The Hennessey Clipper. (Hennessey, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 9, 1905 Page: 2 of 8
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FROM HABERDASHERY
TO HIGH FINANCE.
Operations of Murvroe Brothers, the "Laun-
dry" Brokers In Wall Street.
BEGAN ON CAPITAL OF $1,600.00
Before Many Months the Two Young Men Were
Dealing in Millions and Hobnobbing With
Gotham's Most Influential! Men—
Their Dreams of Wealth
Rudely Shattered.
New York—"Failure in Wall Street." i had sold goods to the National City bank.
This is a headline that is often seen in With that reference there seemed to be
Gotham dailies, but it seldom creates I no doubt that the firm was financially
much comment. It only records the
fact that another firm has been caught
on the wrong side of the market and
forced to suspend.
But the bankruptcy proceedings re-
cently instituted against the Munroe
brothers rev a remarkable story of
the operations of two young men whose
only business experience before their
advent among bulls and bears had con-
sisted in the selling of collars and neck-
ties in a distant and virtually foreign
city, who came to New York with prac-
tically no capital and in the course of
a few months were dealing in millions
and negotiating with some of the most
Influential financiers of the "street,"
until the inevitable crash came.
They hobnobbed with millionaires
and some of the best men of themetrop-
good." The furniture concern sent up
$300 worth of goods, together with a
bill. Munroe & Munroe made a few
more purchases in the course of a week,
raining the bill to $uS9.
The bill wasn't paid in October. Still
the furniture man didn't think it worth
while to press such excellent cus-
tomers. In November a short and very
polite reminder was sent. No answer.
And still McIIugh & Co. were not wor-
ried until, on December 2, along came a
collector for another firm to whom they
were also indebted, who had heard that
McIIugh had trusted Munroe & Munroe;
also that things didn't look quite riuht.
He dropped in to give a friendly little
business tip.
Joseph McIIugh decided to brook the
possible wrath of the National City
The Beginning.
Until about four years ago, George
and Alexander Munroe kept a little
haberdashery shop in St. Catherines
street, Montreal. They were quite young
men and apparently devoted to their
business.
It was generally understood that they
received financial backing from J. N.
Greenshields, a prominent Canadian
broker of that city. George Munroe
married a sister of Greenshields and
through his influence the brothers were
introduced in good circles. There had
always been speculation as to whether
or not the haberdashery store prospered,
but one day it was announced that the
Munroes had sold the store. At this
time the mining craze was springing up
over the country, and the brothers went
down to the financial center of Montreal,
opened up an office and put out a sign,
"Munroe & Munroe, Mining Brokers."
Move to New York.
Although they dealt in a few stocks on
commission, it was generally conceded
that their chief business was the hand-
ling of mining stocks in which Green-
shields was interested. Even in the
mining business, however, they failed
to attract any attention in Montreal, and
not long afterward they came to New
York and established themselves on ,
Hroad street, in the very heart of the
financial district.
While in Montreal they had become
connected with the Marconi Wireless
Telegraphy company, of Canada, and, as
it was understood that the stock was
valuable, they began to advertise it ex-
tensively on their arrival here, and
worked up a wonderful trade among the
Italians, who were attracted in part.no
doubt, because of their kinship of na-
tionality with the inventor.
Meantime the Munroes had also be-
come interested in the Montreal &
Boston Consolidated Copper company,
which is at the bottom of the present
value of five dollars a share, and a con-
tract was entered into by which the per-
sons who were to underwrite it were
to get the stock at one dollar per share
Various persons went into the syndi-
cate, with the provision that they were
to take or underwrite a certain number
of shares, paying one dollar per share,
20 per cent, of the purchase price, at
the outset and the balance within cer-
tain specified times.
The understanding was, however,
that those w ho had underwritten the
stock w ould not pay the one-dollar price
unless the money became necessary for
the development of the mining property,
the promotion of stock sales, and so on.
That is, while they agreed to pay a cer-
tain amount should the exigency arise, if
it did not arise they would be so much
more "to the good."
30 >3 non
A
-cvr*
\ ZWHTH
5, XT WP
A'0JP6S SHOW
A
/TMUW.'S W£/?£
HHYY BUYERS
Of /WtfCOA//
wmiess
;
m
BORRO WED
S60.000 /7/V? r/Af£
bank and sent a collector down to Mun- .
roe & Munroe. "Why, certainly!" said
that firm, obligingly, and drew at one1
a check for the full amount on a Mon-
treal bank.
