The Washington herald., 1907-06-14
Investment Buying Of Better
Class Of Stocks On.
mo NEWS AND NC BUSINESS
This Is the Cry of Traders as Com
mission Houses Find Practically
Nothing 90 DO-SmaIl Purchases
Add Many Names to List of stock
holders of Railroads.

market something that the average trader
probably does not see. said 4 member OF
one of the largest private banking
houses to-day. Il can see quite a little
buying Of the best class OF stocks for
investment When l say I see it. do
not mean that I infer that it is there.
mean that l know Of it absolutely
Investors have begun TO realize that
opportunities 10 buy good railroad stocks
at prices where they yield about per
cent on the investment do not occur
often in a lifetime"
Bearing on the remark OF a conserva-
tive banker quoted above. il is worthy
Of note that the dealers in odd lots have
been buyers Of considerable amounts Of
stock recently. Purchases by individual
brokers Of this class In many cases run
TO several hundred shares d day Of a
single stock, and the aggregate total Of
all buying orders 10 satisfy the demand
for odd lots in a week, II ascertained.
would probably form very considerable
proportion Of all the transactions on the
exchange.
Perhaps the best indication of all IN
regard 70 the revival Of an investment
demand for stocks is furnished by the
transfers made on the books Of the leas-
ing railroad and Industrial corporations.
Every day new certificates Of stock are
issued in new names by all the leading
railroads, the number Of stockholders on
the books of the companies being az
present largely In excess of what il was
two or three months ago.
From the East, from the West. from
the remotest parts Of the country comes
the demand for stocks. mostly in odd lots
from investors who register as holders
with the intention Of staying with the
properties permanently An Eastern road.
about which rumor had a great deal 10
say Of an adverse character a little while
ago. continues 70 add rapidly 10 the num-
Der Of its stockholders in spite Of an the
stories rejecting on the stock, and as q
further instance Of what is going on il is
stated that within a comparatively short
period 1850 new names have been added
70 the stock register Of a prominent
Northwestern road. the average amount
of stock represented by each new name
being about thirty-fye shares. or a .0tal
of upward Of 5Ger shares in aii This
sort Of thing VIII IL continued at the
present rate. clear mp the floating supply |
of the good stocks within comparatively /
short time. and leaves the way open 10 O /
permar ent betterment Of the market posi- |
ton Of issues in the investment class
Among the rank and file Of the COM /
mission houses the belief IN the existence /
of an investment demand is not widely I
The commission houses as a /
rule say that until they can see signs. Of /
an Improvement in the demand for bonds f.
they VIII continue 10 dizcredft stories I
about an Improvement in the investment /
demand fo~ stocks. This view is a mar /
row one. for 10 utterly disregards the /
great difference between the present time /
and occasions I'm tho past when the mar
iJot was depressed for a long period. The .
difference is. of course. that so far there
has been no serious curtallment On the /
business. and nobody appre- /
hends such a curtailment
OF course. there could have not been a /
great deal OF investment buying IN TO-
days market, for there was little buying
of any kind. The floor Of the exchange .
was almost deserted. and the volume OF /
trading was smaller than on any full day
IN two years. Even I1 the most attrac-
tive stocks the crowds were very small.
and here and there an utterly deserted
trading post stood Ike q danger sign on
a skating pond in winter time. There was
hardly a significant transactio from be-
ginning 70 end IF the session.
There was distressing monotony IN the
uniformity with which the commission
houses summed up the days events or
lack Of events, in the phrase, NO news
and no business but perhaps some sats-
faction might be derived from the refec-
ton that periods for such stagnati0n
never last long, and that they are more
often followed by an advance than by a
decline in the course Of prices.
The number Of usually active stocks
that had not opened by II o'clock made
a formidable list. and hour by hour the
wonder grew that there could be such a
apathy as to leave stocks like
New York Central, Missouri Pacific, Nor
folk and Western, Illinois Central Ches-
apeake and Ohio Northwest Distiliers.
and Republic without a single transac-
ton to their credit until the end or
within a few minutes Of the end. Of a
full session Of the New York Stock Ex-
change. The general opinion was that
such inactivity could not continue long.