New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-21
finanrial,
The Financial World.

which has fallen on the market The trading
has withered away. We are as badly off as we
were In the spring, when day after day one or
TWO stocks only had any movement In them.
From the summer burst Of activity with Its six
70 eight hundred thousand shares daily, the mar
ket mas shrunk to one-thrd OF that, or less.
When THIS happens the shrunken speculation
concentrates itself in two or three stocks. Dur
Ing the past week. 1t has been mainly concen.
trated In Sugar and Consolidated Gas. The gen.
eral list has been strong with very little doing:
and 1t closed yesterday just about where II left
of last Saturday.
In Sugar, block Of the stock was carefully
bought below 100. The buyers seemed to an
nounce on Friday that they had secured their
line and were prepared to make the stock walk.
when the price was rapidly advanced a couple
Of points, apparently as a test OF the market
This Is the way the stock has been handled all
the way down from 100. After each break, q
certain amount has been bought and short
bull turn engineered. Its further advance now
will probably depend upon general market con-
ditions II these be favorable, the stock will 20
up.
The operations in Consolidated Gas. and the
newspaper discussions and dispatches about gas
| affairs generally, gave a sort Of gaseous atmos.
phere to the Street There were the flaming
dispatches sent to all the papers Wednesday Of
| the wonderful things done at the Bay State Gas
| Company meeting In Delaware, which greatly
| astonished a number Of well-known gentlemen
who it was implied In the desr atches were pres
| ent. After this excitement had subsidized, the
| movements OF Consolidated Gas began to at.
tract attention, and kept attracting 1t.
| "Mr Sage won't go into the deal'-down goes
| Consolidated Gas stock ten to fifteen points.
"Mr. Sage agrees to come in"-up it goes again
as many. Mr.. Sage is the big stockholder In the
| Standard Gas Company, also its president; and
| his price is not only high but he wants It II
| hard cash--no securities. This is alleged to DO
| the cause of the rapid fluctuations in the price
| Of Consolidated stock. But some people who
claim to have good information allege that these
| turns have been made by certain persons in the
Consolidated Gas Company, who sold their STOCK
! from 225 up, and have worked the Sage negot'-
| atoms to buy 1t back again fifty points or so
below where they soil However 1t was stated
very positively yesterday that the deal was &C.
| tually made and would go through without fah
| the coming week.
| The Burlington dividend was not increased.
which disappointed one, as 1t had been ihti.
| mated by directors that no increase over the
| per cent rate need be looked for until next year.
The speculation in St Paul seems to lag little.
| as II the roads traffic were not quite keeping up
| TO expectations. There are rumors that the Oc-
| tober statement will show decrease in net
| earnings
The Rock Island refunding scheme will be de-
| termned upon within a week or ten days Inc
directors will have 10 pass upon II when the
| contracts are drawn. The stock will probably
sell at 90 the day they are signed
| The much discussed Northern Pacific pre-
| ferred stock dividend. which is expected to be
declared some time next month. II is said viii
be either per cent or IL per cent for the max
| year Prudence would dictate the lower hgure'
but the necessities Of speculation may compel
the higher The prior lien bonds, per cents
| are quoted between - and 30. It Is possible.
! therefore we may be treated 10 the interesting
spectacle OF a rear-end collision between the
| stock and the bonds ahead Of IT,
| The Northern Pacific may reckon next year
| on having something out Of the ordinary in the
way OF a big spring business. 1t will come II
IL comes at all. from the rush to Alaska, and the
! traffic that rush will create The oregon I'M
| provement Company (once part OF the North
ern Pacific SYSTEM will get its full share OF this
| The formation OF the new o. l. company ough'
| now 10 be quickly perfected. as the sale unoer
| foreclosure has been completed. IL is the wish
| Of holders OF a very large amount or the Sc
| curities OF the o. l. company that Mr.. EhJan
| Smith shall be the President OF the new com
| pany and they will work vigorously to that end
| Congress meets December 9th The questions
before II OF possible disturbing character are
| Cuba and the currency. The Treasury mas $780,
600 600 gold and only the plethora Of money
osAc a
| per cent on time and less on call. prevents the
| importation Of gold Discussions on the bes'
method of remodeling the currency are there
| fore not fraught with that anxious interest
; which would attach to them If gold were going
| out and the Treasury reserve low. In respect Il
Cuba, It is understood that the Republicans
| will caucus the matter The meaning Of this Is
that the policy as outlined in the Presidents
Message will be adopted as party measure
and anything different from it in House or Sem
ate will have the party vote against II. 1t 1.
already given out in the Street that the Message
| will be of the most pacific character; and that
the Cuban question will be stripped OF any
| feature calculated to disturb business Finally
from very high sources. the Information Is thai
| in the Nebraska Maximum Rate case the de-
| cision OF Judge Brewer Will be confirmed The
| cose is on appeal from his decision in favor OF
| the roads
| Thesa things point 10 a resumption OF thu
| summer bull movement In the market, when the
| time Ia ripe But evidently II is not yet IN
| ouirv was made OF one Of the chiefs in the do
| main of high finance whether 1t was not time ia
| talk strongly on the bull side Not yet.' was
| The ouiet reply Wait a little" There are siz
| or eight large concerns in the Street the heads
| ~ which have to be in substantial accord ia
make n market like that we had in the summer
They may not all meet in council, but they
| bove 10 be mutually well informed to any
given line OF policy; and when they are agreed
| their buyipg orders go into the market on a
scale which carries the whole list up as we saw
| il from June to September. When these men
| determine that the time has come to send the
| market forward again. the trading Will speedily
i L. sir,l tt.a,lsa nd Sha