Evening star., 1907-08-25
Financial News Letter
BY W. q. NICHOLAS.
rrespondence Of The Star.

4
to the stock market appear to have been
discounted In the tremendous shrinkage
which has taken place In prices. There is
| no mistakfng the fact that while surface
| appearances may still betolen more or less
disturbance and agitation, forces are FORM
| ing back of and under the market which
| will, in time lead to restored confidence
and Improvement. The element of fear Is
| giving place lately to returning courage
and to the common sense consideration OF
| facts and features having real bearing on
| business conditions and on the making of
!. /. values.
| has yet realized the extent to which the
| decline in securities has gone and what it
means IN dollars and cents Indeed those
VINO make a living by buying and selling
| stocks and bonds and who should know all
about it have only dim appreciation of the
real magnitude of the depreciation meas
ured in money. Estimates of the Shrinkage
| in quotations have been published here and
| there. but with few exceptions they are all
/ far below the mark. The statistician of
one of the large commission houses put in
| several days this week figuring out the
losses represented between the high prices
and those prevailing at this time. and the
lootlngs were SO appalling that he did not
at first credit them. Revision. however.
proved their accuracy. The aggregate loss
on the S%H,fo).G0).GG0 in stocks and bonds
OF corporations in the United States was
I
! have been published heretofore We're within
a range of 5000 o9o010 to $1,000. .G00,GOO.
the outside amount being generally consid-
cred eXtraVagant. The depre citation in
many OF the great railroad and Industrial
stocks of this country. we'll known in the
| leading markets of the world, was from
one-thtrd to one-half, and, in some cases.
two-thirdS The decline was general and
took in nearly everything that is traded in.
Hardiy an issue of stock or bonds escaped
from one end of the country to the other.
Just what DrODOrtiOn of tbe fOSSaS
be attributable to liquidation resultant
upon over extension and over speculation
an ana what proportion to fear ensendered
by political agitation opens up wide field
for guessing and theorizing. The two
working together have undoubtedly caused
a greater decline than has been warranted
by actual conditions and prices at their
present range average very much lower
than they ought to. They have reached
point which conpels investors to not only
sit up and take notice. but to counsel
among themselves what can be done to
stop further senseless losses.
The great leaders of finance and busi-
ness have been giving careful consideration
to this subject during the past few days.
They, are coming back to town earlier
than usual from their summer vacations,
and not day night passes that they
do not gather together in the back offices
of the banking institutions and trust COM
panies and in the rich mems uptown clubs
to talk things over. 1t may be taken for
granted that organization among the big
people for self-protection will result from
these meetings and conferences and that
there will be greater concert of action
among important interests than at any
time for year two. It seems to be
the consensus of opinion among the con-
servatives, who beginning to take
charge of things. that there has been al
together too much loose talk on both sides,
and that the time has arrived for the
exercise Of self-restraint. The radicals IN
the stock market and business world have
ton with the losses that have befallen
them. whereas the politicians recklessly
ascribe the entire burden of the disaster
to the Vaccinations of Wall street
The open charge made by the President
in his Provincetown speech that the de-
preston was the work of certain male
factors Of great wealth. for the purpose
Of discrediting his administration Is no
more rank and no more ridiculous than
the claim that the President Is wholly to
blame for what has occurred. Without a
doubt numbers Of men of great wealth
have been obliged to tighten their loads
and sell their securities to provide them
selves with money to pay debts and meet
commitments and to otherwise strengthen
themselves in business way but to
classify all such malignant malefactors
working In COmDlnatlOn TO ruin themselves
in order to spite the President is state
ment so wild as to receive scant considera-
ton. In many quarters sneering comment
on the charge is supplemented by ex-
pressions of regret that the President of
the United States should have so far for
gotten himself to indulge in such loose
language.
All that is wanted now Is firm, conserva-
tive and courageous leadership representa-
tive Of the investing interests to change the
whole complexion of the stock market. This
leadership is likely to be felt In the very
near future and the return Of Mr.. J. P.
Morgan from abroad may mark the begin
ming of permanent Improvement. Mr.. Nor
gan has held aloof from the stock market
for many months. He, like Mr.. John D.
Rockefeller and others of wide experience
and calm Judgment, sold their long ago and
stood aside until conditions improve. The
men named are probably stronger In cash
than any two individuals in America and
the financial institutions they control are
in position to give boundiess support to
a situation which Is becoming fundamen-
tally strong and needs only sign from
them to change front Both Of these men
and their banks have already given ma
terial help to affiliated interests which
have been under the harrow and they are
quite likely to extend the sphere of their
influence for the good. Associates Of both.
John d. Rockefeller and ]. P. Morgan have
been in deep water-notably those identified
with the Hill railroads. Erie and Southern
railway on the one side and with Analga-
mated. Union Pacific, st. Paul and Smell
ters on the other.
The old world is going to contribute large
ly to the moving of our crops during the
next four five months. At the present
time owe very little If anything abroad,
and Great Britain and Europe are Just en-
tering on a period Of heavy purchases Of
grain, cotton. provisions and other
products. Our credit position abroad has
not been better at this season in many
years and the relief which this will ocea-
sion in our International money relations
will be seen in very marked way later on
1t will go for to counteract local strngen-
ces, and with the treasury accumulations
which will be released from time to time
the outlook may be described as very much
more encouraging than has been antici-
pated. - Many conservative fnanciers and
students of the money situation are still
unwilling to admit that there is any possi-
bility of easy conditions during the fall and
winter months, but they say that the pros
poets improving. and that there is
raa hOna that Strir will