The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-23
STOCK MARKET FEATURES BUSINESS ACTIVE AND TALK OF
 HIGHER PRICES.

Shorts Have Been Covering and Better | Feeling Prevails-COnficting Opin- ions.
 The stock market has braced lip so well in the last few days, and condi- tons are so favorably generally now that higher prices are expected al- | though a big bull market is considered | out of the question.
 Speculative liquidation is over, and | the large banking interests are taking | a more optimistic view of the situa tion.
 Stocks have had quite a large drop, the New York banks reserves are in a much improved shape, and the mar ket rests on a quite substantial basis. The corn crop outlook is good all around. As stocks have been drop ping for weeks, a good upturn is something remarkable.
 Operators who have been able for a long time to sell stocks and make a profit on the transaction, because there was never any evidence of resistance, commenced to notice very good ab- sorbing capacity in the market Whether there has been more than a tacit consent to the advance cannot be said
 In another two weeks the spring wheat harvest will be in full swing. Probably cutting will have begun in the southern section of the belt by August 1. Altogether there Is the promise of crop of from 700, 900 to 750 100000 bushels. About 100,000,000 bushels have been carried over from the 1905 crop This admits of the largest surplus for export in the history of the country. Europe needs our wheat this year, and the wheat, par ticularly the winter brand, is of an ex- traordinary quality.
 Our export trade is highy satisfactory and one of the strongest elements in the business situation, The total merchan- disc shipments in June amounted to almost $125,OOO,OOO, the largest June on record, and $4,O00,000 ahead of the same month in 1905, The June im- ports were also the largest on record for that month, the total being over S1OO,000,OOO of $10,0O0,OOO ahead of the same month last year. The excess of exports for the month was $24,000 900, compared with $50,000,000 a year ago. During the fiscal year just closed our excess of exports was the heaviest on record amounting to over S517, 7,001, 1000. Our net imports of gold during the same period were $57, ,6O00O0 which con- sidcring that the United States is a large gold producer, shows heavy in- crease of our holdings of the precious metals.
 The iron and steel and copper bus isness is absolutely booming.
 The weakest element in the situation is Russia. Conditions .n that unhappy land must go from bad to worSe until the bottom is strucss. Russia is the ibete noir of all financial Europe. The ihands of bankerw in Lon Ion, Paris and tBerlin arc practically tied while the Revolution brews. How the market to- lday will take the latest news from Russia is a corundrum.
 Some of the Wall street opinions say:
 I Andrew V. Stone of Dominick & [ Dominick: "The market has appar- : ently turned for tho better, and for the next month we expect to see higher prices. Wall street has been the only blue spot in all the country,
 Julian M. Gerard of H. c. Brown & Co.:-2ugsian affairs are bad but that will last a long time, and at the worst cannot adversely affect many Amer jean securities"
 s. c. Lyons of w. L. Lyons & Co.,: "The stock market is in state in which professional traders hold com plete sway. The outside element is do- ing nothing to speak of Owing to the present limitel trading we would buy on soft spots and take moderate prof its, taking care not to lose position on the long side of the market"
 George I, Molcom, of Malcom & Coombe: This weeks advance in the stock market has undoubtedly been engineered against heavy short in terest. Crop moving demands for money will soon be upon us, and Eu- ropes inclination is to conserve it's re- sources, because of the Russian trou- bles. I doubt if the present advancing tendency will go very far.
 Sig. H. Rosenblatt of Sig. Rosenblatt & Co.,: "We hear from correspond ent in St, Petersburg that leading fi- nancial circles are considering the sec ularization of the property of all orders and convents of the orthodox church the head of which is Czar Nicholas Through this subterfuge the govern ment coud raise many millions, pro- vided the fight against the revolution is proclaimed holy war, Despite their already heavy decline, should the Russian crisis end in coup d'etat the prices of Russian securities would be violently agitated
 Henry Clews "The outlook for the market is becoming more promising Pessimism has been growing almost too rapidly The market has suffered a very radical decline during the last six months, and the speculative situ- ation must have been materially clari fled thereby. It is easy to conceive that the decline may go too far; ano the market is now in a safer and bet year. A number of stocks are now selling at prices which yield a gooC return on the investment. When thi: condition becomes more general, anC money market conditions more settled we may look for a more permanen