The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-02

Having put their Rock Island deal through
tand X was about the last big deal to be
enough to stop. They afterward arranged
the St Louis & San Francisco deal. but
that involved no money, requiring merely
an exchange of stocks They further
strengthened the system this week by TAX
ing over the Evansville & Terre Haute and
the Evansville q Indiana and will devote
undivided attention the next two years to
the physical upbuilding of the 1900 miles
of road owned and controlled About Sl0,-
Ooo.OoO a year will be put into road better
ments from net earnings until the system is
brought TO the highest possible state of eff
ficiency; This is essentially the policy
pursued by T.. II. Hartman with his Union
and Southern Pacific properties.
In spite of the fact that this is now the
cheapest security market in the world. the
fact which must eventually cause foreign
investment buying on a large scale, the
British and Continental interest in our
stocks is very backward. The London mar
ket for Americans is governed largely by
orders cabled from this side The interna-
tional business from day to day is thereby
Invested of its old-time significance. For
merly this market was influenced largely
by London quotations, but since these quo
tationS no longer reflect an independent
foreign judgment of our securities they are
almost meaningless. Ii is a favorite trick
of Wall-street operators these days 20
rig the London market for effect on this
side. Thus, after weak closing here, If IL
is desired to force a rally in the morning
orders are c2bled TO London to buy and bid
up American stocks, and the o'clock Lon
don quotations cabled back for the opening
of this market are, therefore, more or less
fictitious. This. is so we'll understood that
London quotations interesting chiefly
because they reflect the operations of Wall
street interests. The foreign holdings of
American securities are now the smallest
in many years. On the bull movement that
culmlnated year ago London and the Con-
tinent sold stocks TO this market until Wall
street marveled at the apparently mex
haustible supply. The return of American
stocks from Europe is said to have begun
In 1897, and the movement has continued
almost uninterruptedly ever since. A for
eign exchange authority made the asser-
ton that interests and dividends RENTED
to Europe at this last half-year disburse
ment period amounted to only per cent. of
the corresponding remittance made ten
years ago. In other words, whereas about
$10,000,000 was annually sent abroad for in
terest and dividend disbursements ten years
ago, something like $5,000,0o0 covers the re-
QuirementS now.
The raising of the dividend on the Erie
| first preferred recently to the full per
cent was generally interpreted to mean
that Mr.. Morgan took this means of declar-
ing unlmpaired confidence i'm the situation,
and the action for that reason produced
general impression quite distinct from the
satisfaction Of those who benefited by 1t
directly. Tnbse who have conversed with
Mr. Morgan recently say that he is very
bullish on the outlook, and insists that pes
simism has been carried to an extreme
unwarranted by existing conditions. He is
inclined, moreover, savagely TO lecture
those who have been selling stocks, par
tlcularly his stocks. In one way this is re-
l invites
stringent criticism. A great deal of the
| most urgent liquidation which has occurred
within the last few months resulted direct
ly from unfortunate commitments in va
| rious Improbable underwriting schemes
and promotion ventures, one of the largest
| and most Improbable of which has been
| Mr.. MOrgan's International Mercantile
| Marine. The capitalists involved in such
| underwritings have been forced to sell their
| best securities to protect those that were
| unmarketable and International Mercantile
| Marine, by the way, is about the least mar
ketablo of any of the Undigested, or as Mr.
street Is dTded eo tWe Ma
/ pro Morgan and anti-Morgan. The pro-
| Morgan faction SCOTS ct the notion that his
prestige has been seriously impaired. in
| sisting that he is much too big a man to
| be reduced. except temporarily, from his
| great eminence. The other faction Is skep-
| teal 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 OBJ
| servers of Wall-street affairs who perceive
| In recent events variety of subtle and hos
| tile influences aimed at Mr.. Morgan all
| calculated TO detract from his prestige.
| 1t is asserted that L. III. Hartman, the
crafty little man who wears hat a size too
| large and Is unknown by sight in the most
| travelled thoroughfares of the Wal-street
district has played the part of swordfish
| TO the Morgan whale. 1t was Mr.. Harri-
| man who so nearly defeated the Morgan
party In the Northern Pacific episode, and
did force the fight to a draw" Except for
10 nyf ~ ord .1asx - T.
| buying 10000 shares of Northern Pacific in
| one day, Mr.. Hartman certainly would
have swept Messrs. Morgan and Hill from
| the Northwestern railroad map at that
time. BY making the most disastrous corner
that was ever known i'm Wall street he did
| succeed in forcing himself as a partner
| upon Messrs Morgan and Hill in their
! Northwestern merger deal.
| xxx
| The stock market atmosphere has been
greatly cleared by the failures. At the time
| or this writing a more cheerful feeling
| prevails around Wall street due largely to
the trust that further serious failures will
| be averted. 1t has been a marvel to the
| veteran members of this community that
the enormous shrinkage in securities values
| had not resulted I'm crash involving sew
| eral houses. Now that the crash has come
they feel relieved. Money lending 'institu-
| lions are loaded up to the ears with COL
| lateral which they are waiting to sell on a
| better, market. and 1t is difficult to see
therefore, how there can be any sustained
| upward movement in values. Indications
| would point rather. to low, settling market
| during which the sharp edges of the recent
trouble will be worn off and people will re-
| adjust their affairs to meet changes and
conditions. There is lot yet to be done
| in the way of setting houses in order bin
| the best banking critics in the street believe
this can be accomplished without further
| serious endorsements anywhere Mean
| while there are lot of stocks that are at
| tractive investments. An unfavorabe
feature of the situation is that stocks and
| bonds 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 its history
| but they are concentrated in powerful
hands. The manner in which they are held
| may be surmised from the fact that in
order to stampede short interest this week
an actual scarcity of stocks was fictitiousy
created, some of the leading railroad issues
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