The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-23
NICHOLAS WALL
 STREET LETTER Leaders Are Willing to Let Mat ters Drift for a While FEEL FOR THE WEAK SPOTS During Periods of Fatigue Stock Ex- change Crowd Sometimes Reasons
 curiously and Sometimes
 Fails To Reason.
FEEL FOR THE WEAK SPOTS
BY. W. G. NICHOLAS.

BY. w. c. NICHOLAS. New York, February 22.-(speeial.)- l Outside of distinctive groups and leader
 ships identified with speeialties most of
 the really big people of Wall street seem 1 quite willing to let the stock market drift for the time being. The bearish contin- ] gent keeps right on feeling for the weak spots and not .infrequently uncovering | them. They got after the Gould special I ties this week with the result of forcing
 a sensational break in most of the issues bearing that brand
 The Goulds have done nothing to pro- tect their stocks throughout the long de- | cline that has taken place in them, al- 1 though at this writing they are doing what they can with conversation to create
 a friendlier feeling. The Gould proper
 ties have long been in disfavor and there | Is very little mourning in Wall street over | the terrific shrinkage in that quarter. The l Goulds at times have seemed almost open l ly bearsh in their own things and the street has been greatly mystiied as to why 1 this should be so, and trying to figure out l just where the insiders can make money 1 in that sort of a campaign. It is Gould l speciality, however, to make money in re- l organizations. They are expert in the 1 handling of wreckage.
 l George Gould has been at great pains l to deny the receivership reports and ru- mors of trouble in connection with the l finances of his roads. These denials do l not carry the weight of well fortified | guarantees. Speaking of guarantees, one | the features in the weakness of the Gould I in tba Denver and Rio Grande and Rio Grande and West 1 ern are virtually guaranteeing the S00,-
 900 900 bond issue fioated a year or two l ago for the construction of the Western
 Pacific from Utah on to the coast. These l two companies which are owned by the | Missouri Pacific, are pledged to the pay l ment of interest on this S50C00,000 bond is-
 sue and for the payment of any deficit | which may occur in "instalments on the
 sinking fund.- This is a left-handed en- i forcement of the entire Notation. A re- l ceivership, however, would give relief, 1 and a good many people in Wall street
 are saying that this is one of the things | in view.
 The Chicago decision in favor of the
 Hartman contention was first seized upon ! as an excuse for pulling the Hartman l stocks and incidentally everything else on 1 the list Later on when the country be- l gan to be heard from, floor feeling on the 1 exchange underwent change, and trad
 CTS went about asking whether after all the world at large would look with favor
 on judicial approval of cinch concentra- i ton of Hartman interests in the hands of one who Is always autocratic and not 1 always over-scrupulous in the manage i ment of properties entrusted to his keep 1 ing.
 | AS matter of fact the market was fae element. The market happened to be 1 very narrow and operators in a nervous | state. They felt they had to do some 1 thing and went to buying everything on l the list just the same as they had sold I everything the day before on unfounded reports of receiverships and financial ] troubles of one kind and another.
 l During periods of fatigue the stock ex- change crowd sometimes reasons curious
 ly and sometimes fails to reason at all,
 as was the case in it's reception of the
 very important diplomatic development l which may be step towards war with
 Japan; and also in its blindness to the threat in the latest White House pro- ] nouncement tacitly pledging the admin
 istraton in advance to the employees side | in case of a strike among railroad em- 1 ployes against reduction in wages. There are times when Wall street is a great big joke.
 l The time is coming when a superabund- l ance of cheap money in New York and | other reserve centers will become lead ing factor in the stock market The cash
 is already beginning to pile up and by the first of June if nothing untoward hap
 pens the idle surplus in banks will be
 larger than ever before In the history of
 the country. With call money down to
 1 to 11s per cent. the temptation to put a large part of this great capital in and behind the stock market may prove ire sistible. Between the rate for call money and the returns on many stocks and
 bonds shows scalping profit of to | points. The situation seems, therefore, likely to work for the benefit of prices, all | though the off-setting feature of hostile politics will be strong deterrent to ac- ton.
 l.. The prevailing opinion is that ruling 1 Wall street sentiment is against any very
 determined effort looking to business re- l vival, there being a deep seated feeling | that no permanent good may be looked for until after political tendencies shape themselves more clearly for a return to | calmness and halt in demagogic war
 fare on money and on what money stands l for. It is noticed in this connection that
 the annual hegira of rich men Is begin l ming earlier than usual and that every l ship that goes to Europe is carrying im- l portant personages. They are making l their escape from one to three months l earlier than usual.
 If they thought there would be likeli- | hood of urgent need for their presence ] here they would not be taking themselves 1 to the other side. The king bee of the | bunch, MT. J. F. Morgan, Is scheduled to I sail very shortly. This general willing l ness to leave the field unprotected, as one 1 might say, is taken as cue by the rank | and file of operators who anticipate dull 1 period ahead. This idea is not at vari- ance, however, with the theory that the | market background will be reinforced by cheap money and that prices will harden very decidedly during the spring and ear 1 ly summer.
 | Quotations are unquestionaoly too low l for many of the good railroad stocks and
 bonds, and a rise in both departments of l the market might legitimately take place | without it being either forced or un- healthy. The banks which will have at their command large sums of loanable funds will encourage reasonable use thereof for market purposes, although
 combating anything that might look like l premature or unsafe speculation The 1 wise people of the street are becoming cautious in their operations on the bear side. For one reason they do not like too I much company, and for another reason they feel that prices may be dragging on of,-