Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-07
BULLS AND BEARS
speciaf plapaseh % rhe Star.


NEW YORK. February There Is MOTH
ing In Harriman's past policy In Union
Pacific matters to show that he would
be eager to assist in disbursing such vast
surplus credit as that which accrued In the
| Northern Securities venture. and. R cur
rent stock market stories about the selling
Of the Hill stocks lately are true. this
surplus Is now probably represented to
very large extent by cash In bank.
Union Pacific stockholders are not dis
posed 10 believe that much of this money
| has been used to help buy control of Iili-
nois Central or any other property. es-
peciaIly when there Is 500 oo0Q00 Of pre-
ferred stock available and authorized for
such purposes. Neither do the heavy
| weight stockholders think that the cash
profits of the company In the Northern Be-
eurities deal win be rapidly depleted by
over-generous distribution on Union Pacine
stock.
| Probably the bulk of the rank and file of
/ shareholders will be satisfied with whatever
/ regular dividend rate Is established, and VIII
which, IL undistributed, will so strongly
/ fortify the Union Paeific's position and the
, position of its securities. The Union ia
| cifics policy since reorganization has
amounted almost to mania for good cred
| 1t. That credit is supremacy good To-Day,
| tackled by cash surplus estimated at from
1 $J0oe0000 to $10O, 000,GgO and more, with
the probably that It Is nearer the larger
| than the smaller amount.
Meanwhile earnings have been estaDlsned
on a basis more than sufficient to take care
! of any reasonable dividend rate on the COM
mon stock
"If you are inclined to be despondent
over the market" said veteran broker
| today. sell two or three hundred shares
L.
| I fancy that after day or so you'll be dis
| posed to cover at the first opportunity.
| have all kinds of customers. bulls and bears.
| and Ii Is hard to tell which are the most
! dissatisfied with the markets behavior.
Ii you're long you wish you weren't. and
| IL you're short you're sorry, too.
Probably more deterrent influence upon
bullish operations has been exercised by
| apprehension about the monetary or credit
basis for bull market than by coal strike
| talk, the possibly damag cling effect of the
| open winter on the years crops, the anti
corporation activity Of the legislators and
the fact that prices average hfgh.wnile deals
and facts do not fnaterialfze to account
for the special elevation of many issues.
This uneasiness about money started with
Mr.. Schiff's address to the chamber OF
commerce early last month.
1t has been fostered since by the discussions
| for and against larger trust companies and
bank reserves. by the agitation for and OPP
position to a banking investigation in this
state. by the unfavorable nature of recent
bank statements and by apprehension that
a great amount of gold will be exported.
1t may be stated truthfuily that In many
important banking quarters here the money
situation Is not regarded as furnishing
ground for nervousness.
"A
expert said yesterday that he thought no
considerable amount of gold would be ex-
| ported and that If 1t were it would not
affect the position of securities. Should
the Algeciras conference result In a pros
pect of more assured peace in Europe for
some years to come 1t Is very likely that
| large quantity of foreign credit will become
available here.
Some judges of the speculative situa ton
think that an active and broad bull move
| ment in the low-priced stocks is likely to
take place while the costlier issues go their
own upward way without any general par
ticlpatfon In their course
There Is no money lost down here" said
| a philosophical trader. 1T only changes
hands,
X X
Against the probability of coal strike in
either or both branches, but especially in
the anthracite field, is the fact that there
is no esidential election for years to come.
,, 1t Is an off year in politics. so far as coal
strikes go.
X
The report current this week that a bill
| had been prepared for Introduction at
Washington. the declaration of a coal
strike. putting coal on the duty-free list for
a brief term Of years. did not say whether
the operators or the miners were supposed
to be back Of the measure, or whether 1t
was backed by either side. The effect of
such q bill could however, be hardly favor
able to the strikers 1t would seem that
the public would have It's coal for domestic
manufacturing and transportation purposes
and that the pressure from 1.-THE third
party to end the strike would be greatly
lessened.
So far as the anthracite Industry Is con-
cerned. 1t does not appear that imported
coal would cut into that trade on the ter
mination of strike. Pennsylvania produces
about all the anthracite there Is In the
world.