New-York tribune., 1900-04-22
financial.
The Financial World.

"A
common stock OF that company was not mai,
II has heard Of him the past week with a rot.
and clamor resounding through all the indu.
trial regions OF the country: In the midst a,
which he calmly takes afternoon of % sboo,
pigeon match on Long Island and cor,a,
back to give the stock market another convul
sion. We may take 1t out OF Mr. Gates bv can
ing him all the hard names one can think "A,
but the fact remains that what has haonA,as
since last Monday demonstrates that John 10
Gates is a power 10 be reckOned with. The S,a.,
& Wire Company Is the largest employer of !,
Dor OF any manufacturing corporation IN n.
country; the prices IT fixes for it's products n,ak
the common market quotations for them ,aI-
though II has discovered IL cannot MAJ.
them sell at those quotations); and the suds.,
closing OF large number Of its mills with ~
announcement that prices were to be Gu, q
per cent. made a sensation In the indus,r,.l
circles OF the country as extraordinary a. +,
was sudden and unexpected This great co.
poration Mr.. Gates has shown that he dornlna,..
absolutely. as much as Mr.. Havemeyer does ,ha
Sugar Company; and such a power in tba
hands Of such a man. can be made a terror >,
the stock market.
IL Is not too much to say that the public IA,
been thoroughly scared and all the buf nal,
and combinations In the Street have either h.s,
upset OF seriously checked because nothing 4,
more thoroughly fixed in the public mind ,b.,
the theory. fact. that the iron and steel n.
dustries the barometer OF trade. and VIA,
there appeared to be a sudden convuIs!on q,
them. the fright was general Any one eouls
see this by the way the market acted yesterday
People came down town talking or nothing bu,
the action Of the directors OF the Steel & wr-.
Company; OF the decentralization OF trade. and
the end OF the bull market Wherever the bear,
have made drive at a stock support seemed
70 fade away-with one or two notable excsu-
tions only. II Gates market and IL va,
a Gates market all through the week
OF course everybody could see that all M.
row about the state Of the steel trade was
worked up so as to operate with the creates,
possible effect on stock speculation. Mr. Gate.
in his rough Western style went in with a
broad axe to smash things. and he did IT, No,
without skill either. as evidenced in the DID,
longing of Fridays meeting TIL after O'Clock
as 10 give out the action taken by the direc-
tors at such time to make most trouble tor
the stock market next morning People would
see II all in the papers IN the morning. and Eet
cold chills. But while the rough-a7d-
ready Gates smashing things with loud noise
and vigor. the truth is the way was well pre-
pared for his operations by the highly respect
whose action IN respect to the dividend on their
common stock had the worst possible effect on
public sentiment. No excuses since offered
have enaced this.
II is all very we'll to curse Mr. Gates FOR what
he has done: but was II not clearly and abso-
Iutely the duty OF the Federal Steel drectcN
at their December meeting to state 20 the stoca\
holders and the public the position OF the COM
pany to the payment OF dividends during the
coming year? Instead OF that, an ingeniousIy
worded statement was given out. from which
the ordinary reader would infer and It evi-
IDENTIFY intended he should infer. that dividends
would be paid during the year 1900 When the
stock had gone up in anticipation Of this, the
directors discovered that the directors OF the
constituent companies had been one day late IN
turning over the dividend moneys. and so no
dividend could be paid Thus it appears that
A. B. & c., Federal Steel directors. did not know
IN December what c. B. & A, constituent COM
pany directors would do In the following month
Was this the sort of thing that the public looked
for from gentlemen Of high standing? We know
as a matter Of fact, the deep disappointment
and distrust II created; and we have seen how
thoroughly II cleared the way for Mr.. Gates
smashing operations. which were 10 come later
AS TO whether or not the iron and steel trades
are suffering a set back. IL is not Theoretical
question but one of recorded fact II appears
that in a number Of departments prices have
been forced so high as to check consumption
Production has therefore got ahead, and IL VIII
have 10 wait till consumption catch up
again. which it will at lower range OF prices
At the lower range, profits must be very ars.
because the height to which iron and steel
manufactures had been rushed enormous
Consumers tell of forms Of iron which about
rOrk a
ing TO pay $50 per ton for recently In fact
wherever 1t was possible. large numbers Of con-
sumers had stopped buying, convinced that the
market was in feverish and unhealthy cond-
ton which could not last. These and other Ike
facts would have leaked out gradually. ana
doubtless produced their effect on the market
but they were sprung on the public with dea'-
ening roar through Mr.. Gates operations; ani
naturally assume an aspect more serious thaa
their real character warrants.
Short selling has been large. and the borrow
ing demand for stocks yesterday heavy
But that liquidation has been forced in various
directions in the market. and 10 cOnsideraoe
extent. is also obvious. As said above. every
bull combination has been either upset OK
checked Operators who were buying stocks
sold out in hurry when they the seer
stocks going to pieces. The railroad shares re-
sisted the downward tendency for time s'in'u-
lated by upward movement in the coaiers
but they too began to give way at last lnS
was specially noticeable yesterday The s'oCA'
which have withstoOd the depressing influence
OF outside liquidation the most have been '''
b & O-'s. whose strength has surprised '"s
sellers. Missouri Pacific was vigorously raided
yesterday and suffered considerably. closing o.
near the lowest Of the day. How far this INNS
will go is guesswork- That the public has oeeh
thoroughly scared. and TO an extent demOraized