Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-14
BULLS AND BEARS

| Special Dispatch to The Star.
II NEW YORK, August 4.-Rarely has a
| money market been more closely watched
| In which what appeared to be the incip-
| lent stages of big bull run In stocks than
at the present time. Bankers regard this
attention to SO important q matter as q
good sign. in that It signifies an absence Of
that reckless speculative abandon which
has brought SO many promising upward
movements in security prices to early grief
Talk about tho money markets prospects
| has been heard all summer. not only in
banking circles. but In speculative quar-
tiers. nor has consideration OF the outlook
been by any means confined to talk.
4
Good supplies OF funds have been laid In
BY possible campafgners for the rise and
lenders have fortified themselves for future
contingencies, the leading contingency In
expectation being much stfffer credit rates
incidental to interior requirements for
crops and the borrowings of Japan and
Russia, whether for peace or more war
but. as has been said frequently Of Wall
street. there Is traditional If not historical
warrant for expecting that the expected
thing-in this case a hard-money market
may not happen.
/ Win Hi us commence IN the lHnneOIstto
| future encouraged by the years crop out
look and the bustling state of trade and In
dustry since the recovery that began last
! fall, Wall streets temple is tinged with
| fact that may prove later to be saving
grace.
| Commission house literature, while opti-
| mistic. is far from that dangerous state of
enthusiasm which leads to crazy over trad
| ing. 1t may be that this Is only the canny
| wisdom that refrains from killing the
| aureate egg, but 1t is evident nevertheless.
X X
There are reasons for regarding the spec
ulative prospect of the Rock Island issues
| favorably. They have not had anything
! like proportionate advance in the last year
and a half. whatever the reason may have
been, and the outlook for the property Tor
| the next twelve months Is OF the brightest,
with the humping corn crop that Is to be
| harvested the central energizing influence.
The dominant interests in the Rock Island
are shrewd. fOrceful men OF vast resources.
and they have the qualifications necessary
| to make the Rock Island stocks attractive
| to both spectators and investors. Further
more, the alliance established In the last
year with the banking house of Speyer &
| Co. is a matter of vast Importance on the
| Rock Islands financing side, but develop
| ment to which not enough attention has
been paid recently In considering the future
of the Rock Island system.
| Rock Island common like Steel common
and Erie. is of a diminishing list of
stocks quoted at figures within the reach OF
u speculator of moderate means or man
similarly situated who wishes to make an
| investment for longer pull. Rock Island
preferred. Kansas City, Fort Scott and
| Memphis preferred and the st. Louis and
San Francisco first and second preferred
| shares, all 4 per cent issues-the Fort Scott
and Frisco stocks being comparatively
| small in amount and being redeemable in
| cash at par-appear to be selling much too
| low in relation to their dividend yields and
| the outlook for the properties.
The same facts are true with regard to
| the larger bond issues Of the Rock Island
| system. 1t Is fact that there has been
| gilt-edged buying lately in the Rock Island
stocks and bonds.
With American Tobacco common selling
| on the curb at 300 and better, the per
cent cumulative preferred stock selling
| on the board around or below par. Is re-
| garded by not a few conservative brokers
not only sound investment but a gilt
| tering speculative opportunity.
The common stock is paying dividends at
| the rate of 10 per cent, and about the only
! fact adduced against the differences drawn
| from the price at which it Is quoted Is
| that very little of the s1O.242, 400 of the
| common outstanding is held by the So
| called inside tobacco crowd
Idle cars are becoming a rarity In al
| most every section of our territory" says
an officer of the Rock Island. land we can
| see no reason why the road should not
| have far more business than 1t can handle
| during the next seven or eight months The
| crops of wheat and other small grains are
| reality and corn never promised better.
| The movement of everything Is heavy and
growing steadily larger"
X
1.-The rust damage scare has passed over
| entirely in the territory of this road"
| says officer of the Northwestern. 1.-THE
| last week of business more than assures
| this; for 1t has shown large increase in
| classes of freight that would not be moving
| II there was any great amount Of uncer-
| tainty about the crops. The outlook for
| business Is very bright and we are hopeful
| Of the best results in earnings in the his
| tory Of the company"
"The surplus corn states will raise more
this year than ever before" an officer of the
| AtchisOn says. land from the immense
| yield of small grains 1t Is safe to say the
road is now facing the heaviest traffic in
| its history. We are short Of cars now,
| and the condition will gain ground from
now forward. 1t Is only a question of how
| the business be given the best dispatch to
assure the most earnings"
THE movement of general freight IL large
and. with increased shipments Of small
grains, the road is beginning to be crowd
ed for years. said an officer of the Bur-
lington. I'VE are not soliciting business
and have not been obliged to do SO for
weeks. The country is prosperous and mer-
| chants everywhere are putting in big stocks
| to meet the extraordinary demand they ex-
pect to have to supply this fall"
"Already the traffic of the road is begin
ming to be measured by the number Of cars
| 1t is able to supply" said an officer of the
| st. Paul, land with the bright outlook for
crops ahead we feel the condition has come
| to stay for months. Shipments of mer-
chandise are large and freight of a general