the subsidy demanded by Pacific Mail.
March, 1886.—Western Union declared a scrip dividend of 1½ per cent. for the quarter. The scrip was made convertible into stock, and carried the same rate of interest as the stock.—The representatives of the coal companies met at a dinner party and reached “an agreement among gentlemen” that the anthracite coal production for the year should not exceed 33,250,000 tons.—F. B. Gowen joined the Drexel-Morgan syndicate for the reorganization of Reading. The announcement caused a rapid advance in all coal stocks.—The great strike on the Gould system of railroads, inaugurated on the 7th, failed.—Heavy engagements of gold for shipment abroad were made.
April, 1886.—Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific were sold in foreclosure.—Labor strikes at their height. The Lake Shore switchmen struck in Chicago, and the Third Avenue horse car drivers in New York. The troubles had a depressing influence on the stock market.
May, 1886.—Charles Woerishoffer, bear operator, died May 9.—Chicago anarchists attacked the police with bombs, killing and wounding many. Police used revolvers freely and many rioters fell. Anarchists were sentenced to death.—The strike on the Southwestern system was officially declared off on the 1st. The men were completely beaten after a contest of six weeks.—Tasker Marvin, bull operator, failed. Marketing of long stock caused decline. The depression was aided by existing labor troubles.
June, 1886.—Western Union passed its dividend.
November, 1886.—The managers of the trunk lines reaffirmed the presidents’ agreement of the previous year to maintain rates.—Richmond & West Point Terminal became very active and strong on the purchase by the company of thecontrol of Richmond & Danville.—There were extraordinary buoyancy and speculative activity in stocks. Low priced non-dividend payers were largely dealt in. One specialty after another was “boomed,” and in some instances large profits were made.
December, 1886.—About $10,740,000 in gold was imported at New York during the month.—Prices toppled over on the 15th. All kinds of cheap stocks had been boomed by cliques, when, on money becoming tight, there was a rush to realize. Sales reached the unprecedented figure of 1,095,159 shares. The most conspicuous stocks in the decline were Philadelphia & Reading and New York & New England. No financial disaster or failure of importance occurred. There was much uneasiness for several days, but a better feeling soon set in, although speculation was checked by the prevailing high rate for money.—The Inter-State Commerce bill was introduced in Congress.
January, 1887.—On a report that Hocking Valley had suffered by irregularities of former directors, stock broke 1½ points. The consumption of iron in the United States exceeded that of Great Britain for the first time in 1886. The Inter-State Commerce Bill was passed by the House Jan. 21, by a vote of 5 to 1. European war rumors caused foreign selling and a break in the market of 2 to 5 points. There was a complete recovery on the following day.