The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-21
Ei,ramcial.
 THE STOCK MARKEI

Dread of the Unknown a Depressing 1 Factor Yesterday.
 New York, Feb. 2o-The dread of the unknown was the depressing factor in 1 the stock market to-day. Preparations
 were evidently being made for the com l ing holidays at the end of the week by l tightening speculative loads. The pos
 abilities of the three days interval
 were not wholly on the side of depres- l sion. But whatever the favorable de- 1 velopments, they have been so thor oughly discounted that the balance of | chance is considered clearly on the side of lower prices.
 The speculative world seems to have
 arrived at the conclusion that the com pletion of the details of the steer mer-
 ger is not likely to be followed immedi- ately by campaign of manipulation for higher prices in order to make | market for the new securities. It will
 be remembered that this was what hap PCllSA SWC ySeAAo o6O fWASH tiiO AiCWAy fedged industrials were first thrown upon the world. Indications seem to point clearly to desire for quiet stock
 market conditions for the present on
 the part of the financial powers who are
 most largely concerned in the steel ne-
 gotiations, as they have also been in
 the recent railroad consolidation. The
 ,,rourocc of yoaCotiatioycs fs ,,pnn riIx
 involved in further complexity by the
 marked fluctuations of market prices
 for stocks and uncertain rates for mon-
 ey. This makes intelligible the evident
 desire of the financial powers to dis
 courage further excited speculation at
 this time. Of course and violent break
 in prices would be equally at variance
 with their wishes.
 The certainty that powerful support
 would be accorded to prevent sudden and violent decline tends to repress
 bear activity. It is evident that every effort is making to preserve the tram quillity of the money market also by keeping available all possible resources and also by reassuring expressions of opinion as to the ability of the money market to meet future requirements Nevertheless, the likelihood of another weak bank statement between the ad- journment of the exchange on Thursday and the resumption of trading on Mon- day, and the belief that advantage will be taken of the closed stock market to publish the plans of the steel merger, were two rather ominous possibilities which served to bring a dribbling of stocks on the market all day. An ef- | fort was made during the afternoon to turn the market against the shorts in l the hope of driving them to cover. But | the effort proved futile, and the closing | was weak, with many stocks at the l lowest
 There was a significant break in the ! principal steel stocks at the last, Steel | and Wire, Federal Steel and National | Steel falling suddenly to 2A. There was some show of strength in Steel and | Wire preferred, but otherwise the steel | stocks were all weak, Hoop preferred | dropping S1a. Y..
 In the principal active railroad stocks | there were at one time declines of i to 2 | points, members of the granger, south l westerns and Pacific groups being nota- bly affected. Delaware and Hudson was cratic, but generally weak, railing at one time 3A under last night. The | local traction stocks were bid up in the 1 course cf the attempt against the shorts and stocks of a number of smaller rail- road companies were lifted from i to points, Pere Marquette, Mobile and Ohio, the Iowa Central stocks and the and St. Louis stocks being 1 General Electric was forced up at one time 12 points, but closed with a net gain of only 713. The level of activity in the market was low CT than for many weeks past, the days business falling to about the smallest for any full day since election.
 Bonds were reactionary in sympathy with stocks. The total sales par value were s3,435, 900.
 United States refunding twos adyanc- 1 sd 1s per cent. on the last call.