The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-23
EXPLOSIVE FORCE
 ID PRICE RECOVERY Stock Market Prices Have Been
 Unduly Depressed WESTERN ROADS STRONG They Lead the Advance in Wall Street.-The District Not lncon-- soable Over Expected Defeat
 of Financial Legislation.
WESTERN ROADS STRONG
BY w. c. NICHOLAS.

BY w. 0s NiOEISGHOs
 Iev York, August 22.-There was ex- plosive force to the recovery in the stock market Values had been unduly de- pressed and when the turn came 1t was only natural to expect sharp action rally of s to 15 points in two weeks rep resents from 14 to F the ground lost dur ing the decline extending through pe- riod of nine months. This bulge covered a good deal of ground with astonishing speed-too fast in the opinion Of many experienced operators to last. Conse- ouently Wall street is full of people who look for a set back of considerable pro- portions On the rally the fact was re- vealed that there was an enormous and unwieldy short interest, and its buying to fill outstanding contracts of sale con- tributed more than anything to the ad- vance The partial elimination of this short interest deprives the market of feature of strength and imparts to 1t technical weakness. The professionals are on the watch for such developments and stand ready to take advantage of them.
 The Standard Oil group of industrials, notably the coppers and smelting, have been conspicuous in the rally. Urgent denial Is made of the stories of a settle- ment in the copper war and specific con- tradiction is entered of the report that Heinze has been taken into camp by the Amalgamated Copper interests. Wall street listens to these denials placdly, but prefers to be governed by the testi- mony of the tape rather than by the verbal statements of the mouthpieces of the Standard oil crowd. The tape con firms the reports of a settlement and the accuracy of the settlement theories is not questioned among those who have the best sources of real iI-5ide informa- tion.
 The western roads have led in the ad- vance in the railroad quarter. Union Pacific, Missouri Pacific, Atchison and Rock Island were conspicuous with the last named distinctively the leader. Rock Island common was pounded down under 20 although it is notorious that the property is earning or 10 per cent on the junior issue. A larger short in- terest developed in that stock than in any other on the exchange. It so hap pened, therefore that the upturn there was a larger volume of outstanding contracts to buy in Attempts to cover led to the discovery that the floating supply of Rock Island common was light. On the SlUIllp IL llsiu betI db- sorbed by inside interests and taken out of the street. This forced the shorts to climb, and climb they did, forcing the stock in less than a week to "A. an ad- vance of $l5 a share from the inside fig ures made the first of the present month. The spectacular performance Of this stock called attention afresh to the re- marRable group of men in control of this property whteh now embraces nearly 1S- poo miles of awned and controlled rail- road extendinSS through greater range of territory thaNany other system in the world. The men'twho are behind Rock Island and who have developed it in two years from 40OO to 1S,OOO miles are doing now precisely what Colonel From" Scott did with the Pennsylvania 30 years ago, and what Commodore Cornelius Wander bilt did with the New York Central. Both Scott and Vanderbilt were denounced in their day as wild speculators and un- safe men who were 30 years ahead of their time and were jeopardizing their fortunes and the fortunes of their friends by hazardous attempts to do too much. The Pennsylvania and New York Central stand as monuments to the wis dom of the creators of the two great systems. The friends of the Moores and Reid and Leeds anticipate equally sue cessful results in the case of Rock Is- land as money earner.
 Many of the independent steel and iron works erected during the past two years with the money derived from the sale of properties to the United States Steel corporation and other big industrials are on the market and numerous offers to sell out have been made to the steel trust of late. In every case they have been turned down in pursuance of rigid pol icy decided upon from the first. It be- came apparent soon after the organza- tion of the United States Steel corpora tion that the construction of opposition and independent plants was being enter ed upon extensive scale the an- nounced purpose of those engaged in the business being to compel eventual pur- chase as the cheapest means of stifllng competition. Too late the men who put their money into these opposition enter prises find that they cannot compete with the giant trust and that their fate will be ultimate extinction if they keep up a one-sided fight. They have not the capital to successfully combat the trust and they are obliged to buy raw materi- als in one form or another from the United States Steel corporation which more than year ago decided to mark up the prices of everything sold to com petitors. There was a hard fight in the management before this policy was adopted, a considerable element taking the position that the corporation would make friends by being generous with it's enemies. The more merciless view was taken, however, and rivals find them selves taxed at every point where taxa ton is possible. Standard oil methods are being followed wherever they can be applied to the business of the United States Steel corporation. Competition is being discouraged in every quarter. The iron hand is not being openly shown but 1t is nevertheless. there and as prices decline the inflexibility of the trusts plans will be more clearly disclosed