The Washington herald., 1907-01-01
Call Money Scars, but Re-
neWalS Made Under 30.
LOW RECORD IN HILL STOCK
Northern Pacific Does Not Show De-
cline Equal TO That of Great North
to Lay Down the Sccpter-Benrs
Seek Comfor in Size of Earnings.

the one TO make the rate Consequently
the market for call money did not open
until fifteen or twenty minutes after the
usual time. and the first inquiry found
lender and borrower very wide apart
Ten per cent bid, % per cent asked"
was the first report on the subject Of
greatest interest 20 the market that board
members were able TO make to their firms.
but a few minutes later 1t was possible 10
/ tell OF an actual transaction on d basis
apparently touched by splitting the diff
ference fractions to the lender the ini-
tial rate for the day being IS per cent.
After that the rate rose rapidly, finally
getting up to Is per cent, but the bulk Of
the demand for the day was satisfied
under 80 per cent, renewals being made at
about . per cent
/ Wall street has now equalized favors by
giving a happy New Year TO the bulls as
the bears had been given merry Christ
mas The bears. for the time being. have
taken to the woods. and the question is
How long viii they stay there?
one reason for the heavy effects Of
loans from foreign bankers to local insti-
tutions in the past week is that the Eng
hsh financial Institutions in order to make
as good a showing as possible at the end
of the year are in the habit Of averaging
Il large proportion Of their loans on any
stock to mature just little in advance
of December 81. This enables them to do
some effective window dressing. besides
leaving them with plenty OF funds to lend
or otherwise use just after January l.
The expectation among the foreign
houses is that the restraints that have
been placed upon dealings in Americans
Will now be withdrawn and that London
viii become "a more pronounced factor in
the bull side of our stocks than at any
time in many weeks.
/ Dividend and interest disbursements al
the beginning Of the new year are quoted
at less than S1So.o)9.c19. and possibly as
high as S2oo,O00Go0. The investment OF
this money is expected to give something
Of an impetus 10 trading on the bull side
although. as almost invariably happens
some of the buying has already been done
before the disbursements have actually
been made
The subtreasury sent 70 San Francisco
to-day $590G9. but it was reported that
there was strong indications OF decided
acceleratiOn Of the return movement from
OUt-of-t0wn toward New York.
| Great Northern made a new low record
for the year. selling down to 17Sis. from
which. however, It recovered at a bound
TO ISL, the decline having been more in the
nature Of q bear drive, intended to renew
feats Of liquidation, than anything else
1t was notable that Northern Pacific did
not decline equally with Great Northern
and If any clew could be drawn from the
buying Of both stocks as % the character
OF the operations In progress, II pointed
/ TO accumulation. The great strength in
the afternoon made this almost cOnclu-
sive.
The street has never attached much
importance 10 the talk of Mr.. Hills re-
tirement for the reason that the street
recognizes what an irrepressible worker
, the president OF the Great Northern is
, The view most generally taken is thai
some day Mr.. Hill may relinquish his
: present 0fFice-vacate the throne. 10 be-
come the power behind-but that he viii
never cease to work and to devote his
best efforts to the road with which his
3 his health permits. Those who have seer
him lately say there is no immediate
danger OF his retirement on the ground
Of 81 health.
The watchers for signs of a iessenins
Of the prosperity Of the railroad seized
, upon the statements Of earnings OF tw-
! or three roads for November which
showed a decrease in net earnings, not
, withstanding that gross receipts were
larger than those for the same period q
year ago.
The roads whose returns attracted tn,
most Of this kind Of attention were th'
. Atlantic Coast Line, which, with an In
crease Of $l43696 in gross. suffered los:
Of Sl69653 in net. and Chesapeake and
Ohio. which. with an increase OF SITE iT
s the FIRST item, suffered to the extent Of
Sl5Gl5 in the other by comparison witt
2 November Of last year.
A similar exhibit was made by thu
= Georgia Railroad. but beyond these Their,
was nothing in the character Of the earn
fngs to indicate that the higher cost o.
I everything used by the railroads, including
labor. was not more than enough to use VI
the increase in earnings coming from tn,
: expansion Of traffic. The roads which
: have shown the greatest tendency towar,
! reduction in the percentage of net Il
gross earnings have been mostly in tn
+ South. where. perhaps the advance in tn
s wages of unskilled workers in the pas
, year has been relatively heavier than Il
other sections. but what they show may
be a fair index of what others will d,
later on.
A great deal Of mischief is sometime!
done in Wall street by the mere mention
of a doubt regarding the solvency of in
, diyidual houses when the stock market !:
2 passing through period Of disturbance Of
liquidation. Such reports breed uneasi
ness and often precipitate trouble wher,
none would otherwise have occurred. L
! is entirely natural when an operator hear:
Z that another or a particular house i
shaky To aCquaint himself as closely as h,
can with the kind of securities in which th'
! Individual or house that is the subject o.
the sinister TUmOT is most largely inter
. ested and to sell such quantities of then
as nc may personally own, or even TO pu
out shorts, thus starting or aiding a sell
ing movement which may exert a wide
spread effect as a disturber of confidence
As an example Of the recklessness will
which rumors rejecting on the credits anC
. standing Of substantial firms are some
times circulated in Wall street, it is worth
mentioning that not long ago a suspicion
fell upon the standing of house because
: at a time of considerable stress it became
an eager borrower of money. The only
inference the street could draw fer thi: