Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-02

~ Steel stocks, Tennessee Coal, Colo I
| 4 RADIO Fuel and others 1c@2c. :
I Union Pacific reacted from $119% 9
+ @1.175s and Great Northern pre- I.
/ ferred from $1.73@1.6S. +
.sF.***s**sssEs.ss. i i !. !. I + I.
By Associated Press.
NEW YORK, May 1.-Today's stock
market was a striking demonstration
of how financial affairs adjust them
selves to any contingency that is fore
seen with sufficient clearness.
The precipitate fall in prices on Sat
urday caused real uneasiness through
out the, financial district for fear of the
consequences of the shrinkage in
values, to say nothing of the dangers
which were limited at on Saturday in
the vague erumor-mongering incident to
a. bear market. The event of the day
proved that the precautionary measures
which resulted were so abundantly eff
fective as to turn the demoralized
weakness into a quite eXuberant show
of strength.
An important part of the measures
in anticipation of the course with the
speculative element itself were
made in the form of sales for the short
account which were put out during
Saturday in almost unlimited amounts.
The volume of outstanding short con-
tracts proved so excessive that the ex-
pected offerings today failed to pro-
vide material for this potential demand
and before the close the shorts were
scrambling to secure supplies to make
good their contracts.
The measure of the initiation of the
market is thus taken and the down.
ward course of prices decisively check
ed, having reached a point where
sufficient demand interviewed to absorb
the selling.
There can be no doubt that very
large part of the buying today was as
a measure of protection by financial
interests powerful enough to take these
steps to save themselves and their
associates from the serious effects
prices and the rapid shrinkage in
valuations forming the basis for huge
credits.
Securities purchased for such a pur-
pose are not expected to be held per-
manently and may be looked for in the
offerings for sale on any moderate
recovery or when the purpose of
steadying the market is effected. These
sales of such purchases are pretty sure
to cause the first check to re-
bound.
The support in the market today was
not made effective without a sharp
struggle which at one time caused a
threatening setback after the first
stand had been made against depres-
sion. great many calls went out
to customers from immense houses all
through, Wall Street on Saturday night
for additional margins because of the
rapid declines of last week, and return
orders to sell out or failures to re-
spond to calls for additions induced
very large pressure to sell when the
market opened.
London was taking a holiday, but
Notwithstanding this a notable feature
of the early trading was the heavy de-
mand for foreign account here which
was said to come from various quarters
in Europe. None of the whispers of
money troubles, which circulated freely
on Saturday, was confirmed by events
today and they had q substantial in
fuence in. convincing many sellers of
Saturday that they had been precipi-
tate.
After the urgent demand from the
shorts had been satisfied the market
became much quieter and showed a
disposition to await developments.
Reports of net earnings of railroads
for March showed some important in
creases such as for Union Pacific 26
per cent, st. Paul 12 per cent. Illinois
Central 16 per cent, and Colorado and
Southern no less than 143 per cent The
March figures of traffic of some of the
great systems are reported to have
reached record figures for any month.
The usual weekly reviews by railroad
traffic officials today, however admit
considerable shrinkage from the
March level, although general salts
faction is still professed with the busi-
ness offerings.
The belief in general prosperity
seems unabated but confidence is recog-
nized as prime necessity in the main
tenance of prosperity and there is some
question to be entertained whether the
events which have been shaking specu-
latlve confidence In Wall street have
left the FIJI confidence of the BUSINESS
world at large unimpaired, but today's
sharp recovery was well maintained
and the closing was steady near the
best.
Bonds were firm. Total sales, par
value $S.690,000.
United States bonds were all un-
changed on call.