The sun., 1906-02-04
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY, Feb. 8.


Railway deals accompanied by fears
that when full revelation was made re-
garding these matters it would he discovered
that the stock market effect Of them had
been discounted, and joined also with un-
easiness regarding the possibility of labor
troubles In the anthracite and bituminous
coal mining regions, brought about lower
range Of prices for securities to-day from
the beginning of business hours, Later on
the force of these adverse or supposedly
adverse influences was increased by bad
bank statement which led to renewed selling
OF stocks and caused finally such net de-
clnes in quotations as points in Tennessee
Coal and Iron, 3 in Union Pacific common
IA in Amalgamated Copper 37s in Reading
and from to points generally in the active
stocks. The bank statement appeared to
be more or less of an unpleasant surprise
Although the statement did not admittedly
show the full loss in cash that the banks
had sustained during the week, it exhibited
an increase Of over $4,000 600 in loans,
which served to diminish the bank surplus
by $4,702,225. As prices of stocks at the
close Of business last night were, on the
average, considerably lower than they were
at the same time a week ago or, in other
words, had, owing to the rally in the market,
recovered only about half of their loss
arising from the break in values earlier
in the week, it had been generally thought
that this liquidation of speculative COM
mitments for the rise would result to-day
in strengthened banking position, and
the only current explanation of to-day 8
bank statement was that owing to the fall
IN money rates there had been shifting
Of loans from the country banks to city
institutions. 1t is doubtful however, il
to-day's bank statement would have in
itself brought about the decline in prices
that occurred, and it was generally thought
that the fall represented no more than a
period Of profit taking in an ultra profess
slonal security market. So far as the prob
ability Of difficulties in the coal regions are
concerned the best opinion is that there will
be no strike either in the anthracite or
bituminous coal fields. 1t is very we'll
known that the bituminous coal trade has
for months back been slack and that the
coal mine owners have no pressing in
centive to pay the higher wages that are
demanded by their employees; while the
enormous supplies Of coal that have been
accumulated by the anthracite companies
make 1t possible for them to withstand for
a longer time than ever before in their
history and with less financial loss any
cessation Of labor by their men. The news
from Washington that indications favored
the passage through Congress Of rail-
way rate regulation bill shorn of its
most drastic features was i.iiferently re-
oeived, es Wall Street has long since made
mp its mind that any measure of this kind
thpt ,ir
become a law would not prove of material
hurt to railway interests. In banking
circles this morning some stress was laid
upon the fact that a bill authorizing an
increase in the note circulation of the Bank
Of France of 5000 GOO, or I 600 900 900
francs, had passed the French Chamber Of
Deputies, and would soon, presumably, pass
the French Senate. since as soon as the
desired permission ia given to the Bank Of
France to enlarge its note issue it is con-
eidered likely that the bank will e..deavor
70 procure gold as reserve for thi enlarge
ment from our own and other countries.
Toward the close of the Stock Exchange
session selling of stocks for many houses
having Western connections was attributed
TO the circumstance that some alarm was
at last manifested in the grain market over
the condition of the winter wheat crop.
Not the slightest unfavorable change is
to be recorded at the end of tn, week in
general business conditions, and attention
is only called to rest upon such indicia
Of prosperity as the huge bank clearings,
the splendid exhibits OF railway earnings
for the last month of the last year and for
last year as a whole and, particularly, on
the United States Steel Corporations mag
nlficent statement of operations in the
December quarter, showing not only a
heavily enlarged surplus as compared with
the preceding year, bat an amount of I'M
filed orders on hand far exceeding all pre-
vious records. Neither in the money nor
foreign exchange markets have there been
recently any fluctuations of consequence,
although sterling was if anything a little
heavier and call money rates, especially at
the close of the week, a little firmer. There
are few wellinformed people who believe that
anything more than talk will come of the
proposed Congressional Investigation of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company's holdings
of securities of other railroad lines with
the idea of discovering whether combina-
ton has been formed here in restraint of
trade, nor does it appear that any other of
the numerous investigations that are sug-
gested by various Congressional and legs-
lative bodies are likely to prove important
from the stock market point of view. Com
nent of unqualfiedly favorable character
should be passed upon the report to the
Chamber Of Commerce Of its committee on
finance and currency, made on Thursday,
concerning various schemes of currency re-
form that have lately been much discussed.
The committee and the Chamber Of Com
merce alike condemned in terms of un-
mistakable clarity the proposition of the
Secretary Of the Treasury to allow the ma
tional banks. whose number has been in
creased by nearly one-half in the last five
years, to issue mere credit currency in
times Of monetary stress; and the declara-
ton was made with welcome emphasis that
in view Of the surprising increase in the vol
ume of bank note circulation within recent
years any such addition to this volume in
the shape Of an emergency circulation"
as proposed would produce no more or less
than dangerous initiation of values. The
Chamber laid its fingers upon the crucial
points in the situation in maintaining that
the only means of bringing about an efrec-
tive elasticity in the country's money supply