The Washington times., 1908-04-20

NEW YORK, April 2O.-There were
many who looked for a revival of &C
uvity with the resumption Of business
after the three days holiday. The mar
ket, however failed to respond To these
hopes. being very dull, even though
steady. The fact that the leading rail-
way shares have been very slow for
some time, that they have not moved
up with the minor shares. is taken BY
many as a sign Of lower prices rather
than higher The general trend OF COM
mission house gossip favors selling on
strong spots, under the same influences
that have operated against the market
for the last few months. At the imme-
date opening there were signs of
strength here and there throughout the
list, notably in big T." Sugar. Bis
cult. and other stocks OF minor i'm
pOrtance in the list. Soon after the
opening the market became very dull.
and while there were some fraction ad-
vances in the leaders they were not we'll
maintained, nor were they important
enough 10 call for special mention.
The Street was much interested in
The annual meeting Of the United States
Steel Corporation to be held today. II
was expected that a very conservative
statement might be made, regarding
the earnings for the quarter, and the
promise OF the future Moreover. there
is some doubt felt in steel circles over
possible tariff charges.
The matter OF bonuses to officers Of
the corporation viii also be brought up
Bonus payments have always cut much
figure with the Carnegie and other steel
companies. and has been a matter OF
much moment in the big corporation.
Common shareholders believe that they
should be considered and their dividend
placed on the original 4 per cent basis
The American Express Company
showed the effects Of bad business, when
the directors reduced the dividend from
a S to a 4 per cent basis
As the session progressed the earlier
advances in the standard rails almost
entirely lost. while positive weakness
dcveloped in the metals, which in the
earlier part of the day had held their
own but could net make gains.
The Steels headed the downward turn,
both the preferred and tho common
breaking 3. OF a point. At the same
time Sn.elIer dropped a point and Cop
pei "a other metal shares were soft
ara fractiouaIIy of In the industrial
list Biscuit. General Electric, and sugar
were the firm spots.
II the rail list Union Pacific, st. Paul.
Reading. and Great Northern held
tFnir own after going off the extent OF
the earlier Improvement Northern Pa
cifC. AtchisOn. Baltimore and Ohio,
Canadian Pacific. and few other minor
rails were y off Rock Island was
full point lover
Entering the second hour OF the after
noon the market was very dull and
rather soft.
In the closing hours of the session the
market became weak and decidedly
heavy. The breaks were moderate and,
although there were some slight re-
coveries before the close, the final fig
ures on -he list were materially lower,
though Union Pacific, Great Northern,
and Northern Pacific held relatively
steady with but L point concessions. The
Steels wer nearly a point of at one
time. but recovered all but q Of the
loss
There was but little doing and the
closing was soft 1t was the first day
that the bears had shown their teeth for
some time