The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-22
Watch the Political Game At
 Chicago
MOVEMENTS ARE RESTRICTED
Professional Sentiment Is Sensitive To Hourly News From the Repub- lican Convention-Long
 List of Absentees.

New York, June 21-The prominence of political subjects last week kept at tention in the financial district, as well as elsewhere, focused on that point The most notable effect perceptible in the securities market was the repression of all large and important activities and the adoption of a waiting attitude on the part of the larger capital interests. Deal ings were made up of professional opera tions and those of the smaller class, and the price movement, in consequence, was inclined to turn often within restricted range, indicating the tentative nature of the transactions and their failure to bring out any substantial response, such as would give them power of extension.
 Professional sentiment was sensitive to the hourly news from the transactions of the republican convention at Chicago and vacilated as the advices were deemed in- dicative of the prevalence of policies of aggression in pursuit of corporation abuses or of restraint on more radical tendencies in that direction.
 The trivial character of the dealings caused doubt whether any deep founded views of substantial property interests were finding reflection in the market and the long list of absentees from the finan- cial district of prominent figures in the banking, financial and railroad world helped to keep alive this opinion. The demand for securities was unimportant at all times, nor was there any notable sell ing to give light on the convictions of se- curities holders.
 The waiting policy of the speculation was confirmed by the balancing of some contending features in the general situa- tion of affairs. While some of the inn mediate conditions were of an uncheerful import, the undertone was one of conii- dence in future Improvement.
 Unfavorable weather conditions in part of the winter wheat belt was taken due notice of, but the opinion of author ities in the grain trade that the promise of the yield was not as yet materially prejudiced, served as an offset Railroad traffic officials gave voice to their con- fidence in crop prospects, and the ulti- mate favorable influence to be expected on the freight movement and on general business, even while admitting the pres ent contraction of their traffic.
 Railroad earnings reports also gave strong testimony to this contraction the Baltimore and Ohio's shrinkage to less than half those for last year in its May net earnings making a notable example. There were the passing of dividends on the Cleveland, Cincinnati Chicago and St. Louis, the Lake Erie and Western preferred and the Republic Steel preferred stocks and the reduction of the Louis- vile and Nashville dividend, which had to be digested Trade journals of recog- nized authority in the iron and steel trade gave candid expression to the belief that the cut in prices of steel products had not revived demand in those line. Fur ther reductions were believed to be prob- able, and wage adjustments are looked for in consequence. The course of rail road earnings the policy of the dividend reductions followed by some of the rail- road companies and the opposition to pro- posed advances in freight rates awaken fears that wage reductions are foreshad- owed in that field of industry as well.
 There was a continued inpour of money to the banking reserve centers of the world in which New York fully shared
 The reduction of the official discount rate of the German Imperial bank marked the extension of this influence to the point where money stringency has per sisted longest. This is a usual phe- nomenon following such a financial up- heaval as that of last fall. The variant from the usual order is found in the per- sistent demand of Paris and Berlin for gold, about which some mystery attaches. The continued outgo of gold from New York, however, has not altered the easy tone of the money market and the conf- dence in it's continuance, as reflected In concessions in over the year interest rates. Special requirements such as an increase on July 1, in the New York trust companies reserve requirement, which will call for approximately $2O,000,- 900, and an expected further recall of the United States treasury deposits with the banks, have equally failed to disturb con- fidence in the money product. It is not able that the bond market has fiattened out in spite of the easy state of the money market
 This is attributed to the recent large supply of new issues which had been fed into the bond market with the effect of taking the edge off the investment de- mahd