The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-23
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY. Oct. AZ.

very little attention, In the first place, be-
cause of the prevailing nominal rates for
the use OF money and in the second place,
beca,iee it Is well understood that the rela-
tions 81 our local trust companies with the
Clearing House institutions are such at the
present time as to render the bank state
ment almost, If not entirely, valueless as
q revelation OF financial conditions. II the
trust companies are willing to take from
the banks large proportion Of the burden
Of loans which the latter institutions have
been carrying, the transaction serves to
ease the position of the banks and accom-
plish such reduction OF bank liabilities
as to protect bank reserves from the drain
which they are now meeting as the result OF
Wall Streets financial operations. Every
one realizes, of course, that these operations
have unquestionably produced great in
crease in the aggregate OF loans made by
financial institutions In the recent past and
that whatever figures are presented in the
bank return the total reserve Of cash held
by money lenders as whole against total
liabilities is less than 1t was, and will con-
tinue to grow less as long as the current
movement in security prices continues
upward at its present rate and the supply
of cash is unreplenishcd. The figures OF
the bank return to-day exhibited an in
crease in loans of nearly $4,000 900, an in
crease in cash held of SO ,jS5 ,S00-the latter
item, no doubt correcting to some extent
the inadequate statement made last Satur-
day as to cash in hand-and an enlarge
ment of surplus reserve of 81, 500, $50.
The advance in market valuations went
on again to-day. the particularly strong
and active stocks being Amalgamated
Copper, Erie Southern Railway common
and Delaware and Hudson. For the rise
in all Of these, except Amalgamated Copper,
no further reasons were made known than
have long been generally talked Of. The
buying of the Copper shares was com
monty attributed to the issuance Of circu-
lar by Boston Spectator who possesses
what may be moderately described as
highly imaginative mind, declaring that
future dividends on Amalgamated Copper
would positively be at the rate of 8 per
cent per annum. The truth about this
matter, as it seems to conservative people,
is that the shares of all copper producing
companies are helped at present by the
very strong position of the market for raw
copper metal. but that this applies less to
the Amalgamated company than to any
other of the great copper mining concerns.
The Amalgamated makes no annual re-
ports, but there is trustworthy reason
for believing that it produces its copper
at greater cost than that of most if not
all of it's principal competitors; while it
manifestly labors under the peculiar dis
advantages of the expensive litigation in
which it has been so long engaged and
which was never further from settle
ment than it is to-day. There is not the
slightest reasonable probability, therefore,
of any advance, for a very considerable
period of time, in the Amalgamated COM
pany's dividend rate. No doubt, how
ever, because these known circumstances
and because the stock has Jagged
in the general advance in the market
thus far, a short interest has, it may
be- accumulated in the Amalgamated
shares which in the present condition OF
the market made the stock responsive to
such buying movement as was seen In
1t to-day. The aspect of to-day's market
did not at all change the front that it has
displayed for days and weeiis past. The
character of the trading WINS still mainly
professional. A selling movement in the last
half hour of business caused very many
Of the stocks to losea great part OF the gains
which they had made earlier in the day.
Consolidated Gas was rather notably weak
and st. Paul declined ~ points on sales
of a lbare Thousand shares.
Mt. VanGerlips speech at st. Louis and
the rumored sale Of the Ontario and West
ern railroad to the New York, New Haven
and Hartford people were about the only
two actual occurrences during the week
that supplied matter for serious financial
discussion. The commercial agencies re-
port general business throughout the
country as good, although colder weather
would undoubtedly afford greater stimulus
than is now given for sales of merchnn, Use
incident to the season of the year. In tine
iron and steel trade prices for pig iron.
the basic commodity, not only held firm,
but evincei an advancing tendency On
the other hand, the trade reviews note
feeling of disappointment at some OF the
leading iron and steel producing centres
that the strength Of pig iron has brought
in as yet only small quantity Of fresh
orders for finished products. New orders
from the railways and from the shipping
interests on the Great Lakes have been
placed; but only to a small extent, con-
sidering the capacity of the producing
mills. 1. is to b, remembered, however,
that the time for PLACING such orders is
normally at the beginning rather than at
the end Of the year. In the commodity
markets prices of wheat have risen to al
most the highest level of the season because
OF continued evidences that tho wheat
harvested this year will be Of such poor
weight and guilty that an unusually large
proportion of 1t will fall below contract
grade. This Ia not only an u1welcome
discovery to the short interest in the speou-
lative options for the future delivery Of
the staple, tu It has fore ed the Northwestern
milling interests to take extreme steps
In order to assure themselves that their
supply Of the product for conversion into
-four will be sufficient. The news came
on Friday that one great -four milling es-
tablishment in Minneapolis had bought
for Its use a million bushels of wheat in
Canada, paying thereon an import duty
OF rs cents bushe, and had asked the
Government for permission to bond two
OF its mills in order to obtain under the law
a rebate Of the duty paid as soon as the
-four made from the wheat had been ex-