The sun., 1906-02-08
FINANCIAL AND COWNERCI.tL.
WEDNESDAY, Feb.


change today was again heavily curtailed.
the total humber of transactions falling
TO the smallest quantity of any full days
business for more than three months; while
( had IT. not been for tho relatively sharp
increase in the activity in the last hour OF
business the dealings in stocks would have
, gated only about one-third of the
daily volume Of pure bases and sales as
maintained up to q short time ago. 1t is
needless to point out that all this signifed
widespread diminuion of professional or
pool operations in the market while tho
leading commission houses invariably re-
ported also a falling off in the quantity OF
orders received from the general public.
Prices at the opening of the day were as a
rule little higher than they closed yester-
day afternoon, but soon reacted and rose
and fell within a range of half point, the
condition of the market constantly be-
coming more and more stagnant until
. the final hour of the Stock Exchange session.
Then the market weakened under rather
pronounced selling pressure, phenomenon
that was remarkable in this respect, that
1t was the first time for many weeks that
values become weak following period or
dulness. Another rather notable feature
of the market to-day was that prices were
not invigorated. as almost invariably here
tofore, by an exhibition of strength in GER
tain prominent quarters. Great Northern
preferred stock thus rose at one time very
considerably above its closing level OF
yesterday, touching "A new high record
price and the movement was also accom-
panied by vigorous buying of the Northern
Pa acfo shares Yet this did not stimula e
any sympathetic advance in the Union
Pacific or Southern Pacific stocks; nor
did an extreme rise of over four points In
Distillers Securities stock and rather par
ticular buying, as it seemed, OF Mexican
| Centrul, Chicago and Great Western, Wa
/ bash, Texas Pacific. American Locomotive
and other low priced railroad and industrial
shares succeed in inspiriting the market
as whole The selling in the last hour.
which caused final net declines to be re-
corded for nearly all the active stocks,
appeared to he due to nothing else than
that tho market for the time being lacked
support.
For the change in the aspect OF the mar
ket as this has gradually become evident
in the course Of the last two weeks there
are various known matters that are un-
doubtedly responsible aside from the
much talked of exposed condition Of the
winter wheat crop. Without attempting
to consider these in the order of their i'm
portance, it is clear that the possibility Of
coal strike has frightened away from the
market great deal of that large buying
which was SO effective in advancing prices
up to few weeks ago and has caused
cessation of manipulativc effort on the
part of spectators for the rise in many
directions. The deliberate judgment OF
conservative and well informed people
still is, for reasons that have previously
been adverted to in detail in this column,
that there is not likely to be any coal strike,
and yet realization has been pressed home
of the vast in jury that a cessation OF labor
in the soft and hard coal mining regions
would bring to the business interests OF the
country, and especially to the iron and stee!
industry while il must be admitted that
the lea ders Of the miners unions seem de-
termned to press more positively than II
was at one time thought for higher wages
and for recognition of their or organizations.
Again serious attention is being accorded
to the money situation, present and pros
pective., in banking circles. Bank reserves
here are now at the lowest point known at
this season for twenty-thrce years, and in
stand OF increasing, a. they normally should,
are Diminishing. Business i'll the interior
of the country ls 40 active that the country
banks fua that they do better with their
money than by putting 1t out on call loans
on speculative colIatera! in Wall Street al
"a rate varying between 3 and per cent.
and they are therefore Withdrawing funds
from this cent re that We're sent here by them
during the recent money strlngency. Inc
process is attc,ted by the large losses
made last week and thl!I .ar III the present
week 10y ire lorl! banks IN their dealings
with the S,:2-Trea sury. Oar banks have
lost in the week 10 date IN this way nearly
S. 900 200, the working out of the operation
being merely that out OF town banks have
directed their correspondents here To make
necessary paynents tor them at the Sub
Treasury without rerntting funds therefor
, The net result j. the same so far as the
I local banks are concerned u II they were
usked to send money out OF town. On the
other hand time money il distinctly harder.
Ii commands a rate fully IA per cent. higher
for all periods than It did at this time last
year; and il j.. of COURSE, obvious that
banks and o, her investors desiring to use
their money to he best advantage feel no
pressing impulse to buy bonds and stocks
Welding them less than per cent. per an.
mum when they can lend time money at
A.. or > per cent. Tine money is now
commonly quoted ut from A. to ~ per
cent. but there We're trust companies yes
terClay who lent readily all the funds they
/ wished to for five and six months at 5 per
cent =, and the tendency is among lenders
of this class TO be very chary about parting
with their money for long periods. Fin
! ally, signs are accumulating Of what is called
in the trade "lull" in the iron and steel
| business. 4 trade journal of high repute
! in the iron and steel world to-day admitted d
/ that iron and steel prices were easier in
several directions and it is known that in
certain large producing centres there has
| been an accumulation of stocks Reason
for this appears to be that orders for iron
and steel for the current year have been
1 placed in such volume az to cover the
greater portion of necessary requirements
so far as these are now discernible; there
! fore. naturally, new orders are coming in
more slowly than they have done. Wall
( Street, however, as is we'll known, does not