The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-06
SPECULATORS ARE
 MORE CONFIDENT 1. arket Was Still Dull and
 Heavy, However CLOUDS SEEM LIFTING iay's Operations Were Much HcIder and More Powerful, Although the
 Origin Is Not Yet Quite Plan.

New York, July 5.-Speculation In stocks demonstrated with more confidence and effect in todays stock market than for long time past. The market was still a dull and narrow one, judged by old standards, but it was lifted quite decisively for the profound lethargy which has been its recent characteristic. What developments there were in affairs to cause this change was not very manifest. The obstinate resistance of the market for some time past to news of an unfa- vorable kind, has carried a suggestion that selling has been largely accomplish ed already in anticipation of those evils, and that the market was offering an un- yielding surface. which would afford an advantageous basis for bolder operations for a rise. Bolder and more powerful to- days operations unquestionably were, arousing the usual surmises as to their origin, with nothing to afford reliable answer to the question. The effective buying was not in evidence from the out set. thus detracting from a supposition that It was on account of orders accumu- lated In commission houses over the three day holiday interval. Strength at the outset was largely confined to the local group. A formal statement from an inn portant holder of Metropolitan securities pointing out the abstract benefits to the local traction properties of combination, helped the rise. Brooklyn traction was held back by it's vexed question of trans fer rights to be adjusted.
 It was after the reaction in the stocks and the effect of some selling for Lon don account that the buying which im- pressed sentiment developed in Union Pa cif1c and spread to other portions of the railroad list resulting in a fairly gen eral uplift of prices to the extent of 1 to 115 points. Union Pacific itself rose to an extreme 2%.
 The clew to the movement could hardly be found in the crop news, as the wheat market was more or less disturbed by damage rumors. and by mixed interpre- tation of the weekly bulletin from the weather bureau. Unmixed encouragement was received from the cotton crcp news, the governments estimate of July condi- tio )itating a sharp de- clil ant preliminary de- clil
 be got from the earnings of the was of a rather decline in gross
 pal lines east and
 of PittsDt b - Erie running to a million, while the net decrease
 last year was some s64S GOO. Officials
 le Central Traffic and trunk line rail-
 IS were also inclined to dwell upon
 traffic lost to the newly resumed
 e carriers. The effective cut shown in
 erating expenses by the Pennsylvania as accepted as an important indication f the trend of affairs in railroading, and Ass regarded hopefully. But officials of western railroads were more unreserved than au any time for several months in their expressed confidence that business conditions had changed for the better and that small increases in traffic movement already noticed could be accepted as a rromise of more improvement to follow. The improvement in sentiment in the mar let probably originated from this point. Saturdays decrease in the banking sur plus did not disturb sentiment. nor did the suggestion of the remittance of $35,- t00tO0 in gold to have on account of the Cuban loan. The small reaction of profit taking in the last hour when the buying was temporarily discontinued increased the confidence in the movement and the closing was active and fairly buoyant
 Bonds were firm; total sales, par value, s2.95c0O0 United States bonds were un- changed on call