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 contention
 that the market fell because of fear engendered
 in the public mind by the action of the coalition
 bloc in Congress in connection with the tariff
bill. In the panicky condition of the market everything
 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 industry,
 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 irrespective
 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 generally.
 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