Causes of the Panic 47 
Undoubtedly, the decline in prices was accompanied 
by, and in part caused by, heavy selling out of 
accounts after more margins had been demanded. 
But without extensive outright liquidation, a panic 
would not have occurred.” 
Fear About the Tariff 
Many will take seriously Mr. Kent's further con- 
tention that the market fell because of fear engen- 
dered in the public mind by the action of the coali- 
tion bloc in Congress in connection with the tariff 
bill. In the panicky condition of the market every- 
thing added to its fears. But big business had no 
reason to fear any fall of the tariff and little fear 
of harm if it were not raised. Representatives of 
the automobile industry, the country’s largest indus- 
try, told the President that they wished lower tariff 
Protection for their products, some of them even 
saying that absolute removal of the tariff would 
not disturb them. No doubt business was disturbed 
by failure to decide the tariff question, quite irrespec- 
tive of its merits. It might be argued that fears 
both of a higher and of a lower tariff hurt business. 
In any case the tariff is today not a small element in 
the calculations of the business of the country gen- 
erally. Mr. Kent is not a lone voice crying in the 
speculative wilderness when he says: “As soon as 
dealers in securities who were constantly on the watch 
for indications as to business changes, realized that 
this feeling of uneasiness (on account of the tariff 
bill) was spreading throughout industry, they began