The times., 1898-12-30

One market day remains of the most re-
markable year 1898. There is the prospect
that it will be one OF the most interesting
in the entire twelve months. The predic-
tion is ventured here that the year Will
end with a boom despite all beliefs to the
contrary, and despite the almost invariaole
rule that prices drop as December closes.
The factors in the situation are clear. The
public is still buying with an arder and
a plethora of money that suggests the most
unbounded confidence in the future, even
reckless abandon This steady wave
Of buying orders piling up all day. and over
every night has carried prices up when
all the professionals were selling out their
holdings in the expectation of a break,
even when they were selling short rapidly
in the hope of getting into the market
again. During this week the professionals
have begun buying again heavily, giving
up the attempt to cause slump as use
less. There have been minor currents in
this general situation, but broadly it may
be thus summarized. Today may see a re-
versal of the trend of events, but moth
ing in yesterdays business or anywhere
else in the situation points that way. 1t
would seem indeed that the day should be
very like yesterday, only probably on
greater scale. Why should not the leaders
of the market, Flower and Keene, and
the others desire to impress the public
ket on the last day Of the year, make
great bull pool, and buy stocks more
heavily than at any time before? With
the prospect of the great amount OF money
to be invested in securities at the begin
ming of next month. such a coarse would
not be unnatural.
The market opened with a recession yes
terday morning. but there was good Lon
don buying and the public was ready to
absorb all stocks that were offered so that
in a few minutes the upward movement
began again. 1t continued with one mo-
ment.ry hesitation at IL o'clock during all
the remainder of the day and prices at the
close were at the highest level.
The Federal Steel issues were the
strongest of the day. There was an ad-
vance in each of point from the opening
to the close This movement was proba-
bly, contrary to the general professional
expectation. Opinions are changing with
regard to these securities. Their course
during the last month of two has been
such as to suggest immense speculative
possibilities for them to every market
critic who has watched Industrial stocks
in the past. The charter of the Federal
Steel trust is a wonderful instrument. The
company is granted such rights as were
perhaps never gwen 10 any corporation
before. 1t may engage in mining; it may
haul its ore on its own railroads; it may
smelt its ore, it may manufacture its iron
and steel into rails or engines, or agri-
cultural instruments or watch works; it
may transport its finished products to
their markets: it may buy new mining
companies and new steel plants and new
railroads; it may reorganize anything; it
may own real estate or anything else. and
this company with such charter has the
strongest capitalists in the country behind
it, and has already obtained control Of
railroads and mines and manufacturing
plants. doing a business of millions. 1t
begins business at the beginning of a
great era of prosperity. when the iron and
steel trade is already the largest in the
history of the country. Yesterday Mr..
Flower, the gentleman who has bought
something like 1000 shares of the, stock
Of the company within the last two
months, made the statement that orders
already received indicate that there will
be earned in 1899 10 per cent on the COM
mon stock. These matters make people
recall the course of the sugar trust stock
] The anthracite shares continued very