Evening star., 1908-01-12
Financial News Letter
BY W. G. NICHOLAS.

ly liable to harsh criticism from the pub
lie at large. While. denying accommoda-
tions to legitimate interests it has been
furnishing unlimited money for the financ-
ing on the stock exchange under the con-
due. CT favored few manipulators and
msrket managers. While mercantile and
manufacturing establishments and pretty
mucn everybody in business had the hard
est kind of a time worrying through the
latter days of the season OF distress. spe~
cially favored operators in Wall street
were supplied with all the funds they
needed 10 bull specialities. like Union Fa-
cific. S'u-fhern Pacific. Delaware and Hud-
son. kealing and Amalgamated Copper.
Under TIE leadership Of these specialtics
the whole market experienced an upl.ft
and considerable public backing was cb-
tanned on the advance. At the higher
range Of prices established a good siz ID
short Interest wts forced to cover. d ID
there also occurred simultaneously a big
lot Of profit-taking for the account of
those Who wera in on the manipulation.
Incl fan.ally this recovery in stock mar
ket quotations contributed substantially
to restoration of general confidence.
Those WHO were responsible for the CON
version of banking capital for the promo
uon OF stock exchange speculation find
1uslncs.'!on for their action diScrimilirt-
ing against general business. in order
tnat tna Ealnt-elS In stocks might make 4
demonstration In their philosophy t:,e
end justif1es the means 1t now remains
to be seen whether the to 10 point aver
age rise III the market which has been
ut abou. largely through the favorit-
ism OF the banks for special Wall street
Interests Will hold and form a base line
a ~ MI will
be iannl"y reaction which will carry
quotat.o IS Hack to nearly previous low
levels. On this point there is a ridical
diFs' ence In the judgment Of experienced
mel One thing in favor OF the theory of
a further Immediate advance is the fact
that many stocks are selling too low very
mncn under their intrinsic value. The
lis. Is full OF stocks that are still selling
19 and 40 to so points too low measured
by asset appraisement AMI ascertained
earning powers. These sticks ought TO
50 higher. and now that the acute phases
OF the money stringency are passed 1t is
easily ccra eivable that thev will move
upward, While the res. Of the market
either halts or reacts in obedience to nat
ural laws. Meantime the speculative spe-
cfaltles will Ie subject to spo1a adic fiuc-
tuat1ons regardless of the general trend
The many evidences of revolt against
banking d.scriainatio1s for speculative
action On the stock exchange may fright
OF duty to the general CT immunity, and
thus for the time being deprive the gam
biers OF means with which to conduct
their campaigns. There has been some
relaxation In the severity OF the monetary
position as regards legitimate interests
but It Is more the less true that Wall
street continues to be favored as against
the mercantile end industrial depa rtments
Open knowledge of this fact is having
pad 'enect a; the national and state capt.
iais where the states hen are only too
Wiling to give heed to. reports Of that
kind.
The daily record OF operations in half
dozen favorite stocks, aggregating in
volume more than the hundreds OF other
STOCKS on the stock exchange list, fur
nrmatfon 1t needs that the New York
banking combination is lending its back
ing to groups of favored stock gamblers
while denying legitimate business the
proportion OF support to which 1t Is en-
titled. The testimony Of the tape In this
respect Is damning Wall street and the
stock exchange in the estimation of the
country. The record Of transactions on
the stock exchange is the club that is
arming the enemies and critics Of Wall
street. The audacity Of the banks in
thus backing Wall street speculation
while refusing credit to the business
element Is a very serious object lesson
the reverse effect Of which is only dimly
appreciated by those who sit on the
thrones OF the mighty in the kingdom of
lower Manhattan.
In the news OF the week the good and
the bad come along about equally di-
vided. Every day the money situation
makes visible progress towards normal,
or rather towards the expected. The
outside drain has practically stopped and
the return flow OF money has set in. The
plethora of funds which were SO conf
IDENTIFY prophe sled is likely to the belated.
do mill kfyaox al
tainously in this section of the world is
reasonably well assured through auto
matte action, but few look for really easy
money until the calendar year is we'll
In evidence 1t Is noted that
while call rates are reasonable and four
months money can be had on gilt-edged
collateral at to Az per cent, borrowers
do not find 1t an easy matter to make
arrangements for six months loans un-
der per cent. During the last week a
great deal Of money has been placed at
that rate. and although many of the
large lenders look for marked easing of
the situation they are still able to dis
cover a strong demand for funds re-
turnable in six months hence. The soft
ening in rates may appear at any time,
however. and thus Justify voluminous
prediction.
The sugar trust is In for ventilation.
For many years H. o. Havemeyer domi-
mated Sugar in the most high-handed
and refused to give stockholders
the faintest ''look-in'' as to its manage
ment or its physical condition. From his
viewpoint it was sufficient for stockhold-
ers to get their dividends. and to annually
adopt resolution Of confidence-he at
tended to the rest. The transfer books
show nearly 1900 stockholders. about
evenly divided between the common and
preferred. This shows an average dis
tribution of less than fifty shares among
the two classes of ownership. OF the $50
600 600 capit taliZatiOn, Mr.. Havemeyer held
at his death less than 200 shares of the
par value Of $4,000. although popularity
supposed to hold together with his asso-
ciates an actual majority. This exhibit
is about as bad as that made by the es
tate of the late Roswell p. Flower, who
died with only five shares of BRIT.
whose destiny he had dictated for years.
Mr.. Havemeyer had run the sugar trust
for ten or fifteen years as a blind pool"
He was more autocratic in Its manage
ment than ever John D. Rockefeller was
in Standard OIL or H. II. Rogers in Anal
gamated. The latter two corporations. by
the way, are practically the last survivors
on large scale of the blind pool regime.
1t Is foreordained that the lid Is to be
lifted from the sugar trust. unless an
heir shall be found big enough to fill
Henry Havemeyer's shoes. Claus Spreck-
les may be that man. but it Is exceeding
ly doubtful His disinterestedness in at
tacking the trust Is open to suspicion.
AS the largest individual stockholder ''of
record q, 500 shares. or thereabouts) he Is
apparently trying to destroy the value of
his certificates by an expose of the SEEM
ing wort thlessness of a large part of the
companys assets and by incidentally re-
vealing that Mr.. Havemeyer's interest in
the trust was in his control of subsidiary
much as the Vanderbilts own
personally vital links in New York Cen
trail. and the Gouds in their system of
roads That Mr.. Spreckles aims to con-