McHugh & Co. deposited the check
that afternoon — December 2 — and i
thought no more of it for a week. At j
the end of the week back came the check I
marked "N. G."
A member of the McHugh firm went
down to investigate, lie found a clerk
oils and saw visions of wealth beyond
the dreams of avarice for themselves,
but, as a shrewd veteran of Wall street
•aid, "the game grew too big for them."
Plan of the Brokers.
James Stillman. president of the Na-
tional City bank. describes the transac-
tions by which Munroe & Munroe, the
"laundry" brokers, obtained trom the
tank a daily loan of $00,000 for eight
days on an unindorsed and unsecured de-
mand notes for the purpose of washing
hundreds of thousands of shares of Mon-
treal & Boston Consolidated mining
stock in the curb market, as the act of a
Junior officer of that institution.
That junior officer was Archibald G.
Loornis, second vice president of the
bank and the leading member of the
Montreal and Boston underwriting syn-
dicate. Of course there had to be some-
body upon whom the responsibility couM
be placed by the public for the unusual
transactions, and the curiosity of men
on the street was satisfied when Mr
Loom is resigned.
It should be said, however, that in the
transactions the hank was in no way dis-
credited. The $o0,r00 borrowed were
paid back by Munroe \ Munroe before
the close of banking hours each day, so
that the bank lost nothing.
An interesting phase of the negotia-
tions was that the Munroes, unknown
and untried youths, became close per-
sonal friend8 of Loomis.
Began on Capital of $1,600.
The worldly capital of the Munroes
when they quit the genteel occupation of
gents' furnishers in Montreal to take up
even a more genteel occupation in Ne.v
York, was about $l.t>00
The furniture in the office would have
cost more than that—if it had been paid
for, and reflected great credit upon the
good taste of the gentlemen The desks
were of the finest and most expensive
make and the furnishings lavish There
was a grill of chastely ornamental iron
work which confined the cashier, and
probably kept him from absconding
with the firm's heavily bonded debt.
The furniture included a set of big
easy leather-lined chairs and an impos-
ing sofa. There were other tasteful
touches about the place, c.nd everything
suggested to the uninitiated that untold
wealth was at their command
But it was these same furnishings J
that first brought the trouble that result-
ed in bankrupcy proceeding*
Bankruptcy Proceedings Instituted.
About October 1. Munroe- & Munroe from the sheriff's office in charge of the
approached McHugh & Co. They want- place.
- ' . -7 |td
p/?ospecr/v£ Bursts
8MQuer££>.
situation. After the smash in copper
two years ago, however, they had a hard
row to hoe. and little was heard of
them in connection with this company
They nevertheless kept the Marconi
stock to the front, and when there came
a revival of the demand for copper
abroad, their prospects brightened.
Lay Plans for Coup.
They reorganized the Montreal &
Boston, got some other properties to-
gether. and theu laid plans for one of
1/
Resort to Washing.
Brokers who were members of the ex-
change were readily found who were
willing to dispose of a certain number of
shares a month, and what they received
was to go 60 per cent, to them and 40
per cent, to those who had underwritten
the stock in the beginning. It was then
decided that ii) order to sell the stock
at a price above one dollar per share,
it would be necessary to resort to the
process known as "washing."
In other words, they agreed to them-
selves purchase the stock at a high fig-
ure, in order to set that as the market
rate. Par being live uoliars, and they
having obtained it at one doliar, they
arranged for street sales at $2.50
and themselves buying at that
rate, in order to show that the stock
was active and to induce the public to
buy at the same price.
In point of fact, so as to make a show-
ing of large sales, those who were sell-
ing the stock were themselves bidding
on it, all the transactions being credited
on the books. It has been shown that,
lured by this system, one outsider
bought 50,000 shares, at from 52.50 to $3.
In disposing of the stock, Munroe &
Munroe "washed" about 3.000,000 shares
or more in the process of getting rid of
about 130,000 shares, for which they are
said to have paid the company not mure
than $130,000 in all. The brokerage on
raising this $130,000 is more than $100,-
000, because they had to pay commis-
sions on the whole 3,000,000 shares.
How Sales Were Made.
