The sun., 1908-04-26
GOSSIP or WALL STREET.

the Street fuil OF peopio VINO were Hatting TOT
a reaction In order 70 buy. According 10
precedent decline should have set In 10 run
through the month Of May, and this was to
De avalled Of for the purchase Of stocks for
a long pull II al seemed very simple, for
the chart showed It very plainly. But the
best rules have their exceptions and the
best laid plans Of mice and men" are just a.
liable 10 90 wrong now as In the days Of Bobby
Burns And they went wrong-verY wrong.
The crops continued 10 make splendid progress
when they should have been killed by the
army Of experts In the field. the politicians
kept quiet and the public began 10 tumble
over one another to buy new issues Of bonds
az soon as the right sort we're offered 10 the EN-
at the right kind Of price,
All that s required IL aggressive leadership
To make passive bulllshness potential The
Wall Street speoulator who Ia waiting for .
reaction on which TO buy stocks IA far more
likely 10 buy II the market advances instead
NJ declining This has been shown time and
again, and the fact indicates that the average
trader either does not know values or that
his faith In the doctrine that values deter
mine prices In the long run is not a. strong
a. Il should be- He II better fitted TO be a
follower than "a leader. He makes up his
mlnd-or deludes himself into thinking that
he has done SOTO wait for q reaction Of
three or four points and then buy all the
stocks he can carry But when an advance
comes where he had expected a decline he
does more than that-he buys a larger guam
tlty than he can swing II the expected recess
sion comes along somewhat behind its sched-
ule time. Bull enthusiasm is contagious and
few spectators are immune. On the other
hand a decline Is apt 70 increase feeling OF
depression and the man who is waiting for
one in order 10 buy stocks feels too depressed
10 follow out his intention when his oppor-
tunity comes. II instead an aggressive rise
occurs he begins 10 reflect what fool he was
10 take chances on getting his stocks three or
four points lower when he knew that In q
few months he could sell them out thirty or
forty points higher-and then jumps in and
loads up at the top Of the rally.
Many traders bought stocks yesterday who
could not be induced to buy on Wednesday
before the rise started.
Some Of the old timers think IL may take
the market quite q little time to Asslmllate the
l0OOO, 900 or so Of new securities recently
issued or In prospect, but II remains 10 be
seen whether their views on the subject reflect
common prudence or old fogyism,
st. Paul, which was the strongest feature
Of the market, derived a good part OF it's
strength from another stock that bears only
4 slight resemblance to II. The bull move
ment In II was predicated on the advance in
Standard Oil, the argument being that the
advance In the latter had disclosed the market
attitude OF one Of the most important groups
Of capitalists in this countryside group
which controls st. Paul and has often con-
Quoted important operations In It. The
operations In the stock. II was said we're in
tended as an object lesson Of the prospects
Tor a continuance of the present dividend
rAts-s matter that Judging from earnings
appears to be open to question. However,
II the dividend we're entirely secure the stock
might now be selling considerably higher its
price level being only slightly above that OF
Pennsylvania. which 1t s generally conceded
will reduce It's rate Of disbursement on May
from per cent. to per cent. year.
Reading was laggard, but nobody seemed
10 know why. There was said to be good
selling. but Tumors on this point we're vague
and appeared to be based more on the COM
parative lack OF response 10 bullsn operations
than on any real knowledge as to the source
from which the supply Of the stock came. In
Z few places IL was suspected that the stock
was really held In leash, to be slipped just at
the moment which those interests with whom
It is q favorite thought most propltious for
good run. Held In reserve Tor the present
II might be used to revive tagging interest
later on, and the traders who without oon-
alteration OF this possibility sold it short may
hnd themselves the game to be hunted for the
satisfaction Of the inside interests.
There were bull tips on Pennsylvania and
the stock sold up,to I2O for the first time since
the panic In October last. The talk on the
stock chiefly concerned the success OF the
bond offering, and 1t was said that when the
subscription books opened tomorrow It
would be found that the whole issue had been
subscribed six or seven times over. II vas
further asserted that the technical position
Of the stock was unusually strong and that
some Of the largAt subscribers for the bonds
would avail themselves Of this condition TO
stimulate enthusiasm so that they might
make a great success OF distributing their
holdings Of the new securities. Nowhere
was any attempt made to create the impress
sion that the dividend rate would not be re-
duced at the next meeting Of directors,
About half Of the holders Of Pennsylvania
are women and no class Of investors could
more tenaciously hold on to their investment.
1t looks, said a shrewd observer. 'as II
Union Pacific is on tap, and yet 1t is absorbed
Is fast as IL comes out. You could sell any
amount OF il. / have seen real stock offered
in quantity. but II only caused fractional
recession and again the insiders rallied TO
support / think-though | may be mis-
laken--that the insiders have sold lot Of the
stock on the advance, and II so II will have
10 be conceded that they have shown remark
able skill In their operations.
The Street thought that the most interesting
part Of the statement OF imports and exports
for the month OF March, which showed a much
heavier falling on in the former than In the
latter item. was the showing Of exports OF
articles manufactured and ready for con-
S-nption. the aggregate value Of which was
81, g,OS4 ,sSi. or ts.593 more than the total for
March iaat