The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-07
GOSSIP or WALL STREET.


freshly diScouraCng number of tentative
bulls The bearish demonstration in the
early trading was made, some tn ought: to
facilitate short covering. Atchson was made
a special object Of attack. Criesel and Bissen
forced the stock to break through n. Savin
was large buyer, presumably for short
account. as he has been conducting opera
tions on the short side of the stock The
amount of long stock brought out yesterday
was said by the various specialists to be
insignificant. II is a question whether the
floating supply of stocks stands much in
creased as n result of the bearish operations
and the attending liquidation last week.
The absorption which was in evidence all the
week, and which became very conspicuous in
Friday session. is believed by many observers
to have fully offset the liquidation, leaving
the floating supply as it is called. about
as il was.
The way with the market, said floor
critic yesterday lis that in the various crowds
stocks are continually being offered in amounts
larger than anybody is bidding for.
There was very good demand for stocks
in the loan department yesterday. especially
|, for Pennsylvania. Atchison. Canadian Pa
cifc and Missouri Pacific The prevailing
rate was 3 per cent The demand for Penn
sylvana was so urgent as to cause it to lend
slightly under the ruling rate. or at an average
Of about 81. per cent. Street 4 Norton and
Content L. Co. were heavy borrowers OF vari-
Gus stocks. The impression in the loan crowd
is that the short interest is still large That
which reflects in the loan department APP
peared, indeed. to have increased since Friday.
London houses bought moderately during
the first hour Yesterday. They seem to have
been taking Atchison freely for several days,
You'd think from what you hear over there
in the room" said a two-dollar man after
the close OF the market yesterday. that
certificates were going to sell in bundles like
old newspa pers. a so much pound. heard
a man say this morning on selling certain
stock short that when he bought it back
he'd have it split into f1ve-share certificates
and paper his room with them. Maybe they
will all wake UP some morning and find that
they have sold themselves into bag.
Persons who have been away from Wall
Street for six months or a year grow very
enthusiastic over the market and insist that
those who have been with 1t day by day. trad
ing in and out cannot see its possibilities
as they see them. Several men who have
recently returned after long periods OF alb
sence-shrewd market readers some OF them
are-mpatienty put aside the bearish points
Of the situation and say the tape shows that
they have already been literally discounted.
Less than a year ago it was just the other
way. Persons then returning from their
vacations were struck with the advances
that had occurred during their absence and
said everything had got too high: that the
bullish features OF the situation had been
oyerbought in the speculative sense. Wall
Street was as bhllish then as IL is bearish now.
Referring to the report that a syndicate
had been formed to take over 10000 shares
of Dominion stocks from Ames Co.. house
that has had a lot OF Canadian business re-
ceived from Toronto Yesterday private mes
sage saying the holdings Of Ames Il Co. and
it's clients in Dominion stocks would not
amount to 10000 shares.
The constant wranGllns between wire
houses and their out-of-town correspondents
over interest charges may lead to formal
request that the Stock Exchange authorities
at the end of each month shall name mini
mum rate for that month and pcnalize mem
bers who go below it. AS the matter now
stands sharp competition between the wire
houses IL unavoidable. those charging the
least interest being favored over others,
and competition between members Is con-
trary to stock Exchange policy. A COR
respondent house in Chicago. say, may have
wires to three or four Wall Street houses
and give business to all of them but II at
the end OF the month one house charges
per cent. while another charges or 31a for
carving the stocks explanations are de-
handed, and the out-of-town house after
ward favors the houses that charged or ~
Der cent. The house that charged per cent.
this month may charge only 3H next month,
having provided itself with cheaper money,
and the house that charged 3 per cent in
April may be compelled to charge 81. or 4
per cent in May or June, but these uncer-
tainties tend only further to complicate
matters and to increase competition, The
wire houses make it a rule, OF course, to
charge their out-of-town correspondents the
rate they themselves have had to pay for
the money. They do not shave" anything
in their interest accounts. The competition
would make that impossible. 1t being an ad-
vantage to the wire house to carry stocks as
cbeaply as possible. One objection to the
naming of minimum rate by the Stock
Exchange authorities, as, for example. clear
ing prices are arbitrarily named, is that some
houses, owing to their standing and credit.
can borrow money more cheaply than others.
The reply Is that some houses can better
AFFORD than others to buy and sell stocks for
$3.50 n hundred
The support that has been given to the
Steel shares lately Is attracting attention.
They seemed to be about as we'll bought last
week as any industrial in the whole list
st. Paul failed on Fridays break to repeat
its low point for this decline, which was l47',.
a thing TO which traders attached consider
able importance. The impression is that the
stock has been heavily accumulated around
and under $50 by those who sold it heavily
around 100 last summer. While the Gates
crowd WAS bulline st. Paul mt the top 1t re-
ceived certificates in the names Of men who
are supposed to be very close to the interests
that are dominant in the property. Rutter
4 Gross were prominent buyers Of the stock
yesterday.
The speculative position Of Rock Island
common is a subject OF much conjecture.
The technical short interest arising from the
anticipatory selling Of stock to be received
in exchange for ST. Louis and San Francisco
common is known to be large. and there is
believed besides to be q considerable actual
short interest. The Western bear contingent
ia thought still to be- short of it, Last week
for the first time the Moore crowd appeared
to be giving the stock support under as.
BROKERS' say II is easy to borrow it in almost
any amount, and the impression somehow
prevails that the short interest is not likely to
be squeezed.