I'd say that they were clever, but a similar short squeeze attempt on the United Copper Company in 1907 set off a panic that might have destroyed the US banking

I'd say that they were clever, but a similar short squeeze attempt on the United Copper Company in 1907 set off a panic that might have destroyed the US banking system if JP Morgan hadn't stepped in to prop it up. Playing games like that in a time like this isn't what I'd call 'responsible'.