The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-21
FINANCIAL REVIEW.

New York. Sept 20.--The pronounced reactionary tone which developed in the securities market last week was generally attributed to wha tthe fnan- cial district called political scare"
 After the result of the Maine elec- tion became known on Tuesday, the struggle to maintain prices became manifest. The special force given to the political scare" was due to the influential fnaneiai sources which gave 1t countenaflce. E. H. Hartman and James ]. Hill, newly returned from prolonged stays in the West. gave pub lie utterances to views expressing a feeling of doubt over the outcome of the elections and dissatisfaction with the languid interest in the campaign manifested by voters. Coupled with this tone of admonition against the assumption current in Wall street on the political situation. were other cir cumstances which intensified the irn- pression that these accepted financial authorities found something to criti- cize in the course to which the specu : lation has run.
 This impression was decisive in checking the speculative operations for an advance and in precipitatins liauidation. During Mir. Harriman's retirement in the Oregon forest the speculation has centered around his personality to a degree rarely wit messed in the stock market. The con- nection of his name in however re- mote a degree with any property has served to stimulate an animated spec ulation in its shares and to stir up a cloud of rumors and suppositions as to his plans regarding the property. Upon his return to the financial district Mir. Hartman called in the newspaper men and btnntly denied many of the rumors which had been in circulation regard ing his properties and his plans. This action cut the ground from under the speculative position of the most active element in the market operations and implied the disapproval of the man credited with lending all his power and influence to the movement.
 When 1t was realized that the sup posed responsibility for the course of the market was being practically dis avowed there was a quick turn to more attentive consideration of some of the unfavorable factors in the situation. Amongst these 1t was not lost sight of that enormous obligations for call loans, presumably employed in market operations. were controlled by the financial institutions holding close re lations with the wealthy group cred tied with the leadership in the stock market. The dependence of the spec ulative position upon this relation was cause of uneasiness. This was az. gravated by the course of the money market. The process of piling up idle reserves in the New York banks man ifestly had come to a pause with the beginning of the flow of currency out of New York bank reserves and Into Western and Southern chanels of trade. The persistent firmness of the foreign exchange market in face of all the conditions making for New York con trol of the exchanges kept alive dis- cussIon of gold exports and gave warning of the burden of keeping up securities prices at level which was attracting foreign holdings to the home market.
 Railroad earnings were so far from showing the hoped for recovery that dividend prospects came in for revived discussion. This discussion bore with which made the largest issues of new stock just previous to the financial de- pression, especially Great Northern, Northern Pacific and St. Paul. The slowness of the recovery In the iron and steel trades which has been the object of constant remark. was re- ported to be emphasized and further reductions in the price of copper ex- tended the unfavorable influence into other fields of the metal industry. The anxiety over the drought was but part ly relieved by the amount of preeipl- tatton and a decrease In the ultimate yield Is taken into the reckoning.
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