The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-27
ONLY SLIGHT GAINS ARE ESTABLISHED Traders Abandon Effortto Cause
 Further Rise NEWS IS DEPRESSING Several Elements Combine to Indicate Continuance of Some of the
 UnfavorabIe Features
 Existing.
 

New York, February 26.-An attempt was made to carry the rally in prices of stocks which set in yesterday still further today. Only slight gains were established and at the higher level the demand dwin- died to so near the zero point that the traders abandoned their efforts to carry on the rise. There was some increase in the selling pressure, but this did not de- velop to a noticeable extent until the sag ging from lack of demand had already set in.
 The selling in fact had the appearance of traders ventures for a fall after they had demonstrated that prices would go up Yesterdays rally had brought prices back to about the level where they left off Saturday, which evidently measured about the recuperative capacity of the market. New developments were not of importance, but the current news indi- cated the continuance of some of the un- favorable features which have kept the market under pressure for some time past.
 For instance. new steps were taken in the war of grain rates, both in the west and east and in the western fields the cutting of rates showed signs of spreading from the field of grain traffic to other classes of freight It was reported that the anthracite miners delegates were starting for the convention with deter imitation to support the soft coal miners In their. contention for higher wages and to vote them assistance for carrying on a strike. There was a renewal of gossip concerning the Northern Securities decis- ion and assertions of it's very unfavorable character, notwithstanding the reports of the presence of secret service officers in the Wall street district to ferret out any disclosure of the supreme courts decision These reports, if they were intended to deter the rumor mongers, failed of their purpose.
 Railroad earnings reported made an un- favorable showing both for gross and net with the exception of a few of the South westerns, Atchison, Wabash and Hooking Valley represented the prevailing down. ward tendency of net earnings In their January returns. The dealings for for eign account were small but the uncer- tainties of the foreign situation were not by any means an influence in the local market. A periodical settlement Is i'm pending in the stock markets both in Paris and Berlin and the violent declines which have occurred since these accounts were open throws doubt over the possible result of the settlement.
 The promise of further increase in the cash reserves of the banks as result of the weeks currency movement failed to rally the market as the piling up of re- serves has reached point which arouses fears that it represents decline In ousi- ness activity. The dismissal of an in- junction in the complicated copper litlga- ton caused a spasmodic recovery of the previous loss in Amalgamated Copper but afforded small help to railroad stocks.
 The additional fire losses involved in the Rochester fire following so soon after the Baltimore disaster, was distressing ln- fiuence The active stocks show losses on the day of about point and the closing was easy.
 Bonds were quite steady but dull and featureless. Total sales par value, s76O,O0O.
 United States bonds were unchanged on call