Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-02-08

jected steel combination vas still over
Wall street to-uay and dominated the
speculation almost completely. A re-
newed upward movement In Union Pa
cfic formed an effective supplement.
lie steel stocks all opened notably
strong and hao good advances under
the food OF buying orders attracted
by the significant admissions from au-
thorities in the steel trade as to the
reality of pending negotiations. The
enormous volume of the offerings dur
ing the first hour, especially in Federal
Steel made it clear to traders that
stock were willing to avail themselves
of the good news to realize profits. The
amount OF stocks encountered at So was
apparently illimitible and not only
Federal Steel, but the whole market
staggered under it. Consideration of
the known facts regarding the steel ne
gotiations disclosed that good deal
was being taken for granted by the
spectators. That Mr.. Carnegie had
indicated willingness to sell the con-
troll of his property seemed to be ad-
mitted but the surmises regarding the
further plans for the Billion Dollar
Steel Trust" had evidently run consid-
erably beyond the ascertained facts.
There were significant intimations
thrown out that the whole negotiation
was still in somewhat delicate stage,
such as left the possibility that the
unbridled speculation in the securities
concerned might seriously interfere
with it's consummation. The idea OF
being long of the steel stocks with the
proposed combination collapsed and
abandoned was sufficient to cause a
nervous state of mind amongst some OF
the spectators, who have taken on
enormous lines of those stocks. The
appearance of inside selling added to
their perturbation. With the specula-
tive position thus made vulnerable the
stocks were subjected to severe hand
ling during the afternoon. There was
a momentary pause in the fall, but it
was renewed again, carrying Federal
Steel down an extreme oA; Federal
Steel preferred, Steel & Wire, Tenn.
Coal and National Steel Az; Colo. Fuel
81 and other members of the group
from to points. That these violent
declines were due to speculative RAID
was made manifest by the sudden re-
coveries when the shorts began to
cover, Steel & Wire rallying "a, Fed
eral Steel preferred 21a and other
stocks in the group from l to 2 points.
The railroad list mad its opening
bulge and subsequent decline on profit
taking, but it was stiffened UP again
to some degree by the remarkable ad-
vance in Union Pacific Of 312 points
to 971a. The runor that proposed
stock issue to provide for the Southern
Pacific purchase had been underwrlt-
ten at lar was the cause OF the exclt-
ed speculation in Union Pacific. Here
again the high level invited enormous
realizing. The movement in the rail-
road list was rather mildly responsive
and only a few other railroad stocks
attained any notable price level above
last night With the late drive against
the steel stocks, the wholellst crum-
bled, Union Pacific itself yielding all
but a small fraction of its advance,
and many market leaders among the
grangers, coalers, trunk lines, pacltics
and southwesterns falling from l to 2
points below last nights level. The
selling of Missouri Pacific was espec-
tally urgent, carrying that stock 2A
under last nights level, an extreme
drop of four points. The final rally in
Union Pacific left it with a net gain
Of 15s. The volume of dealings again
reached a figure far above the normal
and near to the record and there have
seldom been such excited dealings and
such wide and cratic fluctuations in
the market. The reduction in the
Bank of England rate and the fail in
the sterling exchange rate put gold ex-
ports at present out Of the question.
The rate for loans did not rise above
2 per cent on the exchange, but specu-
lators are not entirely free from un-
easiness as to the possible effect on
the money market of the enormous
financial operations in contemplation.
The railroad bond market continued
very active, but there were some re-
cessions in prices in sympathy with
the reaction in stocks. Total sales
par value S7,610,000.
United States bonds were all un-
changed on the last call.