New-York tribune., 1900-05-13
fnanriai.
The Financial World.

IL was mentioned last week that suspicious
had been aroused by the way the fireworks in
Sugar were let of while the rest OF the marke.
declined that the movement In this stock had
been made TO cover the unloading Of other
stocks The suspicion has since deepened enough
TO be called a conviction The idea is that when
Mr. Gates gave his sudden bear roar In the
Street. and scared the public so badly. number
Of large operators who were quietly emptyinx
their tin boxes found themselves with the market
shaken from under them Their plans were up
set by the premature explosion. II became nee
essary TO get up a sensation the other way
Sugar afforded the best material for this and
accordingly Sugar was taken hold of and
whirIed from near par above 12O with trans
actions In IL on such a scale OF magnitude as 20
engage general attention. The first effect or
the excitement was TO check the attacks on the
market by the professional traders and second
20 impart a renewed hullish feeling 20 the Gus
toners. big and little Of the commission houses
With the general market thus stiHened up the
emptyfng OF the tin boxes resumed: and
the decline in prices has been continuous. Only
one thing was wanting-the presence % Mr.
Keene. II he had not been away the Street
would have been flooded with rumors that he
had been caught short Of Sugar. and raid
ing the market to try and keep that stock down
II makes little difference IN this game whether
the sugar war is or Is not a settlement
The men who made the move In the stock are
strong enough TO hold without inconvenience
any amount OF Sugar they are likely % be left
with. Indeed the possession Of a good sized
block is a convenient lever for use on the gen
eraI market at any time; and they the sort
of people who have need for such an .instru-
ment as that. 1t begins TO look also. as n they
had corralled enough Missouri Pacific % largely
control the quotations for the stock II has
been stronger in the sIumping market Of the
past week. than il would naturally he unless
there had been a considerable locking up of the
stock This does not. however. supposing the
idea stated be correct. imply that Missouri Pa
cifc is going TO shoot W Sugar did. but II
does mean that whenever short interest IN
the stock becomes large enough. it lies easily
within the power OF the Rockefeiler-Gould inter-
ests 10 give IL an uncomfortable twist.
As to the general list. that has. as already
stated been steadily going down First one
group of stocks have weakened, and then an
other: so that as the week went on the traders
became rather reckless in their selling They
made quite a drive at the market yesterday
shortly before the hank statement appeared. on
rumors that il would be very bad one. When
It did come out, and was found 10 show only
insignificant changes from tire previous week.
brought the market TO a closc with quite rally
The weeks decline was very fairly distr.srted
between the railroads and the industrials-
Among the former. the largest drop was in the
p. & O. stocks: among the latter. the Tobacco
stocks Two reasons were given for Tobacco
falling; one the starting Of an opposition COM
pany with which rumOr connects the names or
ex-Treasurer Ahrents and ex-Director Terrei.
probably with no truth as 70 either; second the
showing made in the annual report; from which
II appeared that the compauy's recent increases
of stock had run considerably ahead cf It's IN
crease in earnings. Friends of the property
claimed that the effect would be temporary
only. and that when the full benefit was re-
ceived from the newly acquired properties.
equilibrium would be restored The number ot
people who took a less sangUine view seemed n
be the greater for the stock tumbled from above
par 10 90: and In its fall it carried with II the
preferred and common of Continental Tobacco
The retirement Of Mr. Terrell from the American
company was interpreted as meaning that not
only had he got out OF his stock. but that MI
Payne had done the same thing. II is not likely
either that Mr.. Ahrents kept his stock after re-
signing the treasurershiP-
The steel stocks braced UP somewhat on the
designations of Mr. Gates and Mr. Lambert:
but the strength did not last. The successors
Of the two persons named are ITlehus "i MI
Gates and undoubtedly were his appOrtees;
but people who know them say they are more
conservative and safer men than Gates and
Lambert. Undue importance has been given to
the designations Of Messrs Seligman and
Strauss II would have made no difference In
the management OF the company II they had
remained; il will make difference now they
are out In respect 10 what Gates roared out
TO an astonished public as TO the reactionary
condition OF the metal trades, events are prov
ing that what he said substantially true
He himself boasted: y am a little ahead Or the
others because they can't see far. But walt
Bit and you will them all failing in be-
hind me-" This referred 10 the reduction Of
prices and curtailment of production The trade
reports show that the failing in is going on not
only here but In Europe. II this We're not true.
why. for example. do the Federal Steel stocks
keep close pace with the Steel & Wire stocks on
the way dovnward9 Mr.. Carnegie gives US the
clearest insight into the situation, when he says;
These reductions mean that getting
down from fictitious values 10 actual values
that is to prices which no longer check con-
sumption by their extravaganza. There is en-
couragement in this.
In the railroad list, the outpour Of r. & O.
common and preferred was too much for the
market to stand. The syndicate price OF 50 for
the common broken through with rush.
and in one day there a drop Of about six
points. There the decline stayed The
Street says that the syndicate must have un-
loaded the six millions Of stock they under
wrote. r. & o. rights are not now az a pre-
MUM. But all the same the earnings Of the
road are enormous. The other trunk line stocks.