The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-07
FINANCIAL AVID COMMERCIAL.
MONDAY. April Q.

MONDAY, April ..
The belief entertained. BY the majority
Of people having interests In Wall Street.
that the United States courts would refuse
tho prayer Of various minority r.ockholders
Of the Southern Pacific Company for tho
issuance Of an Injunction restraining the
majority Of stockholders--that IL to say.
the directors Of the Union Pacific Railroad
from voting the Southern Pacific shares
owned by the Union Pacific Company at
the approaching annual meeting OF tho
Southern Pacific Stockholders, and tho
general conviction that the clouds In the
financial sky were gradually disappear ing
were responsible for strong and fairly
active security market to-day up to the time
OF the announcement Of the decision In
the Southern Pacific case. Then the work
ings Of the ancient Wall Street adage. that
upon the PRONUNCIATION Of good, although
unexpected, news stocks should DO sold
rather than bought. were exemphhed by
a selling movement In which q large share
Of the gains in prices previously recorded
was lost The movement was wholly
natural. because the present market Is stu
dull and narrow and a small reaction from
the lowest figures OF week ago has already
occurred. The short interest has been
practically eliminated. to that extent. OF
course. depriving the market Of buying
power; and until such time as q broad adj
vance in prices Is in progress 1t must be
expected that the desire Of speouiators to
take small profits on every occasion Will
affect price fluctuations to . considerable
extent. The fall In prices following the
news Of the Southern Pacific decision was
assisted by the further news that by the
consent Of counsel In the litigation the
annual meeting Of the Southern Pacific
Company, set down for the coming Wednes-
day. was postponed pending an appeal
Of the case to the United States Circuit
Court Of Appeals. This was interpreted
by some as a practical victory for the mi
nority Southern Pacific interests. but In
reality exactly the reverse was the case.
II the annual meeting should take place
on Wednesday the minority interests. by
exercising their right Of cumulative voting,
would be able TO place two or three repre-
sentatives Of their party upon the Southern
Pacifics board of directors. The net
result of the courts action In the Southern
Pacific matter to-day IL simply that the
final adjudication Of the entire. contro-
versy is postponed until some time next
fall and that in the meantime the sfotus
quo. that is to say. the control Of the South
ern Pacific Railroad system by the Union
Pacific Company, is maintained. Wall
Street is likely in the meantime to forget
all about it.
With the Southern Pacific difficulty
smothered indefinitely, other factors must
be looked to as those Of influence In shaping
H. -lr..k L..
portance among these at present Is the
money situation. and unless all signs fail
this situation Is steadily improving. Call
money rates to-day fell as low as az per
cent. and most OF the days loans were made
around per cent. The most competent
and authoritative judges OF monetary
conditions declare 1t to be their opinion
that from now on bank resources at this
centre will increase and that the local
market will have all the funds that 1t reason
ably desires. There will probably be no
such abundance Of money as to make
great bull market but there will be
plenty Of funds for all needful and proper
purposes. Our banks have lost thus far
to the Government but SOS 900 since FRI
day, but this loss will be turned into q
good gain tomorrow by to7days round
credit balance Of the banks In their trans.
actions with the ub-Treasury. The most
important development Of the day. apart
from the Southern Pacific decision-and
really more important than that, rightly
considered-was the reports Of the really
enormous increases In railway earnings
for the fourth week in March. The Mis-
souri Pacifc's earnings for the week
named increased S2se 900. Norfolk and West
ems Sill ,JO4, Chesapeake and Ohio g 81 ,2<e
Southern Railways sizes, us, and the Mis-
souri,. Kansas and Texas eSS 900. The
gross earnings OF the New York Central
for March increased 81 ,16s ,2so. and for the
quarter ending March 81 S3.312.s42. How
greatly these earnings will be reduced by
increased expenses remains to be seen.
Some Of the best-informed railroad men in
the country. however. including those
who have not taken an optimistic view
of the railroad situation during the past
winter, declare that the decreases in net
railway earnings that have recently been
announced were due, more than anything
else. to the congestion OF railway freight
traffic. and they express themselves as
certain that with this congestion at an
end railway net earnings will make far
moro gratifying exhibits in the future
than they have recently done.
New York Stock Exchange Sales. April o.
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