The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-23
Eiltatteial.
YEsIEKDAY'S STOCK MARAEr.

portance with n Mystery Attached. New York, March 22.-A price move ment of tirst-cIass importance, with a mystery attached stimulated the lan-
 guid speculative appetite of the stock
 market to-day. There was time to- day when LOGO share blocks of the lead- li ing stocks seemed to be accepted as the unit of transactions amongst the in spirited traders. Union Pacific was the leader of the movement, but the mys- tery centered about the Northern Se- curities company and the probable pro- cess of it's dissolution. Ali of the se- curitIes related 10 that company and it's interests made free price movements.
 But as Union Pacific is the only one of them in liberal supply in the market, | the bulk of the activity was in that stock, and it was furiously active on dealings in 1000 to 1000 share blocks. The source of the buying as we'll as it's motive was kept obscure. Bankers as- sooiated with the finances of the com i pany emphatically disclaimed any part l in the buying, or any knowledge of it's cause, and were, in fact, sellers with some ostentation of the stock at it's higher price levels. Great Northern preferred and, on the curb. Northern Se- curities were in eager demand on a rap- Iidly rising price scale. Other stocks iconcerned in the Northern Securities merger have disappeared from the mar ! ket, but the Oregon Short line partici- pating As, which were secured by the Union Pacific's Northern Securities stock as collateral, and the Burlington 1 joint As, which were exchanged for Bur l lington stock. were active and higher. l The fact that lawyers representing the various interests are in constant con- sultation to work out the method for distribution of the Northern Securities holdings under the decree Of the court pointed to that as the coming event.
 ! Te-day's price movement seemed to point clearly to an arrival at some con- clusion on this point, but the news did lnot disclose what it was. The principal question in the public discussion of this Iproblem has been whether the Northern Pacific and Great Northern stock l should be re-distributed to the holders | from whom the Northern Securities re- lceiyed it, or to present holders of North ern Securities in proportion to the value at which that stock had exchanged for the merged stocks The bouyancy of Union Pacific was presumptive evidence of the safeguarding of the advantage secured to that company by it's control- Hing interest in Northern Pacific before the merger. There were some alarnist runners circulated at one time that the
 contest for control in the trans-contin- ental field was being reopened by the dissolution of Northern Securities The market closed without any announce Iment to clear away the days mystery, although it had become pretty gener- lally believed that it would be made known before to-morrows market re- sumed The movement i'll the general
 market was purely sympathetic and ran
 from a fraction to points, the last
 named figure being slightly exceeded ir
 St. Paul and Southern Pacific. United
 States Steel preferred closed the day
 unchanged. Until the enormous buying
 of Union Pacific developed, the market
 Twas inclined to extend yesterdays reac-
 ton, without additional news, unless il
 might be the disturbing influence of the I Sully complication. The rise in foreign
 exchange was checked and the gold
 export movement thereby apparently
 deferred.
 Union Pacific's extreme rise reached lS5-S on dealings in 401,T00 shares, thai
 of Great Northern preferred 71-2 and
 Northern Securities on the curb about
 points to within shade of par The
 closing was strong and active. The lbond market was strong. led by bonds