The Indianapolis journal., 1903-07-05
GOSSIP AS TO HIS INTENTIONS
THE RECENT MANIPULATION OF.
UNITED STATES STEEL BONDS.
Corn Bulls Now Talk of Seventy-Five
Cents as a Probable Prtce-Stand-
ard Oil and Pennsylvania.
pecial to the indianapolis Journal.

sence of several months, during the great
er part of which time he was confined to his
couch with refractory knee joint, caused
as much of fiutter in the stock market
as did the return Of j. Pierpont Morgan
from Europe a fortnight before. Mr.. Keene
has SO long been the foremost manipulation
of stocks that his pre-eminence is quite TAX
en- for granted. A great many people be-
lieved that he would never return, and the
younger generation of traders put forth
several candidates for his mantle. But he
has fooled them all by re-entering the game
with much of his old-time vigor and the
chances are that he will continue for some
time to occupy a place In stock market af-
fairs that is peculiarly his own. The i'm
preston has been cultivated that Mr..
Keene is very bullish on the market and
has returned to undertake operations for
advance on a large scale. His brokers
have been active on the long side of the
market for several weeks. and 1t is believed
that Mr.. Keene again is cooperating with
the Morgan party. The dissolution Of the
United States Steel underwriting syndicate
was believed for time to have terminated
his bullish contract with the Morgan inter-
ests. But this opinion has lately been re-
vised In the light of various incidents SEEM
ing to show that the relations between
them are still close. The activity of the
Keene brokers, so called, has nowhere been
II ore conspicuous than in the Steel shares.
Mr.. keene knows more about the market
position Of the Steel securities than, per-
haps. any other man alive. He conducted
the most remarkable distributive campaign
in those stocks that has ever been seen in
Wall street, and for this the Morgan party
owes him a debt OF everlasting gratitude,
f1r 1t Is a question whether the promoters
of the United States Steel Corporation
would not still be hung up with the stocks
II Mr.. Keene had not adroitly distributed
them to the public.
The stock market has been without bull
leader for several months. If, as now ap-
pears to be probable, Mr.. Keene should re-
assume aggressive leadership on the bull
side, he would not want for q following.
There is reason to believe that the Morgan
party favors an advance. If, for no other
reason, than to make a market on
which to sell more stocks, and
there is no man betted equipped to
conduct a bull campaign at this time
than Mr.. Keene. He would be very dam
gerous factor on the bear side, because IL Is
no secret that the market is full of vulner-
able stocks. and Mr.. Keene has almost a
diabolical genius for fading what in the
Wall street vernacular ARE called weak
spots" This influence for making trouble
alone might influence the Morgan crowd to
intrust bull campaign to his hands. The
stock market is, perhaps. a more two-sided
| affair than at any previous time In five
md Ia ia,
Mr.. Keene would count for great deal on
either side. He is no respecter of sides, and
would soon bear stocks as bull them,
speculative possibilities being equal His
association with the Morgan crowd, how
ever, no doubt has left him with a greater
abiding interest on the long side of stocks
than he ever had before, and that might
naturally influence him buliishly where
conditions favor equally operations for eth
er the advance or decline. Most all great
bears have ended by being bulls. 1t was SO
| with the late Addison Cammack, who in
| his time, was one of the greatest bear lead
ers the street has ever known. Gradually
| he accumulated stocks until in the end his
personal interests on the long side of the
market more than balanced his speculative
preferences for the short side. Mr. Keene
is, perhaps, the only man who has ever had
the distinction within his lifetime of being
| considered by friends and enemies alike the
| greatest manipulation that has ever lived
The afternoon of his career has brought
| him to a period In American finance swher
things are done on more colossal scale
than was ever the case before. and natui.
ally, he being the foremost operator in ths
market, his campaigns have been greater
than those Of the most daring of his prede
cessors. He seems to have a wonderful
tenure of life. He not only outlived his ri
walls and outshone them in their own pecu
liar methods. but reserved 1t for a latel
period of his career to achieve successe,
along new lines and on scale that reduce!
the exploits of such of his rivals as jay
Gould and Addison Cammack to compare a
tive insignificance Although he, more thar
any other man, is responsible for th'
marked success of United States Steel Cor
poration. the volume of whose securities i
greater than that Of any other three cor
porations in existence. he is likely to live ii
! Wall streets history merely as a manipu
lator Ke is essentially a trader His meth
DDS are illustrated in the story of frien,
who beseeched him necessarily for advic
on the market. Mr.. Keene put the man of
time after time, and was finally exasper
ated to the point of saying: II pay NOR
money for informtion than any other MAJ
IN Wall street. have better sources of in
a life study OF speculation. and know al
there Is to know about it. With all this tn
best l can do is 10 beat II four times ou
of seven. IL L could beat it three times ou
of five 1 would have all the money ther
is in the world
The pressing for sale Of large amounts Q
United States Steel Corporation new pc
cent. bonds below S5 has been attracting
great deal OF attention. They have sold a
low as 81. IL has been said that a prom
inent United States Steel interest was liqui
dating heavily. Another explanation of tn
selling that the underwriting syndicat
responsible for the conversion of 500 0oO. OF
| preferred stock into bonds has been buyin
the stock and selling the bonds at a sma
: arbitrage profit. Both explanations pei
/ haps, are valid. The underwriting synd
cate alone has now the privilege of cor
verting preferred stock into bonds. By sci
ing the bonds around 81 and buying tn
stock under so small, but certain, profit
are TO be realized. Discussion of this opel
| alton evidently became too general TO su
the syndicate, and the preferred stock wa
| bid up sharply one day last week by Keen
! | brokers to point that temporarily reduce
/ the margin OF arbitrage profit between
and the bonds. The persistent rumors {
e the probable retirement of Charles \
e | Schwab from the presidency of Unite
States Steel Corporation appear TO ha.
E / had some foundation. Although the a,
I pointment of an assistant to Mr.. Schwa