WALL STREET CRISIS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11109, 25 October 1907, Page 5

WALL STREET CRISIS.

TROUBLES OF WESTINGHOUSE COMPANIES. RUN ON TRUST COMPANY. (Press Assn. — By Telegraph — Copyright) NEW YORK, Oct. 24. At the instance of the. Clearing House Committee, the Pittsburg Stock Exchange temporarily closed, leading- to immediate depression on the New York Exchange. Westinghouse Electric Company's shares, are selling down to 42, representing a drop of 37|. General electric shares declined 13£ pointe. The United! States Circuit Court, at Pittsburg, m the afternoon, appointed a receiver for the Westinghouse Electric and Westinghouse Machine Companies; and a surety m the Investment Company. Mr Oortelyou, Secretary of Treasury, substantially assisted the Pittsburg banks. His further deposit of two million sterling m New York banks produced a better tone m Wall street. The difficulties at Pittsburg willnot affect the Westinghouse Air Brake and Union Switches and Signal Companies, nor George Westinghouse's personal affairs. The Westinghouse. troubles are due wholly to monetary conditions, not to lack of businesSi as most of the concerns are solvent. . The only further run at New York reported/ is on the Trust Company of America, holding ten million sterling deposits and £2,400,000 besides. All day it withstood the run, paying out £2,400,000. (Received October 25, 10.25 a.m.) Mr Cortelyou declared that the national banks of New' York were m an exceptionally strong position. He expects the movement already initiated among banking and trust companies for similar concerted action and stricter supervision will have a healthful and f ar-reachine effect. ' ° An enormous spectacular display of wealth, including a pile of £2,205,000 worth of "bills and notes m the teller's possession, .failed to stop a run on the Trust Company o f America. ; The directors mingled with ,the panic-stricken depositors, and fruitlessly remonstrated with them 041 their cowardice. , ' Leading financiers met Mr Pierpbnt Morgan, and decided to take concerted measures with Mr Cortelyou to re-estab-lish confidence m Wall 6treet. Sympathisers state that the furious attack made by Mr Turnbull, vice-president of the Knickerbocker Trust, against President Roosevelt precipitated the panic. The public and newspapers do not attribute the mischief to President Roosevelt. ■ Mr Oortelyou, interviewed, said : "I will do m the largest way whatever is necessary to afford relief. I have deposited twenty-five million , dollars of Treasury funds with the banks." Mr Rockefeller is* lending immense sums. , ■ WELLINGTON, this day. The Bank of New Zealand has received a cable from its London office that London is not affected to any extent up to the present by the troubles' of New York. . j ' :'=■■■

On August 31 there were 6582 national banks- m the United States, with a combined capital of £184/516,934, or an average of £24,474 per bank. Their note circulation was £123,227.489, of which £114,101,221 was secured by the deposit of Government bonds m the Treasury* and* the balance by the deposit of money. As compared with Mardh 14, 1900, when the law was passed authorising the organisation jof national banks with only £5000'capital, 2965 additional banks 'have been established, a large number of them with only the minimum legal ' capital. But the necessity of placing so much money m Government . bonds, tends to compel them *to exercise care m their business operations, and thece are other provisons m the law which restricts the gambling element. These innumerable small financial institutions' are a drawback, but such as tlley are they appear to be run on fairly safe lines. According to the Scotsman, the Govern, ment some time ago intimated to Wall Street that it was prepared to deposit m tho banks 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 dollars, on condition that ''speculation -is not allowed to run riot in ' the meantime." The Scotsman condemns the Treasmy's tendency to "m. some way or other play a prominent part m the gambling operations" on Wall Street. The Financial Chronicle of September 7 shows that Knickerbocker Trust stocks were quoted at buyers' 1175 dollars, sellers 1200 dollars. The President's present utterance recalls his statements at Indianapolis— where he repudiated any attack on "honest wealth" — and at Keokuk, where he admitted that his attitude towards trusts had been a contributory cause of the recent financial weakness, ■ but said that this fact must? be accepted as a disagree^ able yet unavoidable feature of his policy.