The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-24
WALL STREET REVIEW
VARYING FLUCTUATIONS OF THE PRICE LEVEL.
Mystery Still Hangs Round Previous Eff fective and Imposing Selling.
 No Accession of the
 Pressure Visible.

New York, May 2s.-The varying fluc- tuations of the price level on the Stock Exchange today reflected a condition of un certainty and of good deal of mystifica- tion of the speculative mind. The mystery continued to centre around the source of the effective and imposing selling of yesterday. The uncertainty had to do with the nature of today's buying and the question of its substantial motive.
 terday's violent declines would have a natural supplement today in large selling orders. The level of prices last night was quite generally below the extreme decline of last month and having broken through that level the usual course in a speculative market is a considerable additional decline. It became evident quickly today. however, that neither the impairment of margins nor the nervous feeling aroused by yester- days weakness had resulted in any consid- erable accession of the selling pressure.
 Public announcement was made almost immediately of the suspension of the Mer- chants Trust Company and professional, bear traders followed their invariable rule of buying stocks to cover short contracts when the bad news which induced the selling has ion that if the trouble of this trust company was the inducement of the selling of yester- day, the process had been considerably overdone. that 1t behooved the sellers to retrace their course. It occurred to the vacillating mind of the traders, however, that the arrest of the selling in the early hours yesterday had been but prelude to heavier selling as the day advanced. The reactions of the first hour in consequence wiped out practically all Of the gains.
 The second upward movement was due to a feeling of reinsurance that the pressure to sell did not develop the dreaded urgency. Covering of short contracts put out during the decline yesterday undoubtedly played a considerable part in the wide recovery on the second movement. This was shown by the special prominence in the advance of the stocks. which suffered most on yester-. days decline. When the urgent demand from shorts had been satisfied. the scarcity of any other buying became conspicuous and hesitating and uncertainty overcame the speculative mind again.
 It remains true that the season of hazard to the growing crop is to be gone through. with the certainty of many changes in the influence from that field of speculation. The difficulties of the Merchants Trust Com pany have been generally understood for time and their origin in old standing conditions deprived the incident of any power for violent effect. There is, however, sufficient room for the drawing of ana logies and the recent expansion of the ac- tivities of trust companies into new fields and the large additions to their number have received active discussion.
 The ease of money was unaltered, but sterling exchange continues to advance. The the latter part of the day and practically all of the days gains were yielded under very light pressure of selling. The closing was easy and some of the market leaders were below last night.
 Bonds irregular. Total sales, par value $2,9SO,000. United States bonds were all unchanged on call.
 NEW YORK sTOCEx TTsT