The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-05
BROKERS ON EASY STREET
ENORMOUS TRADING I'm STOCKS,
Yesterdays TRANSACTIONS Ex-
CEEDING TWO MILLION SHARES
MARKET WILD AND EXCITED
Many Stocks Made Imposing Adj
vances, Although, as n General
Rule, the Gains Were Lost
ON Realizing Sales.

Call money, New York ......36Q6 2z2Q5
| NEW YORK, April 4.-Today was one
! of violent excitement and extreme ner-
vouS tension in the stock market. Prices
| ftuctuated in IN unprecedentedly violent
| and erratic manner all day The specu-
! lative spirit had apparently run wild and
| no feats seemed too great to attempt in
! the feverish imagination of the excited
| spectators. The boldneSs and reckless
! ness of the manipulation have probably
| never been equaled in the New York
| Stock exchange, and variations of point
| or more between sales were viewed with
| as much equanimity as a f1uctuation of II
| III an ordinary market. Blocks OF thou
| sand shares of stocks were tossed back
/ ward and forward and millions of dollars
were Vcntured with no more concern than
| though pennies were being pitched. News
| or actual conditions Of properties PLAYED
no part whatever in the speculation. The
method Of operations was largely to FOL
| low designated leadership. A sudden and
| violent advance in any stock was sufh-
| cient to attract an overwhelming follow
4 ing in which the scramble to buy caused
| volatile rise, with quick spurts for the
| leaders, who fastened to unload. Mon
| day seemed a remote period in the view
| OF the spectators, and their operations
| did not appear to be designed to go be-
| yond the days trading. The market
| was an admirable one in which to I'M
! load stocks and it is within reason to
lated by every possible artful device to
| further this object. How far it was
taken advantage of, may be inferred
! from the comparatively small number of
| gains, in spite of the appearance of ex-
IRENE buoyancy which the market had
| for most of the time. The Trunk line
stocks, Illinois Central Amalgamated
/ Copper. Colorado Fuel and some of the
| dormant investment stocks may be set
| apart. although none of them closed near
/ the highest prices. Otherwise small gains
| or considerable losses will be found to
! be the rule. The precipitate manner in
| which long stock was unloaded on the
/ opening bulge. showed the eagerress of
the bulls to take their profits. The vio-
! lent manner in which prices broke show
ed that point In the manner in prices
| was Of little account in consideration Of
| making quick sale. The outside specu-
| opening. attracted by yesterdays extra
| ordinary advances and the execution of
| their orders which were apparently with
! out limit as to prices, caused an ebullient
! opening. Profit-taking met the advance
| Immediately. When the first storm Of
liquidation had spent itself. efforts were
| made to revive the speculative enthusi-
asm by bidding up new stocks. The at
| tempt met with considerable success, al
| though profit taking continued heavy I'M
! der cover of the late advance in the
Trunk lines and Amalgamated Copper.
| The markets sensitive spot was clearly
| indicated by its action under the infiu-
| ence of the furry in call money to above
6 per cent. Some stocks touched the low
|
| dation thus forced. When the money
| fell back, covering by shorts caused some
| violent recoVeries but the closing was
| exceedingly feverish and irregular. The
| large demands of the interior for cash
| and the prospect of g. weak bank state
| INIT explained the furry. There were
| extreme advances of SIS in New York
| Central, in Pennsylvania Az in Rock
| Island, 89s in Amalgamated Copper, AZ
! in Illinois Central, 111a in Colorado Fuel,
lC1s in the preferred and 1 to points in
| an extended list. Business in bonds was
| not so large relatively as in stocks and
| the movement Of prices was irregular.
| Total sales, par value, 81, 70S, coo. United
! States old As coupon advanced "A per cent
] fairly rampant on the stock market dur
| ing the short week and the violent price
| movement and the unprecedented vol
nme of the dealings in the stocks which
| have held the foremost place in the deal
| lTigs, Indicate wildness and reckless ex-
| cess. The speculative fever is evidently
| widely extended and the telegraph plays
| an important part in the dealings, bring
| ing orders to the Stock exchange in iul-
/ mense volume from all over the country.
| A notable feature of the market is that
| been the high grade divtdend-paying rail-
read stocks. There have been MANY old
| rumors revived and revannped regarding
| these properties to carry along the adj
| vance, but of actual news regard ng
| them, there has been none Of import ance
| and the rumorS have been met with eIn-
| phat1c official denials in many instances.
| IheSe denlals have been totally ignored
| by the spectators who have continued to
| buy the stocks on an enormous scale and
| to bid up the prices with reckless conf
| dence, and then to cite the continued rise
| IN prices as confirmation of the rumors
| The increasing wildneSS OF the specuIa-
| ton has been viewed with misgivings by
| many observers, and many of the more
| conservative commission houses have adj
| vfsed their customers to sell out and take
their profits. But such advice counts for
! little when the selling Is repeatedly fol-
lowed by renewed buoyancy and further
| excited advances, which leave the sellers
| disappointed Of the additional profits
| they might have enjoyed. and there has
| been little difficulty at any period Of the
| week in attracting renewed speculative
| ventures from sold-out bulls. The lead
| ership has remained In the hands of ex-
| perienced and skilled operators, supplied
apparently with superintendent means,
! which argues the participation in the
| SPECULATION Of powerful capitalists
The conviction has been widespread
! that much of the buying was for an in
| yestment by bankers and capitalists, and
| py representatives of other railroads
| seeking extension of interest and control
This superstition cannot be verified In
| any authoritative manner. But it is man
| neSt to tyre in market affairs that
| speculative buying plays the most i'm
| portant part in the market, for the re-
| corded tranSa ctionS in main stocks with
! in a short time are sufficient to have eff
/ fected change of control Of the proper
| ties several times over If they repre-
| serted in any considerable proportion
| genuine transfers of the shares traded
| in. There has been enormous profit
| taking at every stage of the advance
! and this is addUced as evidence of the
| health of the market and is showing y
| process of digestion of long stock But
! it is to be borne in mind that the taking
| Of profits involves a buyer at the higher
! level as well as a seller. No ADEQUATE
/ Judgment can be formed of the health
J of the market until the character of these
| buyers who are the present holders be-
! comes better known. This can only be
| III considerable reaction in prices So
| far as the buying has been by investors
| who are satisfied with the return on the
| money they paid for the stocks, or who
| will hold them for purposes of control
| crease in value, there is no danger to be
! apprehended from a relapse IN prices.
/ But If the buyers who have afforded
! profits to the alert professional opera
| tors are merely widely scattered specula-
tors who have bought with borrowed
| money on margin for the purpose to
sell out at a higher level at a profit. II
| is easy to see that the markets technical
| position is much weakened as a result
of the weeks happenings in the stock
market. Such holders lack both the
| skill and the resources to- protect their
| holdings by supporting prices either by
confident buying of offerings or by man
| ipulatiOn. An extensive reaction wipes
| out their margins and uncoverS Stop loss
orders, which may demoraliZe q market
which is overloaded with such speculative
long accounts. Such a condition is fear
Od in 1oo 1Nrn ont vN,a lr04