The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-08-21

market has been the obvious manipula-
 ton of certain conspicuous stocks. It cannot conduce to the permanency of the movement or to continued public conf- dence to have grossly artificial means
 employed to bull the securities of prop
 critics in need of such stimulation to help along financing of doubtful integrity. The and the unloading upon the public of I, ,O00 NO,000 in watered stocks broke the
 back of the market two years ago. Tenn porary success of any group of market manipulators at the expense of common sense and sound principles must inevita- bly, carry with it an after-weight of dis aster or loss of confidence.
 The performance in this line which is now concentrating public attention cen ters upon the issuance of $100,0000 GOO in new Southern Pacific preferred stock
 The extraordinary disappearance of earn ings of that great system for a period of several years and the confession of floating indebtedness upon the property of $30,OO0000 to $40,000,000 has been actual ly used as a bull argument and an excuse for the capitalization of this amazing deficit with reasonable assurance of it's absorption by the public as a good thing The astonishing feature of the campaign Is the manipulated rise in the common stock of both Union Pacific and South ern Pacific. The latter has actually gone up s15 a share on development which may foreshadow it's utter extin- guishment. Union Pacific by the same crowd and same methods has been ad- vanced $SO a share. This Is the conspic- uously abnormal and unhealthy feature of the present bull movement.
 New York Fractions.
 If is diffipItt also to racoopfza fo and sane financial logic in the advance which has taken place In the group of New York fractions. Metropolitan (the surface sys- tenn has been showed up 20 points, from 104% to 124A. Manhattan has advanced 12 points and Brooklyn Rapid Transit 1T points. The Interborough and Metropol- itan Securities which appear in the back ground as the real owners and guaran- tors of the various operating systems have also advanced in proportion. Met ropolitan is notoriously falling short of its guaranteed dividend requirements, and how 1t is going to actually benefit by any Juggling is not clear The tape, however has reported an advance in quotations and money has changed hands on every fraction of the improvements The Streat Is guessing as to the real meaning of the play and is confessedly in the dark. The traction manipulation is another unwholcsome symptom and fills the conservative element with more or less apprehension.
 These clearly unhealthy developments do not altar the fact however. that in a big way the broad conditions of business are improving. There may be further declines in the iron and steel price list but these are to be expected and dosnot presage hardship. Political economists contend that iron and steel prices have been unduly and artincially maintained on too high plane and that normally they should be much lower. The finan- cial reports of the big steel trust indicates net profits of more than 40 per cent per annum on production. The burden of this tax falls on the consumers and they will welcome conditions which compe, man. ufacturers to reduce quotations on their wares.
 Crop Reports.
 Wall street continues to pay close at- tention to crop reports. It hears with skeptlcism reports of damage to the grain crops. Not even the sensational specuIa- ton in corn and wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade with attendant rises here and in other subordinate markets very deeply moves the rank and file of stock traders. It has been noticed that hot weather rarely damages growing corn where there Is plenty of moisture in the soil as seems to be the case almost universally this year. Hence alarmists bulletins of super-heated temperature in the corn belt falls to invoke deep seated fear of results. Wall street may be of on intimate knowledge of farming, but 1t is set in its opinions, nevertheless, and goes more on the record of past events than on daily statements of interested ex- perts sent through the west to look for trouble and bent primarily on earning their money. The average crop expert