The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-21

\
The weak feature of the list yesterday
was Brooklyn Rapid Transit, and the other
| traction securities were also sold heavily.
| a variety of reasons are given for this,
! but perhaps the chief is the fact that the
GROUP has held up strongly recently while
| the remainder of the market has been
;unibiins and the bears saw in it another
chance for attack. 1t is said also that
! block of Price & Mccormick stock wss
sold. The gossip speaks of the decision
of Judge Dickey in the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit matter as inimical to the company
and thus to the stock. The decision was
that the injunction asked for could not
| be granted forbidding the company to
| charge 10 cents for the fare to Coney
Island. Judge Dickey held in his opinion,
however. that the fare was illegal. max
ing his decision purely on technical
grounds This, of course, leaves room for
the suggestion that another suit will be
brought and that the next decision will be
against the company actually. Brooklyn
sold off to 60 and fraction and closed at
| the bottom. 8
The effect that the Convention is having
| on tho present market is iI'eresting,
| though here too, there is very little ex-
cept the most momentary influence on the
professional trading. There were Wall
Street dispatches yesterday morning that
bettors in New York were putting up
money that Roosevelt would be given the
first place on the ticket. The professionals
are said to have sold stock on this story.
Another flood of bear comment had to do
| with tho effect of the Roosevelt outlook for
Vice President 1t was suggested that if
Nj. Roosevelt is nominated for the second
place on the ticket he will drop out of
4 1fsf-
able TO the trusts elected IS Governor OF
New York. The traction companies and
other New York corporations would bene-
fit by this, 1t was said, because it would
be easy to destroy the franchise tax law.
On the other hand, If Mr.. Roosevelt is not
nominated for Vice President he will still
be a factor in New York politics and may
be expected 20 do even more than he has
SO far against the trusts. Yesterday the
professionals saw fit to consider Mr.. Roose-
velt's chances for the Vice Presidency
small. and therefore they sold the traction
securities.
The grangsrs were hardly less weak
than Brooklyn Rapid Transit. They sold
down to or below the panic prices of De-
cember. st. Paul reached ITO ga, closing
on the bottom. Burlington went rs low
as 123 1-2. The boom in wheat was evil
IDENTIFY the cause of the decline, though 1t
is very much less evident that the cause
was a legitimate one. The crop report
yesterday morning was no. a bullish argu-
ment for stocks. and not bearish docu-
ment for wheat, but it was very far from
predicting that the spring wheat crop
has been ruined. 1t was a mild document,
not nearly SO alarming as many Of the
unofficial utterances of the past two or
three days have been. AS matter of
fact, the professionals waited a reason for
putting up the price of. wheat, and for
hitting the granger railway securities, and
the crop report was made to serve. The
actual facts as to the crop are, of course.
not yet to be obtained. 1t may be stated
on the authority of some of the-most ex-
pert Of the experts, however, that an
average crop is expected. The winter
wheat crep is good one. Good rains in
the sections that have not received them
would go far toward making the spring
wheat crop a fine one also. In all this
there is, of course no good reason for
selling the granger securities at their
present very low prices. All of these
roads will do heavy business during the
coming year, even If the spring wheat
crop is ruined and some OF them, notably
Burlington and Rock Island, had very
little spring wheat in the best of seasons.
Sugar was sold off badly during the last
hour yesterday, getting as low as Ill rs.
and closing al 112 Is. There was no news
regarding the company or the stock, but
II seems quite possible that il the market
is TO continue weak for a day or two
longer the support of Sugar may be re-
moved. temporarily. In this event, price
much nearer par would not be surprising.
xvi &c hn Ra1 i
more and Ohio common stock this year.
II is said now that a dividend might have
been paid If the business situation had not
had its relapse and the stock market had
continued strong but that under the pres
ent circumstances none is to be expected.
One of the stories in the street yester-
day was that President J. J. Hill of the
Great Northern did much to prevent the
increase of the dividend on Northern Pa
cifc and that he Is pursuing the same
course with regard TO the Baltimore and
panies Is, Of course, sufficient TO make the |
truth of this story possible. If not entirely |
probable. The Baltimore and Ohio securi- |
ties were fairly strong.
The steel stocks generally held their |
own fairly well during the break. Federal |
Steel common opened at 81 IA and closed |
at 81. American Steel and Wire common |
opened at 81 Ia and closed at go 1-2, Ten |
nessee Coal and Iron went off half point, |
and Colorado Fuel ard Iron point. There |
was no news during the day regarding the |
steel situation but there is evidently sup
port Of the group at the present level on
the theory that the next development in
the trade is likely to be an improvement.
St. Louis Southwestern preferred has |
sold of rather badly during the recent |
break In the market. People that under
stand the fine record made by this system |
during the past year are taking advantage |
of the decline to buy the stock quietly. |
1t may be suggested here that the second |
mortgage bonds of the road, which come |
Immediately ahead Of the preferred stock,
are now receiving their 4 per cent in
terest, and that something like to per |
cent is being earned on the preferred stock |
in addition. Compared with Wabash pre-
ferred stock, which is underneath the de- |
benture 81 bonds of the Wabash COM
pany, ST. Louis Southwestern preferred |
makes a fine showing, as the Wabash |
bonds are not to receive their interest this |
year. Despite this fact, there is very little
difference in the price Of the two stocks. |
AS a matter of fact, il would seem that |
preferred should sell nearer
the level of Norfolk and Western common
Warrington stock Exchange.
Sales-Washington Safe Deposit, 22G |
" 1-2. Mergenthaler Linotype, 156 |