Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-12-18
Government bonds irregular.
State bonds steady.
Railroad bonds irregular.

NEW YORK, Dec. 17.-The surface
indications in to-day's stock market
ali go to show that stocks were in
very active course of transfer from the
hands of the strong to those of weak
holders The elimination Of rise
invariably presents this very condi-
ti0n, but it is a condition also which
occurs at intervals in every long sus-
tanned upward movement. The conser-
vatiye element, after seeing a certain
profit assured, makes it a habit to sell
and take a profit, without regard to the
prospect of further advance The
weight of influence then passes to the
bear party, and the upward course is
not renewed until they have exhaust
ed their best efforts to push the reac-
ton to a Culmin2 ton. What was ev-
ident to-day was that powerful skillful
manipulation was at work to make
the opening prices as high as pos
sibIe to meet the flood Of outside buy
ing orders which was certain TO come
into the market after the last week 5
events. From the very first enormous
realizing was in evidence Later in
the day various attempts were made
TO hold up the market by marking up
the prices Of various individual stocks
AS the fact became more and mare
evident that the sustaining force OF
those individual movements was Ia
ken advantage Of to continue the I'M
loading OF heavy lines of long stock,
the professional element on the ex-
change turned to the bear side They
were successful in forcing a sharp re
action, much reducing the gains that
had been the largest and completely
Wiping out a large number of those
that had only reached moderate pro-
portions. Manipulation developed at
the close again to rally the market
by bidding lip Northern Pacific to 7S15
a record price. The shorts were buy
ing TO cover elsewhere, so that the
closing was generally steady with the
Further course Of the market very
unsettled and doubtful. Even with
the net changes in prices to-day very
small, the profits on last week, adj
vances are on an enormous scale. To-
days animated outburst of outside
speculation was the logical conse-
Quence of last weeks events. The pal
pable fast that large banking and
financial interests We're taking on en-
OIIiOuo lines Vi NdIIOuS SlOChS anu Tie
developments of the week pointing so
far to the far-reachfng plans and the
Improvement OF values was offset for
q time by the apparently dangerous
condition Of the money market but
the showing in the Saturday bank
statement led to the conclusion that
exody meausres were being taken by
powerful financial interests to conserve
the ease OF the money market against
the national drain on its resources.
The normal course of treasury
operations also promised some relief
this week. The outourst of bullish
enthusiasm was a certain consequence
The fact seems to be that strong
banking interests provided themselves
long since with ample resources Il
take advantage of the reactionafy
tendency of stocks incident 10 The De-
cember period to absorb very heavy
amounts of the various railroad
stocks which have figures most large
" in the stock market foc many days
past So large and effective was this
buying as to overcome the natural
reactionary tendency in the marke,
and to prompt the speculative ,.ubiie