The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-03-13


trading, $4,000, was well up to the
average of Il full days business for the
week, exclusive of Monday and blocks
of several thousand shares were fire.
quently recorded. Part of these offer
5ngs We're speculative holdings dislOdged
by exhausted margins but there can
be TO doubt that sales of investment
holdings such as are not usually lntiu-
enced at all by the speculative movement
Of prices. are beginning to absorb an
increasing proportion of the business on
the Stock Exchange. There Was no
specific item of the days news that can
be r1inted to to account for the demon
aliza ton of the market. 1t was caused
rathtr by the general conviction that
lhe reports of the Maine Board Of H.
curry and n statement of the further
policy of the government toward Cuba
are imminent and the unwillingnescs OF
operators to carry Upen contracts over
Sunday. The weekly bank statement
shows that the gold imports received
for the week have not been sufficient
20 offset continued withdrawals to the
interior so that the cash holdings show
| net decrease of $736 700. But as the
heavy drawing down of deposits has
reduced the - per cent requirements
by S2,6}4 .625, the surplus reserve Is
enlarged by 81. S97, 925.
The stock market ended the week a
il began it, in a dpm0raliZcd condition.
The New York Exchange shared the
depression existing ON every exchange
for securities in the world. On the
London and the European exchanges,
the new demands on Russia upon China
and TIE tension between France ami
Great Britain over the West African.
situation were almost ms much causes
uf alarm as the relations between the
United States and Srain. So acute was
the u.tlng depression that $50 inn
portant an incident as the Supreme
court decision in the Nebraska maxi
mum freight rate case in favor of the
railroads was almost entirely diSrcgaG>
ded, although it has been eagerly looked
for each Monday since last year. SPANS
prompt disayOwal of any intention to
demand or even request General Lees
recall. the satisfactory adjustment OF
fine difficulty over sending provisions to
Cuba in war ships and the voting by
Congress of the $50,000.000 defense
fund were all cited as evidence of inn
proved conditions in our relations with
Spain. Burt that none of them had any
deep seated effect was shown by the
course of prices later i'm the week. The
course of the exchange market and the
continued influx of gold mnSt he acccp-
ted also as additional evidence of prep
arations for emergencies There has
been 10 interruption to the engage
merits of gold for import. which have
now reached a total of considerably
over S16,00O0OO. As high as seven per
H., Nv Al
for gold and finally that institution went
SO far on Friday as to refuse to pay
god altogether. Gold is. however, being
taken from the Bank of England for
New York In view of the current
ease in months rates. this insistent de-
mand for gold must probably be attrib-
uted to uneasiness over the future ana
Il desire to increase the reserves of the
precious metal against all possible con
tingenc;eS
Railroad bonds have shown full sym
pathy with the weakness of stocks but
dealings have been mostly i'm the specu-
lative ISSUES and the liquidation was
not large.
United States new As have declined
3 bid. the IS and the old As l bid ana
the old Is coupon and the nds II per
cent bid.
The total sales of stocks to-day were
$4,000. including Atchison preferred
6.5G0; C. b. Il O., 2O.0OS l.. & Nj.
100; Manhattan L., 16.320; Metropoli-
tan Traction, 5000; Reading LIST pre-
ferred, $500; Mo. Pacific. 5.917; New
York Central 10,620; Northern Pacific.
5.420; do preferred. 1920; Rock Is
land. 10920; st. Paul. 23,420; Union
Pacific. 5,420; American Tobacco, 1850;
Peoples Gas, 1906: Sugar, 44,320;
Western Union, 1920.