The Munroes would give orders to cer-
tain brokers to sell and to other brokers
to buy. When they sold they would !
get a check the following morning, and |
theu they would use that check, turning i
it ever to the brokers they i:ad employed 1
to buy. The result was that December j
7, the day of the failure, they received i
checks in payment for the stock sold ;
the day before, and they used these
WHEN CHICAGO WAS YOUNG
What the Prtsaut Great Metropolis
Looked Li!ce to a Visitor
in 1850.
In his book, "The Mini," Col. Clan
E. Carr tells how Chicago appeared to
him in 1850 when he reached it after a
trip up the lakes from his home in New
York Btate: "It was low and flat; the
buildings were small and beyond them,
there was nothing to relieve the eye
but more flat land. As we entered the
narrow river, which is the harbor, we
could see muddy streets, along which
were successions of small frame build-
ings, with a few of brick, and no two
of them of the same height, with broad
sidewalks on such different levels that
pedestrians in walking a single block
were obliged to ascend and descend
stairways a dozen or more times. The
plank street crossings were covered with
mud and only seemed to keep the foot
passengers from sinking out of sight.
Chicago seemed to me only a transmis-
sion city, a place of meeting and separat-
ing, of hail and farewell."
While wandering along he saw "Long
John" Wentworth. "As I was looking
down Dearborn street I saw approach-
ing us in the distance what appeared
to be a giant. He walked a few steps
upon a level with us on the sidewalk,
then descended, his legs, his body and
finally his head disappearing; then his
head and body reappeared, but not his
legs. He descended again, and again
rose, revealing his whole great! frame,
and again descended iill lost to view,
and so appeared and disappeared until
finally he came up the steps to where we
were.
"lie was simply walking the street
toward us up and down stairs, on a Chi-
cago sidewalk as then construe!, d. He
stopped before us and looked at u.- with
a smile and then a grimace. He had a
way of drawing back the corners of liis
big mouth, giving him a fierce look,
and then relaxing the muscles of his
face into a grin. He stood six feet and
six inches in his stockings."
NOT SO MANY MILLIONAIRES
The Number Gene:ally Supposed to
Exist in the World Is Greatly
Overestimated.
There is a great misapprehension as
to the number of millionaires in New
York and in the world. Chauncey M.
Depew said recently that there were
100,000 millionaires in the United
States. According to a great commer-
cial agency, which is probably nearer
right, there areonly 7,«'< . The Finan-
cial Red Book, a most carefully com-
piled publication, gives the names of
! practically all the
checks to pay for stock they had bought JU VaU .ll" persons 111 ,ht'
the day before, but when it came to ."t S,a"V',"J r" ,0 be
ir paying for the .took they bought ! ,"T * ' ', A'"' 'h°re
December 7. they bad hot the money; ! a on y 15, 00 on the llst- No
"endless chain" broke, the Munroes i cla,m ,s m:u,e ,ha' ,lle name °r
j person worth that amount or more
j given, but the
went into bankruptcy, and all these per- , , . , .
sons are creditors for the stock. ! plVP!'' ",e l,r' P°rl >" of 'hose loft
„ , ... . ,. i out is extremely small, for a most ex-
Before this situation was reached, I hauatlve investigation has been made,
however, the Munroes had their day of ! In the Ia8t few there hag
prosperity, or, rather, George did, tor he j marlie(1 tPn(,ency among men of wf.alth
s the head and front at the combina- < to C0nCpaI (ho amo„nt of ,d_
ion. even though his brother was sen- Iy possessiong. The lirst lncenHve ln
mfffib"°f the flrm- ULen I this respect is the vulgar prominence
came here they were aggressive and en- | gjven tu the ,man that hag ,ots of
thusiasuc young fellows, of the type | mo Therp arp othpr rpasons mpn
that is liked in Wall street, uQd they j have for
quickly made friends. Mr. Loomis was '
THE SUMPTIOUS APARTMENT KNOWN AS THE • OFFICE '
ed a bill of goods sent up to their Broad
itreet offices
They mentioned as reference the Na-
tional City bank, the lnsti;utlon which
e/tervard lent them Sb .< .i0 daily on
their unsecured noted. llciluth & Co. j takeu possession.
in the week between the delivery of
that check and Its return with the two
fatal letters across its face Munroe &
Munroe had quit laundering copper
stocks and gone bust and the law had
the biggest stock market coups In the
history of the curb
A scheme was formed to have the stock
of the company underwritten with the
special provision that the work should
be done by stock exchange firms, as
Munroe & Munroe were no', members of
the exchange. The stock was of a par
one of these, and Leach another, and
both of these are names to conjure with
in financial circles. Loomis became
chairman of the syndicate's executive
committee, and It was through his in-
fluence that the loans were obtained
from the National City bauk.
