The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-08-02
new HIGH RECORDS
IN OPENING HOUR.
Prices Of Important Stocks Take
4 a Bound, and Market Very
Lively for Saturday
COVERING SHORT CONTRACTS
This and Stories OF Recent Big
Railroad Deals Responsible
for the Rise.
Especial to The Times .Dlspatch.I

: lSSpeClHl 70 me IlfneS DlsDHtcn.l
!, NEW YORK. August IA large
humber Of stocks. including such I'M
portant issues as Reading. Union Pa
cific, Great Northern. Missouri Pacific,
Amalgamated Copper and National
Lead, made new high records for the
year in to-day's market, and the trad
Ing attained breadth greater perhaps
Than at any other time since the pres-
ont movement started. That the ac-
uvity and strength resulted In some
measure from the covering of short
contracts there can be little doubt,
but 1t is equally certain that this was
not the most important factor on the
vide OF advance, for the BEARS would
not have gone in a precipitate rush
10 cover unless impelled by some strong
reason The reason In this case was
TO be found In the continued accum,,-
lation OF stocks by important interests.
bssed on the continued Improvement
In business. and the belief that the
deals by which bankers representing
the Hartman interest undertook the
purchase of the Wheeling. Lake Erie
notes involved other matters of great
Importance in the railroad world the
nature OF which would be disclosed
later on.
Rcading's Spectacular Advance.
Rading's advance was the most
spectacular of any In the market With
transactions aggregating 1000 shares
simultaneously executed at Il price
range OF from 122 IA TO 1872 1-2. the
stock made new high record at the
start, and made further substantial
gain In the next few minutes. The
dealings In these stocks continued very
heavy all through the first hour OF a
repetition OF the rumor of an early
favorable decision in the suit to have
!he commodity clause OF the Hepburn
law declared unconstitutional. story
OF which there was no confirmation
but In the last hour the buying became
less aggressive. and finally, little be-
Tore the close. reaction to about last
nights closing level occurred In re-
Spouse TO profIt-taking sales. Although
at the close prices as rule were at
or near the lowest of the day. they
showed in nearly all cases advances
over yesterdays final quotations, Ma
tional Lead and Distillers securities.
each with gain of more than TWO
points. retaining the largest gains.
Union Pacific. Notwithstanding Its
sharp rise In the first hour. closed at
small decline. and United States Steel.
which in point of activity ranked
next to Reading and Union Pacific.
also ended to-day at decline. being
forced to Withstand rather heavy SELL
ing. one house disposing OF upwards
OF 10000 shares of the stock.
Recurrence of rumors of crop dam
age In the Northwest brought sharp
advance IN the wheat market. but did
not affect stocks.
What was apparently the most nota-
ease with which selling orders could
be executed. the absorptive powers
shown by some leading issues being
greater than at any other time during
the week. Transactions In stocks
amounted to we'll In excess OF 100000
shares and bonds to sl.75o,ooo, par
value.
BusincN Conditions.
The reports of the commercial agen-
cies indicated that the Improvement in
the business the country over was not
as uniformly maintained during the
past week as In the earlier part of the
month, trade in some sections being
slow. while In some lines OF industry
activity did not compare with that in
others. The market for cotton goods
Especially was depressed, owing prob
ably TO the fact that auction sales
will be held in the near future to dis
pose of large stocks left over on ac-
count of the conditions which pre-
vailed last winter. and railroad earn
lnes in the past couple of weeks have
not made as large percentage of re-
auction in decrease of gross compared
with last year, as at the beginning of
July. This change Is also shown In
The fact that. according to the fort
nightly report of the American Rail
way Association, the number of freight
cars available on July I'd was 30S,6So.
against 363.5s0 on July sth.
Pennsylvania's statement for June
Tor the lines east of Pittsburg showed
a decrease of s2.7O0,00o in gross. which
was approximately $1,o0o,o0O less than
the decrease in May. and falling Off in
net for the month being only 100000.
FOR the lines west of Pittsburg there
was decrease of s1.T60.0oo in gross,
but an increase of 100000 in net. and
In the other roads in the system. the
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washing-
ton, and the Northern Central. also
showed increases in net Chicago and
Northwestern succeeded in reducing
operating expenses so that In June
there was decrease of only s136,O0O
In net, although the decrease in gross
was of nearly ten times that amount.
The clearings of all the banks In the
United States for the week amounted
TO s3.3l2.464OoO against s2.+S4,7s3,oO0
ahe last week and s2,66S,454,00o last
year, the decrease S compared with a
year ago being 1873 per cent. An in
crease of s2,567,325 In the surplus re-
serve Of the associated banks was
shown In the weekly bank statement,
a document that on the whole was
rather uninteresting.
Bonds were steady. Total sales par
value, $1,S16.000, United States rs adj
jyanced is per cent. on call during
ithe week. Total sales of stocks, 471.-
1t200 shares.
I NEW YORK, August Money on
call nominal, Times loans quiet and
tirn: sixty days. 2 to 21-4 per cent.
and ninety days, ALP per cent; SIX
months, per cent. Prime mercantile
paper, 500 1-2 per cent, Sterling en-
change fairly steady, with actual busi-
ness in bankers bills at S4.S6S0@4,S6S5
Tor demand, and at s4.s525 @4.s5S5 for
sixty day bills. Commercial bills,
f4.S4 s-4@4,S5. Bar silver. So 1-2,