The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-08-24
Stock Market Weak With Prices Irregular and LoqUe and Trading Small
NEW YORK MARKET LIMPS ALONG
ON DECLINING PRICES AND
SMALL TRADING.

NEW YORK Aug 24.-The stock mar
ket today shows much of the irregu-
larity and fluctuatiOn of last Saturday,
without the immense selling pressure OF
that session.
After the count on Saturday # was
found that more than 100000 shares
were sold. and no one seems to know
yet what was the cause of the great flow
of stocks to the floor of the exchange.
The selling movement is generally at
trtbuted to Thomas Lawson and the
crowd Of plUngers he represents. and
that they were engaged in a supreme
effort TO break the market past mending.
one stock exchange house claims TO be
delivering nearly 5000 shares OF high
priced securities. 1t was alleged that
these stocks had been deposited with
the firm to be sold. and that in order
10 dispose OF them without breaking
the market, an equal volume OF stocks
had been borrowed. The action of the
market seems 10 prove the truth of
this statement. RumoTs say the stocks
were Tor the account Of John d. Rookie
Teller.
Investigation of Saturdays market
was promised by the stock exchange,
but discovery was made today that the
flrm Of a leading official of the exchange
was concerned in the business Of Sat
urday, and investigation was therefore
quickly abandoned.
Price movements in the early trading
were very irregular. in the first half
hour there was an average loss of one
point In London Americans were neg
lected on account of Saturdays circus
in Wall Street.
The market at the opening was dun
and lower Northern Pacific sustained
the largest loss of Ia. Amaigamateo
Copper lost Is. Reading opened p low
err New York Central lost n, Ana
Conda s. St. Paul opened lower. Union
Pacific opened unchanged. Lead opened
IS lower Smelling and Refining opened
higher, Rock Island preferred was un-
changed. At the eno OF ten minutes
trading the. market showed general
weakness all around, with the eXceP-
ton of Union Pacific.
About the middle of the forenoon
there was slight rally that carried
the leading stocks up nearly TO the
opening prices.
Fhe curb market was quiet.
Cotton was about % cents a bale
lower
transactions Iimped along through the
morning and early afternoon, being
about One-quarter the volume of Satur-
day. At IL o'clock the active stocks had
lost about 2 points from Saturdays
had gotten back some Of this loss. Union
PacihC and Reading being pegged about
al the morning 5 opening prices.
The market is very irregular, and II is
impossible for traders 10 get much of
line upon the trend Of operations. The
fact is there are no large plans afOot
so far as can be seen, and the manipu-
lators are letting the market drift along
until some opportunity comes 10 start
a fresh coup.
The fireworks Of Saturday efrectuauy|
frightened the public out OF the market,
and much OF the selling today was by
small holders who were closing out
with the idea Of standing from under
what they fear viii be a big drop in
prices.
The market remained dull and fea-
iureless 10 the close. There was a
partial recovery OF such issues as New|
York Central, Union Pacific, Southern
Pacific. and Reading. but not an OF
these were as high at the closing as
at the opening The volume of sales
for the entire day was hardly as big
as for the short session on Saturday