The Indianapolis journal., 1904-06-06
THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK
STOCK MARKET CONTINUES DULL
WITHOUT BEING WEAK.
Public Is Not buying Securities TO
Any Extent, hut Is Not Selling Them
Either-GeneraI News.
speeial 70 De InaIanapoIIs Journal


NEW YORK, June 5.-The stock market
will enter upon the second week of June
tomorrow with the outlook almost as dull
as il ever has been. In years of panic, Of
course. speculation has been at a lower
ebb than at present. but during time when
the country is prosperous the stock market
Is seldom duller than now.
Conditions have not changed materially
from this time a week ago. There were
few developments Of immediate importance
the past week. and what developments
there were had little or no apparent effect
upon the trend Of the securities market.
The stock market is completely ignoring
all news.
About all that can be said of the outlook
for the coming week is that there is moth
ing On which to base prediction for any
change for more activity in stocks. Con-
tinued dullness-that is the outlook. not
only for the business week beginning to-
morrow. but for weeks TO come, until after
the national conventions at least
But IL stocks are duh and speculation is
at a very low ebb. there is one feature of
the present situation in the financial district
which is good and which should not be
overlooked. That feature is this, that now
ever dull stocks are and however small
their movement, they are not weak.
dull market and a weak one Is one thlnS'
while a dull market, strong at the same
time-not weak. at any rate-ls very dlL-
ferent condition. .
uatiOn In the securities market Ihere Is
little pressure 10 sell. The trouble Is, peo-
pie are not buying securities. The fact that
the weeks sales ran under 100000 shares.
and at the same time few of the important
stocks show any material loss from the
prices at the end Of last week, shows that
the market is not weak
There is an automatic antidote for an
excessive increase in national bank note
circulation, and its operations are reported
daily by the treasury at Washington. The
receipts of bank notes at the treasury for
current redemption increase as the circu-
lation becomes excessive. In the week end
ing May % there was reported a net in
crease of $2.6O3OOO in national bank circu-
lation. and the amount of notes sent to the
treasury for redemption during the same
week was $6,S04,lO0. Notes thus redeemed
are not retired. They are charged to the
issuing banks, which are required to make
good the deficiency in their per cent fund
caused by the redemption of the notes.
Bank notes cannot be held as reserve.
Herce the New York banks promptly send
10 Washington for redemption all the notes
of other banks deposited with them. Banks
in other reserve cities are adopting the
same practice. The result is that the re-
demptions for the first five months of 1904
were larger month by month. and in the
aggregate, than in the same period of any
former year. The redemptiOns for the fiscal
year already amount to over % per cent. OF
the entire volume of circulation outstand-
ing. A system which enables banks holding
the notes of other banks to enforce the
involuntary redemption in gold. or legal
tender notes eXchangeable for gold of one
half OF the national bank circulation in one
year evidently contains an automatic an
tidote against undue imitation, which in a
different way is quite as effective IS the old
New England plan. The individual holder
of the bank notes is not concerned at any
time, being amply protected.
The Surplus government revenue ot the
four fiscal years next preceding the current
year amounted to nearly $303. 100000. sc
that the deficit which was caused by the
Panama payments and the advances to the
St. Louis exposition is not really a deficit
bat a draft upon accumulated funds ir
bank. For it is certain that Congress would
not have made the appropriations for the
canal and the exposition unless the money
had been on hand in the treasury. After
the Spanish war the revenue increased
while expenditures decreased, with the fol
lowing result:
Surplus for fiscal years: