The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-19
THE STOCK MARKET

New York. Nov. 1s.--There was no new incident today which acted 4s q Determining factor in the movement Of the prices in stocks. although the op- orators in the board room and at stock quotation tickers were alert, as usual, In ranging the world for signs of such news.
 In its absence, the market showed the warning influence of some of the older factors which have been active for some time past. notably since the election.
 There came into consideration again a Wall street aphorism. which says that Prices cannot move in one direc- tion all the time" This truism Is lost sight of in periods of speculative cx- citement. and the fact of It's coming in- to view is in itself testimony to the subsistence of excitement such as there was evidence of on the active days Of last week. The decrease of activity in the market is evidence in the same direction. Commission houses report that the volume of orders from clients in scattered localities has fallen on in the last few days whether from the fact that the existing demand has been filled or the dearness of prices has les sened the attraction ofs stocks or sus- picion has been aroused of an element of manipulation in the market, which precludes R possible reaction, the de- crease In the buying of stocks is obvi- ous. Some of the commission houses make point of the existence of buy ing orders On their books. conditioned on decline from present prices. Last week the bulk Of buying orders was lat the market" It is such orders that enable the well informed room traders to cause volatile upshoots in prices by hid6inR a ffnnG xphtla hA hIIE- ing orders are being executed. The task of supporting the masket grows more difficult when price limits are placed on the buying orders. The grow ing dif1culty of the task was manifest today with the indifference shown to the striking advances in a number of stocks that have been the most inilu- ontial leaders of market sentiment for months past. The rise in Southern Pa eific to above 120 established a new record for that stock and Un1n Pacific. St. Paul and Northern Pacific sold at the highest prices of the present year. There were other strong points, scat tered through the list of securities and embracing some of the lowest grade of stocks, on which dividends have never been paid and for which earn ings show nothing available for divi- dends. The awakening from inactivi- ty of this class of stocks has a bad effect on speculative sentiment as a l stirring up of the dregs of the mark ct with the exhaustion of possibilities in stocks of more substantial class. Stocks which rose did so in success sion and there was no uniform up- ward movement at any time. The ten- dency of prices to sag while such in- duential stocks as those mentioned were advancing was proof of the strain to which the support of the market was being subjected. The feeling of distrust gathered force and assisted in the general decline in the latter part of the day. St. Paul was affected by report of an intended bond issue to be secured by its Pacific Coast Lines now building and it was on the official denial of these reports that the stock rose to 150. Motive power for he movement in the Harrimans was sup piled by reiteration of rumors of fi- nancial plan, involving a melon cut ting" the details of which were vague ly presented. Northern Pacific was bought on the assumption that the re- duction from the price tomorrow of $ll.26 extra dividend would make the stock look cheap and would lead to some recovery of the amount of the dividend. With the reaetionary tend ency of prices established there grew up discussion of the possibility of some setback in business and industry from the fast pace that has been too rapid.
 The failure of copper to hold It's ad- vanced price furnishes text for such discussion. The professional element has been watching for a reaction on
 technical grounds for days and their ! rush to follow the movement helped materially to extend the reaction late today.
 Bonds were irregular. Total sales par value. $5s412.000. United States bonds were unchanged on call,
 CLOSING STOCK LISE.