The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-28
THE SUN, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2s, 1899.
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
FRIDAY. Oct 2

= e.
The limited supply Of loanable capital avail
able for speculative purposes continues TO re-
strict both public and professional operations
in stocks The Street was reminded OF this cir
cumstanco to day by a sitter money market
The rates for call loans averaged above the legal
ratio and bclated borrowers are said TO have paid
nearly twice that rate. Fears Of an unfavorable
bank statement to morrow were partly responsible
for this condition Of affairs The most trust
worthy compilation of the known movements OF
money this week indicates that the banks have
lost about So 500 600 In cash This would indi.
cate an average net loss OF about 5000 600 which
might easily be offset in the surplus, to which tho
speculative community pays especial attention,
by a further contraction Of loans and consequently
smaller deposits.
In the early dealings, before the money market
opened and discussion regarding the probable
showing by the banks was stimulated by tho
compilation referred to above, the stock market
was influenced chiefly by II fairly strong market
for securities in London. Foreign dealers bought
rather extensively and were mainly responsible
for material and sustained advances in Louis
willie and Nashville. Southern Railway preferred
and slight gains in the other stocks, for which
there is international market. Domestic
buying lifted the prices Of Missouri Pacific
the L. S Leather stocks, Tennessee Coal and
lron Colorado Fuel and a number Of the less
active issues AS rule the best prices wero
made after the opening During the last half
Of the day il became fashionable to sell the list
and in consequence much Of the early improve
menl was wiped out.
Exceptional weakness developed In American
Steel and Wire and in Federal Steel on the report
that the first named company is about TO erect n
new $40, 900, 900 plant near Pitsburg and may
become involved in a trade war with the Carnegie
interests. The earnings OF both companies are
without doubt enormous. In the case of Amer-
can Steel and Wire it is trustworthy stated that
within the nine months ending Sept 80 the COM
pany has earned the full years dividend upon its
preferred stock and over IL per cent upon its com
mon stock This sounds very fattering to the
holders Of the common stock but it is Offset by
fears that il may be the policy Of the management
TO use its extraordinary profits to establish plants
based upon the present condition Of the iron in
dustry, and which possibly cannot be operated
| to advantage a few years hence. when the inev-
table reaction in that industry takes place
Official information upon this point is obviously
desired by security holders and might increase
the confidence Of money lenders in the steel and
iron stocks collateral Without doubt the
recent heaviness of these stocks in the market
has been due largely TO the fact that they arc
Disseminated against by many money lenders
| who apparently believe that the boom in the iron
| trade is approaching climax At the moment
however, there seems TO be little basis for that
| belief for practically every producer and
| ufacturer has booked orders at the prevailing
| high prices for many months ahead.
| The advance in Missouri Pacific and in tho
| securities of other Southwestern trunk lines tho
last few days is now explained by the printed
in another column Of THE ST n that substantially
| the same syndicate that purchased the Chicago
and Alton Railroad has underwritten the reorgani-
| cation Of the Kansas City, Pit,sburg and Gulf
| Railroad. This means that that road has been
secured by its competitors in the interest of stable
| and profitable rates. The transportation industry
| in the Southwest is decidedly improved by this
| transaction.
| General Electric in demand in connection
| with plausible report that the company has
secured large part Of the contract for cquipping
| the elevated railway system Of this city with
| electric motive power. In the final trading pro-
fessional traders sold rather freely and even took
| positions on the short side of the market Tho
conflicting influences Of the day resulted in
smaller volume Of trading, still the market was
far from dull The closing irregular.