The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-17
WALL STREET. REVIEW
THE DRIFT or PRICES IS SLUG.
 GIsH.
Day of Trading without Interest Ends With Values Trine Lower After Having
 Been Higher.

New York, April Is.-There was only 2
 sluggish drift Tn fodays stock market ana the trading was without interest. The day ended with prices generally q trnSsior t' lSwsr after having been as Gns rpovemenfs were in specialties in lndi- vidual cases The bank statement sncwed q smaller loan expansion than expected 90 that the cash increase went further to enhance the surplus of re- serves but the market sold off after the
 publication of the bank statement and closed easy at the lowest, The uneeason- able weather was regarded as unfayor' agencies reviews dweit upon the deter rent efect of the cool weather upon business. A published report of a de- termination to stop improvement work on the Pennsylvania system attracted attention as did a statement that steel rail orders booked by the United States
 Steel Corporation for 1904 amounted to million tons. The bond market was relatively hrmer than stocks but still dull. Total bond sales par value, $97,0o0. The impression conveyed by the action Of the weeks stock market has been one of depression but the irregular movement or prices carried the level of the market only a small distance from last weeks cicsing level and the volume of dealings has been much contracted. Many of the large operators and traders who made the recent activity apparently withdrew hfOtI tuo LuaIk8t ana tHcIG nave DcSn none of the decided movements in indi- vidual stocks which give tone to the previous market and which stimulated speculation by keeping alive conjecture as to thetr original causes. The most conspicuous of such movements was that in Union Pacific. The general public ob- tained no satisfactory clue to the recent enormous accumulation of that stock and insiders profess to be equally in the dark as asserted by J. H. schiff in published interview in Germany. MT. Schiff also expressed his disbelief in the supposi- ton that any effort to obtain control of the property by outside capitalists has been involved, owing to the practical i'm cent advance in the stock market has hinged almost entirely on the Union Pa- cine movement and the halt in that movement this week has had a dominant ket. Suspicion of it's purely speculative origin was aroused by the action of the stock in face of the supposition late Monday that the attorney general had A better understanding of the govern ments step changed this impression but not tho belief that the accumulation of Union Pacific was based on the chance Northern Pacific, Public utterances by President Hill of the Great Northern have confirmed the belief that the Union Pacinc has entered upon q determined contest TOT tne GontIol or Northern fa- cine and of Burlington. The hope has been aroused that the market has i'm proved for railroad bonds, and the sale of SIS. o0,000 bond issue by the Burlington helped to inspire this hope. But the re- newed note issues dashed this hope and revived the unfavorable impression due to this condition with the apparent abundance and cheapness of money. The inference ia drawn that the accumulation or capital in reserve centers is to be attributed tn a. h1rrAqQ QAd NnArCanffln and trade demand while capital still lacks the requisite confidence to embark in fixed forms except on terms that are un- acceptable to great corporations The loans and ordinary time loans is ex- plained as being due to the fact that the proceeds of the great railroad note is- sues are kept on deposit in the banks meantime for use in the money market
 The progressive expansion in the loan item of the banks above the billion dollar mark and to new high record figures note issues. The present heavy contrac- ton in the value of cotton and grain ex- ports and the future requirements for the Panama Canal payments are to be con- markets are easy. The influences of do- nestle conditions have been mixed. Crup prospects have a growing influence and tho condition of the winter wheat crop IS not IeEaroeo as satlstactory. cheer- ing effect is cauSed by the increased production of iron, while the stocks on hand continue to decline, but the failure of the United States Steel Corporation to respond modifies these effects. Rail. roads report traffic running at a lower average than last year. Activity in speculative bonds has decreased and prices have moved irregularly in sym pathy with stocks. United States 2s have advanced l-4 and the new 4s l-2 per cent OH call during the week. -si~