The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-18
THE SUN. MONDAY, MAY 10. 1908.

payment Of heavy tax, the banks being
permitted, OF course. to retire these notes
| at will. Thus, when current rates Tor tne
use OF money become high. the banks VIII
find an easy method at their hand OF renew
ing the interests OF the business community
, and will not be forced, AZ under the pres
ent system, to keep out these notes Tor a
| long period of time. This scheme Will
| provide for real currency elasticity as OPP
posed to mere currency imitation.
The exigencies raised by the monstrous
aggressons of the labor unions and byt
| very high cost of materials for building
and for all manufacturing purposes need
little emphasis. When, as told in The sun
the other day, the wages Of a man employed
, to run hosting engine In this city can,
under the exactions enforced by the union
Of which he is a member and by means Of
overtime charges, amount to as much
as 500 a week. it is clearly time
for those engaged in financing building
operations to consider seriously whether
1t is wise to 60 on with the business. Much
the same disadvantages, so far as mere
expenditure of money Is concerned, occur
in the case of materials. All over the coun-
try we are beginning to hear OF railroads
and industrial companies suspendlng work
for improvements. for extension OF plants
&c, on account Of these drawbacks Inc
feeling is growing that. however acute
may seem to be the need for such work
at present. 1t will be found to be an I'M
profitable undertaking il it has to be pushed
through by payment Of such tremendous
premiums as are now necessary. famous
capitalist having large interest In great,
new office building downtown that is just
approaching completion said to the writer
hereof the other day that while he believed
his investment would pay him in the long
run, 1t had cost him 80 per cent. more than 1t
should and that he was through with in
vestments of that kind for many years to
come. Possibly the labor unions through
out the country will have sense enough
to see that they have pushed their demands
to the breaking point and that employers
Of labor must in many cases either stop
business or diminish the compensation that
laboring men are now receiving, both as
regards wages and hours of labor. In
fortunately. the history Of labor unions in
this country does not afford much hope
of such intelligence on their part.
The stock market last week was very
dull and wholly professional, and the SELL
ing of stocks by tired and Disguised holders,
whobeither saw no profit upon them at all
or saw profits turned into a loss. only be-
came feature in the closing days of the
week. The chief event of the week. the
formal announcement Of the taking over
of the st. Louis and San Francisco system
by the Rock Island Company, did not, for
reasons that it should be unnecessary
to explain, impart any flip to speculation
II anything, it helped along the decline that
was in progress. The selling movement
was assisted, Of course, by bearish specula-
tors who. following their usual tactics,
set afoat many tales calculated to injure
the market, as. for instance, that Of a
cut OF IS or 81 ton in the price Of steel
billets. The failure of the market to rally
after the falsity Of these reports was fully
demonstrated and after the dissipation of
fears over political complications with
Russia and OF damage to crops by the cold
wave, was perhaps the best illustration Of
the markets lack of resiency, and showed
that other causes besides mere bear attacks
we're depressing values. The short interest
in the market is, however, accommodating
every day, and frequent rallies in quoted
values caused by the covering of short
stock must occur from time to time. Large
financial interests could at any time of
course make a diversion on the side of
higher prices. Moreover, there is no rea-
son to change the opinion frequently ex-
pressed in this column. that certain stocks.
because Of peculiar and special reasons,
will anyway, sell higher before the summer
ia out DANIEL. F. KELLOGG