The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-02

remittance made 10 years ago. In other words, whereas about $70,OOO000 was an- nually sent abroad for interest and divi- dend disbursements ten years ago some thing like s5,0OOOOO covers the require ments now.
 The raising of the dividend on Erie first preferred recently to the full per cent was generally interpreted to mean that MT. Morgan took this means of de- claring unimpaired confidence in the sit uation and the action for that reason produced a general impression quite dis tinct from the satisfaction of those who benefited by it directly. Those who have conversed with MT. Morgan recently say that he Is very bullish on the outlook and insists that pesslmism has been car ried to an extreme unwarranted by ex- isting conditions. He is inclined, more- over, savagely to lecture those who have been selling stocks, particularly his stocks. In one way this Is reassuring, but in another light it invites stringent criticism A great deal of the most ur- gent liquidation which has occurred within the last few months resulted di- rectly from unfortunate commitments in various unprofitable underwriting schemes and promotion ventures, one of l the largest and most unprotitable of which has been Mir Morgan's Interna- 1 tional Mercantile Marine. The capital l ists involved in such underwritings have l been forced to sell their best securities 1 to protect those that were unmarketa- be, and International Mercantile Marine, by the way, Is about the least marketa- be of any of the undigested, or as Mr. Hill says, "lndgestible" securities. Wall street Is becoming divided into two par ties, pro-Morgan and anti-Morgan. The pro-Morgan seoffs at the notion that his prestige has been seriously impaired in- II. 4I I,pH Ia ie 1ala fnn hieru be reduced, except temporarily from his great emnniece. The other faction Is skeptical about a Morgan bull market which the pro-Morgan people declare will unfold as soon as the existing situation begins to mend There are some very competent observers of Wall street af- fairs who observe in recent events va riety of subtle and hostile influences aimed at MT. Morgan, all calculated to 1 detraet from his prestige. It is asserted l that E. H. Hartman, the crafty little man who wears hat size too large l and is unknown by sight in the most l travelled thoroughfare of the Wall street district, has played the part of sword l fish to the Morgan whale. It was MT. 1 Hartman who so nearly defeated the 1 Morgan party in the Northern Pacific ep- | isode and did force the fight to a draw" Except for the extraordinary exploit of MT. Keene In buying 10000 shares of l Northern Pacific in one day, MT. Harri- l man certainly would have swept Messrs. l Morgan and Hill from the Northwestern railroad map at that time By making 1 the most disastrous corner that was ever known in Wall street he did sue l ceed in forcing himself as a partner upon Mesrs Morgan and Hill in their North western merger deal.
 The stock market atmosphere has been greatly cleared by the failures At the time of this writing a more cheerful l feeling prevails around Wall street, due | largely to the trust that further serious failures will be averted. It has been marvel to the veteran members of this community that the enormous shrinkage in securities values had not resulted in a crash involving several houses. Now that the crash has come they feel re- lieved Money lending institutions are loaded up to the ears with collateral 1 which they are waiting to sell on bet ter market and 1t Is difficult to there fore how there can be any sustained | upward movement in values. Indications would point rather to a slow, settling market, during which the sharp edges of the recent trouble will be worn off and people will readjust their affairs to meet changes and conditions. There is lot yet to be done in the way of setting houses in order. but the best banking
 
 can be accomplished without further se- rious endorsements any where. Mean
 while there are a lot of stocks that are
 attractive as investments. An unfavor-
 able feature of the situation is that
 stocks and bonds are pouring in here
 from all parts of the country by mail and
 express in the heaviest volume that has
 ever been known. There are now more
 stocks in Wall street than at any time,
 perhaps, in it's history, but they are con centrated in powerful hands. The man.
 ner in which they are held may be sur
 missed from the fact that in order to stampede short interest this week an
 actual scarcity of stocks was fictitiously created, some of the leading railroad is- sues actually lending at premiums in the
 loan crowd The ordinary commission
 houses are practically bare of stocks
 and the sources at which securities can
 be borrowed are limited in number.
 Nothing but the purest
 l- . s.-