New-York tribune., 1900-09-09
financial.
The Financial World.


tinue dull and probably be ragged II v.as
also argued that from the prevailing feeling =,
torpor the response Of the market 70 the va-
mont election. whatever it's figures should inaf
cate. would be a traders movement limited .,
one or two per cent either way This has bee,
the experience Of the week. Vermont was 81
most without effect dullness has continued 49,,
most likely will continue and the market fs b.
coming ragged BY that is meant that bar.
and there, stock is breaking. Peoples cas
was the most conspicuous example the pas-
week. Next week it may be some other.
Although the Vermont majority was 1s-
| than had been expected its influence n, -
| market was almost imperceptibIe. II saa-,.1
merely to confirm the apathetlc optimism, % -
/ Street IN regard to the result in Novar,s.-
There is only one thing which can sbaka "a.
| feeling-a declining stock market II the w.
| ket should show a decided declining tsndA,o,
| nine men out OF ten would be sura ,ba, -
cause was politics. whether II was the causa =,
| not Faiilng prices would seem 70 them sure
| sign that Bryan's chances were fmproving +.
| would rouse them to efforts which notbf,1 -
| could do 1t Is useless TO argue now thar la,b
| argy IS dangerous. The prevailing faari,~ 1,
| well Illustrated in the laughing reply one o,s-
/ ator gave TO a request for campaign r9r.-,r
| ton: Not cent. unless feel more r-fzb-.-.,
| than do now" This sort OF thing =. = 80
| dangerous; and It is not to be wondered =, ~.
men who have great interests at stake s,t =.
| desire to see Bryan elected by defauIt ~ -
| Republicans. are decidedly avsrse at this Tina
to do anything TO promote bull rnovernsn.
| In the early part Of the week there was g.
active buying by the traders Of the sou,s.--
| railway stocks based on the idea that tba -
| in the price OF cotton would help them =
/ doubtedly It WILL but II must also be bor,. =
/ mind that the bull speculation in cotton is A.
| to short crop. which is by no means a nal, =.
/ the roads which carry IT, The best thar a. -
/ got out Of such a situation, is an orsa---b.
/ higher price compensating in soma dazrsa =
| the shorter yield In the latter part ~ .,
| week, the coal stocks were depressed BY ,ss
growing probability OF great strike in rss
/ anthracite industry. AS general rule s,r,t.,
are poor things TO sell stocks on: seeing ina,
their worst effects are usually discounted in III
market before the strike takes place, and sae-
/ ondly, that they may be ended very suddsnlv
/ Dy compromise or other form OF agresmsrr
| Coal strikes, however, are among the wors, #
/ their kind The men are thoroughly organizs4
and disciplined. and always able TO coerce 4 Dis
| senting minority prolonged contest. begin
| ming in the anthracite regions is capable ~
| causing serious trouble outside OF them II mar
reach to portions Of the bituminous regions
| Furthermore. such a strike coming on tha ave
/ less mixed up with II. and that does not helu
/ things
Politics. this time local politics are supposed
/ to be at the bottom OF the attack on BROOKLYN
/ Traction The Tanmany campaign paper the
| other morning, came out with hot attack On
the company and on Mr.. Sheehan who runs
the politico-legal end OF the concern. The
stock had previously been declining and Il
| dropped some more on the publication OF the
II Tf1Yn NFrr.h
| have been short sales; because the rally whi-h
| came subsequently was Of that sharp Character
| which indicates covering OF shorts We have
probably seen only the first Of these shots fron
| the Croker camp. A regular bonbardment M
| De looked for between now and November. n
| less somebody comes down
The row IN Chicago Gas which has knocked
| seven or eight points on the price OF the stock
as starter grows out Of the efforts OF the
Ogden Gas Company to sell out to the other a.
bigger price than the Peoples Gas directors
| were willing to pay The Ogden company has
p miles Of mains. against the Peoples LOO
| so it may be seen that it Is not a very for
| midable competitor. As, however. the cause Of
/ being II the Ogden is not TO sell gas but 10 sell
/ itself. 1t has always been in the way OF making
/ trouble for the other company BY the Efforts
/ made to ring in one or more adventurous cap
| italists who by putting up money might make
/ the Ogden, or threaten to make IT, 50 forni-
/ dable, that the directors OF the other concern
| would be frightened into buying the Ogden a.
/ the Ogden's own price. The friction between
| the two concerns has now passed 10 the stage
/ Of a demOnstrative and boisterous fight Nov
| whether this fight is part OF a pr5arrangsi
/ programme Of purchase; or is a genuine affair
| to empty the pockets Of the ogden people sad
! thereby bring them TO proper frame OF mind
/ Is open TO suspicion But in either event. TIE
| outlook is little dusty for certain operators
| who had been buying Peoples Gas heavily. o.
/ the idea that they were putting themselves
/ position 10 squeeze a recklessly large short il
/ terest.
| Another event OF the week which caused
| much quiet chuckling among veterans OF The
! Street. was the increase in the Sugar dividend
Not the increase ITSELF but the circumstances az
/ tending it, Everybody knows by this time that
/ what the dividend is to be is known only 10 one
\ man, because it is what he says il viii be. But
| he is willing TO give the other fellows 4 far
| chance. So when the directors met az noon
/ something was said in the privacy OF the room
| which was followed by a hasty adjournment
| without action on the dividend. tiu O'Clock
/ at which hour the market closes. AT quarter
| after 5, announcement was made thar the dIvi-
/ dend had been increased from 70 : per cent
/ Now this was a very handsome thinS 20 do. L
/ gave the other directors three hours in which
/ to adjust themselves in the market. accordinS
| to their individual ideas of how the stock wouG
act 1t is needless to explain that in these three
/ hours the stock bobbed about in the mar
/ ket in the liveliest kind Of way. Il had been
| some time before. down TO 11714 and il ran up
to l229s. next day getting peg higher 70 i-''s'