The Washington herald., 1907-03-27
WALL STREET NOTES
Bankers Believe Worst Is
Over in Stock Market.
BRISK RALLY TAKES PLACE
Actlon of Secretary Corseiyou and
Investment Buying send Prices Up
vxard-Reports of Huge PoOIs ar
syndicates Not Given Mach Gree
denee-sltuation in Europe Better.

[
/ banking circles this afternoon there was
conviction that the worst was over.
The bottom OF the market had been
struck. it was asserted with great en-
phasis on the preceding day, and there
was little or no probability that it would
again be touched. The closing level of
| to-day might not. and very likely would
not. remain unbroken in the days TO
come. for, after the violent upheavals of
/ three weeks, it would take time for the
market TO aaain its equilibrium. Prices
might be expected to sag on, and sharp
spurts might be looked for, but such
movements, bankers concurTed, would be
of little consequence as affecting the
general situation. The important features
of the situation were that the money
problem had been practically solved, that
the international situation had been I'M
mensely improved. and that the nervous
tension OF the past few weeks was re-
/ lieved.
Such sanguine expressions were not In
splred so much by the mere fact of the
vigorous rally In the market. That might
have been caused entirely by short cover
/ ing They were due. primarily. no doubt,
q
20 the action of the Secretary OF the
Treasury who, as one banker remarked,
had given assistance, not in Oklahoma.
but in New York. where 1t was needed
Another influence only second in impor
tanee was remarkably heavy investment
buying, and there was confidence, also,
because various big interests had shown
d disposition 10 interpose and prevent
prices from going TO the dogs.
That there was. concerted action on the
part of either banking interests or groups
Of influential financiers in the way OF
supporting the market was denied IN
many well-informed quarters. Neverthe-
! less, as one banker declared. Some peo-
pie bought stocks who did not really
want them" And very likely that SEN
tence expresses all the foundation there
was for the stories of S500oO.cOo pools OF
fabulousIy wealthy syndicates that were
bruited about the street through the clos
! ing hours of the session. Only the pre-
vious day some OF those who credited
such stories were the lOudest In insisting
that the prominent bankers and finan-
ciers whose names were freely banded
about in them had been too badly hurt BY
the decline 10 permit substantial support
on their part. The man is undoubtedly
/ correct-"some people bought stocks who
didn't really want them. Some bought
Coppers. others bought the Hill stocks,
still others purchased Smelters, and 9th
ers again purchased none al all Some
stocks, in other words, received support
from the controlling interests ia them.
but In every case the support was In
dividual matter. and was not at all the
8.,H in.
movement.
The upward movement was undOubt-
/ edly artificial to the extent % the inside
purchases" People who buy stocks. not
wanting them, sell when the necessity
( for support is removed. The support is
purely temporary. and the market must
gain enough strength from other influ-
enees 10 absorb the temporary holdings.
But only to that extent was weakness
anDarent in the buying to-day.
Not a word Of criticism of the Roose-
velt administration was heard throughout
the afternoon.
Most call loans were renewed before the
action. The prevailing rate for renewals
was 10 per cent. Subsequently. money
was cheaper.
The more alert of the hear brokers dis
covered a firm undert0ne ten or fifteen
minutes after the market opened and got
out very well. The example was fol-
lowed by others, until many bears were
really working against their own profit
in the rapidlty Of the rush TO get out
from under The large amount Of cover
ing naturally tends TO weaken the tech
nical position Of the market. but IL is be-
lieved that many short interests remain.
The money problem has been solved.
said the president of the largest indus
trial corporation. The relief afforded will
carry through immediate troubles Sub
sequently, there win be easier money, be-
cause there viii be less business. Money
VIII be easier. but a business reaOzion,
though likely to be healthful rather than
not, offers no encouragement for a wild
bull speculation.
The short Interest in the copper stocks
was largely increased, and Immediately
after the opening the attack. taking It's
Impetus as on the preceding day. from
decline in quotations for copper, the
metal, in London. The decline was sc a
ton. even greater than on the preceding
day. and the bear contingent let Il be
known that it was confident of depressing
prices as heavily as on the preceding day.
In the first fifteen minutes they seemed
TO be making good, for Amalgamated was
driven TO 7S1s. a new low mark for the
year, and Anaconda to 50, a loss of five
points or over in each.
The opportunity 10 buy the standard
coppers at prices yielding better than 10
per cent for Amalgamated and 13 per cent
for Anaconda seemed to many traders al
together too good to lose. and there was
soon the largest and most animated crowd
of the day around the copper poles. Men
were bidding a point apart at the same
time. and in less than ten minutes after
the low points were reached the losses
had been recovered. At no previous time
in all the long decline had the bears so
badly oversold the market.
II is very easy TO find how a shoestring
could have run up TO a million by taking
a bear position in December and holding
it. Also, it is very difficult to find anv
one who did 1t. A sale of loo shares of
Great Northern, for instance, would have
yielded profit Of $4,000 without pyra-
miGing. but it is practically a certainty
that no one made the sale. It Is equally
true that In the others. few traders stood
by their position long enough 10 secure
anything like the maximum profit obtain
able or with the persistence men often
display on the bull side
1t Is known that some big operators
who took bear position in December
covered after obtaining large initial
profits and then held, while the market,
much to their surprise. slid away from
them. Thus losing many points of the
decline, some shifted positions and others
lost many more points by waiting for