New-York tribune., 1901-05-08
THE CONTROL OF N p
WALL STREET STILL GUESSING WHO
HAS IT
VARIOUS CAUSES AscRIBEp FOR TIT pr
MARKABLE CORNER IN THIS srorx

kafIOO0 N~AOohS ASCRlBED FOR THE RF
MARKABLE CORNER IN THIS STOCK.
Speculation on the Stock Exchange shoUA5 M
appreciable abatement in its intensity ,,as,ar,
day. More than two million shares were ho,,gb,
and sold' and Northern Pacific was again the
feature, with net gains Of 10 points on sales
1f over 100000 shares This gave the extraor-
dinary net gain Of 335k points in the last two
days, and set many to marveIIing at the strength
Of the financial giants. whoever they are. who
are struggling for the control of the road for
Wall street seems to be pretty generally agreed
that such a contest is on though not Vet
willing 10 admit the truth of the information
furnished to this paper that W. X Vanderbilt;
is one OF the contestants, information pub
hshed Dy The Tribune yesterday for what il
was worth as report, upon good authority
Nothing developed yesterday which would
warrant q positive assertion as TO the Identity
OF these contestants. but rumors were thick
and explanations Of the great rise in Northern
Pacific were numerous. One was that the sig
nihcance Of the movement was a refunding
measure the details OF which are being kept from
the public for reasons OF policy In support
OF this IL is said that the Northern Pacific di-
rectors some time ago set aside a cash fund
OF S3ooooOO TO be used as a guarantee Of full
preferred dividends. This money. it is declared,
will be released on January l next The
SSOoooOO fund is said TO have come from earn
ings on the common stock, and il is now the
purpose Of the directors TO retire the preferred
shares next year at par.
Another report was that lanes p KeenA has
affected corner in the stock and that a group
OF Chicago operators We're being mercilessly
squeezed. On the other hand not a few believed
that John ". Gates and his friends had engi-
neeTed the corner and were squeezing Eastern
shorts. Street & Norton, who bought so heavily
OF Northern Pacific on Monday. were said TO
have lent 10000 shares yesterday and bought
10000 more. That a strong corner exists is
shown by the scarcity Of the stock
President Mellen of the Northern Pacific is
now making an inspection Of the road and
Vice-President Lamont was not al local head
quarters yesterday. Other important interests in
the property intimate that developments OF the
greatest Importance are pending, but give no hint
as TO what form they will take. An unusual
feature in connection with the move was the
refusal yesterday OF commission houses TO take
short selling orders OF Northern Pacific on any
terms.
One of the most interesting views of the situa-
ton was that the buying came from persons
connected with the management of other roads
who intended to defeat the Burlington merger
IL they could get hold Of enough Northern Pacific
stock before the merger proposition is voted on
by the Northern Pacific stockholders. 1t seems
certain that the heaviest buyers were keene
brokers' J. ]. Hill reported 10 be buying
earnestly also though not so much from desire
as from necessity. Wall street chuckleQ over
the story that Mr.. Hill had been caught short
by this remarkable rise. Mr.. Hill gave no sign
OF uneasiness. however, though he would say
nothing to reporters.
The adherents Of the theory that not war but
community of interest is at the bottom OF the
boom in Northern Pacific advanced some new
arguments yesterday. They said If il should turn
out that the Hill following large owner OF
Union Pacific il would be good offset for Union
Pacific people TO be large owners Of Northern
Pacific In this connection II may be said that
hardly day passes without strengthening the
conviction that w. X. Vanderbilt recently
secured control OF Union Pacific Similarly the
feeling is growing in Wall Street that a new in
terest has come into Northern Pacific 10 a suffi-
cient extent make the matter OF control far
from a certainty.