Reputed a Millionaire.
The friendship of men like these
brought other friends to the brothers,
and before long George Munroe was
reputed to be a millionaire, it is said
he lived at the rate of from $."iO.OOO to
$100,000 a year, this young man who only
a little while before had been a haber-
dasher He had a luxurious home on
Last Fifty-seventh street, and another
at Southampton, L. I , and often he oc-
cupied a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.
A Costly Junket.
He always did things in lavish fash-
ion. When Montreal & Boston was
at the height of its exploitation, Munroe
thought it would be a good plan to let
those whom he was trying to interest in
it see the actual mine property. Now ,
it lies away off in British Columbia, on
the foothills of the Selkirks, and it costs
money to take IL party out there. He
never considered the expense. A pri-
vate car was chartered, loaded with
everything of the best In the commissary
line, and the junketers started away
George could not go, but Alexander took
charge.
The party Included senators, bankers,
politicians, and newspaper men—every-
body, in fact, who might be of some aid
in advertising the mine.
They stopped at various cities on the
way out and had a jolly time.
Not Unlike Fiction.
The revelations in the Munroe case
make It not unlike the story told in one
of Emlle Gaboriau's novels ln which a
Parisian set of men in the sixties who
needed office furniture rented it by the
week from a firm whose business it was
to outfit people who needed sumptuous
offices temporarily.
The firm Gaboriau pictured could, on
short notice, give any office the appear-
ance of glittering wealth. It rented out
massive desks, cashier's grills, safes and
pictures. It kept constantly on hand a
supply of curios for special purposes-
mineral specimens for mining com-
panies, orienial curios for people in the
China trade, and chunks of crude rubber
for rubber companies. Such objects,
scattered carelessly about t he office, gave
an air of busy industry and genuineness
to any old enterprise.
But it is not necessary to go as far as
this in these days, as it is shown in this
case that modern finance has brought
Improved methods.
suppressing knowledge of the
amount of ih^ir wealth. Some wish
to avoid heavy taxation and give false
returns. Another man may have made
his money in a business not uncom-
monly supposed to be especially lucra-
tive. and he doesn't care to have his
affluence blazoned forth to arouse com-
petition.
HAD HUSBANDS TO BURN.
What a Spinster Snitl About a Wid-
owed Friend Just from the
Country.
A good sort of trolley conductor, who
has ears for other things besides the bell
of his fare register, and whose run in
Brooklyn brings him passengers to and
from a certain cemetery, vouches for
this story, says the New York Sun:
A woman boarded his caral the ceme-
tery the other day shaking with sobs.
She had not been in the car long when
two women took seats opposite her. One
of them seemed to recognize the wbman
from the cemetery, hesitated for a mo-
ment. then crossed the aisle and spoke to
her. The sobbing one looked up and the
identification was complete.
"Why. Mary," said the woman who
had crossed the aisle, 'where have you
been for so long, and what is the mat-
ter?"
"I have been married," came the sob-
broken answer, "and I'm just after cre-
mating my husband."
Condolences were offered and the
widow soon afterward left the car, ap-
parently cheered, while her friend re-
turned to the seat beside her companion
and told all that Mary had unbosomed to
her.
"And she's got husbands to burn." re-
marked the companion enviously,
"while I'm still single."
Hundred Thousandth Pheasant.
There is a game preserve in Ger-
many ownei, by Count Tschirchsky-
Ilenarii, who has raised a monument
there in honor of the l;aiser. It com
memorates the occasion when the
kaiser shot his fifty thousandlh cock
pheasant. Marble and ;orphyry bear
witness to this achievement for the
rest of time. But that happy cock
pheasant was immolated two years
ago. and since then the kaiser's bag
has grown prodigiously. What monu-
ment, even In brass, will be good
enough to celebrate his hundred thou-
sandth cock pheasant?—•Loudon Chrou
tele.
South American Cities.
Santiago de Chile, the third largest
city in South America, lias now a popu-
lation of 26'J.OftO. The largest Is Hueuos
Ayres, followed by Hlo i!e Janeiro,
a
BEYOND OTTB BORDERS
In Scotland there are parishes
w ithout pauperu, poor rates or publlo
houses.
The movement in England for re-
storing the use of knee breeches Is mak-
ing considerable progress.
