The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-11
Wonderful and Gigantic Deals
Tread Upon Each Others Heels
With Astonishing Rapidly.
FRENZY FOR COMBINATION.
Important Interests Everywhere
Are Reaching Out to Buy
Something-Bullish Senti-
ment Rampant.


REPUBLIC SPECIAL
New York, Feb. 10.-These are great days
in Wall street-days Of new combinations.
new securities and new stock market val
tuesdays OF wild speculation. wonderful
Stock Exchange activity and bold menipu-
iation that is intended to make securities.
both old and new. appear attractive to Wall
streets dear public. And the public Is TAX
ing the bait with growing enthusiasm
One important deal is following another
with astonishing rapidity and each Is more
wonderful and gigantic than the one pre-
ceding. A frenzy for combination has ex-
tended to all quarters and important inter-
ests everywhere are. reaching out to buy
something. The man who. four months
ago, picked up a railroad map and noted
what combinations were possible. must
have unwittingIy stumbled upon W or
three that have since been accomplished
and upon as many more that are now seri-
orsly discussed.
wall street Enthusiastic.
The suggestion of each new combination
increases Wall streets enthusiasm and will
ingness to buy stocks of any sort at any
price. The formation of a pool. a little
adroit manipulation, a rumor OF an impend-
ing deal-nothing more Is needed to start a
general buying movement and to bring
about a sharp advance In quotations. The
public Is buying. despite all statements 20
the contrary, and the disposition on the
part of both professional traders and out
siders to plunge and pyramid is becoming
painfully apparent.
All classes of securities. each In its turn.
have been moved up-the standard, high
priced shares first. then those of medium
price, then steel shares and industrials. and
now the cheap specialties-the eats and
dogs" as they are called. Bullish sentiment
grows stronger. and the conservative man
who urges caution becomes more and more
unpopular.
Printers Busy With Bonds.
1t Is noteworthy. and perhaps important.
that scant attention Is being given to the
remarkable activity among the manufac-
turers Of securities Their output shows a
greater increase than that in any other line
Of business. Bonds. not stock certificates,
are what the printers are turning out. In
the light of more recent developments the
bond issues of two or three months ago
those Of the Ontario n Western. Norfolk
and Western. Southern Pacific and Pennsyl-
vania-seem insignificant.
Now comes Erie, with its $4,000 bonds
and 100000 preferred stock: Reading with
tN~rN
Pressed Steel Car. x.ooo.000: Atchison with
S co., 900, and Baltimore and Ohio with SIS,
0o0.O00; Union Pacific with $40 10000 to
finance the Southern Pacific purchase and
the right to put out 90. 00o,0 more. These
are the largest OF those recently announced.
Problem Involved.
It IL yet to be disclosed how the tmpend-
ing deals in the Southwest are to- be
financed. And on top Of all this there u the
purchase of Mr.. Carnegie's interests to be
handled.
Surely 1t Is reasonable to question the
ability Of the public to absorb these securi'
ties, and Saturdays bank statement. with
its great expansion in loans. makes peril
nent a query as to whether the banks them
selves will be able to carry what they are
shouidering without creating disturbance In
the money market.
Yet It il useless to sound a warning In
the face of the current. The concentration
of control il considered a bull point by the
investing public, and the buoyancy every,
where apparent In the stock market VII
continue until sofnething definite happens te
arrest the course of prices