The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-04
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY, Aug. 3

SATURDAY, Aug. Q.
At the opening to-day the market was
quiet and featureless and It's character
hardly changed during the session. IL
there was any feature to the trading II was
its extreme dulncss. for while prices sagged
this tendency was more the result Of neg
leot than of any special pressure. IL would
be almost impossible to pick out a single
stock that showed the effect of any infiu-
enoe not common to the whole list. and at
the end fractional declines were almost
general, the only issues which shove "A
loss of more than a point or a gain on the
day belonging to the inactive class. with
the single exception of American Smelling
and Refining. which although weak at times
closed at al advance. due to the covering
Of traders shorts. The attendance on the
roor Of the Stock Exchange was very small,
end most of the active traders being away
tue professional operations were largely
reduced and the business of the entire ses-
sion was smaller than that of any other
Saturday this year with only one exception.
The London market being closed, there was
practically no business for foreign account.
a fact which helped TO keep the trading
down to a small total. The extreme mar
rowness Of the market was one of its chief
features, and it is rarely in recent years that
such a small number of stocks were repre-
scented in a days trading. ever on a Satur-
day in midsummer. Not more than one
third of about a hundred usually active
issues we're mentioned in the trading. and
of those which contributed something to
the total OF 5000 shares that changed
hands a number were dealt in to the extent
20 @Nl., g,a ~ t,-, = - ,ttnna tEant fhA
only subject discussed on the floor was the
probability that Judge Lands would impose
the greatest fine authorized by law upon
the Standard Oil Company. and although
the actual news of the Judges decision was
not received until after the close, the pre-
dictions regarding il were so entirely cor
rect that had it come during the hours Of
business it could not nave caused any great
surprise. The oil company will of course
appeal. and the probability is that the case
will ultimately find it's way up to the Su-
preine Court OF Gie Unised States.
During the week the expectation of Just
such a fine as Judge Lands has imposed
was regarded by the professional traders
as a reason for selling the market, but il
hardly seems logical that the size of a fine
imposed upon a company whose stock is
not listed on the exchange and is but little
dealt in on the curb should WELD any great
influence Of this kind. The only market
significance of the case came when the
jury found the company guilty. for Wall
Street does not condone corporate wrong
doing. and. while it believes in the certainty
rather than the severity of punishment.
there was little reason why it should con-
Germ itself greatly about the size of a fine
from which the company has the right of
appeal. The fact that so much was made
of this matter and so little of the substantial
factors like the Steel statement. the decline
in exchange and the increase in the South
ern Pacific dividend only served TO show
the entire absence Of a healthy public senti-
ment on the market. The view taken of the
anti-railroad policies pursued in the South
is that they will If persisted in work great
injury 10 the business interests of the States
responsible for them, for il would be difficult
under the sort OF conditions that have be-
gun TO show themselves in North Carolina
and Alabama to enlist capital for any kind
Of enterprise there. The end OF the week
shows no Improvement in the position of
the associated banks, the bank stat ement
showing a reduction OF 81. 7S5, AS in the
item of surplus reserve. although probably
the only real change of conseq uence is the
correction Of the faults OF the average
system in arriving at the totals.