New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-07
Detroit, Lansing and Northern. and Ohio and
A REACTIoNARY sToCKMARKET.

A REACTIONARY STOCKMARKET.
After more than a full months stsaAy advances
In the prices for stocks, and after two weeks
during which it was extremely fashionable to talk
and write about the probabilities and necessity
Of reaction, the last week finally experienced one
For the first time during the whole five weeks
TINS column On tuesday morning joined the FASH
ionable circle and clearly intimated that the
large transactions and rapid additional advances
OF Monday indicated that the period of reaction
was last approaching The downward movement
Of values got fairly under way on Wednesday
morning and continued with more or less Of huctua-
tions up to the close Of business Thursday even
natural and the result Of desire to accept profits
outrunnlng the disposition to make new advent
ures. The advances Of Saturday, Monday and
early Tuesday, which were very largely augmented
by the anxious and rapid covering of contracts
Tor the snort" interest, had been SO great that
tho temptation to realize for a turn was ire
sistlnle by those who saw large accrued profits
upon their earlier and recent purchases. After
thursday, whatever Of downward movements
occurred We're principally due to o pressure of
sales Tor the short account, the bears having
cent less than they had covered) when they
discovered that prices were not Immediately go
Ing skyward. The disposition to make q mountain
ont of molehill-to .exaggeratc the Importance
Of the decline which has occurred-is so evident
as to be ludicrous. Out of the total stocks dealt
In during the week. there are forty-two which
snow hnal changes OF per cent or more twenty
SIX or them show losses and sixteen show gains.
The stocks which show declines Of 2 per cent or
more are Cleveland, Columbus, Cine9nati and In
New-Iork and New-England, l-s; and ST. Paul
and Duluth, :: LIZ per cent. The stocks which
show gain Of per cent or more are Atchison,
Oregon Railway and Navigation 2 1-2; and Ore;
gon Short Line IA per cent For SO small
results obtained with such expenditure Of cxer-
ton and false reports as were given out, Is not
the gorificatl0n over the great decline d little
ridiculous? Take New-York and New-England,
for instance, which shows a decline for the week
of a lncin NO lact a "A.
against closing Of A 7,s the preceding Saturs-
day. On Saturday, April 2s, the stock opened
at Al "a, having closed the preceding evening at
advanced to As, and closed 1-s lower, as stated
above. With tremendous efforts and by the cir
culatlOn of false rumors four days hard work
successfully undid q two hours movement, which
was natural only because the :" bears were then
as anxious buyers as seemingly they were sellers
during the last two days This Is a fair example
Of the threatening declines which are written
up with so much ability
RUMORS AND FACTS.
The disposition to realize profits furnished the
power necessary t. set TIC MINOR mill in motion
turning cut false and exaggerated reports and
fantasies Of future evil as 1t was in its palmiest
days during last year 1t set L.o Erie Railway
Company down for default in the payment Of its
interest and an early appointment of a receiver
for the road. Nothing more absurdly false could
well be imagined, but it is true that the constant
reiteration of the report and the persistent sell
ing and washing Of Erie securities were not With
out effect on the minds Of the credulous The
Stock ~s well ra to p in .rra
ing out the origin Of this report. There Is little
question mat the story might easily be brought
home to its original source. d,
The not uuusuM larrng between the trunk rail-
road lines was exaggerated INTO the almost GER
tainty of open fight and general. sacrificing
of the properties to the incapacities or personal
spites of the managers The upcning q the lake
and canal navigation, which this year has been
unusually late, WAS treated rs u IT was the nrSI
ls1l L. ,r1r linz hoH Imam
to meet with an inland water competition Every
onc should know TINT The rniiways cannot carry
the character Of freight which goes oy water
without loss ct rates which pay profits to the
boatmen This is no more true this year than 1t
has been in past years. Further, the grain ton
mage of the railroads is largely exaggerated In ITS
Importance. The Lake Shores recent report for
1857, which of course includes the winter when
there Is NO water competition, as well as the sum-
mer season. and also includes the local business
with the through business, shows that its grain
tonnage was only 1923 per cent OF its total traf-
fc. The Burlington and Quincy mapagement
through its protese, the Burlington and Northern,
in the Western country. Special rumors, like the
one about the leasing Of the Ecw-YorS Boston
and Providence BY Tie intcnSed pf TO
depress the values Of special stocks. And finally,
the glut' Of money! was used for an asg uinI
The 'H' railroad earnings sufficiently, contradict
that argument A ful-fedged bear
by communication charges that we were unfair IN
months of legal money in general CIRCULATION by
the operations Of the Treasury and the lmporia-
lions Of gold at $4,000, 900, inasmuch as we IN
entionally failed to deduct the contracnSn made
during the same time in the circulation OF national
bank notes. In the first place, Natlonai banK
notes are not legal money, only circulating me
dunn possessing general credit not gwen 10 IN
dividual checks upon banks but NOT perlornl.nas
a fraction Of one per cent in the functions OF trade
that individual checks do. But the GROWER is en-
titled to all the comfort he can obtain from his
fancied point But, we will first add to the eX-
pansion Of s56,000000 before explained
s3, o0O. 600 put out by the Treasury in the re.
demption OF the trade dollars and 800 600, 900 OF
gold the product Of domestic mines which mas
passed into money. Now we have an expansion
Of s89, 000 900 in legal money.
The Controllers statement Of April 80, 1888,
gives the decrease in total circulation OF Ma
tional bank notes in the preceding twelve months,
s26369,053' So that while during the twelve
months the Treasury had absorbed only
sII 600, 900 Of legal money, the general circula-
ments at better rates, Yesterday over 81 OOO,o 9O
The significance Of the heavy bond purchases by
the Treasury is not in the fact that money Is com
ing out OF the Treasury at time when it is not
needed, but in the fact that the holders Of the
bonds are selling themSfor the purpose OF making
other investments; it is CONVERSION OF capitai
from one security to another. 1t shows that con-
fdence has been restored that holders OF Gov
eminent bonds are seeking to place their invest
ments at better rates. Yesterday oevr s2Ooo,o VO
of bonds were offered to the Secretary at prices
little above his figures; he only accepted sao,Svo
ines and not in the amount accepted ana IL Is an
the more potential because the offers were made
after two days when bear rumors had been even
plenty than m0hsY ne Of rasds pSa
tinued strong, and was unaffected by the small de-
preston IN stocks.
Subjoned is our usual table giving the number
and final prices of the week, together with the
Anal prices of week ago, prefixed by the average