The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-20
Special to The Journal.

New York, May 2o.-A prominent broker gives
the following recipe to beat the stock market
and 1T Is an honest one too: "Whenever you
find that the public, which trades margins
in the offices, is out of the market buy your
self few stocks and sit on them. Don't
take so many that you can't sit on them COM
and then wait. 1 don't what the condi-
tons We viii. assume, for example, that
there are no conditions: The Johnnies on the
floor will be top of the market selling it
short They prefer the short side because it's
cheaper to sell stocks than to buy them. They
swing 5000 shares the short side where
they couldn't buy more than 500 if they had to
carry the stuff. Therefore you likely to
need a lot of patience while the market strug
giles along in professional rut, but you are
not going to get bad break in prices with the
public out and all the stocks in the hands Of
people who can afford to sit on them. 1t is
merely question Of time until the public will
come back. Then when you find that brokers
doing a big business and that their books
crowded with margined accounts, sell out
your long stocks. When the public Is loaded
up something will happen to break the market,
just when the public is out something will
happen to put it up"
People who watching the securities
kets carefully are not at all upset over the
current hesitating tendency in speculation. They
see in the present speculative movements
disposition on the part Of the larger interests
to acquire stocks all declines, unwillingness
at the moment on the part Of the commission
house trader to make large commitments on
either side of the market and disposition
the part Of the room traders to run to cover at
the slightest evidence Of bull support. The ulti-
mate tendency, barring really adverse develop
ments, ought to be in the direction Of better
quotations
"Jake' Field-Plunger.
Jacob Field has probably been the most
spicuous figure the floor of the Stock Ex-
change during the past few days The room
traders said 1t "a Jake Field market, -
and during the lulls in the trading. various
dino tho room
1t is related of Field that while at dinner
party not long ago, the lady sitting next to him
in the course of conversation, asked:
'Mr. Field, are you interested in Balzac?'
mot at ALL" answered the Spectator, II
| never have anything to do with those curb Sc
curit1es''
| knocks of late Time when st. Paul and
the Gould issues were expected to move together,
as representing the activities Of the standard
| Oil party AS late as two years ago it was
| not unusual to this thing happen, but for
| many months the Gould issues have been
| left to drift utterly by themselves as far as
| speculative activity in the market is concerned.
! The cleavage strikingly illustrated this
week when the Gould issues, depressed by the
exposure of personal differences among the men,
| brs Of the Gould financial group, which could
not be denied. were wholly unaffected by the
buoyancy Of St. Paul The remark that the
Could Ramsey matter was an outgrowth of
Equitable Life troubles was an obvious and
| easy guess, and was made many times. At
l present the connection Is not quite clear, but
| the idea Is plausible enough to create the i'm.
prsesion that the prestige of the Goulds in the
eastern railroad field is seriously threatened.
| Future of the Market.
| With respect to the immediate future of the
! market. no special change is looked for by
| the Waldorf Astoria clique Of brokers. They
seems to be general confidence and the prevail
ing opinion is that prices will move up slowly
The position Of the pools is one Of the CHIEF
points of interest in the existing situation. II
is to them that the average market-followel
looks for a signal that operpations for the rise
have been resumed, for the tradition is that they
Will not long be idle after weak speculative
| accounts have been cleared away and those
banking interests which most marketwise
inclined are willing to higher prices. 4
scarcity of stocks that seems at least to bt
real Is cited as an indication that the marke
cannot be depressed any more. that stocks will
not come out and that therefore the short sid
is dangerous for any more than the quickest O.
turns Hence it Is asserted that II the poo
traders to make any money they must assis
the advance.
For brief period Wall street pretended t.
first time since August, 1904, there had bee
an increase in the stocks Of iron carried b.
the merchant furnaces the theory being ad
vanced that the tide had turned in the ro
and steel trade. The increase amounted t
only II, 900 tons, and therefore, the setbac
so far is of insignificant proportions, especial
| as the business has been moving along in tn
, last few months, equivalent to an annual pre-
! duction Of $4,000, 600 tons. The usual lull wi
come during the summer months.
$. s. schrofr.