The New York Stock Exchange in the Crisis of 1914

The author, drawing on his position within the Exchange, chronicles the 1914 suspension of trading, explaining the sequence of committee decisions, emergency mechanisms such as restricted and clearing-house markets, and comparisons with previous closures. He traces how the shutdown affected liquidity, speculative and commodity markets, and public debate about the necessity of exchanges, and recounts steps taken to reopen and restore orderly trading. Alongside narrative chronology, the work analyzes the exchanges' functions, institutional responses to panic, and the broader lessons about market regulation, public misunderstanding, and the need for clearer appreciation of the exchanges' economic role.