Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-19
Prosperity Genuine.

prosperity USuuluc
This is. of course. no untruth. for it is
patent to the most jaundiced pessimist
that the prosperity of the country Is gen.
ujrle and solid. 1t seems only the other
Cay that the Northern Pacific was reor-
ganized and the Great Northern was not
so very far from receivership, and the
Burlington's shares were not very eagerly
wanted at rs cents on the dollar. and this
week according to official, these tafee
.Hil roads" were earning at the rate OF
over half million dollars day. but
the way to measure the prosperity OF Il
corporation is by the ticker tape ana III
vestors and spectators consider the gen
erai prosperity and then look at the STOCK
quotations and weigh one against the other,
and then proceed to disagree on the accu-
racy of the measure. The wall street pro-
fessional is confronted by the exa operating
inactivity of the allies on whom he would
like to count-the investing public, which
sees no reason for selling its holdings while
conditions are prosperous, and the Specu-
lifting public, which does not care 10 buy
stocks in bulk because they are so high.
That very important interests have dis
agreed as TO the time when the long-pre-
oicted boom should commence Is wel
known They do not disagree as to the
boom itself. They all expect one, and 1t
is only fair to say, not that the majority
are bulIiSh because they are carrying huge
blocks of securities, but that they are car
rying such securities because they are pull
ish. 1t is the temperamental difference OF
the ''big men" which makes one man say
next month while his neighbor says next
year. But the Impotence of the most
excitable of the "big men is as Iethargic
apathy compared with the smaller specu-
lator. 1t is not so much a matter of Wis
dom as of financial strength that makes
this difference, for Mr.. Rockefeller can be
interested in a certain stock and may de-
sire as ardently as the veriest .'pker'' 10
see that stock double in value but time
does not to him mean starvation nor de-
privation from luXuries. 1t is the same
way with the restless plungers from the
west, who have no heart interest in the
development and permanent prosperity or
the corporations whose securities they Will
buy and sell by the million Their views
are often clear and logical. but the element
of time is unduly minimized The street
has not forgotten the experience of My.
John w. Gates and his powerful assoc
ciates, who disregarded the obvious ten
dency of the money market. At one time
one coterie alone was borrowing $5oO00,UU
with which to carry on bull campaign
against the advice of effete fasteners. TO
this day the westerners speak bitterly of
The undetermined Vaccinations of certain
Wall street banking cliques and the craven
cowardice of eastern stock operators VINO
threw up their hands when money became
tight They simply did not follow the ex-
ample of Mr.. Norman B. Ream one OF
whose sententious bits of wisdom is: i
never overcame an insurmountabie object
in my life, and he never tries.
Problem Unchanged.
So far as the stock market itself Is con-
cerned the problem is unchanged Stocks
may be few points too high or r. few
points too low, and it may be wiser to let
values decline to an invitingly low level. or
1t may not be necessary to do so. But II
Is the eternal question "Will the public
come in7' which Is still unsolved The
public has the money to buy stocks IN
bulk, but it has not the inclination. Ger
tain signs show that q stock boom would
be almost justifable; others that publ;,
sentiment is not favorable to active specu-
lation. Much may be done by the sheer
brute force of dollars, but sentiment Is an
cratic thing. The best judge OF the tenn
per of the people who gamble In stocks
will be the best judge of whether 1t Is wise
at the moment to buy and hold stocks tor
a rise. This sounds trite, but 1t Is never
theless the absolute truth. The great finan-
cial interests aae optimistic The little
professionals are the reverse. Pools BID
up this or the other stock, and one or
another operator liquidates his holdings
But the answer to the great question must
come from the public. And the public is
maintaining discreet silence.