New-York tribune., 1901-08-18
financial
The Financial World.

market has done the past week obyiousI,, o.,
peis consideration of the way stocks ara ,ods-,
not less than crop conditions or labor troubla.
in considering the speculative outlook If sroo,'
were widely distributed at this time, the mar.
ket must have gone down. That it did not 49,.
on the contrary. actually advanced is nra,,,,
good proof that holdings must be considsrab,,.
concentrated. 1t will be said of course ,h..
the rise was manipulated and professional. So ..
was. and the coming week may see a decline =,
like range; nevertheless. the conditions mn.+
have existed to make the manipulation possible
and these conditions are found in the degrsa ..
which stocks are lodged where they ca, =.
taken care of.
As every one knows who read the papers Lac,
Sunday and Monday there was a budget =,
bad news relating to the crops and the st-;t.
upon which to open the market on Mondav
morning. There was. also. considerable shor,
interest existing; and the public feeling was
bearish. the opportunity was taken 10 buy 4,
these shorts, while in other departments Of the
market special efforts were made 10 advance
prices. The result that the market waa
steady to strong on Monday. and kept getting
stronger as the week progressed, until TOP was
reached Friday morning Since then it has been
going back. The leader of the movement was
st. Paul. and it may be inferred how closely
this stock is held from the fact that il was
moved up from 155 TO 165 between Monday and
Thursday-a rise of ten points in a confessedIy
professional and therefore narrow market
No other stock made any such gain as this:
but there were five point advances in Atchison.
in Union Pacific, and in one or two other stocks:
and even the steel stocks made a three point ad
vance. Just in proportion TO the concentration
of the holdings in stock was the ease with
which it was put up. Which gives point to the
remark before made-that the way stocks are
lodged is to be considered speculatively, no less
than general economic conditions.
II we ask for any new things upon which to
move prices. the answer must be that there are
none 1t is like thrashing old straw to go over
again the things which everybody has now been
discussing daily for a month past. If there is
anything new. it is not of a nature to help the
bulls; except it may be said, the apparent con-
sensus OF opinion that the wheat crop this year
will total up one of the largest we ever had and
of fine quality. On the other side, there is the
growing evidence that the corn crop will prove
TO be about cut in half. OF what should have
been the yield, on normal conditions, from the
acreage sown. the loss will be nearly 80 per
cent because while there has been some i'm
provement west of the Mississippi there has
been distinct deterioration east of IL. The argu-
ment that the loss will be made UP by the higher
prices obtained. is rather threadbare. 1t always
comes up on a crop shortage. but has never
panned out vet in practice. Enhanced price
mitigstes the general loss. and that is all that
can be said for il.
AS to the labor troubles it is sure now that
Mr.. Gompers was right in ukening it 20 the Boer
war. in that it is bound to be a long and linger-
ing fight and the final end (which he did
use in illustration will be the same. The fight
will wind up the Amalgamated Association and
eonsign 20 obscurity its leaders; but the victors
will have 70 pay heavy price for it. The Anal
gamated leaders declared war trusting in luck
and the stock market. as the other leaders did
trusting in God and foreign intervention The
stock market has not justified their trust. and il
won't. The quotations for the steel stocks are
higher than when the strike was first declared;
but if they go lower. it will help nothing, be-
cause they are so placed that the inanciers can
stand the decline. They won't like it. but they
know the fight has 10 be made, and that it has
TO be made right now. 70 secure anything like
permanent peace.
\ cheering item in the budget of news is the
wheat export which is attaining extraordinary
proportions. and already affecting foreign ex-
change rates The demands from the other side
are expected 10 continue. for there is shortage
in France; and Russian supplies will be cur
tailed severely the wheat districts OF that coun-
try having suffered from drouth as badly as our
corn districts. Higher prices for wheat therefors
are expected both as consequence OF the 1or-
eign demand and the domestic corn shortage.
The market steadiness Of Southern Railway
preferred and common. has often been notea'
these stocks holding 10 regular level throusn
the general fluctuations Of the list in singular
degree. The report of the company for the nScdi
year has just been issued. being the nrst report
To appear. The Financial Chronicle reviews
il at some length. and points cut in detail the
progress the road is making. 1t says truly thal
the Southern has a management which IS sec
ond to none in the country; and under 1t, the
property is steadily growing in efficiency ana
earnings The preferred stock Of the company
is now paying per cent; the year before Il
paid 5; and the next move will be 70 give II
the full per cent 10 which it is entitled Inc
road earned a surplus over per cent on 'hiS
stock in the year covered by the report All
the roads lying TO the South are doing wei' anu
the Southern Pacific earned between SIX anu
eight millions more than even its most sangHiAe
friends thought at the beginning Of the year
that il could possibly DO.
In respect TO the group of traction stocks 1t
may be said there is some irritation amohs
people who accepted the advice Of inrueh'iai
insiders to buy Brooklyn Traction above 90 0H
a sure tip for rise; and that the MahAla''
report shows the company is regaining the Voi-
une of traffic il had before the Metropohtai
system cut into it so deeply. In the gas stocks
there has been continuance of lively trading
in Peoples and Consolidated Gas made nVe
point advance during the week but later 1en
off again
As the market is narrow and professional
and has Just had one of those short bull turns
common to such markets. it is not unlikely u
may he quiet and rather lower the coming week.
CTTTHRERT MILLS.