In addition to being blessed with harmony they were very fortunate in having passed rulings for so long a time without giving forth anything that had to be recalled. In view of the complexity of the conditions, fortune must have aided in this as well as judgment. They were, of course, treated to much wisdom (after the event) by their critics. They were told that they might have opened the Exchange sooner after the actual opening had proved a success, and they were informed in the editorial columns of a prominent journal that their fear of foreign liquidation had been an "obsession" which lacked justification. These critics never were heard from while the event was in doubt, and consequently the Committee did not profit much by their learned sayings.
It can be stated with confidence that the intelligent resourcefulness of the Stock Exchange, in conjunction with the splendid public spirited work of the New York banks and the press, warded off a calamity the possible magnitude of which it would be difficult to measure. The success of this undertaking should be a source of pride and emulation to those future generations of brokers who will have to solve the problems of the great financial market when in the words of Tyndall, "you and I, like streaks of morning cloud, shall have melted into the infinite azure of the past."
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
The transcriber made these changes to the text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 49, from 11 A.M. to 12 M. (note missing "A" or "P"), left as published 2. p. 54, "We think that if ... (added opening quote) 3. p. 83, rescision --> rescission 4. p. 87, unforseen --> unforeseen
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The New York Stock Exchange in the Crisis of 1914, by Henry George Stebbins Noble