The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-29
NICHOLAS WALL
 STREET LETTER
Money Situation FavOrS Stoke
 Market
EM REGENCY CURRENCY
Special Act of Congress Has Given Confidence and Ease to Money
 Market-Tarff Revision
 Talk in Wall Street.
By w. G. NICHOLAS.


 New York. November 2S.-(speoial)- Rarely indeed has the money situation at this time of year been friendly as it is this year toward the stock market. It has been the great supply of cheap mon- ey for the last six months which has made the remarkable bull campaign of that period possible. Without cheap money and the ability of the great ma nipulators of the stock market to com mand it. we would not be seeing such prices for stocks as are now obtainable on the exchange. Call money has ruled from IF to 3 per cent throughout the larger part of the spring, summer and autumn. The rate for 6O-day money is 2a4 to per cent; 90 days, 3 per cent; four 1 months, 3A per cent, and five to six ! months, 35a to 4 per cent It is very ap- ] parent that there is not going to be an end of the year stringency period which i is the great bugaboo along about this time.
 The provision which Congress made for ! S500,00O,000 emergency money has con- tributed very largely to the ease in the money situation. True, there has been natural piling up of idle funds due to i the liquidation and hard times of the past year, but that of itself would not have produced the spirit of ease and confidence which now prevails. What was needed was the added sense of secu- ! rity given by the law, making it possible to go and get all the relief that might be 1 needed by the issue of an emergency . currency It was an illustration in a large way of the old story of the woman 1 who wanted her savings out of the bank | if she couldn't get the amount but who 1 had no use for it if the bank could pay It was the knowledge that the money was there if she wanted 1t that gave the l old lady satisfaction and complaeency of mind
 The emergency currency act has served 1 that useful purpose to the community at l large. The mere fact that $500 GOO was ] available if needed did the business for 1 the stock market and bankers in general ] Easy money made the bull market possi- ble. and easy money gave us fair assur- anee that prices will be sustained around the sharp corner of the new year. It may | also give assurance that values will be maintained for still longer time ahead and that business men may proceed on 1 well-defined theory that season of sta bility has been inaugurated That at least is the comfortable assumption of Wall street at the present time.
 The stir which has been made in regard to tariff revision has only disturbed this sense of equanimity in minor degree. The idea still holds that Congress in its proposed revision of the. tariff will do nothing to seriously disturb business. The
 "butting in of MT Carnegie tended to shake this confidence for a short while, but the apprehension did not find deep root, although there may be a serious 1 after effect to the agitation which MT Carnegie's magazine article started. l Iz some quarters there is a feeling that 1 this agitation may ultimately force Con 1 gress to do some genuine revising of the | schedules for the benefit of consumers as l well as producers and manufacturers. The very evident Congress view is that the 1 people voted for a revision which would l create the least possible disturbance of l business and from the tenor of reports | received here that appears to be the l Washington programme, despite all this i talk that is heard about desperate clash | between the President-eleet and Uncle Joe 1 Cannon, representing the organization and the machinery of the lower branch of l Congress. Presumably, also, Mir. Cannon is in intimate sympathy with the ruling spirit of the Senate. Wall street is in | clined to look upon Uncle Joe as a sort | of a raw wild western proposition entire l ly out of touch with the incoming ad- ministration and it's alleged soothing syr- up intentions. The prints hereabouts l have much to say about his lack of digni- ty, and a widespread desire is voiced that l more of that sacred quality might be invested in the man elected by the next | House to wield the gavel.
 There has been so much dignity in high 1 position in Washington during the last l few years that it would be great hard ] ship if the Speaker of the House of 1 Representatives should not come up to the high ideals in this respect. At any | rate there appears to be somewhat of q lull in the excitement occasioned by re- cent developments in the tariff hearing i before the ways and means committed. i It is suddenly remembered that the Con gress which will do the revising will not | meet until after March 4 next, and many things may happen in the interim. The sentiment in the stock market, which may be called reflection of tariff ex- l pectations, is a slight falling off in the interest in the industrial division. For a time the industrias led the railroad di- vision in popularity. Just now it is the other way, the rails being in the lead in point of activity and in bullish feeling.
 When MT. Carnegie's somersault on tar if first became known the ingenious the .11 41,,t I11 toI