Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-17
BULLS AND BEARS

| Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 17.-Banking infor-
nation with regard to the prospects for q
| conclusion Of peace at Portsmouth between
Japan and Russia Is probably as safe
guide as can be had as to the probable out
come to the negotiations. for in banking
| quarters the coming event Of peace or more
war must inevitably cast Its shadow before,
unless It is to be supposed that the purvey-
| ors OF financial supplies are to have de-
mands made upon them without warning.
warning nations about to make peace or
prolong the struggle do not do business that
| way. for the ability to make war or the ne
cessity OF concluding peace is at the bot
tom, matter Of the purse. Banking opin
ION In Wall street, which presumably re-
heoks banking information, Is that the pres
ent negotiations will result In a treaty how
ever dark the outlook may appear from
time to time as the negotiations progress
\
Jen Levy has been receiving flattering at
.entfon abroad. At least, the Financial
Times Of London, In its issue of July 81
printed a column and a half interview with
him. introduced in the following interesting
manner:
Hearing that the well-known authority
on American affairs, Jefferson NJ Levy. was
so1ournng for brief space at the Carlton
Hotel representative Of the Financial
Times waited upon that gentleman and,
marked:
To commence with. Mr. Levy, might
we ask you to characterize the general
OUTLOOK OF the American market in a few
WORDS. This was a rather tall order but
mr.. Levy was equal to 1t. The only pic
ture can draw for you. he observed,
with dry American humor Is one of UNI
Imltlsated prosperity. The gold produce
nv 10
Is ABUNDANT and cheap, the crops consti-
tute record, building is being pushed
forward with feverish speed. the output
or metals and coal reaches an enormous
figure and is we'll in demand, and. as a
consequence of all this. the great railway
lines In which British investors are inter-
ested are In most f1ourishing condition.
Then Mr.. Levy went into particulars
In considerable detail, not forgetting the
Canadian Pacific, under which subject
ne said. among other things particular
piece OF Information which those holding
Canadian Pacific stock should appreciate.
ana which Is far from generally known
Is the fact that the company owned 81
per cent Of the famous Crows Nest Coal
the exclusive property of Mr.. Hill of the
Great Northern"
There are some good bears left in the
street One of them said this morning:
Il have been looking over the files of a
leading financial publication for fifteen
years back and I find that in boom times
the same things were being said then
that are being said now When prices
were away up attention was directed to
the great expansion in corporate earn
ings. the dividend increases and the pros
poets of glittering prosperity.
spectators and investors were advised
to buy for the future and on increasing
| dividend and interest yields exceeded
carrying charges. 1 find. however. that
the wise men sold their stocks and bonds
when the dividend and interest yields on
the prices quoted in the market were less
than sound Investment returns. and they
were rarely wrong. I do say that the gen.
eral market is sale now. but I do say
that If I were going to make purchases I
would buy only those dividend and inter-
est paying stocks and bonds whose re-
turn was per cent or better, even
though the issues were OF speculative
as contrasted with a gilt-edged charac-
ter"
Wall street Is suffering these days from
a dearth of stenographers and manipu-
lators Of typewriters, even incompetent
ones. The vacation season is at high tide.
and many a Wall street man is sending
out samples of his chirography perforce
because temporary substitutes for the
typewriter players are hard to obtain.
Doubtless this inconvenient dearth OBJ
tatns in the business regions all over the
city, for the manager of the public steno-
graphic offices and the typewriting agen-
cies. which ordinarily supply a facile
and able young man or woman at a mo-
ment's notice, have simply thrown up their
hands. One of the largest of the typewrit-
ing agencies said TO an anxious broker this
morning over the telephone: "All we can
do Is to put you down on waiting list
that already numbers $50 business men who
want Stenographers at once"
Chicago dispatches say that negotiations
with the traction companies for the pur-
chase of their lines were declared off yes
terday afternoon, that Mayor Dunno will
make no further attempt to buy the trac-
ton property unless the companies come to
him with fixed prices and satisfactory
terms Of sale. and that the local transpor-
tation committee will take up the mayors
270-mle municipal railway plan a week
from Monday and endeavor to agree on
system of transp ortation to be constructed
and operated by the city in competition
with the existing companies. 1t is esti-
mated that the mayors system will cost
$25. 100000
E. H. Harriman's trip to Japan Is said to
include in its itinerary not only visits to
the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands, but
an excursion of more less length 10
Corea and Manchuria. where. doubtless, a
great development Is to take place under
Japanese leadership The movement in
Pacific Mail is undoubtedly related to eX-
pectations Of a great expansion in traffic
en- the settlement of hostilities In the far