The age-herald., 1898-01-30
Local Staple Groceries
Cotton Letter.

Special to The Age-Herald.
 New York, Jan. 29.-The weeks trading in the cotton market has been by no means exciting, but there has been a little &C., tvity and the indications seem to point to the probability that which ever way the market moves a fluctuation of some extent will not be long delayed. Today the market was quiet and lower. Liverpool declined one sixty-fourth, and the opening here was one to two points down. From these figures moderate liquidation after the opening caused slight farther easing. May opened at 5.79, declined to 5.T and closed at 51S to 5.79, with the tone of the market steady. There no essential factors in sight at present that have not been discussed over and over again since prices struck their present level. The movement continues to warrant belief in crop of hardly less than ten and three- quarter millions, with the possibility of much more, and the demand is still of unprecedented character. The southern markets firm, and there Is no pressure in that quarter yet If the taking of spot cotton continues on its present scale as the bulls claim that it will, the market will be in position to respond quickly to any influence favorable to higher prices that there will be some reduction in acreage and great reduction in the use of fertilizer there is no doubt. Money is cheap and plentiful at the commercial centrers and Wall street is disposed to take an optimistic view of value of securl- ties and commodities The New England strike amounts to little and the political trouble in the Orient will probably be ad- justed before long. But these and all other favorable features that can develop in the near future are more than offset, we think if there is too much cotton. We believe that to be the case, and that values must temporarily decline whatever happens in the long run. RIORDAN & co.
 Tn Wall Street.
 New York Jan. 29.-At the opening the stock market today looked as though the orders accumulated by commission houses over night were to sell in order to take profits. First sales were very generally at a fraction below last nights prices, and 2,2oO shares of New York Central thrown on the market drove the price of the stock down B. The market steadied al- most immediately and recovered gradual ly, the trading, however. being very un- equal Lake Shore was conspicuous in it's movements, rising 6A points to 1s4A, on the
 
 York Central 31s per cent. debenture bonds for each $100 of Lake Shore stock.
 Quotations from London this morning showed some depression in the market for Americans there which was attributed to the apprehension awakened in the Brit ish mind by yesterdays vote on the Teller resolution in the senate.
 The week opened with continued ten dapcv touard vacation and the basitat- ing tone in the early dealings on Monday gave way to very positive weakness upon the announcement that the Maine had been ordered to Havana. This sharp de- cline seemed to clear the speculative sit uation by giving the shorts an opportu- nifty to cover and by shaking out the weak CT and narrow margined holders, whd were regarded a menace to the success of any movement to advance The character of the buying at the decline made it very evident that powerful interests were talk ing up heavy lines of stocks with confi- dence, and their aggressive manipulations for an advance were evident during the remainder of the week.
 The most effective factor in their favor was the strong upward tendency of New York Central, at first unexplained. but made clearer later by information of plan in contemplation for absorbing the Lake Shore How much the general strength of the market was due to infu- ence of this movement and the sympa- thetic strength in the widely extended Vanderbilt group was made evident on Friday when a realizing movement in New York Central left the market without support and a reaction resulted. Rock Island was another sustaining force on the announcement of the refunding plan and on the very large increase in net earn ings for the fiscal year thus far shown by the presidents statement.
 Rock Island helped an advance in the whole of the granger group until the pub lication of the December earnings of Bur- lington and St. Paul. which were viewed unfavorably by the traders
 The weeks statement of railroad earnings have been, as rule, very favorable, nota- bly, Northern Pacific and Pennsylvania, published today, the latter being regarded as an especially reliable index of the coun- try's railroad business. All of the securities of the Kansas and Texas have been very strong during the week, improved financial condition having been shown by reports this year thus far.
 The bull operators made use of reports