An unusual number of marriages wer#
recorded on the coast of ScotlaLd last
year; cause, a very profitable fishing
season.
The Limerick corporation recently
adopted a resolution that during its year
of office the mayor and city high sheriff
should not accept British honors.
A German periodical, the <iarten-
lau'ie, offers three prizes for Ztie best
answers to the question, which is be-
omlng more and more serious to moth-
ers: "How can I marry ofT my diugh-
tera?"
Strenuous efforts are being mad« la
Paris to simplify the orthography of th®
French language, but. EOme of the au-
thorities, notably Francois Coppee, ar®
bitterly opposed to all changes sug-
gested.
Much Interest is taken in the expected
arrival at Khartoum, Soudan, of ex-
perimental motor ci,..-, tor passenger
service in the desert. The difficulty ha®
been to find motors which are capabl®
of traveling over the sand.
The eight ambassadors of the Germaa>
empire in Madrid, Itome, Washington.
Constantinople, Paris, London, St. Pe-
tersburg and Vienna are all members
of the nobility. Their emoluments aro
$25,000 in the first three cities named,
? !0,000 iu the next three, *:;7,oOO in th
last two.
At the outset of its existence the par-
liament of the Australian common-
wealth decided that every member
should be reported fully and in the first
person. The consequence is that curing
the session which terminated just be-
fore last Christmas the i„ labors tail ed
fc.:i00 pages of the oflicia: record, to pas
only three acts.
MITES OF MEE.P-II-1ENT.
The town of Salem has a woman
treasurer. This buats woman sufi'rag®
all hollow.
Fair Customer—"Hut how nbnut a
pocket?" Modiste—' We will make 4
hole in your husband's."
"He's In a crooked business, but h«
makes plenty of money." "What does
he do?" "Manufactures corkscrews."
"Mary, I wish you'd send for that
quack doctor as quick as you can."
"Why, what's the matter?" "1 ate too
much duck for dinner."
Doctor—"If your baby does not thrive
upon fresh milk, boil it." Your.g Moth-
er—^"O doctor, you are too cruell
Wouldn't a good spanking do?"
"Hang it!" growled the pessimist.
"I'm sure there's another snowstorm
coming up." "Well," replied the optim-
ist, "so long as it doesn't come dow n w®
can't kick."
"Our Willie shows great determina-
tion," said the boy's mother. "Yes?"
queried the proud pupa. "Yes. He
spent the whole day making soap bub-
bles and trying to pin one to the wall."
And She Was It.
"I believe a house should be kept Just
like a pin," said the wife.
"Well, look at this house! Does it loofc
much like a pin?" replied the husband.
"It certainly does. It only has one
head to it."—Y'onkers Statesman.
ALL SICK
SHOULD READ MRS. FOX'S LETTER
In All Parts of the United States LydJa
E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Has Effected Similar Cures.
Many wonderful cures of female ilia
are continually coming* to li^lit which,
have been brought about by Lydia 13.
r'inUhuLn'a Vegetable Compound, aud
&
I
Swrs. Fannie D.Fbx
through the advice of Mrs. Plnkham,
of Lynn. Mass., which is given to sick
women absolutely free of charge,
Mrs. Pinkham has for many years
made a study of the ills of her sex;
she has consulted with and advised
thousands of suffering women, who
to-day owe not only their health but
even life to her helpful advice.
Mrs Fannie T). Fox, of 7 Chestnut
Street, Bradford, Pa., writes:
Dear Mrs. Pinkham :—
" I suffeml for a Iona: tim« with womb
trouble, ami finally was told by my physician
that I had a tumor on fho womb. I did not
want to submit to an o[>«ration, so wrote you
for advice. I received your letter and did as
you told me, and to-day I am completely
cured. My doctor says tho tumor has ilisap-
r'ared, and I am once more a well woman,
believe Lydia E. Pinkham s Vegetable Com-
pound is the best medicine in the world for
women."
The testimonials which we are con-
stantly publishing from grateful women
establish beyond a dou" >t the power of
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com-
pound to conquer female diseases.
Women suffering from any form of
female weakness are invited to
Promptly communicate with Mrs.
'inkham, at Lynn, Mass. She asks
nothing in return for her advice. It is
absolutely free, am to thousands of
women has proved to be more precious
than gold.
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Miller, C. H. The Hennessey Clipper. (Hennessey, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 9, 1905, newspaper, March 9, 1905; Hennessey, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc105399/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.