RISE OF THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE 73
ally these restrictions were removed, and the whole market was
finally reopened December 15, 1914.
The annals of the Exchange during and immediately after
the war period contain many unusual and abnormal episodes.
During 1917-19 our entire railroad system was operated by
the U. S. Government. In 1917 began the succession of gigan-
tic U. S. war loans. America’s participation in the war led to
a colossal increase in our national debt, but through the Liberty
Loan “campaigns” which the sale of these loans to the public
involved, millions of Americans for the first time became
familiar with security investment. To assure proper money
market conditions during the Liberty Loan flotations, a
“Money Committee” was organized by New York bankers,
and with the hearty cooperation of the New York Stock Ex-
change, the call and time loan funds used by Exchange mem-
bers were artificially stabilized.
Immediately after the Armistice, there was a very active
rising stock market in 1919 which crashed sensationally in the
fall of 1920, and through most of 1921 remained stagnant.
But by 1922 practically all of the “war-controls” had been
removed from the New York security market, economic con-
ditions in this country had begun their return to “normalcy,”
and a period of great domestic prosperity set in. F urthermore,
a new international phase of the Exchange's history began.
New York banking houses had even in 191 5 extended very
large loans to foreign governments. During America’s partici-
pation in the war, this tendency was halted, and our allies bor-
rowed the proceeds of our own Liberty Loans direct from the
U. S. Treasury. But after the Armistice, a veritable flood of
such foreign government loans came into Vall Street, and the
foreign security list of the Stock Exchange grew apace. Soon
there were also issued and listed loans to foreign business cor-
porations, and finally even a tendency arose to introduce for-
eign company shares in New York. Thus the New York Stock
Exchange, after having served as an almost exclusively domes-
