The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-22
HEAVY STOCK DECLINES
LARGE OFFERINGS WITH NO VERY
ADEQUATE DEMAND
Attractive Bargains Reached During
the Course of the Slump, and
Buying Thus Invited Steadier
Prices and Worked Some Notable
Recoveries.

NEW YORK, Feb. N-Today's heavy de-
cline in the stock market was made without
another actual development In the situation,
but was rather to be attributed to a combi-
nation Of Impressions which have been the
underlying force in speculation for week
or more. Today's market demonstrated for
one thing that last weeks decline would have
been much heavier on the developments in
the Cuban question, had it not been for the
support of powerful interests, who desired an
opportunity to realize. The entire absence of
support today gave color to the suppostion
that those interests had completed their liqui-
datlon. and were Indifferent to the course
of the market.
The motives assigned for the selling had
less apparent basis in fact than were fur
ntshed by the developments of the last week.
So far as they turned on the Cuban question,
they dealt with speculations on possible future
events and on abstruse points of information
al law, without any convincing authority to
back them. Apprehensions growing out OF
the rate war for passenger business between
the Canadian Pacific and our own transconti-
mental lines had a more substantial basis.
though soothing suggestion was offered that
the profits and dividends were not largely
dependent upon passenger business anyhow.
Ihere seemed TO be no realizing sense that
this suggestion inconsistent with the
large advance which had been forced In the
prices of securities hopes of Klondke
traffic.
The great snow storm in the West was also
a factor of real Importance both by reason
OF the Interruption to railroad traffic and
the possible damage to crops.
Whatever the real motive, it was beyond
dispute that there were large offerings OF
securities for which there was no adequate
demand, and selling orders were so great
that the prices that looked attractive as
bargains were reached in many cases, and
buying thus invited steadied prices and
worked some notable recoveries. This pro-
cess was repeated several times during the
day; and the market closed with one of the
rallies in full force, thus leaving the net
declines decidedly smaller than the extreme
declines during the day.
In the cases OF Sugar and Metropolitan
Street Railway, this recovery was between
and points, and Third Avenue made an
extraordinary rally of IL points In the final
dealings, after an earlier loss Of points.
The local and Industrial specialties were the
severest sufferers by the early decline, and
the grangers also were notably affected by
reason of the storm. New York Central re-
lat1ve buying. Manhattan was one of the
chief sufferers and after q fall of 59sc, rallied
112c Metropolitan Street Railway was
points off at the lowest.
A feature of the day the marking up
of call loans to Ia per cent, in accordance
with the reduction in the surplus reserve.
the frmer tone in foreign exchanges due
to the subsistence of apprehension over the
West African situation. which was regarded
with such acute misgivings on the local ex-
change on Saturday. London was a buyer
on balances in the New York market todav.
The course of the bond market was strictly
and rallies The loss at one time was from
to per cent in many leading bonds. Total
sales S4,1OO.OOO. United States tours of 1901
and of 1923 were u lower, bid
Sales of stocks included: Manhattan, 81,
200; Metropolitan, 9,7S5; Reading pfd, $3.50;
Missouri Pacific, 9,S51; M. K. & 7. pfd, 1884
N. j.. c., 300; Michigan Central. %, $50;
Northern Pacific, 10, ITO; Northern Pacific pfd
24,240; Reading, $3.50; Rock Island, Is, GOO;
St. Paul, $500; Southern pfd, 5,4OO; Union
Pacific, 5,SS5; Wabash pfd, $50; Tobacco,
1894; c. G. W., 1884; Peoples Gas, II $40;
Consolidated Gas. $3.50; General Electric
5S1O Sugar, 81, $50; T. c. & l., $780, Leather
pfd, 5020 w. u, 9,12O.
The following were the fluctuations of the
leading railway and Industrial shares, fur
nished by G. H. T. Smith &, Co., members
New York stock exchange and Chicago board
of trade: