The Washington herald., 1907-04-03
WALL STREET NOTES
Short Interest in Europe
Neither Large Nor Uneasy.
ALL EYES ARE ON ATCH1sON
of Dividends Indicate Di-
reetOrs VIII Net Increase Rate at
Forthcoming InVentOry-May BE
Placed on Per Cent Basis, at Par
with Baltimore and Ohio.

New York. April 2-If it was expected
that on resumption of business on the
London Stock Exchange the foreigners
would climb for our stocks. the expecta-
ton was disappointed for this once. for
before the opening of the New York mar
ket to-day quotations on American stocks
showed substantial declines abroad run
ming as high as ~ points Ia Union Pa
cific and more than points in Canadian
A little foreign buying, however, came
into the local market at the opening. but
did not follow the advance, although it
REQUIRED in moderate volume on the reae-
tion toward noon. The Indifference Of the
foreign element 10 the course OF London
indicated pretty strongly that whatever
might be the size Of the short interest at
home it was either large or uneasy on the
other side Of the Atlantic.
AS for the short interest in the local
market, there is hardly any room 10
doubt that il has been reduced in the past
few days. It is not at all reasonable to
suppose that all the bear operators failed
TO take measures to reduce their commit
! lments on the short side of the market, and
that their losses can now be computed by
the simple process Of multiplying the
number Of shares of which they were
originally short by the number of points
of advance from the low levels of the
stocks in which they had accounts open
J for the fail.
Nor. on the other hand, is it at all likely
ali flrF
mated altogether The total elimination
OF the short interest would almost in-
evitably lead 10 a drain in prices, and
those who made the upward movement
in the past few days have not conducted
their operations in way 10 leave the
market to the mercy OF the bears before
! quotations had recovered TO a level where
Z they were, in some sense. a measure of
values.
The short interest has been reduced,
I not anuihilated, and some OF the clever
est traders in Wall street think the pres
) ent policy of the bail leaders is 10 allow
matters 10 shape themselves so that a
renewal of bearish operations may DE
induced. and. as a result. the technical
position be restored 10 the condition OF
! strength in which it was in the early
) stages of the upward movement
Discussion Of the Atchison dividends
still indicates that there @yere quite few
people in Wall street who thiDk thar ne
/ / increase in the rate viii be made by the
directors az their forthcoming meeting
The best informed opinion is. however
. that the stock will be placed on a pei
cent basis. and the ticker strongly ad-
v0cates this side OF the subject record
ing activity al a level of prices only a
few points below that of Baltimore and
Ohio, an established 8 per cent payer. and
more than Is points above Southern Pa
cilc and Norfolk and Western. alongside
Of which it should sell. if. like these. ii
could only be considered as per cent
issue, with little prospect for "a higher
rate Of disbursement.
one thing is certain, II the dividend is
not increased. n good deal of disapp0inJ-
! ment will be felt in some influential guar
ters. and these not among the least
: conservative in Wall street.
The rise in Atchison was started by tho
/ buying of 400 shares by a house that
s often executes orders for Mr. Frick. ale
though it did not necessarily imply thai
this member of the board Of directors Of
the road was the purchaser. AS "a matter
d of fact some brokers thought the placing
! of buying orders through the house u
3 question was nothing more than a devics
= OF some speculative interests 20 infuss
activity into the stock so that they might
have an opportunity TO have their profits
on the long side on the expectation which
is often in a market sense better than
realization. Of favorable action IN The
matters of dividend on stocks.
BY the time the dividend is announced
it is contended. the stimulus to specuia-
mil al har ffrf "a he 81
and AtchisOn viii then become as dead
as Baltimore and Ohio. sustained only by
: an investment demand which is unlikely
. to be relatively smaller than that in the
/ latter stock.
Some bitterness Of feeling was expressed
over the action of Canadian Pacific. which
g slumped badly in London and opened her
more than 10 points under the highest
level of the preceding day, only To sink
further and remain heavy with little raj
. lying power all through the session. Ger
, tain operators who make a speciality oi
dealing i'm this stock have repeatedly
taken advantage OF holidays here ol
abroad 20 engineer movements when the
supply of stock traded in was only about
. half what it would be if the exchanges
2 in both New York and London were oper
for business.
Such operations have quite frequently
been followed after the holiday by SHARP
reaction-as has just occurred-with the
result that the stock has suffered in the
estimation Of many conservative brokers
who, although fully aware OF its sterling
intrinsic merit, do not care TO recommend
it to their customers, preferring TO stick
to issues in which the manipulation is OF
. a less Objectionable kind.
There can, Of course, be no real Ger
: tainty that operators who advised pur-
chase of Canadian Pacific on Monday
! about 10 points above the present Ieve
We're really selling the stock at the very
Z time they were recommending it to others
. but it is at least interesting that there
z is Il rather definite rumor 10 that effect
Assuming that the story is true, the point
of view is to be considered. II may have
been philanthropy that dictated the dis
semination OF the bull tips, and perhaps
those who gave out the tips thought, IN
order to confer a real benefit it was alsC
: necessary to afford those to whom they
gave advice a chance to profit by it,
They may have supposed that their fol-