Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-29
BEARS IN A PANIC.
Found They Had Gone Too Far
in the War Scare.
Standard Stocks Bounded Upward and
Closed With Large Gains Throughout
the List--eond Market Strong.

New York, March 2S-The familiar
spectacle was presented on the stock
exchange, today, Of a violent reaction
upon the elimination of an event which
has been long anticipated and discoun-
ted.
The facts were that the findings
of the Maine board Of inquiry were pre-
sented to congress. and were proved TO
be exactly as forestadowed in the pub
lie news for many days past. That is
to say, the Maine is found to have been
blown up by submarine mine.
Ever since the morning after the eX-
plosion on February 10 the stock market
has been depressed by the constant
dread that this report would be formu-
lated by constituted officials of the
United States. The speculative public
assumed that such an allegation would
necessftate rupture between the
United States and Spain, and a conse-
quer1t damage to values of all securities
which it was attempted to measure by
a constant decline in prices since the
date of the explosion almost up to the
present time.
The actual publication today Of the
report, resulted in a bounding up OF
day had wiped out large proportion
Of the losses which have occurred since
the explosion in Havana harbor. This
was brought about by the movement of
the bear traders to take their profits.
Having been industriously selling
stocks for weeks in anticipation of the
harm to values to be done by the Maine
report, they were warned by the immi-
nence of the actual publication that the
lowest prices to be looked for on that
account had been reached, and they
therefore set about to buy stocks to
fill their contracts.
The progress Of the settlement quick
ly developed the fact that the short in
terest was large and lnnwieldly beyond
all expectation. Besides this, they had
to meet the skilftll and well organized
efforts Of a powerful bull combination
which had quietly possessed itself of as
much as pc ssible of the floating supply
OF stocks in the market at the low level
The liquidation of the last few weeks
had left the supply of stocks very small
When the shorts began to bid, there
iore, they found great bull operators in
run competition with them in bidding
up prices.
The result was a scramble by the
shorts, which reached the proportion of
a bear panic during the day and sent
prices sky ward. The bulls resorted to
all the usual devices to assist their cam
paign for squeezing the shorts The
news" that was circulated in Wall
street during the day was much Of it
as fantastic on the side Of peaceful
probabilities as was that on the side of
war. used by The bears in their recent
operations for a decline. The appre-
tensions of the bears were fed by a
printed report from Washington. that
Spain had completely acceded to all
of President McKinley's requests, in
Guiding the armistice between Cubans
and Spaniurds, for six months
There was indeed some foundation for
The feeling that the passing of the
Spanish elections, with their assurance
of legislative support to Premier Sd
sasta and the conservative course pur-
sued b" congress towards the report on
he Maine, gave some assurance that
President McKinley's well known desire
for peaceful adjustment with Spain
might find a successful outcome. This
gave color to the reports which were
placed in circulation, and greatly mag
ni1ed the fears of the hard pressed
bears. Without this and the underly-
ing strength of financial and business
conditions, the adroit manipulation Of
the bulls would hardly have proved so
great a success.
CLOSING prices were by no means at
the highest the specialties showing re-
actions ranging up to Az points IN Met
ropolitan street railway. Prices all
through the list were markedly below the
best, yet there remained such striking
net gains as ~ in Pullman, in Metro
politan Stret Railway, 61h for Sugar,
and from 4 to for Now York Central,
Burlington, st. Paul, Northwest, Rock
Island, Delaware and Hudson, Louis
vile, Lake Shore, Manhattan, New Jer-
sey Central Union Pacific preferred,
and over 8 points in a large number of
other prominent stocks.
The transactions for the day foot up
considerably over three-quarters of a
million shares, a total which has not
been eQualled since last fall. The bond
market also showed largely increased
activity especially In the speculative is
sues, and gains of TO per cent were
registered in prominent issues. Total
sales, SO, 100000.
Government bonds were very strong
The new As advanced 21a the old As l,
the Is "a, and the IS Il bid, and there
were sales Of the new as coupon at 121,
which Is per cent over Saturdays bid
price.
NEW vO1oL ORION rr0Nrc