The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-05-23
STOCK MARKET FEATURES
BEAR RAID KNOCKS OFF PRICES
 AGAIN.


 Weakness ImpartiaIIy Distributed All B, Along the Line-Bears ExuItant-I
 Public Losing Confidence but Some
 Investment Buying-Too Much Rain in West and sOuthwest-Baekward
 in Corn Planting.
 Stocks were weak all along the line yesterday. and many scored losses, es- peeially the longs, who couldn't respond to the call for more margin" [ There was no panic, but new low rec ords for the bear market which has been going on for three weeks were reached. There was little rally before the closing.
 Stocks behaved at first yesterday as if they were entitled to a rally" ] In Boston yesterday local stocks were dull and showed a weakening tendency. Little stock came out, however, and it is evident that the local market is thor oushly sold out particularly with re- gard to the coppers.
 Lehigh Valley was in demand in Phil adelphia yesterday at 62, drop of one half.
 East-bound reads are handling per cent. more business than last year, talk ing the tonnage on the whole. The street. resented Lawson's talk, but admitted that he had again struck the psychological moment ] The decline in United States Steel preferred again revived the talk, first heard last week, of important but care fully disguised selling. Some of it was attributed to foreign capitalists. Business is poor on western railroads, due to the surplus of rain, the back ward weather, delay in corn planting, reluctance of merchants to place orders and reduced movement of grain from the farmers hands to market. Dry tweather now would brighten up the sit uation. There was a decrease in the movement of live stock.
 l After the heavy selling yesterday the oft-heard phrase came out that ''in- l vestors and bargain hunters were buy ing" ; Commission houses are reported to be carrying very few large outside &C., counts, 4# #$ . {
 The chief influencing factors yester- day which caused the midday break in stocks were the continued throwing over of Steel stocks and another vio- lent rise in cereals, wheat running up about 11S. cents and May corn more than cents a bushei in Chicago. The i street was flooded with crop damage i telegrams. l Lawson had predicted large sellings for European account on this market which, however, failed to develop. The domestic selling did come, and the stocks that Lawson had specifically named, Amalganated Copper and Unit ed States Steel preferred, weakened de- I cidedly. s.5, .,s5Es. F
 It was not until the final half hour of 1 business that recovery began; from then until the close part of the lost ground was retraced. Closing was very l irregular, but with renewed indications of good buying. Union Pacific went up 11a points be- fore it touched it's new low price for this movement. It was bid up on the London buying by Jacob Field, who, it was said, offered to take 10000 shares around 11S. He was accommodated.
 The late recession in corn and wheat did not help stocks any. Orders to sell all sorts of stocks "at the market that is, for whatever the prevailing price is-poured in all the afternoon from all parts of the country. The pressure against United States Steel shares created a very lnfavorable in- pression, as was intended. Opinion as to how far Lawson was re- sponsible for the days break was mix ed. As matter of fact, conditions were as prevailed all last week, only on a more radical scale.