The age-herald., 1902-05-17
ENTIRE LACK
 OF ANY DEMAND Stock Market Seemed to be
 Without Spirit LIQUIDATION NOT HEAVY While the Miners Decision to Strike Was the Weakening Influence, the Depression Was Not
 Confined Here Alone.

New York May 16.-The conspicuous feature of todays weak stock market was entire lack of any supporting demand at any stage of the decline. Even the room shorts who almost invariably cover short contracts at the end of a C or declining prices, showed no solieituoe about covering and the market seemed entirely to lack spirit. The liquidation was not heavy but such as 1t was, 1t was very general. While the decision of the anthracite miners for a strike was the ostens11le cause of the weakness, the de- pression was not confined to the coalers nor was 1t particularly conspicuous there. Reading was first in point Of activity, but allowing for its halt shares, the sales were but little in excess of those Of Union Pacific A 3-point decline in Read ing was fairly attributable to the fact that it has been selected as the represen- tatfye of recent speculative confidence in the coal trade outlook. The other coalers shared about equally with the weakness of the general market which was repre- sented by quite uniform losses of 1 to points. The undertaking assurance that there would be no strike which has been expressed throughout the period since a strike was threatened by all representa- lives of the controlling interests in the coalers, leaves no room for doubt that the final decision to strike was a surprise. Confidence in favorable outcome of the struggle to the benefit of the coal ope- rators continued to be expressed in Wall street. But this could not alter the gen eral impression that a prolonged and seri- ous struggle was in prospect It did not need the formal announcement by Presi- dent Mitchell of the purpose of the miners to make the strike a national mining strike to awaken activity over the possi- ble extension of the labor trouble by sym pathy into other fields and especially into the bituminous coal fields. The col lateral effects of such an extension are easy to understand, but differ in estimate.
 The effect upon the iron and steel in- dustries 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 four dollars 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 deprdent upon the sustained steadiness of the price. Attention was given also to the estimate of the Iron Age that the producing capacity Of pig Iron for the country would be increased 100000 tons this year and 100000 tons by the end of 1903. The wet weather in the northwest 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 In spite of the weak reports of large movements of cash towards New York, the preliminary estimates today from the known movements of money in- dicate a gain of only about a million dollars after allowing for the absorption by subtreasury operations. There is the usual mystery about the weeks shift ing of loans on the loan account of the banks themselves There has been un- doubtedly a great extension of credit in foreign markets but 1t Is not clear wheth- CT the local liquidation in the stock mar ket has gone to the repayment of loans to the banks themselves or to the trust companies. The market closed inanimate at about the lowest.
 Bonds were du4- and irregular Total sales par value $2,S6O,O00 United States bonds were all unchanged on the last call.
 New York Stock Market.
 By Private Wire to Murphy k Ca.