Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-22
Financial News Letter
By W. G. NICHOLAS.
/ Correspondence of The star.

/ By W. c. NICHOLAS.
Special Correspondents of The Star.
NEW YORK, April 81 1906
| The whisky Pool has made great
killing In Wall street and on the advance
In .Distillers'' above So has realized mil
/ lions Of dollars In profits. The pool still
! has reams of stock to distribute, and If 1t
should be shown within the next few days
| that the free alcohol bill has no chance of
| passing the United States Senate at this
| session. the market may be avalanched with
what has not yet been sold. The Wall street
campaign in whisky has been managed
| with exceeding shrewdness and success. 1t
| has extended through period of nearly
year, and in that time the price has moved
| from S5 to 621s. From the outside quota
/ ton there was a reaction Of about points,
followed by recovery of 3 or points.
| The bulk of the distribution for inside ac-
| count was accomplished after the price had
| reached %. Pool operations in whisky have
| conferred largely i'll three ortices--Moore d
| Schfey. Flower & Co. and j. S. Bache d
! Co. This division of business has led many
| to suppose that there were three distinct
| sections in the pool, and this theory may
| be correct, but IL is clearly evident mat IL
| such Is the ease they are working In mar
mony. Two OF the offices named nave for
years been the wall street trading head
| quarters for successive groups of specula-
| tive senators, and have had foreknowl-
| edge of all important Washington action.
| II WIS so as tar cack as The o.a sugar scan
| dais and it has been SO ever since. For
| that reason Wall street is watching like
| hawk any initiative that may be taken by
| these two houses in 'Distlllers,' which is
| the name by which the trust stock is
| known in the street. Until some thing pos
| Tive is ascertained as to what the Senate
program will be the insiders have been rest
| ing on their oars With millions of dollars
| already hived away they can afford to wait
| for definite information. While looking
| and hoping for the best they have prepared
J for the worst by taking fat profits on
part at least of their speculative lines. They
| can even afford to look with equanimity
| on a toboggan SIDE IN the stock and be
ready to take it back at the bottom.
| The California earthquake gave Wall
| street a tremendous shock. 1t created
semi-panic on the stock exchange and loos-
| ened up mass of securities which came
tunbling out. falling on the heads of the
market players. The whole list underwent
a sharp break Wednesday, Union Pacific
and Southern Pacific leading with declines
| Of or points, and practically every
| thing else sympathizing. There was fur
ther slump Thursday, Union Pacific going
| to 152. loss of points in two days.
|
| Union Pacific. On the second day of the
| break Reading had a severe setback, re-
| ceding to 1862 loss in two days of about
points. United Railways, which owns the
| street car lines of San Francisco, tobog-
| gained 80 points This is a stock which has
only lately been introduced to the New
| York market, and the burden of the shrink
age fell the two banking houses which
| had underwritten the security. The ap-
| palling nature of the catastrophe and its
| magnitude had sensational effect IN every
| speculative community although it has not
| seriously disturbed the foundations of the
business situation. The utter humiliation
| Of $200,0g0,O 900 worth of property Is a ca
lamity which will make an impress on his
| tory, but it is by no means irreDarable. San
Francisco Will be rebuilt, and on grander
and bigger scale than before, and the work
| of reconstruction will be stimulating in
| every sense of the word. The earthquake
and subsequent confiagration demonstrated
| among other things the superiority of the
| steel and iron structures over every other
| kind of building, fact which will be Of
very great advertising value and of In
| creased revenue production to the iron and
steel stocks This point was seized upon
| by the bulls In this class Of industrials and
| they came to the support of their favorte
| issues with enthusiasm 1t will be the
same with San Francisco as 1t was with
| Galveston. Baltimore and st. Louis, only
| on larger scale-larger even than was the
case Of Chicago when that city was
munites recovered sharply and completely
| from the catastrophe which overlook them,
and each and every one Is stronger to day
| than ever before. 1t is true also that the
| stock market rallies quickly from shocks
| like that which has been experienced this
| week.
X
| The steel trust Is making money at the
| rate of s14.O0O0 900 a month It is en-
| tirely imrobable that such high
ressure results will hold good long,
but the prediction Of s145,O0OOO0 net for
the year is not extravagant, and that after
| making all proper reductions for deprecia-
| ton, repairs, extensions, etc. In view of
| this situation holders of the common stock
feel warranted in looking forward hope
| fully to resumption Of dividends, al
| though the management does not give d.
| rect announcement to such expectations.
| Mr.. II. c. Frick is quoted however as
saying that he expects steel common to
| eventually cross the preferred, and as Mr.
! Prick is the real dominating personality in
| United States Steel his views carry weight
| big Steel is more and more coming to
| be regarded as the best barometer of trade
| and business conditions, and the opinions
of the leading spirits in the corporation are
| eagerly hearkened to.
| Wall street heard with mixed emotions
| the announcement that the Department of
Justice at Washington had called upon
| Charles E. Hughes of this city and Alex
ander Simpson. jr, of Philadelphia to pros
| ecute the coal trust under the Sherman
| law. The government has mass of evil
| dence already at hand. the bulk of which
was furnished by William Randolph Hearst
| three years ago and pigeonholed. If Mr.
| Hughes carries into this work the pertinac-