The Saint Paul globe., 1897-05-20
SHARP SLUMP IN THE STOCK ON
THE CONSOLIDATION BILL
DEFEAT.
GENERAL LIST THREATENED
STRONGLY AND SCORED SLIGHT
GAINS.
JERSEY A cENrER OF DEPRESSION
The Strength of the Market Notable
In the Face of the Adverse
Influences.

NEW YORK, May 19.IThe Hrmness SHOWN
by many standard shares In the rather stormy
vicissitudes Of today's stock market was
quite remarkable, considering the existence of
two such centers Of depression as New Jer-
sey Central all day and Chicago Gas in the
late dealings, after the receipt of the news
of the defeat in the Illinois legislature Of the
bill permitting consolidation of the gas COM
panes. To estimate the influence that might
have been exercised ON the general stock mar
ket by these two stocks, it must be considered
that they absorbed 1.0O0 out Of total
Of $50, 900 shares dealt In on the exchange for
the day. Chicago Gas alone being credited
with 63,000 shares. large proportion OF
these sales were made in the last hour and
half of trading, and enormous blocks Of
stocks were unloaded with precipitate eager
ness, which had been bought in the convic-
ton that the consolidation bill would succeed
The price, which had advanced a point in
the morning, tumbled headlong 3% per cent
with no check to the decline until the lowest
point was reached, when there was feeble
rally. The decentralization in this stock was
in fair way to break the whole market and
did. in fact. carry prices generally below
the close last night, wiping out the gains
of the earlier part Of the day. But final
rally in the market brought many prices back
near last nights close or fractionally above it.
New Jersey Central was a center of de-
preston all day and sold off 2A, with only
fractional rally at the close, carrying with
1T Delaware & Hudson, which lost 1Ac. Read
ing and Lackawanna however, showed a net
gain on the day. Notable declines in other
stocks were point in Sugar and Manhattan
and IL in Tobacco and 15s in Tennessee Coal
& Iron. There were other losses in the list,
but they were small and many standard
shares were on a level with above last
nights closing.
The days trading, though narrow, was
marked by notable undercurrent OF strength,
based partly on the apparent termination of
the war between Turkey and Greece and
opinion in the street by its own processes
of reasoning, that the administration at Wash
ington had determined against any radical
step in regard to Cuba.
The outward gold movement is no longer
viewed with such marked apprehension at
first, on account of the evidences that it will
be restricted to moderate proportions. There
was slight hardening tendency to exchange
during the day, showing that bills were being
$ slowly absorbed in spite of a very light de-
mand. The gold export for the week is, how
ever, expected to be small. A rise of TX
in the price Of St. Louis & San Francisco
first preferred rumors Of an approaching
dividend declaration was one of the features
of the day. Norfolk & Western preferred also
rose IA, but lost most of the advance
Railway and miscellaneous bonds were with
out essential change in value although a
decidedly firm undertone was apparent.
Business was moderate with operations
largely restricted to prominent issues. The
sales were $9Sl, ,0OO Governments showed an
improving tendency in the forenoon but sub
sequently eased off. The transactions aggre-
gated So, ,500.to
-VNl..
861 shares, including Sugar, 5000; Burling-
ton, 4,800; Chicago Gas, 62, 700; Delaware &
Hudson, 5000; St. Paul, 11,0O0;- Tennessee c.
& l., $500.
The following were the fluctuations of the
leading railway and Industrial shares fur
nished by c. H. F. Smith & Co., members of
the New York stock exchange and Chicago
board of trade: