The sun., 1907-08-21
STOCKS RISE ON THE SPEECH
BIT THE STREET GENERALLY
ISN'T 4 MT ENCOi RACED.
Advance Ascrlbed To Bu,tng From Those
VINO HAD Previously specuiated FOR q
Decline "A n,IIsenirnt Over the charge
Against the wealthy MaleTact ors.''


The stock market opened firm and strong
yesterday. but in the course OF the morning
trading reacted very sharply, 40 that before
noon the average OF prices was rather close
10 that low average of the year reached on
the day last week when there were die
seminated reports that the President was
to say something reassuring at Province
town.
About noon. when the bulk OF the speech
was published on the news tickers, the mar
ket was very dull traders apparently be-
lieving that the quotations properly ap-
praised the situation. There then ap-
peared on the ticker an addition or insert
which the President had affixed to advance
copies OF the speech at the eleventh hour.
In the subsequent trading all the active
speculative shares more than recovered
the loss Of the morning At the close thirty
active railroad and industrial IT ocks showed
an average gain of 81 a share over Mon
days closing prices.
The insert or addition to the speech. an
nounced Immediately before the advance
in the market. was that portion in which
Mr.. Roosevelt said he had received count
less requests to do or say something to
ease the financial situation. averred that
wealthy malefactors" had combined to
cause financial stresc in order to discredit
hispocies and made this further statement:
1T is idle to ask me not to prosecute
criminals. i rich or poor. But | desire to
have it understood. no less emphatically.
that we have undertaken and will under
take no action of a vindictive type and
above all no action which shall in1ict great
or unmerted suffering upon the innocent
stockholders and upon the public as whole.
Our purpose is to act with a minimum
Of harshness compatible with obtaining
our ends"
Some traders also discovered that in
portion of Secretary Taft's speech, printed
in full in the morning papers, there was
a reference 10 the same subject, the infilc-
ton Of penalties on stockholders for offences
such as rebating. alleged To have been com
mitted by officers. In regard to the Presi-
dents attitude. the Secretary said
at is not true that he proposes TO rip up
past transactions when by reason Of the
injury to innocent purchasers such course
would do more injustice than good"
There was nothing in the context Of either
speech to indicate that either the President
or the Secretary had in mind the relief OF
innocent railroad stockholders from penal
ties to which they may be liable on account
of rebating alleged TO have been committed
by railroad officers. II is fear OF such action
as this that had done much to depress the
value OF railroad stocks since the imposition
Of the Standard Oil fine. Many professional
traders on the short side Of the market
ium ped at the conclusion that the general
tiles in both speeches referred directly To
this important matter. Others in higher
financial circles considered them merely
as generalties and very much out of line
with the remainder Of both speeches
On the professional covering which fol-
lowed the publication of the insert, prices
rose very sharply. In the morning, for
instance. Union Pacific had sold down
to l2iL. IL closed at 1851. southern
Pacific rallied from S0h to S3h. Reading ad-
vanced from s8l5 10 s9T. At the close there
were these other interesting comparisons
between the low price OF the morning and
the last sale Pennsylvania, ll5l3 and III;
Mort hern Pacific, IFS and 1l7N; New York
Cent raj, 1927 and 1O41a; Louisville and Nash
Vile iO3l5 and 1861 Great Northern. 1888
and IlgL; Delaware and Hudson, l4s and
1917; st. Paul, lls1s and 1929; Atchlson,
S2S and IS.
Though the argument extended only
TO the railroad shares the recovery in
prices embraced the active industrial and
traction stocks, bear operators covering
across the board. Copper advanced from
o6I3 TO 89ss at the close; Smelters from
9I TO 95: Sugar from IlO1s to Ii2la; Ana
conda, 4S to IS; General Electric, l22L TO
I2iI,; Lead. i2I5 to s4's; Steel common,
2gs. to 3lL: Steel preferred, 9lI3 to 93i5.
Many of the stocks that are not mediums
of active speculation sustained net losses
on the day.
IL was the general opinion after the close
Of the market that the bulk of the buying
orders came from those who had previously
speculated for the decline This opinion
was greatly strengthened by the remarks
OF many prominent financiers who said they
saw absolutely nothing in the Presidents
speech to encourage purchasers OF securi-
ties. To them there was not hing in il
tending in the least to restore confidence.
OF the stocks which failed TO recover the
losses OF the morning the local traction
shares were conspicuous All OF these in
| which there were dealings made new low
| records. The Metropolitan
| common and preferred shares sold down
| to 3 and 201l respectively and closed with
net losses Of and pa points respectively.
J Metropolitan Street Railway. closing at
! ~ "A net loss OF points. established a new
| low record for many years New lows
were also recorded in Third Avenue which
, closed at 89+. 81 points on. and in Man
haitian Elevated. which closed al iis after
| selling down to III. The severe LOSSES in
/ all these shares gave rise to much talk OF
either reorganization or costly liquidation
| or both
In influential international and national
banking circles. the offices of leading rail-
roads and other high financial quarters
! there was little disposition TO discuss the
| Presidents speech for publication. As
many AZ a score Of prominent financiers
and railroad officers refused to be quoted
in regard to their views concerning it, All
Of these united. however. in the opinion
that the speech offered no encoura cement
to security investments Most OF these
men had become familiar with the purport
Of the speech day or SO before. the eleventh
| hour insert alone excepted. and had thus
had time TO give it careful consideration.
| In all these quarters there was much
amusement over the charge that the Ad-
ministration's policy had caused wealthy
! maefactors to combine to- bring about as
} much ancial stress IA they can, in order
I to discredit the policy Of the Government
! and thereby TO secure a reversal II that
! policy 40 that they may enjoy the fruits Of
| their own evdoing" II was wondered
! what men in the financial world welcome
/ their inability TO dispose Of their securities
AT normal market prices, rejoice over a
straining of credits which affects nearly all
in some way or another and glory in
collapse of security values. Most Of all il
was wondered IL men directly OF indirectly
connected with the Standard Oil party had
experienced such complete upset OF life
! long habita