The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-20
NICHOLAS WALL
STREET LETTER
Bryan's Growing Strength is
DiSquieting
NAY WIN LOWER HOUSE
Charles G. Dawes Calls on the Faithful
for Funds, But His Haul Is
Not as Large as
Hoped for.
NAY WIN LOWER HOUSE
BY w. c. NICHOLAS.


any time before. AS the campaign grows
older it begins to be apparent that the
battle is not altogether one-sided and
there has come over few of the hard
headed ones a sense of uneasiness lest
after all the November result may have
a bearing on business and parties.
Things have happened In the last few
days to bull Bryans stock and to give
rise to increasing fears that the demo-
Gratis may elect a majority in the lower
house of Congress. Mr. Bryan's presence
In the enemy's country may have had
something to do with this, but that Is
only one factor among several Mr.
Bryan is personally highly encouraged.
He has met with a wonderful reception
along the route and reports that reach
him, as well as his own observations,
lead him to sincerely believe that he is
going to be elected. He was greatly
moved by the many evidences of devotion.
Old campafgners are always trife
skeptical as to the ballot box Importance
of demonstrations of hero worship and
are prone to regard them more as evil
dence of intensity of feeling than as i'm
portant foreshadowing of numerical re-
Election in votes. The mere fact that tho
veterans of previous Bryan campaigns
think more Of him than ever does not nee
essarily imply the requisite additions to
the number of voters who will deposit
their ballots in November
The visit of Charles G. Dawes of Chi
cago had more influence than anything
else in afousing Wall street uneasiness.
Mr. Dawes came to New York primarily
to raise money for the republican con-
gresslonal campaign committees, and he
gave the people he called upon very clear
ly to understand that the republican ma
1ority in the House is in danger. Wall
street has steeled itself against the i'm
portunities of political canyassers for
funds, but Mr.. Dawes visit was unoues-
tionably impressive. The people who saw
and heard him were convinced that he
really meant what he said when he an
nounced that unless means were taken to
arrest the current and change the situa-
ton the democrats would swing into con-
troll OF the popular branch of Congress
and possibly elect a president.
Mr.. Dawes did not confine his visit
alone to bankers and financiers. He de-
voted a good share of his attention to
leading representatives of the manufac-
! turing interests. He carried away some
money but not nearly as much as he had
| hoped for. n ttgI
| The election in Maine also contributed
| to the disquiet. It was all right enough
for the republican oracles and publicity
/ bureaus to say that the election in that
state hinged entirely on local issues. This
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iloL 6Npidln why LQ6
! decreased republican vote and the in
! creased democratic vote in that state
| should have applied to congressman as
well as state and local officers. There is
! surely something national in the election
of congressman. The democratic state
convention gave every surface proof Of
restored democratic harmony In the EN-
/ pire State and the result here has become
/ involved In doubt And last, but not
least, comes a letter from Richard Olney,
closest political friend and adviser of the
late Grover Cleveland, setting forth at
length his reasons why the republican
| party should be defeated at the coming
election. Old line conservative democrats
| who had been holding out against Bryan
set about asking themselves why they
should gag at Bryan when that hardest
| of hard-headed Cleveland irreconcilables,
Mr.. Olney, can stomach him. Altogether
! Mr.. Bryan's chances seem to have been
i, looking up lately, according to the Wall
| street viewpoint, and for the same reason
| there has been a disposition to reduce
| speculative risks in the stock market As
| feature of the growth of this feeling
| of uncertainty good many stocks have
| been sold out which had been bought for
a greater advance in prices than has yet
been seen. New buying has also been
checked simultaneously, specialists in
the iron trade report dulling in the buy
ing demand for pig iron, incident to the
apparently growing chances of democratic
success and consequent harsh tariff re-
vision.
The return Of Mr.. Hartman was Sig
nalized by an immediate decline in the
stock market Rightly or wrongly the
street attributes this to Mr.. Harriman's
influence in some degree. He talks with
every appearance of Indifference to the
political outcome and reports most en-
couragingly on the western business sit
uation. Mr.. Hartman, like others of the
| great wizards of Wall street, some times
| shoots one way and looks the other. Ac-
! cording to common belief Mr.. Hartman
| and his associates are carrying enor-
nous load of securities in which they
! have q colossal paper profit.
If 1t were their programme to unload
| the natural play would be to hand out a
! line of optimistic conversation and then
| begin quietly to sell while others were
! buying. The public has been landed with
the goods so often on this procedure that
| It took alarm on this occasion and start
| ed to sell the minute it heard from Har-
| riman, who seemed unusually anxious to
| get a lot of bullish talk out of his sys-
| TEN.
| He summoned to his presence all the
| newspaper men he could get hold of and
| to an audience Of 20 or Is Of them he let
| loose great chunks of information about
| the glories of our country, especially that
| part of 1t traversed by the Hartman and
| near Hartman railroads. The next MORN
| ing 1t was apparently a race between the
| Hartman brokers and the public who
| could sell theirs first. The bears felt
| greatly encouraged by this selling furore,
| but they have not as yet become agrees
| sively active, fearing that the great lead
ers> might be leading them into a trap,
| as they have done many times during the
last four months The new Mr.. Harri
man seems to like to get himself under
the headlines of newspapers as well as
the verest soubrette. He really enjoys
the delights of the advertising he gets.
and while pretending to be Indifferent
to criticism and attack he Is really very
sensitive and is getting more so.
The Improvement in railroad earnings
as SHOWN IN the reports which are being
printed from day to day are quito uni
form, although the gain Is not enough
to inspire in the bulls wild enthusiasm.
1t Is noted that there are at the present
time only about 200, 900 idle cars, whereas
last April the number was more than
100000. In round figures each car earns
about $1,000 a year. 1t Is. therefore, evil
dent that the gross earnings of the rail-
roads Of the United States are now run
ming at the rate of about 5000, 00o. 900 year
less than normal, instead Of $500, 000. 900, as
was the case four and five months ago.
Matters might be worse for the railroads.
Likewise they might be very much better.
The declaration of the usual quarterly
| dividend on New York Central made q
bad impression. VIGOROUSLY the dividend
was not earned and is being paid out of
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