The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-01
CHICAGO Stock QUOTATIONS.
L. W. Louis. Room IL, Board of Trade. Indian
apolis. furnishes the following Chicago quota


Wall Street Financial Review.
The sharp recovery of the last few days
has been somewhat too rapid. being ma
terially accelerated by short covering. AS
for the future Of the market 1t is now
quite promising. The year closes with
business in exceptionally sound condition.
Thus far there are no indications of over
trading or overexpansion Of credits. Mer-
chandise values are on higher basis and
labor is everywhere well employed at good
and in numerous cases higher wages. II
there are no more failures the bear cam
paign is over, because the violent liquida-
ton during the last week has about ex-
hausted itself. What weak spots have
come to the surface have been entirely
with people who have been holders of in
dutrial securities, who have found II diff
ficult to obtain money thereon. Those who
hold good railroad stocks have nothing to
fear. because the prosperity of all trans
portation companies is phenomenal at the
present time and likely to continue all
through the coming year, thus insuring
continuation of their dividend-earning ca
pacity. The industrials, for speculative
operations or as collateral for loans, are
out of fashion, consequently operators in
Wall street will be apt hereafter to give
lneir attehtion almost exclusively 10
railroad properties. which will give
them a better backing and greater
activity than they had when the
interests were divided between rail-
roads and induStrials. The best evil
dence of a favorable turn in the market is
that buying orders for cash commenced
soon after the Monday panic and increased
daily thereafter, induced by the lower
grade of values. This buying brought in
considerable money from all parts of the
country where the orders came from. /
am quite of the opinion that the worst is
over, and that breaks hereafter will be
followed by quick rallies, in which event
the basis for a permanently improving
market will soon be established. The turn
In the market towards betterment came
very OPPORTUNITY, as it carried with it to
Wall street feeling of Christmas cheer
and good will. Out of every hundred prop
erty owners ninety-eight are naturally and
constitutionally bulls and have something
at stake, and therefore will not grieve if
the remaining two bears are made uncom-
Portable. Indeed, 1t would not be a sad
thing If they would hibernate for the bal
ance Of the winter. the Improvement OF
values affects directly large proportion Of
our population, and will lend a better zest
TO the holiday festivities in thousands of
homes. We may now feel confident of the
continued prosperity of our great
country. The business of the coun-
try is in the most hourishing con-
dition in our history-the railroads have
enough traffic In sight to insure at least
another year of wonderful returns-wheels
are humming all over the land. We can
we'll turn our consideration away from the
now past shaking down TO the bright fu-
ture. The squall has come and gone, and
the situation is the better for it, now 1t is
over, because stronger owners of stocks
have supplemented weaker ones; the pro-
cess to bring it about was savage liquida-
ton. 1t is like cutting off a dogs tail
1t can't be done over again. The liquida-
ton had to come matter of fact, be-
cause the enthusiastic takers and believers
in the prosperity of the country over
banked themselves on a credit basis These
people have been the cause and the VIC
tins of this panic. They were unable to
realize the new conditions prevailing. They
bought stocks at sky-high prices on 2
per cent. money market last summer. The
present reduction in values simply has
brought prices down to a per cent money
basis which is the present value of money
all over the world, and well employed at
that. While II is well to be conservative in
the immediate future, still l am quite Of
the opinion that we have turned the cor
ner and that the lower level of stocks will
take us over into the new year on rising
market again.