The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-19
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
April IS,

'h''' "WEDNESDAY. April IS.
II appeared to be the consensus OF trading
opinion in the stock market to-day that
some further small decline In prices would
have been witnessed even had the day
been barren Of any important news develop
ments, this judgment being founded upon
the probability that the movement on the
part Of spectators for the rise to take
profits which was noticeable yesterday
and the day before was Of sufficient force
to run through a third consecutive Stock
Exchange session. Before the opening of
the market to-day, however. the financial
community was confronted with the an
nouncement that the Government had
intrusted the conduct OF the investigation
into the affairs of the coal carrying rail-
roads to hands that indicated that the in
v~estigation would be Of searching character,
the news Of the final rejection by the an
thracite operators OF the last proposition
made to them by their employees and above
all with vague rumors regarding the great
calamity at San Francisco. These factors
as they became emphasized were sufficient
to bring about during the day both a heavy
liquidation of speculative commitments
for the advance and large pressure upon
the market in the shape of speculative
operations for the decline, and by reason
thereof prices Of the leading stocks sus-
tanned losses varying as a rule between
one and three points. The dominating
influence In the days market was, however,
almost exclusively the San Francisco dis
aster. The fear was at first that the entire
city Of San Francisco had been destroyed.
This was soon discovered to be I'M
founded and It became established that the
damage lone by the earthquake had been
confined to a limited section of the city,
although the extent of the havoc by FIRE
was still an uncertain quantity. Up to the
close Of business only uncertain and con.
Trajectory reports regarding the con-
faeration in the city were received, but 1t
was Of course realized that the destruction
would be in any event great, It remained
for those Immediately interested in the
stock market to estimate the financial
Importance Of the affair as best they could.
Although the usual exaggerated impress
sions OF the injurious eff ect Of the calamity
were sought to be conveyed In many quar-
ters, people with conservative minds and
especially those with experience In such
matters in the past were Of one voice In
declaring that distressing as the incident
was. it was yet only an incident Of local
application and bearing, The history Of
such events In the stock market has been
almost invariably that II they came at a
time, such as the present, Of general pros
perity In the country their unfa vorable
influence was felt in the market only for a
short period. The great food at Galveston
and the Baltimore fire in recent years
aff eoted the market very little. They did not
| cause any great or sudden demand for money
to be addressed to the financial centres
for the needs Of the afflicted localities, and
they did result In due course In a creation
of new business whose benefits were scat
tered all over the land, arising from the
work Of repairing the devastation that had
been caused. After the very worst is
known regarding San Franclsco's misfor-
tune, 1t is hard to see now it can be regarded
as a matter In any way adverse to the pros
perity OF the oountry's iron and steel and
copper producing concerns and other great
businesses.
The fall in the market to-day was general,
and IL a decline of 10 and 1917 points re-
spectively in the stocks Of the United Rail
ways Investment Company of San Francisco
be expected. wa without special feature.
At the low levels touched there was heavy
buying of stocks by substantial invest
ment interests, and indeed the entire ex-
! periences Of the day in the Stock Exchange
again attested the familiar fact that securi-
ties are now lodged in very strong hands.
There was no alteration during the day
In conditions in the money and sterling
exchange markets, the time money rate,
perhaps. showing some slight signs Of re-
covery from its extreme weakness OF yes
terday. 1t was known that negotiations
for gold in London by our bankers were
still proceeding and that probabilities
favored the purchase for our account Of
a large quantity Of the yellow metal that,
it is expected, will be laid down in London
early next week. Thu foreign markets
were to-day generally inactive, the chief
matter of interest there appearing to be
the exceedingly strong weekly statement
Of the German Reichsbank. Very little
attention was paid to-day, naturally, to
a variety Of indications pointing to a not
able enlivenment in the iron and steel
trade. The Iron Age in it's weekly sum-
mary OF iron and steel conditions declared
tha a general resumption OF buying had
been going on of all iron and steel products,
and that producers were in fact becoming
uneasy over the possibility of an unman-
ageable amount OF business given to them
to handle.
New York Stock Exchange sales April Is.