The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-14

@NCW LOAAt II cue w oil SNAGCl has
passed through a week of excitement
and turmoil. There has been plenty of
calamity and at times bearish senti-
ment in the stock market was very
pronounced, so much so, indeed. that
opinion seemed almost unanimous that
there must be a resumption of extern
sive liquidation and a decline in prices
to a lower range than has yet been
seen. This sentiment found express
sion in violent raids the first of the
week, but strong interests combined
to check the incipient Generalization
and give tone to a market that SEEM
ed on the point of going to pieces.
The street had about made UP its
mind to look with complacency on the
Russo-Japanese war provided the
struggle could be confined to those two
countries, but the panic in the cotton
market and the Baltimore fire were
incidents too near home to be viewed
with indifference.
From strictly Wall street viewpoint
the cotton deal has been the chief fea-
ture. The week marked the culmina-
ton Of a collapse that carried the
price of that staple down $25 bale
under the quotation reached about the
beginning of the current month. Dam
lei j. Sully, the bull leader, had made
arrangements to take a long rest and
in the quest of some winter resort
plan what he might do with the $12,-
100000 to $15,000,000 in profits made on
the bull side of the market during the
last year. He abandoned his vacation,
hull M or
accounts was again in the cotton pit
laying the foundations for another
campaign on a scale even more extern
sive than the last. Associated with him
are some of the strongest spectators
in the street and he is supposed to
have absolute control of a larger cash
backing than was even given James
r. Keene when placed in charge of the
manipulation of United States Steel
stocks.
1t is an open secret that some of the
biggest men in Standard Oil are asso-
ciated with Sully and have been. They
have the utmost confidence in his gem
eralship and in his thorough under
standing of the cotton situation. Ter
rife losses were suffered by the public
on the slump in cotton and the bucket
shops that withstood the pressure won
back all they had lost and more. Cot
ton planters for the most part dis
posed Of their product before the cli-
max of the advance, and the real sub
stantial interests of the South were not
materially affected by the riotous fur
ry in the speculative pits.
The break in cotton disclosed the
fact that a close intimacy existed be-
tween stocks and the gamble in that
commodity. Great numbers of stock
spectators had gone into cotton and
one effect of the crash was to cause
alarm among the stock houses as to
the solvency of many of their clients.
Indeed, not a few Stock Exchange con-
Germs were themselves hurt badly, so
badly in fact, that they have announc-
ed their intention to give to their
seats in the Cotton Exchange and get
out of that line of business entirely
There have been innumerable freeze
outs" of speculative accounts due 10
the cotton fiuke, but remarkably
small number of actual failures such
as attract public notice.
bankers Prevented n Panic.
The decision of group of strong
bankers to virtually underwrite the
securities of the fire insurance COM
panies served to prevent dangerous
stock market panic, after the Balti-
more fire. Tens of millions of dollars
Of fire insurance money is invested in
high class stocks and bonds. 1t Is no.
torious that this class of securities is
the hardest to market without sacrifice
in a narrow, nervous or panicky state
of affairs. Cheap stocks on the active
list are much more easily handled and
are really less dangerous for banks to
carry as collateral than some of the
gilt-edged shares that sell at a premium
of 100 to 300 points. On the sale of
a few hundred shares of gilt-edge Con-
solidated Gas the day after the Balti-
more fire a break Of 4 points or more
occurred. Delaware, Lickawanna and
Western and Northwestern have wide
swings on trades of limited lines. There
are many others which might be NAM
ed, but these will serve to illustrate
the point. The position taken by the
bankers syndicate in regard to the
securities of the fire insurance COM
panies was an unpleasant surprise to
the bear leaders in the stock market,
who had looked for a big killing. When
they met with resistance they were not
long in locating the cause.
Ola gtngers Buy Low Priced stocks.
The old stagers of the stock market
have for some time past been buying
SLeel COIlfHOus paying LOE IL anu put
ting IL away in the bottom of their
strong boxes. asked one of them why
he did not buy preferred, instead of
common whats the use" was the
reply, "of buying one share of stock at
so, when you can buy five shares for
the same money! When conditions le-
Ultimately warrant an advance in Steel
preferred the common will go up with
1t, not quite so fast perhaps, but nearly
so. / expect to make twice as much
or may be three times on my invest
ment in Steel common as / would IL ]
went into the preferred"
It is the habit of considerable class
of experienced operators in Wall street
to invest in low-priced stocks when
the market is dragging on the bottom.
Mr.. d. o. Mills is one Of the most sue
cessful men in this line of investment.
He had reams upon reams Of Baltimore
and Ohio, Atchison, Union Pacific and