Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-08-18
StOck Values.

public of the belief of Messrs. Wander
bilt and Gould that the presidents
death would cause no financial panic.
These men are not very good authorities
on this matter, since the interests of
both incline to make their wish father
to their thought. Judge Hilton, who
administers the A. T. Stewart business,
gives an opinion to the same effect,
which is more disinterested since his
dealings are in merchandise rather than
in stocks. But nobody gravely supposes
that the mercantile interests Of the
country will be affected seriously by the
presidents life or death. 1t is stocks,
which have been booming while mer-
chandise has been quiet, that the hold
ers are nervous about. AS we have said,
we do not see much more reason than
Vanderbilt and Gould do, why Mr.. Gar
fields death should knock the bottom
out of the stock market; still stocks
have been going up without reason, and
50 may come down with as little. If
people get to thinking that the presi-
dents death will make panic in stocks,
panic may be very likely to occur.
There has been nothing to send stocks
up but credulity, and credulity ought to
be as as efficient in sending them down.
The people who have been buying stocks
at prices that are not ruled by their in
trinsic value, are not very wise people
and may sell them as unreasonably as
they buy them. No one can safely pre-
dict the course of stock prices, because
the value of the property they represent
does not govern them. Mr. Vanderbilt,
who now tells us there will he no panic
because there is no reason for it, a year
or SO ago sold out large part of his
holding in the New York Central rail
road and people took it, and have
sent the price up i good deal
higher since, although there was
no reason for it, and one would
think that there was good deal of rea-
son, on the contrary, why the public
should consider that the price at which
Mr.. Vanderbilt was willing to sell was a
top price since he certainly knew all
about the property and would be little
likely to sell it for less than it was worth !;
especially when he had no use for the
money but to invest it in United States
bonds, bearing four per cent. interest,
while his railroad stock paid eight pc
cent. dividends. Mr.. Vanderbilt's Opin
ion of the value OF his stock was not
taken then, though doubtless it was a
very good opinion and his view of the
effect of the presidents death on the
stock market may not he taken now,
though we coneider it very logical one.
If we did not know that there was no
logic in stock prices we could comfort
ably accept it.
Our old friend Sailer has often said in
the Ledger money article that the value of
astock is its market price. 1t was very
excellent way to get rid of the importu-
nate inquiries addressed to him as finan-
cial authority TO declare the real value
of a security. 1t really would he useless
TO inform the anxious inquirer what the
actual value is, if it could be ascertaiHed.
1t certainly would not he the market
value, and he would not believe you if
you gave him any other: The real value
could not well be demonstrated. That
value depends upon the question of the
income which the property represented
by the stock will earn throughout the
future. If anyone would undertake to
do with all corporation properties what
Mr.. Harris undertook to do with the
lands of the Reading coal and iron com
pany-namely, to determine their intrin-
cvalueby estimating their yield through
the coming century-it is very certain
that he would not get, as result, the
present quoted value of a single stock on
the market. His way, it is true, was
not a very good one, as his arithmetic
brought out the present value of some
lands rs less than nothing which is not
likely for, though Il great many people
would be a great deal better off if they
had not, some things they have, yet
nothing can be said to he valueless, since
everything can he sold.
If stock prices were the result of the
judgment of men as to tie intrinsic
value of the property it would be true,
as the Ledger is SO fond of saying that the
market rate is the best attainable cri-
terion of value. But dealers do not put
their judgment to the endeavor to dis
cover the real values of stock, being
more interested in divining what
they are likely to sell for, which is a
very different thing and rs they have no
solid ground to tread Oh in their specu-
lations they are often very sadly errone-
GUS. Every one admits that the presi-
dents death affords no good reason for
a change of cent in stock values,
yet every one knows that the threat
of it has affected the market, and
the apprehension is general that the re-
alization of the fear may have more
decided influence :; and the apprehension
may be strong enough to effect it though
we greatly doubt whether people will
show themselves to he SO silly.
OUR Democratic contemporaries con-
tinue to Giscuss, in excellent temper and
from different standpoints, the reorgani-
zation of the party in this state and the
kind of rules it ought to adopt to secure
better government and more efficient Or