The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-19
STOCK MARKET.
IS VULNERABLE
Successive Waves of Liquida-
ton Have Swept Away the
Profits of Many Years.
REVIEW OF THE PAST WEEK
DECLINE in PRICES CONTINUED
UNCHECKED.

New York, Aug 1S.-The decline in
prices which has been in progress for
some time, continued during the past
week, with many securities reaching the
lowest quotations in years. Successive
waves of liquidation during the last few
months have swept away the profits of
years. and have made the stock market
extremely sensitive and vulnerable. The
contributing causes OF the situation have
been and are the fears of a further re-
Etrictive campaign against corporations
by the next congress and the legislatures
OF various states, higher rates for mon
ey, with reduced supply of available
funds, apparent indifference to the de
cline in stock prices the part OF in
terestS with large capital investments at
stake visible signs of weak spots in the
trade situation and monetary conditions
that preclude any hope of immediate aid
from Europe for American business en-
terprises or stock market operations.
Liquidation Continues.
The week began with the market under
a cloud. Liquidation had not run its
course even after the ten and fifteen
points decline of the preceding week. The
heavy reduction in loans the previous
Saturday hardly compensated for the
large loss in cash and with another gov
eminent report on the Standard Oil com
pany published on Monday, Wall street
began the week nervous and apprehen-
siVe. Combined with this were the ex-
pressiOnS of a cabinet member concern
ing the proposed plan of prosecution of
corporation managers who violate the
law. As a result holders of securities did
not know how long their shares would
be immune from attack. Fears of further
proceedings against corporations made
the capitalists back of them Indifferent
as TO the outcome and II was obvious
that they were giving no support to the
market. The strike of the telegraph OPP
orators, while not very disturbing to bus
mess. caused annoyance and the most
was made of il an unfavOrable Incl
dent. More legitimate however as ammuni-
ton for lower prices was the failure of
the Pope Manufacturing company and
the apprehension created of similar en-
barrassment in other quarters.
Big Interest for Standard.
An example of the state of the money
market is given by the fact that the
Consolidated Gas company. which is DOM
mated by Standard Oil interests, was
forced to borrow on one-year notes at :
per cent A large amount of money was
loaned for six months at per cent Com
meTclal paper seems to be diScOunting
slowly, and the banks reported many eli
ents who seldom come to them for &C
cOmmodations, forced to borrow because
of poor collections. On the other hand
call loans were surprisingly low. but this
reelected merely the desire of lenders to
/ keep their capital in hand. The shrink
age in stock has been Sufficient to allow
income yields to keep pace with prevail
ing interest rates Many substantial
properties sold during the past week from
S15.000,0O0 to S25 600 less in market val
ue than on the first of August, and prime
railroad stocks at present dividend rates
have begun to return investors from to
Z per cent whereas they offered a yield
of but to per cent not so many months
ago
Conditions Abroad.
Domestic money conditions have been
somewhat duplicated abroad, the most
striking example of this being afforded by
the Bank of England's action in raising
its official rate to AZ per cent. This was
more remarkable in view of the fact that
above the figure of the year before. Prior
TO its recent advance, the bank had an
nounced its refusal to discount for the
open market al less than AZ per cent.
The whole run of this plan appears to be
10 clear the London field of the many
finance bills which the joint banks have
accepted in large quantities the past two
months and which were beginning to
threaten the gold reserve of the Bank of
England Evidently that institution de
termined this year to take matters in
hand early enough to prevent recur-
renee of the gold exports TO American
markets which resulted in such confU-
sion in November and December of last
year Locally there is disposition to
rely on the treasury again for assistance,
but so far that department has made no
sign
Meanwhile the New York banks are low
in reserve the interior is keeping up its
exchange against New York. and the
crop moving season, which drains the re-
ability of the interior to finance itself, is
al n IFS flood