New-York tribune., 1908-02-23
The Financial World.

Inch
,ar,e and immediate bearing on Ssdh street
hut. wall street itself shows little con-
rn All that has come to pass upon the stock
u-~cbange is relatively insignificant Ine public
continues aloof -
And so quotations drift over narrow ranss.
indicating nothing that may be accounted as
lasting infuence-for as yet almost none Oh the
direfuI PROPHECIES of business disaster nave
come 10 such pass that either ralirodos OF
industrial properties are ooilged 70 c'less
.o,,hsrrass,nents~ lately 50 assiduously pro-
claimed Traffic returns are oad-ia'est reports
the worst A larger percentage OF labor ls Tn
emnIoved than within a decade Wall Street
expects lower wage charges In reduced cor
poratfon earnings Wall Street sees the certainty
of concessions frem Iabor-union organizations
for the very sake of self-preservation yie'elns
TO requests for reductions. But wan S'Eeet nas
been equally sure OF this for half dozen
o,,bs mast. and until now there has been no
such conclusion the prophets proTnlsed
One forcefu fact not much considered touch
ing the labor situation is found in the trs-
rnendous outrush of Iaborers 10 Europe-for.
though these hordes of emigrants constituted
the crudest. lowest priced labor Of the country.
their departure in such vast volume has had the
,,ndoubted effect Of strengthening the labor SIT
nation as a whole. And whether mine owners
at Butte or builders in New York prepare now
TO proceed with contracts they find themselves
bandicanned with an actual scarcity OF ready
labor. Thus-gholly aside from what Presi-
dent RooseveIt's commissioners may discover
there have entered into current labor conditions
factors not rece2ty there
At the end of the week came anno1ncelileAe
of victory for Mr.. Hartman over MI Fish n
Illinois central cor troversies- There are au-
f-rTrld -
ination Of Stuyvesant Fish from Illinois central
o,.frs People who taas this view are not peo-
pie who know much about the Fish recora-tor
while Mr.. Fish has not figured az his best taas.
indeed DISCOURAGED devoted friends) by some OF
the phases Of this particular campaign NOBODY
Cand probably least Of all E H Hartman VIII
expect to find him a gutter Opposition l. II
drbftably certain TO be offered BY him TO pro-
nosed new methods in Illinois Central imam
ciering Liens to the extent OF tens o. HbHOnS
are ready to be plastered upon the company
euuiprnent-funds to be raised not oy the lSsus
Of general company bonds or through stock
observation-disclosures being had 10 tne ne"
fashioned emission of short time notes WHAT
chiefly NAV be said in favor Of this procedure
is that it's easy. What may be said against
II Stuvvesant Fish can probably be relied Upcn
to saw with abundance and emphasis
F11t the issue narrOws-the lIllnoiS 'eHeIa'
contest becomes far less general in It's conse-
ot1ence shrinks almost 20 the dimensions V- d
family squabbe as 10 how the VINO - Sna-- l -
raised and what sort OF bargain shall De nlao-
ITith the money lenders Meanwhile. Illinois
Central stock may be expected 10 oeeoTl7 H''l7
active. The price will probably go down
This fad for short time nOtes-offertns ran
way credit at discount-has one bad effect
unite outside Of Wall Street Interior banks
find themselves able to buy such notes on
Yha-7 an
far beyond what they charge local borrow
ers-and such local borrowers in very mary
parts of the country are consequently harldl-
capped Funds formerly available for local uses
are diverted. with result that merchants and
others outside of New York find their ordinary
lines OF credit materially reduced The banks
are making more money: but regular customers
are hlet In some localities this element IN the
money market situation has recently become
pronounced Yet Of course, if visiting hard
ship upon local borrowers. it at the same time
reveals what is helpful and encouraging 10 the
managers Of corporations disposed 10 take ad-
vantage of country bank avarice-
Money market conditions directly affecting
Wall Street operations show changes only On
the side Of improvement Maintained stablHty
Of the Clearing House surplus testifes 70 the
rehabilitation of banking conditions Nervous
ness incidental 10 the furries Of the last six
months has passed away Plethora Of funds
in Wall Street banks is the distinctive feature.
However against this condition Is the f2c- thar
railroad and industrial corporations are anx-
forsIv seeking opportunity 10 borrow. and VIII
undoubtedly seek The funds cbJai1abIe- Hence.
Wall Street is disposed 20 look askanCe at cash
abundance believing that ready absorption viii
follow II may be SO; but the supplying OF i'm
mediate needs can result only n healthy read
justrnent of the money market With urgent
borrowers satisfied-and there seem no reasons
why they should not be-theTe VIII follow free
play of the law OF supply and demand.
Among the weeks developments there has
been an aggressive campaign against the Gould
securities Missouri Pacific, Western Union and
the rest have been assailed bltterIy-sold down
recklessly. for the account OF spectators who
never in their lives owned a share in any enc
of the Gould stocks. No canard has been 100
ludicrous if but II could be made nonentarily
to serve depressingly. Attacks upon the intey-
rity of George J. Gould have been industrious
Iy essayed: receiverships for all of his corpora
tions have been proclaimed. Yet OF actual bsd
developments. nowhere at any time has taers
appeared a single vesIige- What may be
garded as certain is that the Gould interests
railway tendencies or unaware Of plotting Wall
Street enmitieS: and they have not awaited Al
eleventh hour opportunity for protection
one incident Of the week Is ccuriC-Ls4a