William Sylvester Silkworth (October 28, 1884 – April 1971), referred to in the U.S. press as "W. S. Silkworth", was an American financier known being president of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York and being forced to resign because of scandal. starting in 1919. He was also a sport shooter who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1924, he won the gold medal as member of the American team in the team clay pigeons competition. Silkworth aggressively and successfully pursued new business for the exchange, and his career as president reached its peak in February 1922, when all trading records at the exchange were broken, ensuring that "Silkworth, not [NYSE president] McCormick, was the talk of Wall Street." Silkworth resigned on June 21, 1923, after an investigation into Consolidated insider corruption discovered irregularities in his personal finances. He later did time for mail fraud. By 1926, Silkworth was best known internationally as a member of the Olympic trap shooting team.
Early life and family
He was born in New York City and died in Hempstead, New York. Based in New York City, William Silkworth's brother George was also involved in the financial industry, working as a broker in New York.
Career
Consolidated committees
He was nominated for a two-year term on the board of governors of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York on April 1913. For 1916 and 1917, he was then one of 9 directors of the board of governors. For the Finance Committee of the exchange in 1916 and 1917, he was elected president and treasurer. For those years, he was also on the Committee of Arrangements, and was vice-chairman of the Committee on News and Statistics. For the year 1917 until 1918, J. Frank Howell served as Consolidated president, Silkworth as first vice president, and O'Connor de Cordova as second vice president.
President of Consolidated
In April 1919, William S. Silkworth was elected president of the exchange, winning with a substantial majority after a "bitter contest." According to historian Robert Sobel, Silkworth's election resulted in the "decline of the Little Board." Sobel writes that at that time of his election, "Silkworth operated several bucket shops, and had a hand in many shady deals of the period. He was also a fine salesman, a man of considerable charm, and an excellent publicity director for his market." Silkworth aggressively and successfully pursued new business for the exchange, with the brokers "delighted." He "easily" won re-election in 1920 and in 1921. On the May 10, 1921 annual officers election, Silkworth was named Consolidated president again for 1921 and 1922. His career as president reached its peak in February 1922, when all trading records at the exchange were broken, at a time when the NYSE had low volume, ensuring that "Silkworth, not [NYSE president McCormick], was the talk of Wall Street."
Federal inquiries and resignation
In February 1922, the Consolidated was hit "without warning" with several brokerage and firm failures within the exchange. The firms told Silkworth they needed additional capital to remain in business, and Silkworth raised a fund from the exchange members of $102,000. Several of the firms collapsed anyway, particularly R. H. MacMasters & Company, which failed in late February 1922. The failures shocked the industry. At the time there were calls in the New York State Assembly to ban bucketshops, making an investigation into Consolidated a topical political issue for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alfred E. Smith. In July 1922, Silkworth conceded that some Consolidated brokers were corrupt, and that he was working to clear the exchange of them. Others accused him of misusing the rescue fund from February, with Silkworth denying the allegations in the press However, rumors persisted that Silkworth was considering resigning and leaving the country, which Silkworth again denied. In mid-July, a new series of unexpected failures occurred at Consolidated, including Edward M. Fuller & Company. George Silkworth, William Silkworth's brother, had been a partner at Fuller as well, leading to further accusations of insider corruption. William Silkworth continued to work on his reform program, and shortly afterwards, the assembly passed the Martin Act, which essentially banned bucketshops.