The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-05-09
STOCK MARKET FEATURES
NO SUPPORT FORTHCOMING AND
 STOCKS WEAK.

 Then the News from Abroad Was De-
 pressing Peoples Gas and Chicago
 City Government-seIIing Pressure
 in Grangers-Pennsy's New COnverti-
 bIes-B. X O.; Erie and Lake Shore.
 The chief feature yesterday was the lack of support of stocks. Hence weak ness all along the line. There was evil dent liquidation and buyers were scarce. Commission houses had a light days business. Then, too, the market gave heed to the reports of clasings abroad. Severe criticism by the British press O. the alleged violation of the neutrality laws by France in favor of the Russian navy which gave rise to apprehension of tension between Great Britain and France, upset the leading European security markets. There was also heavy selling by London to help deDress matters.
 Altogether the bears took renewed courage and hammered stocks. The most vulnerable ones were weakest.
 There was a light rally upon an of ficial denial by the French government of the alleged violation of the neutral 1ty laws this caused "a slight rally in consols and also had some influence on market sentiment here. A sharp re- covery in the gas stocks likewise had ar effect.
 Shelters was weak again under 110 In spite of the strong holdings it has not been able to maintain it's advance the past two weeks. The specialist sold 5000 shares. t
 The selling pressure in the granger 7 group had much to do with the indis- position on the part os the traders to do anything on the 'long'' side during most of the day. It was apparent that leading interests feel something is overhanging the western railroad sit uation. ss. -ss... ..s... On tha last two declines Steel com mon touches 30 1-4. Yesterday it sold under 30. Steel preferred sold ex-div- dend of 1 3-4, but it held well above the bottom figure of last week It was re- ported that the Gates interests were large sellers of it; also that Cleveland and Pittsburg operators who are close to the trade situation liouidated lines of the preferred bought around 90.
 The announcement yesterday that Pennsylvania's stockholders had sub scribed to not more than 10 per cent. of the roads $100,000000 of new 1-2 per cent. convertible bonds was receiv- ed in Wall street with much interest, as it had been expected that the stock holders, following precedents, would subscribe literally to the bonds
 Some houses that have been advising their customers to sell on all rallies are now advocating a cautious attitude on the bull side. . X.
 Traders are encouraged to sell stocks because of the very light demand for them
 A Chicago dispatch says merchan- disc traffic last week was the lightest of the year, and in grain the smallest in three years. The strike of the team sters curtailed shipments of merchant disc in less than carload lots, 15 to 50 per cent, with the average over 25 per cent. Business of wholesalers and jobbers in a few lines, especially in dry goods and groceries, decreased 25 to 50 per cent.
 The important if true statement is made in we'll informed quarters that the earnings of the Metropolitan street railway system show that subway com- petition is no longer making inroads.
 The passage of a bill by the Illinois legislature which was more drastic in the matter of gas legislation than had been expected, and which was conceal ed in a bill for the regulation of elec- tfic light charges was responsible for the break in Peoples Gas. A consid- erable number of '.pyramided" ac- counts in this stock had been built up here and in Chicago. The bill gives the Chicago city council the power to fix rates, in much the same way that the new commission in this state, will 2 have the power under the new law to make certain changes in gas prices.
 Without any urgent pressure of stocks the market continued to sag slowly, making new low prices all around about midday with a slight ral- ly after l o'clock. The operations were very professional. Room traders went from group to group on the floor offer ing stocks down,
 An important fact asserted with re- gard to the Western Pacific railroad, the Gould system outlet in the west, is that there is to be no construction company for it in the sense in which that phrase is understood in the rail- road world. Construction companies have been very profitable to insiders in the past, but the statement is made in an authoritative quarter that the Western Pacific will be honestly built" and that every dollar of pro- ceeds from the sale of the s5O,000,0 900 of construction bonds will be made to yield dollars worth of road. se'
 ONE OF THE RUMoRS.
 New York, May S.-It was reported In the financial district to-day that over 40 per cent. of the common stock os the Erie Railroad company had been purchased through J. P. Morgan & Co. and would be turned over in equal parts to the Lake Shore and to the Baltimore and Ohio in order to as-