The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-06-14
HAPPENING OUT
 DISAPPOINTING Speculation Had Hopes That Stagnation Was Past IS IN THE SAME OLD RUT  Weekly Discussion C Railroad Traffic By Railroad Officials Was Decided ly Pessinistlc and Upset
 Many Calculations.

New York, June 13-The fiattening out of the speculative upward movement in prices was a sore disappointment today to the professional trading element. The rise which developed in the latter part of last week had aroused great hopes that the market was at last stirred out of it's rut The presumtion was wide spread that the advance in prices had received countenance and assistance from some of the large banking and railroad intrests whose cooperation in the mar ket has been vainly looked for by the traders for many weeks past
 There was no evidence today of buying of this character and when the smaller class of speculators attempted to take profits on some of the holdings taken over last week, they found they had the mar ket to themselves, and no absorptiye power for their moderate offerings. The reasons which the habtual traders ex- pect always to be present for a move ment of prices, were variously assigned, Probably the true explanation would be that suppostions as to the influential character of last weeks buying were mis- taken. The opening advance was prompt ly chilled by the heaviness of United States steel preferred and unfavorable conclusions were drawn from the per- sonality of the brokers employed in that stock who were supposed to be informed on trade affairs.
 The weekly discussion of railroad traf- fc by officials was decidedly pessimistic and served to upset the calculations that better traffic conditions for the railroads would result from the better crop condi- tions of last week. On the contrary rail- road officials were rather generally agreed In the opinion that the merchandise move rnent over their lines was markedly small- CT than last year, and that merchants and manufacturers were still persisting in conservative hand to hand to mouth methods of buying. Accumulation of empty cars was an item of many of these weekly interviews. The discussion of bears on the traffic of last week was in antici- rated reports of gross earnings to appear In the regular course, and whose influence then will have to be reckoned with.
 The domestic exports for May make a poor contrast with the relative improve ment in April which it was hoped marked the turn for the better in our export trade. May exports of domestic products on the contrary have decreased over s15.- 100000 from those of May last year and upwards of s1S,OOOO00 from April the year before. The decrease from last year, more than $11. 000, 900, is in value of bread stuffs and over $3, 100000 in value of cotton. The $4,474010 of the breadstuffs exports makes the lowest valuation of any one month for years past. The advance in the grain markets today helped to unsettle the stock market as did a reduction in the price of copper. The circular to stockholders of the Northern Securities company renewed attention to the tying up of the dividends on the $Ss5,O0o00O of stock of this corporation. momentary advance of point in Ontario and Wes- tern was ineffective to hold the market which closed heavy at the lowest of the day.
 There was a good inquiry for bonds and prices were firm Total sales, par value s1S55,000.
 United States bonds were unchanged or call.