The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-29
WALL ST. GLOOMY
vXENDING STREAM OF LIQUIDA-
TION A PUZZLE.
REPRODUCTIVE INTERESTS
,IE ABSORBED LARGE PART OF
LOANING POWER.

ais the View of Controller Ridge
ley and 1t Is the Dread of the
street in the Present Situation.
Fcared That Reaction in Steel and
ron Has Spread to Commercial
and Industrial Lincs-Schiff Says
Decline in Substantial Securities
Is UnJustified.
New York, Sept. 2S.-Wan street
spent another gloomy day which was
devoted mostly to trying to puzzle out
where the unending stream of liquida-
ton came from and what caused it.
Information on the subject, even au-
thoritative opinions, were extremely
hard to get.
1t is pointed out that the great bank
ers and capitalists were not heard of
in warning last year during the high
range of prices while they were seek
ing profitable market for their hold
ings at that level. From this it is in
ferred that the buyers of a class which
decides the market movement, would
not be hear in melting others to buy
If they were themselves seeking securi-
ties on cheap terms in the present
market. The source of selling orders
in the present market is a battling
mystery and differences usually drawn
from the personality of the brokers
employed are almost invariably at
fault.
The conditions which prompt the
liquidation and the probable limits of
its extent are consequently the subject
of grave disquiet and apprehension.
1t was the failure of stock jobbing
operations that brought the early SELL
ing, and the losses represented were
almost wholly on paper, as the pre-
vious gains had been. But later cpl
sodes represent the failure of enter
prises in which extensive capital had
been embarked, at demonstrably I'M
productive employment. Capital thus
sunk is capital lost.
Loans in UnprOductiye Deals.
Controller Ridgeley's opinion. ex-
pressed before the Maryland and
Washington bankers, that "a large per-
centage of the loaning power has gone
into unproductive interests" forrnu-
lates the dread of Wall street over the
present situation. The reaction in the
iron and steel industries high interest
rates, especially on mercantile paper
and the curtailment of production in
other lines caused the fear that over
extension has spread to Industrial and
commercial lines, representing addition
al "unproductiVe interests" to be fol-
lowed by liquidation and contraction.
The present course of the banks is
directed towards conserving the COM
mercial and industrial needs for credits
and to this end they are ineXorable to
all promoting and financing projects.
The miscarriage of these projects is
still the cause of most of the liquida-
ton.
While the great majority of Wall
streets prominent men show decided
Discrimination to talk for publication,
inquiry among the very highest finan-
cial interests ELECTS statements that
nothing of a serious or untoward char
acter is apprehended. -fN
Decline Not Justified.
Jacob H. Schff of Kuhn, Loeb &
Co, commenting upon stock market
and financial conditions said: mo mat
ter what may be said as to the causes
which have brought about the present
situation the prevailing conditions
throughout the country do not justify
the existing great decline in substan-
tial securities.
1T does not appear likely that the
much feared money stringency will
materialiZe. In fact, money is album
dant now, only those who control the
supply are afraid in the uncertain
state of affairs to part with it,
But this will change, especially as
it is almost certain that with the in
ability of corporations to finance their
requirements general business
throughout the country must, after a
time, fall off and when that moment
arrives we shall have large amount
of funds seeking employment, and we