New-York tribune., 1898-11-06
finaneial.
The Financial World.

heavy until Friday when 1t began 70 stinen
up. One only repeat what was SAID last
week that while the noise OF the GuDernatorlal
contest is dinned right in our ears, 1t Is only
OF the remotest possible interest to the market;
while the Congressional elections. which we
hear only in a sort OF incidental way, are very
important indeed in reIation 10 Wall Street.
There !s 1t Is true. an argument advanced that
II Van Wyck wins 1. will create bearish feel
Ing as presaging a Democratic victory at the
next Presidential election. The argument seems
n little far fetched Even II true. which is open
to question the event IS two harvests distant.
We may be all dead and buried by that time.
The Congressional elections are the real thing.
and II the House gets into Democratic control,
then there most certainly will be a bearIsh feel
ing created With a Republican Senate, which
can be counted surely. the House could not.
probably do anything really hurtful on the
currency If il wanted TO: but the average in
vestor would be made uneasy by the Idea that
II could. and the Spectator would speedily IN
terpret that feeling through operations in the
market. Supposing We have Republican sue
cess to the extent OF keeping fair working
majority in the House. and that is about all
we can reasonably expect. It Is AT least good
for some days OF rising prices
The foreign selling has been a little trouble
some While the Fashoda incident may be said
to be closed. the reports Of warlike preparations
by the British Government plobaby exag-
gerated) tended to keep the London market
unsettled; AMI alarnist cables from certain ~
the Chinese ports considerably helped IN the
same direction These places arc not beds =
political intrigue. We are constantly getting
dispatches from them which come under the
head OF important II true. i IS alvays safe
TO assume they are not true. The other day
they had the British Gcet OBJ tho Asiat.r station
clearing ship for action. with the iutlma;ion
that it was about to steam out somewhere and
smash some other feet forthwith Such things.
silly enough. have their effect in times of polit-
ical unrest Ike the present, and one of tho
effects has been TO keep an ever present supply
OF foreien selling orders on this market. Be-
sides this. We have a real trouble in Germany
where the effects OF lve years ot eXtraFasant
speculation are appearing IN a forced lQuda-
tion The Berlin selling Of Northern Pacific
stoclss Is due TO this However they have held
up wonderfully well under K.
The anthracite coal stocks have developed 4
suggestive weakness. There Il nothing sur
nrisinq io the weakness of the Reading securl-
tics for Reading is the Sick Man ~ the Street.
and The common impression is that it won't Le
long before the company will asain need the
protCc ton Of the COrTfs. IN otner words, WIZ
return once more to its natural home in a re-
ceiyershp. But It vas the selling OF Delaware
& Hudson stock which made the Street talk
The selling locked ike long stock. The COM
panv must be about making up IT'S account,
for the year upon which the dividend for next
year is declared-the declaration being made
early in January. Probably there is no difficulty
in the company's directors making exact
calculation at this time as to what the years
earnings viii be- u is said that the stock sold
was taken hy the Vanderbilts Certainly they
can afford To pay more for il than anybody
else. for various and obvious reasons.
That The condition OF the anthracite coal
trade Is poor. is conceded. Many OF those en-
gagged IN Il think the railroads are TO blame
and as a controlling power in these roads Mr.
Morgan They assert that IL the companies
would agree among themselves. better prices
for coal could be obtained: and they insist that
Mr. Morgan is the man who las the say He
controls the Reading; through the Reading he
controls the Lehlgh Valley, he Is also the con-
trolling power in Erie. which is an important
coal carrier. The argument is that Mr. Nor
gan has the power to compel the maintenance
Of prices If only the circular prices were
actually realized the Lehigh Valley road would
no = having nropertv. Is there more money.
tbese rnalcontents ask in reorganizing the
Lehirh Valley company. or the Reading again.
than in selling coal at paying rates? The OUT
slider is not in position to say whether these
contentious are correct He only knows that
people largely engaged in the production OF
anthracite coal are talking that way.
Earnings of the western roads through the
,,,o,th ~ November will comrare with large
ores last wear. and therefore the comparison
NAV NOT ALWAYS be favorable The St Paul
Is doing an unusually large business al ths
time. which is attributed to special grain
operations by Mr. Armour. 1t Will be remem-
bered that last year in September the Burlins-