The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-05-17
STOCKS AND BONDS.

New York, May 16.-The conspicuous
feature oil to- days weak stock mar
ket was entire lack of any supporting
demand at any stage OF the decline.
Even the room shorts, who almost in
variably cover short contracts at the
end of a day of declining prices,
showed no solicitude about covering
and the market seemed entirely to
lack resilliency.
The liquidation was not heavy, but
such as it was was very general.
While the decision of the anthracite
miners for a strike was the ostensible
cause OF the weakness, the depression
was not confined to the coalers, nor
was it particularly conspicuous there.
Reading early led the list in point of
activity, but allowing for its half
shares, the sales We're but little in ex-
cess of those of Union Pacific. The
three point decline in Reading was
fairly attributable to the fact that it
has been selected as the representative
of recent speculative confidence in the
coal trade outlook. The other coalers
shared about equally with the weak
ness of the general market, which is
represented by quite uniform losses of
from l to points
The undertaking assurance that
there would be no strs-le which has
been expressed throughout the period
since a strike was threatened by all
representatives of the controlling in
terests in the coalers leaves no room
for doubt that the final decision to
strike was a surprise. Confidence in
a favorable outcome of the struggle
| to benefit of the coal operators contin-
ued to be expressed in Wall street to-
day. But this could not alter the
general impression that a prolonged
and serious struggle is in prospect. 1t
did not need the formal announcement
| by President Mitchell of the purpose
| of the miners to make the strike a
| national mining strike to awaken anx-
| iety over the possible extension OF the
| labor trouble by sympathy into other
| fields and especially the bituminous
| coal field. The collateral effects of
| such an extension are easy to under
stand, but difficult to estimate. The
effect upon the iron and steel indus
tires. already struggling with scarcity
| of material of all kinds, would be most
| notable.
The iron and steel stocks shared in
the general weakness. Reports of an
| advance of 81 a ton in the price of
! Southern iron rather strangely added
| to the depression, as it is felt that the
maintenance of the high level of con-
sumption is dependent upon the sus-
! tanned steadiness of the price. Atten-
| ton was given also to the estimate of
| the Iron Age that the producing ca
| pacity of pig iron for the country
would be increased 300 600 tons this
year and 100000 tons by the end of
1908. The wet weather in the North
west retarding the seeding of the crops
may have been a depressing influence.
although the weakness in the corn
market should have been a fair offset
| The market closed inanimate at about
| the lowest
Bonds were dull and irregular. To-
tai sales, par value. $2,360.00O United
States bonds were all unchanged on
| the last call.
| Total sales of stocks to-day were
400, 500 shares, including Atchson. 5000;
| Canadian Pacific. y 200; Chicago and
! Alton. 1880; Erie, $780, New York
| Central 5,400; Pennsylvania, 100;
| Reading. 102, 500; do second preferred
% 900; st. Paul. 13, 900; Southern Pa
| cifc $500; Southern Railway, $500.
! Union Pacific $4,000; Copper, $4,000,
| Colorado Fuel and Iron, 1920: Sugar
$500. United States Steel 10000: Unit
ed States Steel preferred. $500; Kansas
| City Southern, $500.