re all brought to a final adjustment by the influence and
persuasion of the Committee.

This achievement not only reflects undying credit upon the members of
the Exchange by showing both the sound condition of their business and
their zeal to act for the general welfare, and creates a deep sense of
obligation to the Clearing House Committee who for many long weeks
worked unceasingly to overcome the difficulties that beset the path,
but it justifies and confirms the wisdom of the New York Stock
Exchange in adhering to the practice of daily settlements. In all the
great European centers, where trading on the fortnightly settlement
basis is in vogue, the restoration of dealings was terribly
complicated by the herculean task of clearing up back contracts that
extended over many days. In New York, when conditions so shaped
themselves as to warrant reopening the Exchange, the back contracts of
its members had all been settled up _two months_ before. Had our
system, like the European, involved "trading for the account," every
additional day of back contracts added to the $100,000,000 worth of
July 30th would have stood in the way of a final settlement, and the
reopening of the market (which was long postponed as it was) would
have been much further delayed.

* * * * *

On August 4th, a problem which had loomed upon the horizon the day
after the closing of the Exchange, was brought squarely before the
Committee. A delegation of houses dealing in securities for European
account appeared and stated that approximately $40,000,000 to
$50,000,000 of securities were to arrive "this week, beginning
to-morrow, Wednesday," and that they would be accompanied by sight
drafts which would have to be financed. This alleged great volume of
securities had been sold in this market for foreign account and
borrowed in New York in order to make the immediate deliveries that
our day to day system requires. The suspension of the fulfillment of
contracts declared by the Exchange made it impossible to return this
borrowed stock, and the houses doing this business were therefore
obliged either to allow the drafts to go to protest or finance the
incoming stock until the free enforcement of contracts was again
permitted.

With money practically unobtainable, and general panic prevailing, it
is needless to say that these statements of the delegation of houses
doing foreign business were a severe shock to the Committee o