Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-09
BULLS AND BEARS


Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. October 9.-Nothing ksa
yet developed In the general financial sit
| uation to cause leading stock market op-
| orators to in any way change their views
as to the trend Of the market in the near
future. The same cause which has been
operative against the rise Of prices for
some time still exists, and until a public
Investment demand of larger proportions
than. has yet set in develops It is
not expected that the market will De
much more than periunctory affair
-
The failure OF the Northern Pacific d.
rectors to declare an extra dividend yes
terday has robbed the bull contingent OF
some of It's ammunition. and at the mo
nlsnt there appears to be- no other puli
card in sight on which to work up a
speculative activity. The backing ana
filling process which the market is under
going, it is believed, is resulting in a
gradual expansion of the short interest,
as the room traders are becoming more
tearish.
This situation, 1t Is generally conceded.
tends to strengthen the technical posi-
ton. and each decline. such as occurred
yesterday, for instance, Will in all prob
ability be followed by rally which Will
about offset the previous losses. 1t Is
u iHdtteT ot CouuLitul SSel NhC' e. NV"
ever. that the market Is still dominated
entirely by the professional element. and
that the daily transactions have no fur-
Their significance than is usually accord
ed to the swapping back and forth or
stocks by individual traders.
There are some operators who are In
clined to take fresh pessimistic inspira-
ton from the interview published with
Lord Rothschild this morning. 1t is re-
called. however, that some of these In
terviews published within the last year
have been quite wide of the mark, and
in the latest one he sets forth no new
argument or proposition bearing upon the
financial situation. Every one knows that
government hostility against corporations
has been In some measure Responsible
for the lack of confidence which pre-
walls the world over in securities, but, so
far as this country Is concerned there
are many prominent banking interests
which maintain that all the possible
harm which could be Gone by the gov
eminent has already been accomplished.
1t is logical to assume that the further
revelations Of an unsavory character
which are being made in connection with
the local traction investigation will have
a tendency to cause further heSitancy
on the part of the public toward placing
their surplus funds In Wall street securi-
ties. Some of the disclosures already
made in this inquiry show plainly enough
why the local surface lines were fc<ced
into bankruptcy. 1t is evident that
the payment of money in sums ranging
from 100000 to $1.OOO.OOO for question
able purposes. II used instead for the
legitimate purposes of the company would
have gone a long way toward reduc-
ing the deficit of the New York City
Railway Company. and. in fact. toward
the metropolitan street railway dividend
1t has, of course, been known by those
acquainted with the circumstances that
questionable practices of this kind were
being carried out. but the public dis
closures regarding them are likely to
deter a return OF public confidence in
such securities.