The herald., 1898-07-19
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,
LOS ANGELES, July Is, 1898.


1.-THE language of excitement is at best
but picturesque merely. You must be
calm before you can utter oracles."
In an elaborate review Of the stock mar
ket for the first half of the current year,
the New York Times says, regarding the
summer buoyancy of quotations, as FOL
lows:
"Wall street has just entered upon the
second half of 1S9S-upon that period whicn
In 1897 was productive of such wonderful
results. AT the beginning of July last year
the market was just beginning 10 proaoen
and to develop that strength which LED up
to the great boom Of the year. throughout
July and August, and up to the middle or
September. there were gradually increasing
activity and buoyancy, greater than Wall
street had known for years. That this
coming July and August and September will
duplicate those months year ago Is the
hope of the street. But now, as then, there
are scoffers and bears who Insist that the
market cannot go up now, chfeny because
Of the strength which it has enjoyed for
some time past.
During the first half of the present year
the market showed great strength, despite
adverse influences more powerful than have
been known for many years. In fact,
stocks made better showings than they did
In the first six months of 1897, when there
was nothing more unfavorable than the
Transmissouri Pacific. But there Is reason
for this; the country is prosperous; its rail-
roads are prosperous; its people are pros
porous.
At the beginning Of the second half of
1897 stocks had already gone up to some
extent. The real buoyancy had not yet ar
rived, but for some time previous there had
been an advancing tendency. which had re-
suited in many substantial gains. Granger
stocks had already developed strength, and
the upward movement in them was we'll
under way. st. Paul had advanced 8ss,
Northwestern IA, Rock Island s%, and Bur-
lington 1875 Among the industrial shares
. sugar had risen 1e, cotton oil preferred was
~ higher, spirits preferred 5A, Brooklyn
Union Gas Is, Consolidated Gas 2S%, Con-
solidated Ice 1915, Consolidated Ice pre-
ferred I, Edison Electric Illuminating IA,
lead, 6%, lead preferred 81, Laclede Gas
preferred 6, and Pullman's Palace Car 16.
On the other hand, leather preferred had
declined ~. rubber 1874. rubber preferred
NM, and Illinois Steel 5.
The Lake Shore refunding scheme had
added % to the price of that stock, while
the decentralization In the coal trade had re-
suited in declines of AZ in Delaware and
Hudson, 16 in Jersey Central, as in Read
Ing first preferred, and in Reading second
preferred. The newly reorganized proper
ties, like Northern Pacific and Norfolk and
Western, had not as yet become prominent,
but gave evidence Of the buoyancy they
later developed. Oregon Railroad and Nav
lgation preferred was an exception. scoring
IN advance of 16A.
In the general railroad list, Canada South
srn had riser 81, Canadian Pacific s, Ches-
lpeake and Ohio IN, Chicago and Eastern
Illinois preferred 3, Great Northern pre-
terred /, Illinois Central 5h, Iowa Central
l, Louisville and Nashville IL, Michigan
Central 10, Minneapolis and st. Louis sec
md preferred 61s, Missouri, Kansas and
Texas preferred 2M, New York Central 911,
New York. Chicago and St. Louis second
preferred 5%, Rio Grande Western 5, Rio
Grande Western preferred 4, st. Louis and
san Francisco first preferred 9A, st. Louis
md San Francisco second preferred 81,
and Omaha 1874.
Wall street is now coming into that pc
Rod which will compare with the boom
months of 1897-the greatest boom known In
Wall street since that Of 1879 and 1890
The advances made last year are well
worth recalling. If in the coming last half
Of 1898 there is shown as much strength as
was shown last year, Wall street will have
small cause to complain. Here are some of
the gains made from July 1, 1897, to the
highest point Of the advance last year:
Cotton Oil 127, Cotton Oil preferred II.
American Spirits 3A, American Spirits pre-
AeiAcO " 6ueoA' o@Nf sugar pieieIEeu lo72,
Tobacco, 1875, Tobacco preferred 9H.
Friends of the market admit that at
present many stocks are fairly high, many
Of them being well up to last summers
top level. But during the recent weeks
there have not been made many new high
prices-in fact, the market up to date has
not done much moro than 1t did from May
Is to July of last year, and It will be re-
nembered in that month it was broaden
ing and developing strength which after
ward made It famous