Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07

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The two big bearish factors in the market
are lack of money and lack of confidence
Those financial students who form their
opinions entirely from statistical data think
| that lack of money is the chief bearish fac
| tor; those who look more on the human
| side of the game hold that lack of confidence
| is the more important The lack of money
| is really only temporary factor and it will
right itself automatically in time. That
confidence is not so badly shattered as some
of US have imagined is evidenced by the
stream OF orders from small investors all
over the country for odd lots of stock. One
authority estimates that within the past
fortnight from $4,000. 900 to $50, 000, 900 has
come into Wall street in the shape of odd
lot orders. This is certainly very encour-
aging sign of the times And the foreign
ers, too, have not entirely given up their
faith In our future One brokerage house
reports that 1T shipped 900 shares of Cana
dian Pacific to London in lots of from one
| to four shares. This investment buying in
ODD lots does not make bull market but 1t
| lays the foundation for one. Stock taken
out OF the market in these small lots does
not come back on an advance of a few
points. Very often it never comes back at
an. 1t Is put away in strong boxes, and the
higher the market goes the more inclined
are the holders of these small lots to hold
on to their investment.
odd-lot orders is not great bulwark against
| the sort of liquidation we have been having
Take. for example, the Newport society pool
in Union Pacific. If the pool was swinging
100000 shares of stock the market value of
that amount of stock today is more than
$30.0O0,000 When Union Pacific was selling
close to $500 last fall this amount of stock
was worth nearly $50.O00,0o0, and this was
only one pool in the market score of
spectators might be named who carry in
pull markets anywhere from $40, 900 900 to
s2o,oOO,ooo worth of stock. 1t takes an enor-
nous amount of buying by small investors
to absorb the stock thrown over in bear
markets by even one of these big specu-
lators The difference between the small in
teStoIS ana the big plungers is that the lit
Tie fellows send into the market the entire
amount of money to buy their stocks while
the plungers borrow the greater part of
their money from the banks.
Another feature about this odd lot buying
OF seasoned securities is that it has opened
up a channel that has diverted the flow of
small investors funds away from mining
STOCKS Last winter. when railroad securi-
Ties were selling around 4-per-cent basis.
and even higher, small investors could see
no reason why they should take their money
OUT OF savings banks paying per cent and
put 1t into railroad stocks that might col
lapse at any moment. But the mining
stocks did attract the small investors and
they did take their money out of the saw
lnSS banks TO take flyer in mining
The mining boom has not collapsed but il
has become rather wobbly. Many mining
STOCKS that were traded in with great
hurrah last winter at promoters prices are
now quoted at discount of from so to 80
per cent, and even at the low prices of the
present there is very little market for some
or them. The promoters who were so anx-
ious to sell their stocks at the high prices
N hIlv ha, ho,I
the low prices. In fact, stocks of this kind
are made to sell.
The increase in the Atchison dividend is
not considered good business in Wall street
Some of the directors of the road fully rec
oSniZe this fact, but they felt morally obli-
gated to some Of their friends to increase
the dividend at this time. Last October
when action was taken the dividend, it
was question whether to increase the rate
from D to per cent Promises had been
made carly in the fall that the dividend
would be increased in October, and a great
deal OF stock was bought all the way up
from So to $llO by directors and their
friends. But at the last moment the direct
ors decided to take 4 conservative stand
and postpone the increase in the dividend
to the April meeting. The promise was
then made that the dividend would be in
creased at this time Had this promise not
been made it is unlikely that the Atchison
would have been put on a 6-per-cent basis
AT a time when the railways are complain
ing Of the increased cost Of operation and
the agitation for lower rates it does not
seem to be the part of wisdom to keep on
increasing railway dividends. The Atchson
has followed the example of the Pennsyl-
vanfa and New York Central. The Penn
sylvania dividend was increased from to
per cent and the New York Central divi-
dend from to per cent for no other pur-
pose than to raise the credit Of these COM
panies in quarters where capital is to be
found. The AtchiSon, it Is to be recalled,
authorized at the beginning of last year
$50 900 900 of convertible bonds and the au-
thorized common stock was increased by an
equal amount at the same time. The in
crease in the Atchison dividend to per
cent has been made to enable the company
to float it's convertible bonds more advan-
tageously The Atchison is in need Of
great deal of money for necessary improve
mentS and the directors evidently believe
that they will not have to resort to short
term notes, but will be able to raise money
by the sale of these convertible bonds. Put
ting the stock on 6-per-cent ba sis, in the
opinion of the directors, will make much
better market for the bonds
NEW YORK BANK STATEMENT.