The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-15

| been saved the heavy losses about
which they are now complaining and
for which the kings of high finance are
held largely esponsible-which served
ultimately to bring discredit upon the
entire financial community.
The Streets Redeeming Feature.
The redeeming feature Of Wall street
at this time is the strength of the bond
market. An Illustration of the absorp-
tive qualities of the bond market was
found this week in the New York Cen
trail incident. Within five minutes after
the market opened for the new $685.
100000 issue, not a bond could be had.
The entire amount was swallowed by
group of strong houses having rich
clienteles with abundance of money to
invest in good things.
There is also large and growing
demand for middle class bonds. which
range in price from 65 to IS or 80.
There is 51a to 6h per cent, and
which are in realty as certain to pay
interest as the older and better known
issues. The investment public is gradu-
ally finding this out, and with the
knowledge comes willingness to take
the securities and put them away in
, the strong boxes.
In the opinion of those whose judc-
ment entities them to highest consid-
GRAFTON the market will be swept al
most clean of good bonds of every ue-
scrlptlon within year, especially the
railroad bonds, or properties having the
brighter future before them.
Foreigners in the Bond Market.
Foreigners are coming into tho
American bond market in droves. Three
OF the large international bond houses,
of which Speyer & Co. stand at the
head, have placed with foreign clients
during the last thirty days more than
500, 100000 of American railroad bonds.
The foreigners show a partiality for
Rock Island, Union Pacific, Pennsyl-
vania, Atchison and Baltimore and
Ohio.
Many of the standard stocks, as well
as those possessing speculative prop
critics, are selling to-day at ridicu-
lously low prices. Some of them can
be had one-third lower than the figures
that were commanded two years ago.
The combined three Rock Island is
sues, based on the old Rock Island
stock, which sold at 210 can now be
bought around $50. st. Paul, which
sold at 200, is now around lab. Louis
vile and Nashville was in demand at
ITO, it is now about 108. Union Pacific
is of 40 points and more, Atchison
30 points, while Chicago and North
western is selling 100 points below the
price reached AT. the height of the
speculative excitement, when 270 was
paid by Vanderbilt brokers to retain
control. Railroad stocks are certainly
averaging very low these days. Liuli-
dation throughout the entire list is an
parently over. The feeble drives by
the professionals produce not the
slightest effect. There is no more loose
stock to be shaken out.
In jay GOuld's Heyday.
1t is within the memory of many
active traders in the Exchange when
Chicago and Northwestern sold under
80. That was when Jay Gould was
alive and in the heyday of his activity.
He was a director in Northwestern and
was trying to get control of the prop
erty. To accomplish his ends he or
ganized a bear campaign and sold
heavily of the stock. He lost So, 000, 900
in the campaign and closed out the
last of his short contracts around So.
Among Gould's friends in those days
was Gen. Thomas ]. Brady then at
the hight of his fame as a practical
politician of national repute. Gould
gave him the inside tip as to what
was going on in Northwest and induced
him to go short of the market Brady
didn't play as heavily as Could of
course, but he made a good-sized
plunge, nevertheless, and when he
bought in his shorts around IS and so
he was 100000 to the bad. Gen. Brady
died in a hospital in Jersey City two
or three weeks ago without dollar to
his name. He went completely broke
about two years ago. He was worth
more than S1,000,000 at one time. A
fact known only to a very few of his
intimates was his early connection
with the telephone. 1t was his money
that enabled Alexander Graham Bell
to complete his development of the
phone. The general had one-third of
New York. He did not have much
faith in the device and sold out his
interest very early in the game, clean
ing up $250,00O on the deal. He fiat
tered himself that he had gotten about
the last dollar that was to be made
out of his interest. To-day that in
terest would be worth $15,000,000.
The Winter Wheat Scare.
The unfavorable report on winter
wheat threw a scare into a good many
people in the Wall street quarter, but
the sensation was only nomentary. 1t
was more than offset by the reports of
the splendidly favorable conditions I'M
,..l,;ol, he rapara litV of prODS were