The sun., 1908-03-08
FINANrIlL az COMNERCIAL.
SATURDAY. March !

A movement in the stock market OF a
kind that was bound to happen within
reasonably short space OF time as long as
the market continued to present such evil
tlences Of it's intrinsic condition as II did
throughout tine present week did happen
to-day. During the period named If the
market for securities has not actually been
in a thoroughly sold out conditi0ff II has
given every indication that such 10 the case.
The dealings in securities in this time have
with the single exception of those in to-
davis Stock Exchange session shrunk to
small proportions. which is in itself pretty
plGin proof that the decline In prices has
at last halted; but OF more significance was
the Obvious fact that liquidation in the
market had ceased and that there was no
pressure to sell stocks, eyenOf those corpora
tiOns whose financial future is manifestly
more or less clouded. Added to all this
was an unmistakable upward drift in the
market a slow but broad and continuous
elevation In prices which pointed to the
existen ,e Of a natural and general tendency
in this direction. Yesterday for the first
time in manv days the peroeptbiy rising
lde IN the market encountered no cneck
even IL it's movement was still sluggish, and
a large number of spectators for the fall
were found endeavoring to retire their con-
tracts by placing orders TO buy stocks at
very small recessions from the prevailing
level of quotations. The market closed
Yesterday leaving these orders stiIl un-
executed and to-day the inevitable scram-
BILE to buy stocks set in on the part of oper-
ators of the kind described. The volume
of transactions in the market reached
as 900 shares for the two hours Of business.
as against yesterdays full days total OF
2SS. 600 shares. The advance was destitute
of especial or noteworthy feature aside
from its general characteristics. all the
active shares rising from to 3H points
St Paul common stock rose, as il did yes
terdav. with peculiar ease, this being q Sc
cilrity i'm which the short interest is COM
monty supposed TO be larger, and whose
share certificates are in particularly
scant supply in the market, but there
was urgent buying also Of the Union
Pacific. Reading Amalgamated Copper,
American Smelling and Refining and all
the principal issues. The weekly bank
statement was of course not a factor in
the trading owing to its nOn-Rppearance
during husi ness hours, but even If the
figures of the statement had been available
they would probably have been without
influence inasmuch as they were but very
slightly changed from those Of the previous
week Neither were there any develop
ments during the day upon which the up
ward rush in the market was specifically
based. the Improvement being unques-
tionably due to the emphasis laid by specu-
lators upon the broad considerations 10
which reference has been made. A rumor
Of the day, however, that attracted some
attention was a story, having Q basis
Of truth. that the President OF the United
States had addressed a letter to a member
Of the Stock Exchange expressing dissent
with the detailed provisions Of the Hep
burn hill recently introduced in Congress
imposing a prohibitivs tax upon transfers
of stocks made for speculative purposes.
Sentiment was considerably encouraged
also by the official announcement fors- '
shadow ed in the columns OF TIL SUN this
morning that the Kmckerbocker Trust
Company would open its doors within a
short time under a plan Of reor ganization
agreed to by nearly all OF the company's
Cepositors. The action Of the Imperia
Bank Of Germany in reducing it's discount
rate to-day from to 81 per cent. was " holly
anticipated, but still served to acoentuate
the continually easier working Of the in
ternational money markets. II should be
said in any review Of the Gays market
from a technical point Of view that accord
ing to all competent observation the re-
tirement Of contracts for the decline that
went on was almost wholly conducted by
the room trading Stock Exchange specu-
lators, who are always first TO take'alarm
The bulk of the great underlying short
interest in the market is unquestionably
still extant.
Another matter that was discussed to some
: extent to-day in financial circles and that
may prove to be Of the utmost importance
was the possibility of an application TO the
Interstate Commerce Commission by the
larger railway companies for permission to
raise freight rates slightly in consideration
of a maintenance by these companies of
present railway pay schedules Whether
or not these schedules are maintained, an
advance Of railway frei ght rates is more
than justified and ought to have been ss-
tablished long ago. 1t "a only uttering
truism to state that the railway companies
ought to be allowed to raise their charges
for the services performed by them when
by reason of the advance IN the wages of
their employees and the greater expense In
general in railway operation the cost of
performing such service has h6sn so greatly
increased. With affairs as they stand
these companies are told on the one hand
that they must not increase their charges
for carrying freight or passengers and ON
the other that they must not lower their
operating expenses In the direction OF re-
duced wages when they find themselves
compelled to practise economy; and all
these difficulties arc imposed at a time In
the country's history when the need of
general railway development is greater than
It ever was before.