The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-20

Yesterdays stock market was a dull affair Prices fell, then rallied, then dropped again, and there was no snap to the trading. At times business came almost to standstill.
 The selling that depressed the list was transactions for the short account The opening decline that drove Union Pacific to I'll 1-4, Wabash preferred to 29 1-1, making it the cheapest preferred issue on the list; Reading to 121 1-2, Amalgamated Copper to 112 1-S, and St. Paul to about 146, was ascribed to the remarks of President Truesdale con- cerning the cost of operating a railroad system in these days of high labor and material, strained credit and excessive corporation batting. To these state- ments A. B. stickney, who believes stock watering" is justifiabe added his opinion that the government must cease its nagging of the corporations. James J. Hill, later in the day, main tained that a recession in business had set in which would relieve the strain of credit
 The market is waiting one-waiting Micawber-like for something to turn up
 The dull spell at this time ip 1903 led co long decline; that of 1904 led to a bull market, In the two cases the out look was wholly different.
 The sale of railway notes abroad, which in 1903 were not issued until Au- gust, and which did not therefore help turn exchange in our favor until au- tumn, has this year come at the open 1ng'of the year. But it is feared that the relief is only temporary.
 There was an attack on stocks by professional operators in the last few minutes, and most of the midday re- covery was lost. There was nothing in the news to account for it.
 Wall street bulls are keeping their eye on Washington to see If the AL drich bill passes the senate at this ses- sion,
 Renewal of fears that there may be no currency legislation at this congress sional session; apprehension regarding next weeks Hartman inquiry: further talk regarding the high rate-haid to be 1-4 per cent.-paid for needed mon- ey by H. H. Rogers Tidewater railway, and the alarm over the railroad situa- tion because of high labor costs and drastic legislation, voiced by Presidents Truesdale and Stickney, were among the factors that exerted a bearish in- fluence.
 Yesterdays total sales were, with one exception. the smallest of any full day this year. That exception was January 2, when the days total sales were 4S3, 800 shares. Fully one-thlrd of yester- days trading was in Union Pacific. One-fourth of the sales were Reading.
 Amalgamated Copper has been rally ing rather better than other prominent stocks. At the same time there is nc indication of aggressiveness by the "in- side interests"
 The Gould issues are now the favor ites for sudden bear raids because of the miserable support usually given It was Wabash that received attention yesterday, the common tumbling a point, to last weeks low price of 16 and the preferred 3 points, to 29 1-2, its lowest price in years. Judson & Jud- son sold it down. Possibly it was a drive to wipe out a bucket shop long interest.
 The bears thought they had plenty of opportunity for putting down the market simply through the refusal oi people to buy at the low prices and tho absence of leadership.
 Trinity Copper made good It's losses of Saturday and Monday, advancing yesterday points, to 35, on sales ot 2,000 shares. The stock Tuesday moved up 2 points.
 NAVAL READINESS.