The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-21

WEEKS TRADING TRIVIAL
AVERAGE PRICE LOWER THAN
LAST SATURDAY.
Sugar and Consolidated Gas Have
Shown the Widest Variations and
Absorbed the Greatest Share of
Activity-Apathy of Speculation
Railroad Earnings Scrutinized.

ket was almost inert today, and drift
ed under no very we'll defined motive
towards a lower level. London's great
fire seemed to exercise a rather bad
influence on that financial center, and
for lack of another initiative the local
stock market followed that lead. Deal
ings were on very small scale, and
the movement of prices outside few
special cases very narrow Even Con-
sohdated Gas took on a rather sub
dued aspect, and brought it's variations
within a range of three points, extra
ordinary moderation for that eccentric
stock. Metropolitan Street railway
was notably strong, and continued its
advance of yesterday to the text of
two points additional. The political sit
uation is cited as being likely to inure
to the benefit of this property. There
is no other notable feature in the mar
ket.
SLIGHT -RECOvERIES.
The declining tendency seemed to be
somewhat checked at the last and the
closing showed some slight recoveries
on the short covering. The bank state
nlent was without any influence on the
trading. as it showed about what was
expected
The increase in loans is undoubtedly
due to the operations connected with
the sale of the Union Pacific, the first
payment for which of nearly $15, 900, 600
is to be made on Monday. The excess
of the increase in deposits over that
in loans reflect the return from inter-
ior banks which are depositing idle
funds in both the New York and Chi
cago banks in large volume
LOANS INCREASE.
Outside of the Union Pacific opera
tons there is no doubt that the loans
of the banks would show a substantial
increase, as there has been a large
liquidation of merchandise accounts
during the week, and the money mar
ket has been very dull in all depart
ments. Bidding for choice grades of
commercial paper has been very ac-
| tive, but the market has been almost
bare of offerings.
! The money market has not shown the
slightest flutter over the approaching
! $4,000, 600 payment to the government
/ on account of the Union Pacific sale
! This payment, will, in fact, amount to
| little more than a series of bookkeep-
| ing entries, the transfer of credits, in
large part being confined to the books
! handling both accounts. These banks
have deposited in the treasury at
| Washington government bonds to the
full amount of the payment as secur-
! ity, and the government has arranged
to leave its funds on deposit in the
vaults of these banks.
THE WEEKS TRADING.
The stock market has been a rather
| trivial affair all week, trading being
i of small volume. and the movement of
prices slight. The average price of
/ stocks is slightly lower than last Sat
urday, and the weakness of the coal
| ers is mostly responsible in bringing
! down the average. Elsewhere in the
list there are few prominent stocks that
show the net change exceeding a frac-
/ ton either way,
Sugar and Consolidated Gas have
showed the widest variations, and have
absorbed the greatest share of activ-
lty and the interest and the net re-
suit is shown in gains of less than 2
per cent. Consolidated Gas sold as high
as L9S1a, and as low as III closing
about two points below the best The
variations in this stock have followed
the mutable utterances put forth by an
| interest whose assent is being sought
to the plan for merging the local gas
companies, and it has kept the stock
quite active to keep up with these
changes.
Union Pacific has been markedly
heavy. Outside of these and a few of
the speciaities, speculation is appar-
entity dead for the time being On
Thursday the total sales of all stocks
fell to less than 1900 shares
APATHY OF SPECULATION.
This apathy of speculation is the
more notable in view of the amplitude
and the cheapness of the supplies of
money and the large reserve of money
supply made available by the heavy
traI 10 hoJ in, Of
try. The halt in speculation cannot be
attributed to existing conditions, which
continue to be very favorable, but
rather to doubts regarding the future.
1t is usual for Wall street to come to
pause in its operations in November
pending the assembling of congress,
the publication of the presidents mes
sage and the perception of the temper
and intention of the legislative branch.
RAILROAD EARNINGS SCRITI-
NIZED.
The tendency of railroad earnings is
also being scrutinized with great at
tention, now that the abnormal grain
movement has abated The weeks re-
turns for the second week IN Novem-
Der show earnings we'll ND to the best
records in former years, and in the
case Of some southern and southwest
ern roads, where arrears OF traffic re-
leased from quarantine restrictions
are coming forward, the showing is the
best on record. But the expectation
is that the third weeks earnings will
not be fully maintained at the recent
high level The ret returns from rail
roads for October, Which are expected
shortly, are said to show very LARGE
proportion of recent heavy increases
in gross earnings ABSORB I'd by opeI at
ing expenses.
: CONFLICT OF RATES.
In view of the drastic system of re-
trenchment which was enforced or
many railroad systems during the pre-
vious. year it was expected that there
would be arrearages to ne mn lie gOoC
in the present. more prosperous times
, The Widespread conflict of railroad
rates all through the conntrv also
, tends to raise doubts regarding future
earnings. The speculative nina ha.
, pondered these things ali has decided
5 TO refrain for the present, AMI neither
) the confident and optimistic bulls nol
, the sl1eptical bears have been much il
: evidence during the week
I, RAILROAD BONDS.
/ AS natural outcome of cheap mcneJ
j and speculative uncertainty, the mar
ket for railroad bonds hes he an Ella
lively active and The high grade is
very stiffly held, resulting II RECORD
prices in some cases. Driccs are hiche,