The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-06
Special to The Journal.

Special to The Journal.
New York, May 6.-When bull market runs
too far it is almost impossible for the shrewdest
to gauge the top, for popular favor may
carry prices beyond reason. In prolonged bear
market it is next to impossible to gauge the
bottom, for professional pessimism Is always
likely to carry prices far below the bounds OF
reason. The bottom of the recent decline In
stocks was not hard to gauge. The last thlrd
of the decline at least was compelled by ihdl-
v16ual necessities; stocks were sold by men VINO
knew they were at bargain prices, but who also
knew that the limit Of their credit had been
reached and that their bankers and brokers would
no longer carry them without additional money.
The market is always buy when prices are
dominated by forced selling. For every seller
on the decline there were half dozen eager
buyers. When the market began to raly II
rallied fast. Sentiment Is now as confident on
the bull side as it hopeless week ago.
In all probability the rally will be overdone,
perhaps in a week and perhaps in day. Fully
one-half of the community seems to expect that
the market will act as it did during similar
decline last December, and will be higher
than ever within a month. Bull sentiment seems
to be strongest in the United States Steel stocks
and possibly with the best grounds 1t IS
now popularity claimed that the Steel corpora
tion's earnings for the present quarter Will
amount to S30OOO00O. If this should be the
Steel common.
Rumors Galore.
President Corey Of the Steel corporation will
be unusually lucky if no stories are put IN cir
culation during his absence in Europe to the
effect that his trip abroad is the prelude to his
retirement. There Is not the slightest apparent
reason to suggest or to think of Mr.. Corey s
retirement. but the trip-to-Europe superstition
has proved valid in the cases Of just enough
Steel corpora ton officials to make 1t good ma
terial for the bears. If Mr.. Corey returns be-
fore the market has reached level tempting
to the larger bear operators, probably no talk
of this kind will be heard.
The less one believes of floating rumors Of the
dongs Of great insiders and of the condition
| of institutions, the nearer one will be, on the
| whole, to the truth On the recent declines
| the rumors of trouble were wild. People scru-
tinized the entire list Of banks trust companies
and firms to see If they could not imagine even
a weak one. They picked upon one Of the new
| trust companies, but the company referred tc
| loaned 81, 100000 in the street. They picked
upon Stock exchange house, but the house
was a buyer Of 10000 shares on balance the
next day. When the market turned they haC
to devise entire new set OF rumors' the
| chief of which was that Hartman and Hi
had come to an agreement whereby the entire
holdings Of Northern Securities stock belonging
to the Union Pacific railroad were sold to Hi
and his friends Altho this story was ridicu
| lous in the extreme, 1t found any number O
believers
Sentiment Bullish.
The sentiment among the Waldorf Astor1
crowd is cheerful. 1t seems to be expecte
that the market will gradually advance wit
moderate reactions until at least half Of tn
recent losses are recovered. 1t does not seer
to be expected generally that as high prices WI
be reached this spring as were recorded two
three weeks ago. Moderate profit taking on ful
Their advance Is of course looked for. There
fair-sized contingent that Is still bearish an
it would not be surprising If this party make
further attacks on prices. 1t is not believed
however, that such attempts will meet wit
marked success in the near future. While no DEF
mite information is obtainable among railroa
men regarding the reports that large importa1
private transactions in Northern Securities stoc
have been made recently, it is the opinion Of clos
observers of the situation that majority Of tt
: Northern Pacific stock is already or will
lodged with prominent interests in the st. Pa
road, and that they will sell to the Hill int
ests, the Great Northern stock coming to the
thru the purchase Of Northern Securities. IT
opinion is expressed by railroad men famili
with the northwestern situa ton that Hill and
associates cannot afford to have st. Paul bui
. to the coast and that the former fully realiZ
. the situation, and that If 1t has not already be-
; done a satisfactory adjustment will be made tn
y will obviate the necessity Of the St. Paul bull
:; ing such an extension. Nothing is heard now
y the way of rumors Of dissension among tho
- interests. On the contrary, the opinion
+ freely expressed by railroad men that the tie
e dency will be toward harmony instead of serio
!, differences. $. s. Schrof.