Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/496

* CORNER. 426 CORNFLOWER. sell and deliver the stock or commodity are forced, for lack of other supply, to buy it. or the certificates or warehouse receipts represent- ing it, from the buying or cornering pool, at the pool's prices. Conversely a corner is 'smashed' when the buyers, finding their means inadequate to their operations, are forced to throw their holdings on the open market, or when those who have contracted to deliver the stock or com- modity are able to obtain it independently of the pool. For the latter reason, because the total supply is not strictly determinable nor all obtainable, attempted corners in wheat and other actual conmiodities are seldom successful. On the other hand, corners in stocks and cer- tificates having definite total issues may be car- ried just to the point where they bankrupt the seller; that is to a point where, if the prices are put any higher, the sellers re])uiliate their contracts and the corner is 'smashed' for lack of a market. The possibility of any considerable corner arises from buying and selling on mar- gin. In this usual and speculative form of stock-dealing the broker or commission house lends the' buyer or seller the money needed for the deal, demanding, however, for his own pro- tection, a deposit of five, t-en, or twenty jier cent, of the face value of tlie contracts made. The dealer is thus enabled to buy or sell stock to a value of from five to twenty times the amount of his actual capital, and a combina- tion of large dealers can without difticulty buy or sell the whole stock issue of the largest trusts or railroads. If, now, such a combination sells, that is, agrees to deliveT, practically the entire issue of a road, they may find when they attempt to buy the stock to fill their contracts that it is already held by the very persons to whom they contracted to sell it. That is, a rival combination has been secretly working against them, and the sellers of the stock are forced to buy the stock at exorbitant prices and then sell it back to those for whom they bought it. This is the process technically known as ■squeezing the shorts.' Until recent years nearly all corners of importance were manipulated for speculative reasons ; for the immediate gain of the operators, that is, and without any investment purpose. Of such a nature was the famous gold comer, organized in Xew York by Jay Gould and his associates. This corner, cul- minating on "Black Friday,' September 24, 1869, was 'smashed' by the release of Govern- ment gold liy the Secretary of the Treasury — • thus rendering the 'shorts' or sellers of gold independent of the cornering syndicate who held the gold which the 'shorts' had agreed to sell. Latterly, however, many corners or quasi- corners have resulted incidentally, and often to the' regret of all concerned, from the eft'ort of rival combinations to buy the control of some large trust or railroad for permanent invest- ment and administrative purposes. Of this kind was the corner in the Northern Pacific Railroad in Jlay, 1901, when tlte price of the stock rose abruptly to 1000 bid. For an account of the gold corner of 18t)9, consult: Boutwell. Reminis- cences of Sixty Years in Piihlic Affairs (New ■york, 1902). For an interesting account of the actual manipulation of a corner, consult Frederic, The Market Place (London, 1899). See Makgin T)e.ls; Shobts; Speculation; Trusts. CORNET (OF., Fr. cornet, from ML. cor- iicfKni, cornvta, bugle, dim. of cornii, horn). A stop or series of pipes in an organ, intended to imitate the tone of an obsolete wind instrument which has been superseded by the oboe. The CoH.NET-A-PisTON (Fr., cornet with jiistons), a modern brass or silver wind instrument of the trumpet kind, has two or three valves, and in brass bands takes the soprano and contralto parts. It was first introduced in France as an orchestral instrument. The cornet-a-piston pro- duces vei'y penetrating tones, though less power- ful than those of the trumpet. The rapidity of execution in runs, trills, staccatos, etc., which can be attained on this instrument, combined with the pealiTig quality of its tones, have made it the favorite solo instrument in open-air band- concerts : but this very resonance will most likely keep it out of the symphonic orchestra. CORNET (Fr. cnrnette, standard, so called as having two points or horns, dim. of corne, from Lat. cornii, horn). Formerly a junior or subaltern commissioned rank in the British cav- alry, so called because the cornet carried the flag (cornet). Its equivalent rank in the in- fantry was the ensign (q.v.). CORNETO, k0r-na't6, or Corneto Tarquinia (from It. corno, horn). A town of central Italy, about 12 miles north of Civitavecchia, occu])ying a commanding eminence on the left bank of the Marta, and 2 or 3 miles from the Mediterranean, over which it has an extensive view. Corneto arose near the ruins of the Etruscan city of Tar- quinii, and was built in part from its remains. It was erected into a city by Pope Eugenius IV. in 1432; but the picturesque old battleniented walls and towers which surround it are said to belong to an earlier period. During the faction wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, this citv main- tained a firm allegiance to the popes. Popula- tion (commune), in 1901, 7219, The scanty re- mains of Tarquinii lie about a mile and a half from Corneto. This city was regarded as one of the most ancient and important of the Etruscan cities, and took part in the wars with Rome in the fourth century D.c. : but later, with the rest of Etruria, came under the Roman dominion. It seems to have been destroyed by the Saracens. The Necropolis of Tarquinii, which is far the most important relic of tlie ancient city, is on the same hill as the modern cily, and extends into the neighboring plain. It is of great ex- tent, and has been said to cover 16 square miles. INIany tombs have been opened, but most of them had licen plundered in early times. The most imi>ortant tombs are those decorated with paint- ings oil the walls, among which are noteworthy the Grotta delle Iserizioni (probably one of the earliest), Grotta del Barone, Grotta Querciola, Grotta del Convito Funebre, Grotta del Tifone, and Grotta dell' Oreo. Consult: Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London, 1878), and Dasti, 'Sotizie di Tarquinia Corneto (Rome, 1878). CORN-FLAG. See Iris. CORNFLO'WER, or Bluebottle (Centau- rea Ci/aiiiif:]. A plant of the natural order Cora- posit;r, indigenous to Europe, where it is a common weed in grain -fields, and whence it has spread to other coimtries. Its long, slen- der, branched stems, which reach a height of from one to two and one-half feet, bear