Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06
Financial News Letter

BY W. G.. NICHOLAS.

a s
a: K 4 4: @N
NEW YORK, August 5.-The public reso-
lutely refuses to sit into the rich mems
game In Wall street. 1t successfully resists
temptations and allurements and keeps It's
back turned to the layout. 1t does not
follow, however, that the public Is saving
lts money by keeping out of the big stock
market, for 1t is taking chances in other
directions. For the time being 1t has mere
Iy transferred its patronage from stocks to
commodities and to other enticing forms
of speculation and Investment Operations
In the stock market confined largely to
the professional element. This has become
so strong. however, and embraces such a
long list of wealthy men. that it has taken
the place of the multitudinous public
In some respects the changed character
OF the market is improvement from n
trading viewpoint. So long as the volume
of transactions runs into large figures and
fluctuations are satisfactorily sharp, the
commission houses and brokers really pre-
fer to do business with few men than
with the many Commissions are the Same
whether 100 men buy or sell 100 shares Of
stock each or one man gives an order TO.
10000 shares The broker, for his part very
much prefers an order for 10. 600 shares to
In bookkeeping and Office expenses AS
matter of fact the small trader Of stocks,
finding himself uncomfortable in the conf
pany of m1llionaires, has been turning his
trade increasingly into the bucket shops
He processes to be better satisfied with his
treatment in the shops than in the legfti-
mate houses. In the one case he can do
business on ticker and blackboard quota
tions. while in the other he feels an I'M
easy sense that his order may be side
tracked and preference given Weather
customers with bigger orders. There is in
truth, less of this discrimination than most
people think. but the "piker'' cannot en-
tire!y free himself from the notion that
he may not be standing on an exact equal
ity with the high rollers" 1t thus tran
spires that the ''pikers' have more and
more fallen into the habit of 1ocking by
themselves. greatly to the profit of the
bucket shops and to the enlargement of
the volume of business done by these in
situations Well informed people estimate
that at the present writing twice as many
shares are bought and sold in the bucket
shops as on the New York Stock Exchange.
And this does not take into account the
immense volume of little business in cot
ton. copper and other mining stocks. grain
provisions sugar and coffee handled there.
The course of prices this week has been
more or less erratic.s The pools and cliaues
have been very active in the specialties,
in speculative acrobatics. At the same
time the underlying market situation has
maintained an appearance of strength and
stability In the opinion of many expo
rienced traders the stool. market is over
bought, and therefore technically weak,
but they look in vain fer serious nervous
ness on breaks.
The truth is that while stocks may be
overbought as stated the speculative lorG
interest is represented b. groups of rich
men who have both the nerve and patience
to hold on and bide their tine, feeling GER
tain that sooner or later prices will go
very much higher. Bearish tactics and the
employment of raidng machinery appar-
emily produce slight impression on senti-
ment. and fail to disturb bulish serenity
In vain do the crop killers annihlate cot
ton, spring wheat and other products of
the farm. Black rust, boil weevel floods
and drougthS have no terrors for the stock
bulls. Bankers are trying to put a little
backbone into the money market and seek
every excuse to mark up interest rates
yet everybody knows that funds in
superabundant supply both here and abroad,
and that there is slight prospect of tight
money during the last half of the year.
While the crop movement is on borrowers
expect to pay more for banking help, but
they are in no manner alarmed over the
outlook and find themselves able to, make
satisfactory arrangements as far in the
future as they care to commit themselves.
* X
Market interest in copper stocks is grow
ing and well 1t might for copper mining
has become one of the great industries.
Production in the United States this ealen-
dar year will approximate 100000 long tons
(S96. 600 ,OG0 pounds; last year it was 362
$50 tons. This country is now mining about
GO per cent of the worlds output. and in ad-
dition to supplying domestic requirements
Is aynnrtfnG At the of % ne