The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-03-01
Mr. CTEWS' LETTER.
Speculative Business Still Centres
in The IndustriaIs."
Nothing New in the Railroad List to
Attract Investment or
Speculation.

ire principally in he class OF stocks
known as the industrials" The con-
tinued uncertainty as to what may be
the fual status, in the new tariff, of
certain articles which these trusts con
troll paturally gives to this group OF
stocks an active speculative interest.
This is especially 50 in respect to SUI
gar, the duty on which still remains
undecided 1t seems to be reasonably
sure that the senate will so strongly
favor some duty on the article that the
house may consent to its removal from
the free list and the best informed
opinion inclines to the expectation
that the duty on raw will finally range
around cent per pound. The thing
on which congress is likely to differ
widely is the duty on the refined arti-
Gle. The eastern members of both
houses seem o preponderate in favor
of q small protective duty on this
grade, sufficient 10 prevent importa-
tons and the south also is likely to
favor that course for obvious reasons
of interest. But the west, which grows
increasingly rampant against any
form OF protection, may be expected to
oppose any form or degree of favor to
the sugar trust. The difficulty of the
subcommittee of the senate finance
committee in reaching a report is sus-
peced to cover some possibilities of a
disagreement. Senators are said TO
find much more positive public hos
tility to. incorporating the income tax
in the Wilson bill than they expected
to encounter; and, in some quarters,
it is deemed possible that the upper
house may venture on the experiment
of returning the bill to the house mi
nus that odious and unpopular clause
The longer the measure remains in
the senste, the greater the danger of
miscarriage from this cause is likely
to become for there can be no ques-
ton that the public hostility to the
tax, through the whole section from
Chicago to Baltimore and Baltimore
, to Portland, Maine, is most bitter and
intense, and would alone suffice &c
consign to oblivion the party response
BILE for the outrage of adopting such :
JAN. III IBllldillt w Dt btGu WndL LlltS(
clouds on the horizon may betoken
but Wall street has its eye upon then
as involving possibilities important t,
speculation.
In the railroad list there is nothing
new to attract the attention OF eithe
investment or speculation. The scare
ity Of freight encourages cutting c
rates" and something OF that kind i
now aud then attempted, but it is o
so small scale that it does not apprt
Gladly affect general prices. AS y rult
quotations are steady, and the clears
find little inducement to attemr
raids.
Information comes from Paris to tn
effect that the bourse has in conten
plation arrangements for putting o
It's regular call liberal representatio
Of American securities. Certain ISSUE
of our government are now called c
the b0urse; but the proposal is to
once extend the issue to q selection
the bonds and stocks OF some of OF
best railroads, and at later period
broaden the list so as to make this {
important feature of the Paris mark,
The distrust created by our silver lea
ings is shown in disposition TO c
clude from the bourse all those OF 0
securities the interest or dividends
which are not payable expressly
gold but this point does not seem
have been finally determined. III
movement appears to have arisen,
the one hand, from marked scare
of transferable investments in Fran
and consequent low rates of intert
and. ON the other hand, from the i
pressions made on notable Fren
capitalists on their visit to the worl
fair. So far as may be inferred FRI
the standing of the promoters OF t
movement and from the reception
has met with on the bourse, it see
likely that the plan will be put in e
cution at an early day. II so,
bearing upon both investment q
speculative interests at New "
cannot but be highly important.
it is not alone matter of creating
early market for Paris supply of
curities, but it will widen the Ell
pen market for our investments 9
help to establish much broader
bitrage interchange in them as
tween the several foreign fnant
centres.
The rates for foreign exchange C
tinue to rule, and under ordinary r,
tions between the home and fore
money markets, gold would now
flowing to Europe. Under exist
conditions, however, neither Engls
nor the continent wants more 90