New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-22
THE WEEK IN WALL STREET

49,. oro than passing significance were
made 10 do yeoman's service IN the
the advocates of lower quotations. faIsnAS
aqeeraued crop damage reports stre"s III -
foreign exchange market, the retireiieN' -
-, 17or-,,oan PARTY from the directorate Oh Inc
,zor+bern Pacific quieter business IN Gel Tam
% +,,a iron and steel trade and the aUu-
10 - the administration the question OF
ID. purchase OF supplies in connection Win Nie
building of the Panama Canal ENCOURAGE '-'
hear element TO attack prices Throughout 'l0
l,s, and in the absence Of an active coiiiiill'
ston hosuse demand and support from INC ~
,7nnortaht market interests little olHlcui'S va"
sxnerienoed in bringing about cheaper IeF0'
Of values There was. however no INV 81 80
,,cr,,dation There was no indication that inc
E,...+,.T .,ac,1a+ors had abandoned the bun
81. ~ the market permanently ana there was
= .-i5ence Of ,1neasiness in the higher circles
.. anance over the course Of securities H4ueeu'
,bA leadfng bankers believed that the oeo'i1'9
would improve the chances OF a reSuInpIiol4 u
,11 activity OF course, while there has been
no great damage 10 the crops despite the ooi-
ored reports from different sections or the "es-
there IS enough uncertainty over the outcome
~ 4,ts wars harvests to induce caution IN the
What the course Of the crops will be- as ao-
vance information cannot be obtained from nat
,,re Int II IS encouraging to note, neVerthe-
7ese that TIA winter wheat crop may euner
great deterioration in the next few weeks anu
VET return q. bumper yield. as up to within inc
last week the progress OF the cerea4 mas H'u'
Gated a record breaking harvest
vvau Street traders generally look on the dark
eide of things and the withdrawal OF the faaII'-
man interests from the Northern Paclnc' thefe-
tore caused evil forebodings among the specu-
ls+,pe element regarding the Northwestern rail-
road situation, which, however, failed 10 re-
,s,va any sympathy from the conservative bank
,,e, ale-,,nt for the very good reason that It
mas known in well informed quarters that the
election Of men TO succeed Mr. Hartman ana
others on the Northern Pacific board did not
foreshadow any development that might teno
IN 7pset the value of the stocks connected Win
The Northern Securities Company. The Morgan
T4nl interests ere in absolute control Of the
Northern Pacific Company, and for q long time
mast it has been a foregone conclusion that d.
reotors representing the Morgan-Hil party
would be elected in place Of the Hartman IN
tsregts Moreover, it was decided under the
various decisions IN the Northern Securities
case that representatives. Of the Union Pa
cilc a competing road, ought not to hold posi-
lions as directors of the Northern PACING Ac-
ing
men and Wall Street bankers who are identi-
fed with the large railroad systems of the
country the prospects for harmony down to
the rl1inlAest detail among the various COM
panies IN che matter Of preserving a community
OF interest for the upbuilding Of the AHeri-
can transportation business have never been
brighter than they at present. At the mo-
nent however. the ordinary stock market
trader prefers 70 believe that troublesome times
- l,n ol,co
tions of many careful market followers. the
chief trouble ahead will be difficulty on the part
OF the shorts in getting out OF their contracts
at profit.
Selling Of the steel shares IN the week nat
urany created the impression that the iron and
steel trade had suffered a serious setback, but
from the reports received from trade centres it
was found that such not the case. A slight
falling off in the demand for consumption in GER
tain lines reported. but as whole the IN
dustry was in prosperous a condition as at
any time IN the last six months, many plants
handling their largest output of the season. A
reaction in this line Of the countrys trade after
a period Of great activity would cause no sur
prise among iron and steel men, and it is not
unlikely that IN the current summer there viii
be a healthful quieting down in most lines Of
finished products, not only IN iron and Steel but
IN all departments Of business in the United
States Business cannot run on at breakneck
speed all the time any more than the stock
market can move in one direction without q
halt, and therefore less significance should be
attached to the present duller tendency IN the
Industrial activities Of the nation. A setback
under normal conditions viii not be followed by
trade insolvency. It will be found that corpora
tons will continue to pay dividends. while It is
believed that in the case Of q number Of COM
paries increased dividend distributions viii be
made before the end Of the current year, as, for
instance, in Norfolk and Western Baltimore
and Ohio and Union Pacific common shares.
First class securities are being absorbed at
the ruling level by people who do not depend on
small margins for protection in their Wall
Street operations. and II prices should go lower
the same kind OF buying viii continue. for the
reason that there are many rich and careful
dealers who are quite willing to take American
securities to hold for higher prices, especially in
view Of the fact that the leading shares are now
selling from 10 to % points under the high level
Of the year. The course of the money market
is favorable TO operations. Of this character
while. despite the strength in sterling exchange.
there is. It is thought little likelihood of an i'm
portant advance in loan quotations in the near
future. slightly sitter rate for call and time
money would not be a serious handicap to ad-
vancing values in stocks and bonds Exchange
apparently is moving toward the gold exporting
point. but the country is well supplied with
money this fact need cause no uneasiness in
financial circles. Railroad earnings continue
heavy in most parts of the country, bank clear
ings are encouragingly large. failures are small
and foreign commerce is improving In the
month Of April the trade balance ran heavily in
favor OF the United States. notwithstanding the
fact that imports were larger than in any pre-