New-York tribune., 1903-03-08
finauciaI.
The Financial World.


both months are apt to witness declines in the
stock market. with a rally between them. IN
| favorable conditions did exist in December last
and DO exist now: and IL the AIdrfch bill had
passed. il could have made only a temporary
/ rally In the market; while its failure accentu-
I Rted an otherwise disagreeable situation. Incl
dentaIIy, the failure OF the BILL a. the position
OF the Panama Canal Trea.y row. emphasizes
/ the fact that the Senate has become an IN
workable body, trying % do business under
I regulations only workable in a body one-thfrd
/ the size Of the Senate as it is to-day.
In December there was a pretty severe sIunop
| IN the market. in which the heaviest selling
occurred in the Steel stocks and the Erie issues
/ Money then rose to - per cent We have baf
a sharp decline the past week. eliminating
( yesterday; in which the big selling has been
in the Pacific stocks. and some other heavy
/ weights; while in the lighter class. the drive
/ has been made in the Wa1ashes. Union Pa
/ cifa was the chief target. and from Monday
/ to Saturday was dropped from 9S to 90. n
the same time. st Paul fell : points: b & O.
I the same; New York Central . Pennsylvania
and Atchison each T. and Wabash preferred.
/ something over > points rather hot aghr
/ seemed to be waged over Missouri Pacific. but
1 it did not lose more than two points.
The heavy break took place yesterday. after
/ the bank statement appeared which disclosed
a loss in cash so large that. despite reduction
Of loans the surplus WAS brought down to
/ only about half million ah,vc the legal limit
/ This was so much worse a showing than had
T been anticipated that it appeared TO thoroughly
. frighten the traders. and a wholesale selling
movement which at once followed was a fitting
climax TO a week OF slow and dragging IiIuida-
| ton. While in December money rose 70 20 per
| cent. this month it has not been ABOVE 6.
! nevertheless. the drop in stocks has been as
severe, but with the storm centres in a different
part of the list from what they were then.
Inspection Of the list shows that with the ma
] jority Of stocks each droI carries them a little
/ lower than before. though LHsre are exceptions.
as is always the case The fact clearly indi-
Gates that the direction of the main current is
downward. A period Of bull speculation always
+ comes to an end at last in a shrUHk money mar
/ ket and a congested bond market. We have
both this time. The corrective is decline IN
T prices and a cessation Of new bond issues The
latter never comes until It IS found next TO IN
possible to find buyers for the new goods
1t is useless to make new issues now and
word to like effect comes from London. There.
+ the cables say. UneasIHess exists at the extent
T to which banks and other financial Institutions
are carrying new issues, for which there is no
market: and money rates rule high for that
locality. Conditions. it Will be seen. are alike
on both sides; and indeed, II could scarcely be
otherwise. because our market could not be IN
the congested state It is II there were a free
outlet on the other side. They are about chOked
up and SO are We. They reached that condition
first.
When things are bad rumors of trouble get
af1oat, and the past week there were ruHors
of an important mercantile house being IN diff
cuIties. They had bad effect on the mark4r
for they were too persistent not 70 be true; and
after the close Of business yesterday the house
was mentioned. It was not important enough
10 have hurt much at any other time, but when
the ways are greas ID for slide down hill. IL
does not take much pushing to keep things going
that way.
Another disturbing rumOr was that the fric-
ton between the majority and minority holders
Of Southern Pacific stock was about to break
out in litigation On this subject. it was i'm
possible to get information from those most d.
rectIy Interested but apparently there IS founda
tion for the rumOr- 1t was talked Of IN the
Street more in respect to the indirect effect Of
such a litigation than its dIrec. operation; and
the heavy selling Of Union Pacific was attributed
to this controversy. The keene pool in southern
Pacific expires by limitation On April 1st. an5
the annual meeting of the Southern Pacific does
not take place till the 9th; but il may well be
that number of the large holders Of Southern
Pacific will make the fight irrespective Of the
pool operations.
The contention is simply. whether the Union
Pacific Company can legally Vote its majority
holdings of Southern Pacific stock, and SO elect
its own Board Of Directors II it cannot, then
the minority holders can elect their Board Tbs
is one Of those legal questions involving So
many factors. that il would be safe 70 say o-a
may get a different opinion upon it from every
other lawyer Most often, fights Of this mas
nitude when they reach a certain stage in tie
courts. are settled out OF them, by mutual agree
ment The doubtful point here is Ny Hartman,
who is not usually given 10 agreeing with any
one but himself.
Doubtless one Of the reasons for the Ce-.-oEal.-
cation of the market. is the absence IF peoP-=
who might be expected 10 sustain IT. Nh Alor-
gan is away, Mr.. Hartman also, Mr. SoH.TI IS
in Cuba, MI Rockefeller in California wlLa
some of the big operators who are not away, are
credited with being the bear side for the ''If--
Note is Tnatie OF the way A,chison has s-..
down. while those who should support II AT.
here in the city. but evidently are lett@S 'H'1-7
run-whiCh possibly evidences thrIT We" .-
the general situation, Mr. Morgan viii 500"
return He is understood to have arr.euEs. On
take of Mr. FIagler's hands his Florida EF'i-
critics railroads. hotels. etc, which viii be I-.-
lowed by the establishment Of steamship lines
between Miami. Tampa. and Cuba; and a .-"
hotel on the FIagIer scale Will be eEectet -.
visitors TO Cuba. Mr. FIaEler owns a6ou- all
Florida south of st Augustine, and the oU'd''
has probably become a little heavy FOR a NAV
of his years
One. or two more days in the market such a.
we had on Friday and yesterday. viii discount
most of the uufavorabIe features IN sight f''
some time TO come. The break in the cotton
market will help also. because the bull specuLL-
rior tbera was already beginning to Curtal eN-