The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-08-15
KEs1 ERDATiS STOCK MARKLT
Too Dull to Warrant Anything but
 Negative Conclusions.

New York, Aug. 1.-The stock mar
 ket was too dull to-day 10 warrant anything but negative conclusions. There seemed to be absence of the re- cent vigorous support. Efforts to carry prices upwards were abandoned and the market left to take care of itself to a large extent. This affected the tone, which became intensely dull and rather
 soggy. The speculation showed the
 want of the customary stimulant which has been administered at short inter- vals, sometimes by an actual news oc- currence and, when this was lacking, by diligent runors of expected develop ments.
 There was disposition to await the outcome of some of these runorss As sertions have grown very positive that this weeks meetings of the authorities
 in the Hartman Pacific railroads will
 take definite action towards the placing of Southern Pacific on the dividend list
 and for the increase of the Union Pa citic dividend. Expectation is almost lequally well defined of an announce ment of St. Paul rights this week.
 These expectations have been so often disappointed in the past that a spirit of caution has grown up and was reflected in the days operations in stocks. This spirit was fostered by the failure to act by the Canadian Pacific directors yes terday on the supposed plan to distrib- ute bonus to stockholders as a result of the large sales of the company's land holdings That stock was weak in con- sequence, in spite of the statement
 showing extraordinarily favorable re- suits from the years operation A sim liar effect on sentiment was produced
 by the conservative tone on the ques- tion of increased dividends in the public utterances of President J. J. Hill, of the Great Northern.
 It is to be said of the market, how ever, that in spite of the withdrawal of active efforts lifting prices, there was little evidence of damaging pressure to sell. Supporting orders were offered upon an early decline, and when these were made effective the market practi- cally became a drifting match, with
 the trading almost completely idle at times.
 Yesterdays reports of gold engage ments were the subject of some confu-
 sion owing to the failure to identify the 1 institutions in New York which had made the engagement. Foreign ex- change authorities professed to see
 only loss in the reported engagement
 under yesterdays condition. Foreign
 exchange advanced to-day and a hard ening effect on foreign money markets
 resulting from New Yorks demand for gold was in continued evidence. The
 recommendation of the executive com
 mittee of the Consolidated Gas compa-
 ny to maintain the present dividend
 rate, although it would seem to relieve
 a fear which caused recent weakness in
 that stock, was greeted by a decline. The call money market was little
 changed, but asking rates for time loans
 for sixty and ninety days were raised to 5 per cent, and for five and six months to 6 per cent. Prices went to the lowest in the last, however and
 then recovered to the best of the day,
 closing firm.
 Bonds were irregular Total sales
 par value, $1,325, 900.
 United States bonds were unchanged
 on call.