Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-21
FINANCE AND TRADE
Stocks Were Weak Today and Prices
Slumped Materially.
LONDON WAS LOWER ALSO
But Little Attention Paid to
Question of Merit.
GENERAL MARKET REPORTS
Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.

Special Dispatch to The Evening Star
NEW YORK, May 21.-The sudden reyo
luton in speculative sentiment inspired by
Saturdays array Of good news failed to
hold over the holiday. London sent over a
range of prices i to n per cent below the
local closing parity, and traders offered
prices down i'll all parts Of the room. The
exception to Londons weakness was Balti-
more and Ohio. and the local advance in
American Sugar relieved the home market
of the monotony of lower prices. Prospects
of a dividend on the common shares of the
former and an advance in the refined prod
uct of the latter were the incentives to the
improvement. The selling became general,
however, after the first hour, and all stocks
yielded to the declining tendency.
The tfanscontlnental shares We're sold by
traders on fears of a spread Of the plague
on the Pacific coast. The fact that this
argument was effective at all shows to what
extent public interest has been Withdrawn
from the local markets.
The failure TO increase the demand from
outside, on good earnings, easy money, the
settlement of the gas war and the predicted
early collapse of the Boer war. has dis
Outraged interests which began last week
to turn their attention to higher prices.
Much has been said of the ability of large
interests to thwart professional attacks
the market and buy whatever the profess
SIGNALS had to sell to the ultimate discom-
This theory would be more effective were
1t supported by evidence that the larger in
terests are anxious to have the general
market advance. Consultations, the set
tlement of trade disputes and determined
efforts to make a fight on commodities
which competition has made unprofitab BILE
leave little time for speculative turns in the
general list. The season is not propitious
for the exploiting of good news. as the
Willingness to sell on all rallies indicates.
Atchison preferred, almost certain OF
having its dividend advanced to the full
per cent limit next month. yielded easily
throughout the day. Union Pacific and
burlington two properties of undouhted
merit. and said to be coming into closer
relationship. sold off easily during the weak
periods. Pennsylvania and New York Cen
trail sold most readily on a descending
scale. and 50 1t was through the entire
INST Merit was not In question in a single
instance A narrow market and the dump
enlng influence of the proverbal depression
OF presidential year are to be credited
with producing the present lack of snap.
An irregular market is to be expected for
a time, but 1t Is expected that lower prices
Will inspire little liquidation and conse-
quentiy the price list should swing I'D and
down with radius of less than > per cent
A settlement of the sugar war may come
INTO the situation a factor later and
this announcement would have a greater
influence than the gas episode.
The trading during the closing hour was
limited in volume and only fractionally bet
ter than the low level.