The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-13
WALL STREET PAYS
Continued From First Page.

ter exhausting almost every resource,
is unable to give the desired assistance.
The Sole Remedy.
A forced contraction in loans is the
only remedy, painful as it may be, for
depleted bank reserves. According to
the last official returns the loans in
the 1900 national banks in the United
States on September Is, stood at 49,
2S0,000,000, an increase of $26,000,0
over the high figures of 1901. During
the same period there were decreases
of. $22,000,000 in specie, $9,000,000 in
legal tenders and $5S00,00O in national
bank notes. No better reason for
drawing in the purse strings need to be
produced.
Railroad earnings continue to show
remarkable gains; partly a result Of
heavy Westbound traffic, which usually
commands high freight rates. Net
earnings, however, are frequently not
so satisfactory as last year; the high
er cost of materials, the increased cost
Of operating and the advances in
wages all making heavy inroads into
profits. Very likely the railroads are
not the only concerns feeling the eff
fects Of these tendencies. There are
other lines Of enterprise making large
earnings in which profits have reached
their zenith for the time being. The
coal strike has become a depressing
factor in the market, not so much for
it's effect upon the coal shares as for
the important questions involved. The
threatening attitude of labor and the
sharpening of issues between monopo-
lies of capital and monopolies Of Ia
Dor are likely to have a seriously de-
terrent effect upon all sorts of new
enterprises, unless an early settlement
of the coal strike Is forthcoming.
The almost certain projection Of
these issues into the coming elections
and the inevitable raising of a new
set of economic problems with which
the country is not yet prepared to deal
are certain to have a depressing eff
feet upon all lines of business. 1t is
fortunate that the country is still en-
joying great commercial and indus
trial activity, and that general condi-
tons are sound; but it would be folly
to overlook that new set of influences
are coming into prominence which will
have to be seriously reckoned with in
business affairs as well as in politics.
The position of the market as a
whole has unquestionably been great
ly improved by the liquidation of the
last few weeks. The test has shown
that there are no weak spots of i'm
portance; and an effective check has
been put upon undesirable speculative
movements. The present, however, is
not favorable to the buying of stocks.
The scarcity of time money as well as
call money is warning. There is still
a probability of further squeezes in the
money market and sharp raids upon
weakly held stocks. A great change
in existing conditions must come if
we are to have genuine bull market
during the present year. Sharp up
ward reactions are not at all unlike
ly, but stocks will probably be good
sale at such times for several weeks
to come, even if the decline, which now
reaches about 10@15 points, should not
be extended. Bullish enthusiasm has
been much chilled, and period of rest
will be necessary for recuperation, even
under favorable circumstances.
Henry CleWs.