The Washington herald., 1907-04-11

fcsEiCnal character. and to great extent /
in the course Of its fluctuations the stock
market to-day resenbled that of yester-
day, and, indeed. the markets of the
last three or four stock exchange ses-
sions. Prices at INST We're irregular with
a hrmer tendency. owing TO general re-
alization that the rumars upon which
prices were depressed in the closing hours
OF the business on the day before We're
utterly absurd. There was a vanishing of
the ridiculous idea that the determination
OF the Interstate Commerce Commission
10 compel. if possible, the president of
the Union Pacific Railroad Company TO
answer various Questions that were put
To him at the present investigation held
here into the affairs of the corporation
afforded any valid reason for speculative
sales of Union Pacific stock 1t viii un-
doubtedly be several weeks before legal
proceedings looking forward TO this end
win be begun.
a decision of the District Court of the
United States adverse to Blf. Hartman
win be appealed from. ana the matter
win unquestionably be carried TO the
highest Federal judicial tribunal. 1t viii
be years before the matter will b, finally
settled. or before there can be any con
clusiop of am effort that may likewise be
made 10 force the Union Pacific Railroad
Company 10 dispose of its holdings of
Southern Pacific stock; and even when
these efforts are concluded, they will re-
suit in nothing other than the distribu
ton Of "a large cash dividend toAhe Union
Pacific shareholders
zF--.
All indications to-day favored the prob
ability of reduction in the near future
not only of the discount rate of the Bank
of England. but of the Bank of France.
this being the inevitable result of con-
unually lower money rates in the open
markets in Paris and London In our
own market to-day. time money rates fell
once more, again touching new low
record point for the year The change
was most noticeable as regarded the
longer maturites, only AZ per cent being
bid for nInety-day money, as against "A
per cent yesterday. while money was Of
fered for six months at per cent with
out finding takers in any quantity
a per cent rate was also the highest
that was bid for nine and twelve months.
Shortly after the opening of business
hours, it was announced that the strike
plant at Great Falls, Mont. Of the Boston
and Montana Company, one of the subOr-
climate organizations of the Amalgamated
Copper Company, was over. These mat
tiers served to impart at once more
cheerful tone to the market, and prices
generally advanced until well into the
afternoon. Then enc of the familiar raids
by speculators for the decline was begun
and under This attack prices lost all and
f.frerr ri
Partial Recovery sets In.
Toward the end of the day a partial
recovery set in leaving as a rule small
net declines .n the majority OF the active
stocks. The volume Of business on the
stock exchange was considerably less
than it was yesterday.
The particular preteXt of the break in
the market this afternoon was the pubH-
cation of a statement on the slips of the
two news agencies from which Wall
street obtains most of its hourly iuforma-
ti0n on financial matters that there had
been another reduction of One-quarter
cent a pound in the pTice Of lake
and electroiytic copper metal. The basis
of this statement was quotation re-
ported from the metal exchange of 24A
10 - cents for lake copper. and E34 TO
New York Metal Exchange is, as persons
at all familiar with conditions affecting
the sale OF copper in this market know.
d small and insignificant concern, whose
so-called quotations are thoroughly dis
credited ia trade circles.
Actual Deliveries Few.
Actual deliveries Of copper on sales oc-
curing there arc of the most trling
quantity, and the exchange is, in fact, an
exchange only in name. The market for
copper here is i'm the Offices of the cop
.per-selling agencies or Of the copper COM
panies that sell their product directly.
It may be said that there has not been
in recent weeks the slightest concession
made In copper prices in the proper mar
ket FOR the commodity. These prices
stand to-day, as they have for a long
time at from 25is 10 25Ia cents for cleo
trolytic copper and from 26 TO 26i4 cents
for lake copper net in this city. PTomi-
nence deserves 10 be given to the strong
animadyersion visited in the copper trade
upon concerns like the metal exchange
assuming thus falsely 10 represent the
market for copper metal and the care
Iessness of reporting agencies who give
publicity TO such untruthful statements.
There IS no doubt that records of this
kind are more easily gathered at the
where. and that it is matter of some
difficulty sometimes to acquire the actual
state of the copper market from au-
thOritative sources. but this is no excuse
why the effort should not be made on
the part Of those presuming to give Wall
street correct information as to the
changes in the metal and other markets
Wheat Crop Report.
Very little attention seemed TO be paid
in the financial district to-day to the one
development of the day of substantial
Importance, aside from the further ease
I'm the money market, to wit the govern
ments report of the condition of the
winter wheat crop on April 1. The con-
d5tion of the crop was put at S9.9 per
cent. as compared with S91 per cent of
april I last year, and indicated a yield
of winter wheat in round numbers of
494 000009 bushels, against 413000,000 indi-
Gated a year ago. It is. of course, too
early in the year for any certainty re-
garding the winter wheat output of the
season. one thing that can now be
learned trustworthy, however. is the
amount of damage done TO the crop by
winter killing" and that the condition
of the crop at the opening Of spring is
higher than it was 81 year ago, when a
bumper yield was gathered is a circum-
stance mat affords immense ground for