The sun., 1905-08-13
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY, Aug. I,

Z SATURDAY. Aug. a.
Stock Exchange dealings to-day, a. u
usual on an August half holiday. showed
n diminution OF interest compared win
that shown on previous sessions throughout
the week, and the course OF speculation
ran feebly. The weekly bank statement,
while OF no great Importance, reported a
gratifying decrease of over $1,000, 900 IN
loans, which, despite loss in cash Of almost
5000 OOO resulted In q fair increase In the
surplus re,.erve. The bank statement tndi-
Gated apparently, that trust companies
and private lenders OF money are beginning
to enter the loan market, as they always
do when after period OF extreme dulness
in financial affe irs Stock Exchange business
ouickens. The result OF this, OF course, H
, to take from the banks q share OF the burden
OF the loans made and to serve to strengthen
thA bank return. The stock market iteen
to-day displayed irregular tendencies. Very
little was doing in the foreign market, but
sterling exchange In Paris continued its
advance and consos In London closed
slightly higher for the day. American
, stocks In London were variously up and
down in small way. the customary week.
end profit taking exerting an influence.
Here strength was shown by Reading,
/ Delaware and Hudson, Pennsylvania, Erie,
d. Chesapeake and Ohio and other stocks,
T., while the Western railroad shares in general,
with the exception of the Missouri, Kansas
! and Texas stocks and the United States
Steel and Amalgamated Copper issues, were
,, inclined to sag. Price fluctuations for
the day were, with the exception Of a striking
advance in Rea ding common stock to
new high record level, wholly unimportant.
No particular reason for the movement
In Reading was made known, but an i'm.
preston preva lied that II was due to the
conviction of the foremost interests IN the
anthracite properti les that there will be labor
troubles at the mines next year. No doubt
more or less cause for hesitation existed
to-day as regards buying stocks In the fact
that the peace terms as represented by the
Japanese ENJOYS at Portsmouth had not
been readily agreed to by the Russian COM
missioners and that the news from the
peace conference to-day indicated that the
debates there were likely 10 be prolonged.
This, however. attests as much as anything
the hope Of IN eventual agreement.
While the great event of the week in
Wall Street was the official confirmation
through the Government August crop
report of the encoura ging news regarding
the crops that has been sent from the agri-
cultural section during the last month,
the main feature OF the present situation Is
plainly the immense confidence In the busi-
ness future that is now felt by all classes Of
financie and business men. 1t Is no longer
denied by anybody that business conditions
with us now and prospects for the future
are almost perfect. Money Is plenty;
politics ard labor troubles do not bother;
the crops, it is almost certain, will be superb.
/, and the oountry's wealth is accommodating
at an enormous rate. If the yellow fever
epidemic in the South be excepted 1t may
be said that there is not a cloud on the
financial sky; but the interference with
business from this cause has thus far been
very small, and there is little fear that
there will he any such general spread OF
the disease to many cities and States as
was the case in former years. Regarding
the plentifuness of money, reference was
made to-day by the Financial Chronicle
to what has been clearly one source Of the
recent advance in values, namely, the in
crease in the country's bank note circulation
in the last five or six years. The correct
statement was made that in the last five
and half years the volume Of outstanding
circulation, based on bonds, has more
than doubled, the addition reaching over
3255 100000. 1t is, Of course, obvious that
had this increase In paper circulation oo-
CURED without any corresponding inorea use
in the Governments gold holdings 1t might
be said that dangerous imitation was
going on. In this same period, however,
the gold holdings Of the Government have
increased fully as much as the ma
tional bank notes, and Of the 3290l 7ol ,907
composing the general stock Of money In
the country coined or issued on Aug l.
81 ,38s, APT 343, or not far from half OF the
total amount, is in gold coin or gold oertih-
Gates. Whatever imitation there has been
going on thus far has been a gold In
fation, rather than paper one.
New Yor1x atock Exshango' al - Aux II