The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-22
DOWNWARD PLUNGE
 IF STEEL STOCK
Stocks Made Pretty Good Stand
 Against liquidation
WEAK SPOTS IN BONDS
There Was Little In the Days News to Explain the Action of the Market--Money Hard
 to Get.

New York, July 1.-The stock market made pretty good stand during the greater part of the day against scattered liquidation of the same kind as that of yesterday. But the slump in the United States steel stocks at the end of the day cost the market about all the gains that had been achieved in the course of the days trading. Other specialties scored losses of fairly sensational proportions, but they were with no such influence up- on sentiment as the headlong downward plunge in the United States steel stocks. The common sold at 20. and the preferred, with the quarterly dividend of 1% per cent deducted since yesterday, sold at 70, making extreme declines of SIS for the common and "A for the preferred. In the May panic of 1901 the common sold at 24 and the preferred at 69 Today's drop was in the face of open buying by banking interests which conducted the corporations syndicate transactions, The financial authorities of the corporation declined to be officially quoted as to the truth of current rumors that the next dividend on the common stock was to be passed. The usual rumors circulated were also that the urgent liquidation was due to financial embarrassment by this or the other important capitalists. But the market seemed to take these rumors with a good deal of equanlmity and there was a considerable absorption of standard railroad stocks, so that prices in many instances rose at one time point or more over last night.
 New York Central was in notable de- mand. There was a demand for this stock in the loan crowd on the exchange which caused an impression that con siderable short interest had been built ID in the stock. The shorts were an ele- ment in the buying at other points. There was little in the days news to explain the action of the market. The weather bureaus weekly bulletin on the crop was considered less than reassuring as to the spring wheat situation, and the action of the whole market on the issuing of the bulletin confirmed this impression. The only notable effect in the securities mar ket was a sharp decline in the Burlington joint 4s. Great Northern, preferred, how ever, jumped points in the face of the general movement of the market. Denials were forthcoming of some of the recent rumors of additional borrowings by rail- road corporations. but the possibility be- gan to be canvassed that improvements would be cut off except where necessary to be carried out, because already en- tered, rather than venture on temporary loans in the present stringency of the money market News of railroad earnings was favorable the Louisville and Nash ville and the Illinois Central making good returns for net earnings for June. Fra.. IH~4a 4x,r rafo ing the semi-annual dividend rate on the first preferred to per cent was not known until after the market closed, but 1t was confidently expected, A previous expectation that the second preferred stock would get a dividend had been abandoned apparently as that stock was weak
 There were weak spots in the bond market, but the market as a whole was irregular. Total sales, par value, $2,277000. United States bonds were unchanged on the last call