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years, vestment was excited by the unnatural depression. The squeeze in money rates and the crash in stocks dragged two firms and one individual broker yesterday into insolvency. The first failC. M. & created surfirm as prise, ure, a that house because of devoted of the Whitney to high standing investment Co., of business, the to the risks the transaction of of attendant which tive operations. is generally upon The supposed second an failure escape large specula- that & while not be Decker, the unexpected, most Howell the announcement Co., and, was deemed was wholly to important one of the day. The late suspension of David Richmond was recognized as comparatively unimportant. FAILURE OF DECKER. HOWELL & CO. A steady outpouring of the Northern Pacific and the North American stocks at the Stock Exchange at rapidly declining prices had prepared Wall Street for the news that Decker, Howell & Co., at No. 44 Broadway, were compelled to suspend. The house was known to be carrying large amounts of the so-called Villard" stocks, and the previous declines in their prices had a few weeks ago aroused fear that it could not weather the storm. At the same time many persons had supposed that the liquidations at that crisis had relieved the firm sufficiently to enable it to continue its heretofore prosperous career General expressions of regret were heard when the news of the suspension became public, as the firm has a long and honorable record in Wall Street, and its members are popular. The firm was organized on January 1, 1881, and consisted of Joseph S. Decker, George R. Howell, William A. Williams and William Evans, jr. All but Mr. Williams are members of the Stock Exchange. Mr. Decker joined the Exchange on March 6, , 1873, Mr. Howell on January 13, 1872, and Mr. Evans on February 3, 1874. Mr. Decker for over twenty years has been well known in Stock Exchange circles, and the firm organized in 1881 only succeeded a number of combinations previously made which had been successful in business. Among the styles under which the principal members had conducted business were Leonard, Sheldon & Foster, Leonard, Sheldon & Co., and Leonard, Howell & Co. Mr. Howell is a son-in-law of Mayor Fitler, of Philadelphia He entered the firm of Leonard, Howell & Co. in 1878, and the successor firm was that which suspended yesterday. Mr. Decker had been originally a partner of Turner Brothers. The sales under the rules of the Stock Exchange for account of Decker, Howell & Co., were as follows: Wisconsin Central, 200 shares: Northern Pacific preferred, 1,300; Northern Pacific common, 2,400; North American, 3,100; Great Northern, 400: Edison Electric Illuminating Company, 400: Western Union, 100; St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba, 100; Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan, 200 Missouri Pacific, 100; Sugar Refineries Company, 600 shares. The suspended firm has done a heavy business in stocks and bonds for years. For a long time past it has operated for the North American Company, the successor to the Oregon and Transcontinental Company. Henry Villard has been suspected of having large accounts with the house. but the members of the firm disclaimed the idea that their failure was, to any of his personal operations. They ascribed their suspension to the stringency in money, which embarrassed them in the handling of their large business. The continuance of the stringency in money, assisted by bear attacks upon the credit of the concern, finally brought the house face to face with practical inability to obtain funds. It is said by some persons who are in a position to know the facts, that even the stress of funds would not have carried the house under had it not been that the North American Company refused to take up loans which Decker, Howell & Co. had negotiated for the company. Henry Villard is now in Europe and furnished no assistance. It is generally hoped that the firm may be able to resume ere long. Mr. Decker himself declared that there was no lack of assets in control of the house, but that if depreciation in values was continued at the recent rate the future was uncertain. William Nelson Cromwell, to whom the firm made an assignment, said that if the creditors showed good judgment in handling the firm's securities, they would realize their claims in full. Friends of the firm felt confident that the action of the Clearing House Association in expanding credits would enable the house to make a full adjust ment in time. STATEMENT OF MR. DECKER. Joseph S. Decker made the following statement in regard to the failure of his firm Our trouble has come upon us chiefly from the troubles in the money market, the recent stringency in money the want of confidence which has been felt in Wall Street since August last. While we do general business. we are interested chiefly in Villard stock and have been carrying a large line of North American. Our obligations are chiefly in behalf of the North American Company. Our credit has been such that we have always able to get all the money we wanted from been the banks and private banking houses. We never been known as borrowers from the Stock have Exchange itself, but the recent stringency in money and the difficulty of obtai the usual collaterals has forced us to money on have never done the last two months. what we do, during before to go on the Stock Exchange and large sums of money. yes, very large sums. borrow day to day. That was so unusual for Decker from Howell & Co. that it attracted general attention. and we were obliged to borrow millions day, which made our situation worse of dollars the last few days it became about impossible During for us to secure money. Finally we had to have assistance to meet the emergency by suspending year ago we had ample security, but our stocks were of special line. We were known as Vilon. stock lard's to bankers, borrow and had only security on his Mr Speaking of the liabilities of his firm, Decker said I cannot tell exactly what our lia bilities are, but am afraid that they will to gate fully $10,000,000 Still, aggre secured The every dollar of banks money is due almost entirely and bankers, from whom we have borrowed money of and who own ample securities in the shape Villard stocks Mr. Villard is in no sponsible for our trouble. cannot that way redifficulty came about through our relations say with our the North American Company. C. M. WHITNEY & CO. COMPELLED TO SUSPEND The first failure yesterday was that of C. M Whitney & Co., bankers and brokers of No. 96 Broadway. The announcement of the failure was made on the floor of the Stock Exchange at 10:58 a. m. It was not wholly unexpected, though was the the first one resulting from the heavy decline it in market. The assignment was made to George W. Quintard, of No. 922 Fifth-ave. Quintard took possession of the office of the firm Mr. shortly before noon, but neither he nor the firm would give condition or the Street it was some bers cerning assignment. of to the the the firm's On any the information attributed causes of mem- con- the by fall in Southern securities, in which
