Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-31
WALL STREET FEELING
The Worst is Over Here and
Abroad.
THE LOSSES so SEVERE
No Recovery of Prices in Some Time
to Come.
SOFT SPOTS IN THE MARKET
liquidation in Particular Stocks on
Every Rally May Be Ex-
pected.
SOFT SPOTS IN THE MARKET

pected.
BY w C. NICHOLAS.
NEW YORK. n. Y. March 30 1907.
The feeling in Wall street is that the
worst is over here and in the foreign mar
kets. The losses, however. have been so
severe in many quarters that good judges
of the market do not look for any consid-
cradle recovery in prices for some time TO
come There are still some soft spots in
the market. and liquidation in particular
stocks on every rally in the market may
be expected. Many rich men have taken
severe losses in speculation, and they are
forced to patch up their finances by selling
securities out of their strong boxes when
there is a favorable market. Some of the
leading interests have joined hands for the
first time in some weeks and have agreed
10 protect the market from raids. They
have not taken an aggressive bullish stand.
because they believe that many of the fac
tors that brought about the severe decline
In stocks are still to be reckoned with.
That there are investment bargains all
through the general list is certain as that
the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Per-
hans the sun won't rise-the world may
doesn't rise none of US will worry very
much over investments. The two big bear
ish factors in the market are lack of con-
fidence and lack of money. But this coun-
try has gone through these historical pc
RODS before and has always come out of
them whole. This country is going right
ahead for many years to come growing
richer and more powerful, and those who
hold steadfast to this opinion are the ones
who will have least TO regret in the future.
Those who will go around in sackcloth and
ashes some years hence will be the army of
muCkrakers. who are now going about the
country telling the people how rotten things
are. But there is going TO he reaction
from this hysteria of undertaking. and
when the reaction comes the one great
bearish factor in our markets-lack of con-
fidence-will be removed. The lack OF
money is a temporary factor and some
reaction in commercial activity throughout
the world will cause easier money
~
Heretofore the industrials have broken
all to pieces in bear campaigns. In the
bear market of 1903 when the steel boom
collapsed, the prices of industrial stocks
lust faded away. But here we have
panicky market. in which many railway
stocks are selling below the prices of 1908
with industrials holding up their heads
against the storm. Who would have be-
lieved at the beginning of this last bull
market that after break of $50 to $50
share in seasoned railway stocks Steel
preferred would still be selling around par?
or that Shelters would be selling at con-
siderably above par, that Amalgamated
Copper would be selling in the neighbor-
hood of 500, or that American Locomotive
would hold around SEQ? Who would have
believed that when stocks like Pennsyl-
vania. Northern Pacific, Great Northern
and Union Pacific We're selling around 6
per cent basis. Steel preferred would still
be selling per cent basis?
Back in 1903 when the investing public
woke up to the fact that it had been sauan-
dering its savings on watered industrial
stocks. a great hue and cry arose against
the captains of industry. who. a short time
before had been the public idols. We had
just such a period of undertaking over the
1ndustrials we are now having over the
railways. The same things were being
said about Mr.. Morgan then as are being
said about Mr.. Hartman now-the muck
rakers said he was lucky to be out of Jail.
The collapse of the shipbuildng trust. the
asphalt trust. the Atlantic shipping trust
aud the collapse of the market in the steel
stocks gave the whole industrial list
black eye that some thought 1T would never
Recover from. The worst word in the Eng
Esh language in those days was trust. But
times have changed wonderfully. For
trust the populace has substituted rail-
road.
The most hated thing in this country to-
aay is the railroad and any man connected
pith a railroad is lucky TO be out OF jail.
1leanwhile the captains of industry who
Bore the brunt of the -nuckrakers' attack
four years ago are row sitting back and
taking il easy. As d result of the transfer
OF the attack from the industrials TO the
railroads. industrial securities are selling
away out of line with railroad securities.
Either the industrlals are too high or the
railroads are too low. Railroad corpora
tons cutting down their orders for
rails. cars, locomotives and other equip
ut
bound TO be very much felt very soon in
the steel industry. About one-half the
produce Of the steel mills is bought by the
railroads, and it is idle TO suppose that the
Industrial companies that depend on the
railroads are going TO go through any re-
trenChment period without serious loss of
earnings. The locomotive plans in the last
period Of retrenchment kept up fairly
good showing by drumming up foreign
ders. But the situation now is changed.
Because Of tight money there is retrench-
1Avnt all over the world.
~
Tile immediate cause of the sharp break
In the London copper market this week the
FIRST serious setback in the bull specula-
ton in the metal in months. has been the
selling of the speculative line held by the
Hon. Jefferson NJ. Levy. The strength of
the copper metal market in London for
some time has been largely due TO the
speculative operations of Mr.. Levy and his
followers. Mr.. Levy took a bullish posi-
ton the copper situation many months
ago. lie put some of his funds into the de-
NelOpment of copper properties in the west
he bought copper stocks In the New York
market and he bought Rio Tintos and the
metal itself in London. He was largely in
strumental in putting Rio Tintos from 30 to
100 in the London market. and IL is be-
Heved that he sold his entire line OF Rio
Hintos before the break at very nearly the
top prices His cleanup in Rio Tintos
alone was in the neighborhood of 81, 0O0, 900
The severe break in copper stocks in
the Boston and New York markets on the
news OF the break in the metal in London
was TO have been expected. These copper
stocks could not keep up while seasoned
railroad and Industrial securities on the
stock exchange were being sold at a sac
Iflfice sale. The only stocks that have not
had any declines are those that have never
been distributed to the public and which
have not entered into bank loans. The
stocks in which there has been public dis
ltrbution have suffered. This has especial