The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-04-18
I'M THE STOCK MARKET,
iron and Steel Trade Held Attention 10 tA'
cIuslon Of All Others,
GREAT QUANTITIES. OF THE STOCK SOIL
A. /. sacrifice TO the Holders Thereoi
Bond Was Quiet ana ihe'e
Nothing Doing in Railways

Nav York April It's. Mum. son q 70
say. Stocks broke sharply ana tnen ,ai'.vn'
stock transaction 100000 shares nonus g.
300 900 Bond features wer; keaunF -
wabash debe INJURIES and Atchison' M's
souri, Pacific. Iron Mountain ana st. LOUIS
Southwestern issues
steel stocks were again weak features
especially Steel and Wire. The break Is
attributed bv not few to manipulation. they
believe that mills were shut down, not pc
cause of overproduction. but TO eepress tn7
steel stocks and enable insiders to buy atul
heavy short sales.
A drive against PENNSYLVANIA caused a."
carly drop of per cent. it rallied lat'F'
industrials generally and the fractions Ne''
lower in sympathy with steel socks. there
was good buyIng OF Missouri Pacific, missouri.
Nangas and Texas aud IcXas and Pacnc On
the proposed consolidation 81 aousuWeStslh
roads. A Federal steel director sad NV
Is nothing to warrant the slump IN iron an'
steel stocks. the securities OF steer con-
panies known TO be comparatively man
aged are inquest. onaby very cheap
The reduction Of - per Ton IN tue prlvas
OF all nnlshcd steel at Phtlad, lphla Is W.
clared to have been not unenp ctu' leaNe,
a good margin OF proit and Is eApvc,cl
10 cause an increased consumption LJhuol
sold early but bought its sieclalues la'ei
on
pennsylvania and the trunk lines became
stronger on good buying coal stocks, es-
peciaily Norfolk and Western were wen su5,
tanned In the later business. stanuaIu " W
neCple were said to he buying Brooklyn haWu
Transit and Consolidated Gas, Chicago was
tn, largest seller of steel stocts anu Ieo-
ple's Gas The Missouri Kansas ana l rNa9
Wabash preferred and St Louis southwest
Gossip has it that part Of the Missouri
Pacific deal is to be an offer to eXchaus9
one share of Missouri Pacho for each three
shares of Texas and Pacific
New York. April 17.--The published opinions
and assertions OF Mr., ]. W. Gates chairman
of the American steel and Wire company re-
garding the present conditions and the outlook
for the future IN the iron and steel trade Or
cupled the attention of dealers in stocks and
bonds to the almost total exclusion OF all
other matters. Decentralization and confusion
were the results.
A striking commentary upon the way forces
work in the stock market is that the iron and
steel stocks are the only ones that show strlk-
ing net gains while tho net losses every
where else are due to fea-s Of uusound con
ditit MS OF the iron trade and IN the securi-
ties of corporations in that trade. When the
urgent deBand for tho IRON and steel stocks
was perceived Immediately after the opening
drop in them there was a feeling OF rehef re-
Elected in a lively recovery or prices all
aroLnd The first Interpretation of the buy
ling OF these stocks was that H. contributed
] to The gloomy assertions of the chairman ni
the S,eel and Wire company The CONVICTION
seemed to gather force that this buying might
simply represent the taking OF profits by bears
who mad sold IN anticipation of the recent
heavy declines in these stocks. The asser-
E If chairman Cnfpg QVpTurOdllt tlON m
4 the trades and the necessity for concessions IN
prices were met by chorus OF disclaimers
} by reports of other companies in the meta
( industries and by authorities IN the trade
| These disclaimers were accompanied by mutf
! bitter invective and questioning of motive
The reinsurance derived from this source Nae
much to do with the general rally alter IN
opening but 10 was not sudiCteFt to allay al
doubt caused by the concrete fact OF the clos
ing down of large number ut the mills o
tho steel and wire company. one Of the an
thOrities who sought to conirovert the posi-
ton Of Chairman Gates argued that II th
iron and steel Industry is IN as bad condition
as Mr.. Gates painted, then practically al
securities are 20 per cent too high. T1t
authority meant to enforce his view that tn
high level of securities prices and the gen
eral prosperity OF the country in thenselve
serve to coutrovert the view that the lro
trade is unsouud, but the belief is deep
rooted among stock operators that the iro
trade is true index OF the business of tn
by so prominent an authority proved too niue
for the equanimity Of holders Of stocks an
? toward the latter part OF the day these SO
curities were thrown upon the market by tn
wholesale. Stocks which have been speruia
tive favorites for a rise were not the chic
sufferers Missouri Pacific, Norfolk an
Western and the Baltimore and Ohio stock
were comparatively well held. while the high
er prced stocks. which are selling high i
proportion TO the dividend return, shove
larger declines. \ late rally in the markt
made it evident 10 how large an extent short
selling had to do with the loss and recoverie
reaching over point in many cases, Will
iron and steel stocks closed to . point
above last nights level for the leading men
hers of the group The general news of tn
day and the money conditions were entlrei
Ignored in the trading, There Was no sue
, pressure manifested in the bond market do
the stock market and stronger points WEI
manifest here and there, Total sales pa
value 81. 100000