The Panic of 1907, 2nd Edition

Chapter 18Turning the Corner

Let the people resume business the way they were doing twelve months ago, start everything with a hurrah, and we will forget all about the panic in a day or two.

—President of a local branch bank¹

After announcements on November 4 and 5 of the trust company rescue pool and the U.S. Steel deal to acquire TC&I, the mood in the markets began to improve.² “A tremendous change for the better had taken place and at last we had one day when everyone was hopeful, and all talk of failure and collapse ceased,”³ George Perkins said. The bromides issued by leaders a few days earlier finally seemed to gain traction. On October 23 Treasury Secretary Cortelyou had said, “The general situation here is well.”⁴ Clark Williams, the New York State Superintendent of Banking, said, “the improvement in financial circles is continuing.”⁵ “It is very much improved … the outlook is very good,” said James Stillman in an article subtitled “Getting Back to Normal” on October 29.⁶ Some people believed that the whole episode was simply a matter of lost confidence. Local associations, such as the “Sunshine Movement” and “Prosperity League,” organized to boost economic activity and employment.⁷

Approval of TC&I Acquisition

Tuesday, November 5, was Election Day for state and local races—a banking holiday. That evening at Morgan’s library, the finance committee of the U.S. Steel Corporation formally ratified the plan discussed with Roosevelt to acquire the Tennessee Coal, Iron ...