The times., 1899-02-18
DEALINGS IN STOCKS
A HARD PROBLEM
Changers Continue the Chief
Factor in Trading.
Heavy Transactions in Burlington,
With Wide Fluctuations.
American Tobacco Takes ~ Long
Upward Jump After Sharp
Break.

New York, Feb. 1.-THE unheralded
and deprecated recovery in the stock mar
ket made further progress today, mas
much as the trading bore few of the ear
marks of the aggressive bull manipulation
that attended the November January rise;
the professional element particularly was
at loss to account for the general dis
tribution of strength. So long as the room
traders feel confident that this large in
terest is active in promoting the market
position of one or more favorite stocks
they are ready to follow the lead set, but
they are for the most part averse to bas-
ing their ventures on their own notions of
the intrinsic merits of particular stocks o.
upon considerations of the real outside
situation. The absence of direct manipu-
lative work in the stock market this week
apart from one or two special cases. has
made the market very difficult reading
Tor the ordinary trader. Profess; onal cal
culations have gone wide of the mark be-
cause they have not included in the reck-
onlnG the presence of public ready to
buy on recessions and able to take care OF
its purchases. There is no doubt that the
weeks stock market has been chiefly the
result of the general disposition of the
public both from a speculative and invest
ment standpoint
London furnished lower range of prices
for American stocks this morning although
foreign advices reported that the sudden
death oil the President of the French Re-
public had exercised no appreciabIe effect
upon the European security market. The
arbitrage houses were again sellers of
stocks here on balance, but while this cir
cumstance was effective in a further hard
enlng OF the foreign exchange market it
had no effect upon the stock market. In
terest in the days market was very well
distributed, but the granger shares con-
tinued easily in the lead of trading. The
heaviest dealings were in Burlington and
Quincy, and the fluctuations in that stock
were remarkably wide. Definite informa-
tion in regard TO the much talked-of re-
FUNDING plan was unobtainable but the
conviction is growing that the great ad-
vance and enormous dealings in the stock
mean that the control OF the road has
changed hands, or. at least to a sufficient
extent TO permit of a change in the fiscal
policy of the company. In these circum-
stances there is little doubt that a COM
prehensive funding and refunding plan will
sooner or later be carried out. The mar.
ket was not without appearances of irreg-
uiarity Northern Pacific and Union Pa
cifc shares were comparatively heavy, and
there were some erratic movements in the
industrial division. In the railway list
aside from the granger shares strong feat
ures were the Reading shares, Southern
Railway preferred, and Central and South
ern Pacific. New York Central. Manhat-
tan Railway, and the Atchison shares were
firm. The industrial shares were very act
i've. American Tobacco broke sharply at
the opening, which movement was prelimi-
nary to rise of nearly seven points Su-
gar Refining and the Federal Steel shares
were steady. The market closed very act
i've, with the stocks named holding their
relative noted positions in the dealings.