The New York herald., 1878-01-16
FINANCIAL and COMMERCIAL.
The Stock Market Fairly Ac-
tive, but Weak.
GOLD 1O2 A 1O1 rs A 1O2.
Government Bonds Strong and Railroads
Irregular.
Money on Call Active at g 7
GOLD 1O2 A 1O1 7-8 A 1O2.
Money on Call Active at g a 7
Per Cent.
WALL STREET,

TUESDAY, Jan. 15-6 L. n.
A brisk speculation IN Lake Shore has been the
prominent and almost the sole event OF the day. 1t
brought confusion the bulls inspirted the bears
and generally incomprchensible to lockers on.
From COZ the price fell to 59l4, and only rallied 70
50As in nna sales. Without regard to earnings. value
Of property or other considerations, dead set was
made AZ the STOCK with result recorded Whether
somebody has ''blundered," as happened to the SIX
Hundred at Balaklava, whether the assault
based upon presumably substantial reasons, will DO
solved IN the future. Under any circumstances Mr.
Gould gets the credit of the attack being tho only
power In the street capable Of originating
and carrying out thc movement Moreover,
1t would appear that tho sales made
have. been for the short account, for tho
broker most conspicuous seller has been equally
conspicuous borrower OF shares for dalivory and
that TO large amount At least acute brokers who
can put and together have Interpreted the
transaction. Why this onslaught Lake Shore
should havo been mado at this moment is not appar.
ent. Worry reliable Information leads to the belief
tna never In It's history has the road earned largely
AS it is doing at the present time. Grain freights
pressing from every quarter and the traffic of the line
is only limited by Its capacity to receive 1t. II
follows that this unexpected rampage Is mystery to
the street as well az most dissgreeable pill for bulls
to swallow; the more that day by day receipts of
greater, and the demand upon the railroads for
transportation Eastward continuously Increasing
facts which certainly strong grounds for belief
in the appreciation OF railroad properties. The bears
have. OF course, their own view of the situation. and
they base their notion Of lower prices in trunk line
railroad stocks upon the impression that an armisLce
between the European bellgerents means peace, and
that peace means the opening of the Black Sea ports
and vomiting OF grain into Western Europe that
will sickon the market there well turn the
stomachs OF producers and shippers on this side of
the wafer. Lower prices would follow necessarily
prices low that with the cost OF production scarcely
covered and with no margin left for railroad and
steamship ireights, the gathered wealth of the
fields would necessarily remain at home to be
burned as fuel, as in the case Of corn, or
turned into tho whskoy stills If In the
shape OF rye or wheat This would surely
be illustration Oi an embdrrass de richess,
and painful ono to tho temperance fraternity when
forced witness the transfer OF their shibboetn of
life into the inebrating still OF damnation. Something
Of the Lake Shore speculation stopped the
barriers, but not to their benefit. lower range OF
prices, ranging from TO por cent, made these
fances. In spite of the combination. which may be
regarded a0afre ixe prices fell of wotuliy. AS
happened in tho wager when Colonel Jones held the
stakes that disinterestod party called upon to
hold Colonel jones' the coal combination appears
TO require n combination TO hold the one just
lormcd-or why the dstrust in tho coal shares, as
vhown to-day
OPENING PRICES.
Tho opening prices OF stocks to-day were as fol-
iows:-New York Central, 1c6s4; Erie, So; Lake
Shore, 6Oa Northwestern 35a; do. preferred, 625s;
Rock Island, 99k; Fort Wayne, 91AS; Milwaukee aud
st. Paul, 37S; do. preferred, 60; Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western, 80; New Jersey Central, IS;
Delaware and Hudson Canal, 52X; Norris and Essex,
IS; Michigan Central, 59I; Illinois Central, 73Js;
Union Pacific, 6Sn Hannibal and ST. Joseph pre-
Vcrred, 2Sx; Ohio and Mississippi. 81; Western
Union, 76A Pacific Mall. %.