The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-02
rINANefaL avn eOMwERrIAL.
THrHspav March

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IN The iva pfecssiinR dsys over thfee pointa
y shafp fali under any circumstance, and
eapreitllv notable considering The %rptttive
naffpeness ~ fha present market He-
heutinu concerning fhia lsl naturally ~ y
rather scnertl opinion ou tho pnft N sf~ci
htors operating ior tho fall ~ coll ~ fot
tho fisr fhli Sums fccUverv In tho market
was tho fhrtr wcfe M adverse deyelup-
meHia ovsr night n any Hind nor wete 'hete
revelations NJ my pScprt old and familiar
pretSSta on which Nv haac selling ~ stocks
Prices ~ The o%prulnR NJ hrisincss therefore,
wefe somsSha, higher than their previous
close This nfmneaa VIVA. however sue.
crrded Nv n pcripd ~ weakness during
which The prices NJ some b,f not al NJ the
active stocks foil NJ low aa they did NJ any
time yesterday. the current explanation ~
the decline bcins that n was cnused nv
forced selling w small spectators whp
had been unable 10 respond satisfactorily
'o calls for additional margins made upon
them aincr tho end ~ the last stock FSl
change session After this tho market
again rallied. hut not with exceeding brisk
ness, and from then on until the final half
hour prices moved fesblv within n limited
range. The market ~ times was almost
%stagnant. but exhibited n firm undertone.
Directly opposite conclusions we're, Of
course, drawn from this dulnesa by thoeo
whose speculative commitments we're in
diverse directions. II was urged on tho
one hand that the failure Of the market
10 rally sharply after 40 violent a break
indicated that the short interest had been
reduced to small proportions and that the
~ IL - e. -.a- a. -
tract any considerable degree Of invest
ment buying, and II was argued with plausi-
bility equally az great that the steadiness
displayed by the market attested that
prices had reached a point where they
strongly resisted further selling pressure,
As the close OF the session approached, the
market became stronger and more ami
mated. Final prices we're for the most
part at the highest Of the day and we're
such az to scatter gains generally through
out the list of securities The greatest
advances made we're in the Northern Pa
ciic and Great Northern preferred shares,
whose weakness yesterday was the most
conspicuous feature of the market and close
observers of the days trading declared
that there was little doubt that the buying
of these stocks to-day proceeded from the
powerful financial forces identified with
the management OF the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific companies. Another
quarter in which particular strength was
shown was the Metropolitan Street Rail-
way and Metropolitan Securities shares,
reason for this being the appearances that
the plan of merging the marlborough,
Metropolitan and Metropolitan Securities
stocks would be successfully carried out,
Consolidated Gas stock, however, was de-
pressed and fell to the owest level touched
by it on the present movement on account,
as seemed, of the indications Of a speedy
passage through the Legislature of a bill
reducing the price of gas in Manhattan
borough to 80 cents. The effect Of the en-.
actment Of such a law would be, Of course,
to render abortive all possible attempt
on the part Of the gas companies to contest
in the courts the action of the State Com
mission Of Gas and Electricity in curtailing
the price Of gas. 1t is believed, however,
that the gas companies mediate no such
contest.
Presumably, a matter holding the market
in check in greater or less degree to-day
was a further stiffening of time and call
money rates. Call money rose in the fore
noon to I per cent, and although the rate
fell later to nominal figures, the majority
Of the call loans made during the day were
in the ne~ighborhood OF Q per cent. The
price Of time money rose at one time to 8
per cent for three months loans, an ad-
vance Of considerably more than one-half
a cent over Yesterdays quotations. Six
months money was genearlly obtainable
at So or 81 per cent, the grade OF COL
lateral offered as security naturally f1gur-
ing to considerable extent in determining
the cost OF the accommodation. In conse-
uuence of such bids for money as these
sterling exchange fell to-day even more
heavily than it did yesterday, the break in
sterling in the last two days being more than
one-half OF a cent in the pound, and it was
declared to be not improbable by observers
OF the foreign exchange market that il the
disparity between money rates here and
abroad that now exists continues to hold
gold imports may be witnessed within the
next few weeks. The cash loss by the banks
to the Sub-Treasury thus far in the week
footed up this morning S. 1893 900, but as
regards Saturdays bank statement the
indications for a poor return that might be
drawn from the cash loss as stated are OBJ
VlOuSly Dy tne known
reduction in loans arising out of stock
market liquidation and from the shifting
of loans from the banks to the lenders here
of foreign money. OF news occurrences to-
day the principal items were those con-
tanned in the weekly returns Of the Bank
of England and the Bank Of France-which
made, respectively, indifferent and strong
s~howings-and in the publication of the
reports OF several OF the great railway
systems Of the country for the month of
January. All these with one exception
were of a most brilliant character. For
this period the Louisville and Nashville's
net increased 500 $40, the Southern Rail
ways 1886, 1872, the Erie's $685. and the
Chesapeake and Ohio's 1882 ,472. The Read
ing Company alone showed a falling of,
the net here decreasing for the month
Sl5e, 4ss. An incident of the day which
testified stoutly to the prosperity Of current
business conditions was the declaration
of a dividend Of s. a share, an increase of 50,
in the semi-annnual dividend upon the
stock of the Wolverine Copper Company,
one of the most conser v~atively managed
of the Lake Superior copper. mining cor