The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-09-01

and since then until the present summer
the market has been nothing like so quiet
for anything like SO protracted a spell.
Stimulated by groups OF stock which had
not participated materially I'm the bull
market OF $3.50. prices were rarely quiet
all through the spring. summer and fall
OF 1899, and following the Christmas pam
ic there were still further rises led by
the belated Pacific group which enjoyed
it's best advances so late as last spring.
Today. a glance backward shows In
general. the Granger group only Few
points above it's accumulation level OF the
fall Of lSgs; Sugar around its old time
familiar figures, where II was won't 10
play before its extravagant rise to ls2;
BROOKLYN Transit, below the level on
which was built up it's Ridiculous boom,
nearly 10 140; Tobacco at an old-fashloneo
figure, although this figure represents an
extra share OF stock over and above what
IL did I'm the days before the boom; the
new industrials. conspicuously Federal
steel. Wire and Continental Tobacco, AT
about the prices at which they were orig
inally listed: Union Pacific. Atchison ana
7 louisville. at a higher level than ever be-
fore since the panic four years ago. hup-
her and Pacific Mail down on the ground
and the small fry generally about Where
n has been levelled for good many sea
sons AS the list stands today, the Pacihc
qroup. Southern and Southwestern shares
are generally speaking the only STOCKS
which are on n higher lever thah lhey
hogan the big bull market or ~ ~ on.
or course the dividend payers nave had
IN their credit the interest they nave
paid and Burlington was blessed WIN
rights, at s6 or 81. But on the race Oh ,ne
agr,re with the exceptions noted. the
hoou prices OF the prosperity market
have shown no greater recovery from
,be christmas panic than 10 reach pack
about 10 the level before the boom.
AS to the future?
The Immediate future is one thing. The
future future is another From the
standpoint of the present summer IT.
resoIute operations II would be difhcult
to prophesy either Win any SUIT VI Pie'
tense 10 accuracy.
II would be hard to convince the aver
age American investor that the value OF
American investments is going 10 the
dogs. Bryan or no Bryan, international
war or no war. droughts, short crops or
mosquitoes. He Views the list, ana py
comparison, sees at once that I'm most OF
the stocks the prosperity bloom is on.
But though the wild cat prices OF the
steel issues have been swept away, GEN
eral Electric Is around no If st. Paul
has been washed out of twenty inflated
points, Atchison preferred Is higher than
ever before and paying five per cent.
dividends IL Sugar is now only a SIX
per cent stock and has been wrung out
like n saturated dish rag, its price Is III
anything as high as IL normally was dur
ing the greater part OF its career as
glorious twelve per center. III Brooklyn
Transit has lost all that IL gained in its
skyrocket days and Third Avenue has
gone broke. Manhattan is around its old
time accustomed prices and Metropolitan
Is on the whole a gamer even II Urine
of a hundred points speculative valuation
has been swept away. So the average IN
vestor has no reason To grow disconsoiate
even though he may grieve because ne
didn't let go In the biggest puii mdrhe'
that has been known for twenty years
or is likely to be known again for many
years to come.
Markets come and markets go, even
though for three months now no market
has either come or gone. Ihere Is
general feeling in the street that price
are likely TO 20 of from present ngures.
But this feeling recognizes the pian TACT
that few stocks are extravaganuy above
their intrinsic value while many are, ii
anything. below their reliable Investment
value Under such conditions 1t would
evidently be pretty hard To make pro-
nounced or a prolonged bear market.
Within two years there has been one pro-
nounced panic on the bears an1 an Cf,hal-
ly pronounced panic on the bulls. There
has been boom and a bust both
equally impressive. And 1t IS significant
that the stagnation finds a majority OF
stocks rather nearer their bust prices
than their boom prices with the excep-
tions as noted In the foregoing. Old
operators i'm the street have reason for
their figuring that on the whoie there
can be but one way for prices TO so, un-
der such conditions. But they freely and
frankly admit that they may so the
other way first
The fluctuations fo- the short week
which closed yesterday have been ex-
travagant. Losses were made the Erst of
the week, gains were made the middle
OF the week, and losses again came in
at the close. These movements were
exceedingly active. though as a rule less
than 100000 shares a day have been done
But they indicated that the market Is
waking up. And that is something to be
thankful for.
Labor Day is holiday in all the mar
kets.
The following table shows the range
of prices for the week As was the case
last Saturday, stocks generally have lost,
although the results are still mixed.
RANGE OF PRICES IN LEADING
STOCKS