The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-26
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
MoNpAY, May rs.

velues during the Stock Exchange session
exercised perhaps, more ,infavoraole IN
huence upon speculative sentiment IMAM
if market decentralization. or perhaps even
a panic, had actually occurred. Under CIR
cumstsnces such as those last described,
the fortunate possessors OF ready money
who were thinking of investing the same
in standard stocks would feel reasonable
assurance that bargain day" had arrived,
and that they could buy stocks without
fear that any great further calamity was
near at hand The action OF the market
to-day, however. just as on many preceding
DAYS. was of nature calculated to deter
! investors from making purchases and to
prevent even wary professional specula-
tors from buying stocks for turn Inc
market, in other words. is like SICK man
whose condition il bad each day and APP
pears likely to be worse on the succeeding
day. A dozen times in the present declining
movement il has seemed as though raily
in prices was in order. Each time httie
rally of few hours, or perhaps couple OF
days, did occur, and then prices fell lower
than they did before. The unfortunate
| buyers at higher levels who thought tha'
they were then acquiring stocks at cheap
price have either thrown the stocks thus
bought upon the market and taken TINS
loss upon them, or in some instances, II
may be, are still holding them in disgust.
and are not at all DESTROYS OF adding to their
quantity.
Little can be said in a general description
of to-day's market further than that the
same heavy liquidation went on that has
been in progress for over two weeks. There
we're no news developments during the
day of Importance save, perhaps. !ndica-
,ions that chances Of strike OF the freight
handlers in Chicago were greater than
had been supposed. Most Of the promi-
nent stocks fell from to 3 points making
new records on the present movement
and for the present year. and closed almost
| at their lowest point. The purchases by
London houses which were 30 noticeable
last week were day suspended and were
succeeded by sales for the same account.
| The most acute cause of market disturb
ance continued to be, as in the last few
| DAYS, the weakness in st. Paul, which sold
down TO l47L, as against closing price
OF 1917 on Saturday and l54i2 on the pre-
| oedng day. Almost every stock on the
| list. however, declined more or less except
| the Erie shares, and there was particular
| weakness in Canadian Pacific and Rock
| Island. The selling Of Canadian Pacific was
| said to represent further liquidation by dis
tressed Montreal and Toronto spectators
| that of Rock Island was prompted, per-
haps, by the general observation that the
stock of the new Rock Island Company
was selling at figures which represented
! q market valuation for the property OF
the company considerably higher than
that now obtained for the property Of
the Chicago and Northwestern Railway,
and very much higher than the market
bid for that Of the Chicago, Milwaukee and
st. Paul Railway Company.
The strength Of all the Erie stocks was
almost abnormal In . market 80 generally
depressed, and was clearly due to specific
reasons The price Of the Erie shares
closed at decided net gains.
The one question on everybody's lip in
Wall Street during the day was, "Who
is selling st. Paul and why?" Few people.
OF course, can speak authoIitatively on
suoh matters, and smaller proportion
still are willing to speak even il they can
There are good reasons. however. for be-
lieyine that the current impression in Wall
Street that the so-called Standard Oil
capitalists, who are known to be heavily
interested in ST. Paul, are selling the stock
Ia quite unfounded. On the other hand,
it seems impossible that 30 large a quantity
OF St. Paul as that which has been pressed
to a sale could have been held by other
| than an inside interest. One theory OF
| the selling Of St Paul and all Of the standard
stocks which is entertained by many acute
observers of market conditions and by those
| to whom correct sources Of information
il Tint tho Humiliation
has not been because OF dismay over the
| labor situation. indications OF slackening
| business, the speculation In cotton, the
idea that the Northern Securities decision
will undo the recent work toward closer
union Of railway properties, or any Of the
causes that have been nominally assigned
| therefor in Wall Street gossip, but by the
necessity with which various capitalists
have been confronted Of selling good stocks
to protect poor ones. There 10 little
douht that various Westerners whose
operations in railway and industrial con-
Germs have in the past excited at times
the professional admiration and always
the sincere distrust Of Wall Street have
been forced thus to dispose Of large share
of what they called their gilt-edged invest
ments, but which were really speculative
| holdings Oh Un0 lebullB stoChs Oh tIe 'otOCk
Exchange list, to obtain money for the
purpose OF still maintaining their grip on
the underwriting and consolidation schemes
in which they have become involved. Wal
Street naturally turns in its endeavor to
discover the identity OF these individuals
to that party Of Western spectators whose
operations were responsible for the clos
ing Of the Stock Exchange in Chicago some
years ago and whose late adventure ir
finance has been the endeavor to float
in the financial community a scheme by
which the public are asked to invest in a
railway capitalization of over $500, 900 900
over which absolute control is welded by
s2s, 900 900 Of preferred stock held by the
promoters Of the enterprise. II ia not at
all probable, however. that even II the
recent selling of securities has proceeded
from these gentlemen, it has been limited
to them.
rev York otsek Exchange Sales. May AZ.
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