The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-28
Stock Market Reflects Disap-
 pOintment In Estimates
OF GENERAL IMPROVE
Widespread Uneaslness and Uncer- tainty Is Felt Over Political Sit uation and Outlook-There
 Is Absence of Pressure.
By w. G. NICHOLAS.

New York June 27 The stock market
 reflects disappointment in estimates of
 the volume and importance of general
 business improvement; it also reflects a deep down and widespread uneasiness
 and uncertainty over the political stua-
 ton and outlook. It is now a recognized
 fact that the industrial and trade revival which started in couple of months ago
 is not coming up to expectations either
 in degree or in duration.
 The improvement is going on, however,
 but too slowly to suit nervous and san
 guine people and far short of the antcl-
 pations of the spectators, who jumped 1 into the stock market and in six weeks
 put prices to where they might have gone
 naturally and legitimately in six months 1 In other words, the big gamblers In
 stocks misjudged the business situation and discounted at least a half a years l improvement It now remains to be seen
 whether the market will hold anywhere
 near the recovery established, or whether l 1t will settle back to where it egitimately 1 belongs On this issue there Is a very 1 decided difference of opinion
 It is unquestionably true, however, that l there is a growing bearish sentiment 1 among conservative people. They feel that
 the bullsh clements have been over
 worked and prices put too high. At the 1 same time technical conditions deter the
 creation of an unweldy short interest. A
 small group of tremendous market spec ] ulators having unlimited command of
 great mass of idle money in the New i York banks and trust companies, have shown their power and ability to run 1 bull campaign in the face of apparently i strong adverse conditions. With this i recollection fresh in mind they are .ldis- l posed to run any risk of further cruel l punishment like that inflicted upon them l during the months of April and May. 1 In other words they do not care to sell l themselves blindly into hole or to put
 temptation in the way of the Hartman
 Prick Rockefeller combination of rough
 riders and hard hitters.
 1 They argue that nothing would suit this l tremendous combination any better than l the development of a short interest l These same big fellows, having for
 the time being withdrawn from active
 manipulation on an important scale the i market continues narrow and dull IL nus l been left again to the mercies of the pro- fessionals and fraction chasers on the i stock exchange. Occasionally the aggre- 1 gate of a days sales rise above 20o,0O0 i shares, but the average away below that l figure, and everybody seems afraid 10 venture far from shore
 Politics. too is a factor in the stock
 market situation. Wall street while m ] clined to accept with good grace the nom 1 nation of Messrs Taft and sherman, Is manifesting no enthusiasm. Ordinarily the gambling men of the street would be working themselves into state Of violent agitation on betting propositions but this year hardly a peep Is heard Tn that direction. Nobody appears to bet a dollar one way or the other, although there was some idle talk in the beginning i of a desire to lay odds of to l on Iaft against Bryan if the latter should be nom mated. Even this feasible vocal uenoh- stration has been stilled, and convefsa- tional speculation ranges from even money to ten to one.
 Those who are best acquainted with ac- tual political conditions harbor no de- lusions.. however. They look for des-
 perate rough and tumble campaign In which the rules of the game will be for l gotten and gouging and kicking freely in
 dulged in That the campaign Will De | one of over -shadowing importance to rali- l road and the industrial interests IS free- 1 1v admitted, and for that reason the de- | H
 exert sharp and decisive influence on 1 nrices With the captains of industry It i ia not sufficient to remember that for the 1 next two or four years they will be pro-
 tected by a republican majority Tn the i Senate even though the democrats should i win the presidency and the House or Rep i resentatives.
 They understand quite well that With d
 reduced Senate majority they might nor | f1of i lection they would like, inasmuch as a | large element of that majority has de- l oided leaning toward real tariff revision l ..downward" They are therefore earnest ly anxious for republican success. Wltn 1 the railroads there Is as yet feeling or
 seeming indifference. National and state 1 administrators regardless of politics ap-
 pear alrr ost equally hostile In the matter l of rates and other regulations, and they
 may decide that with them the question
 will resolve itself anyway into simple i one of endurance.
 | All these things are certain to be
 thra shed out during the campaign and to 1 be features of live market enect. Thus while the outlook for the summer IS not .noh as to indicate broad speculation with enlarged popular interest therein
 there is reasonable assurance Of wide l fluctuations and more than the average 1 chance for live traders to iiiahe UT to ioSo money
 Meantime there is for the present a notable absence of pressure. It is com | mon remark on the exchange that there
 are no stocks offering" What would hap | pen if there should come flood of of
 ferings none can tell. The first efrect
 would probably be a sharp slump. Then
 If there should have been created a large
 short interest the big fellows would more
 than likely step in and twist the tails or
 the bears, thereby repeating the experi- ence of April and May It is for that l reason that the undertone of weakness has not materialized in genuine bear
 movement against prices. It may come
 any time. however and four people out
 of five in Wall street look for it. despite
 cheap money and good crop prospects.
 The street is full of talk about the dis
 solution of the alleged pools in Union l Pacific and Reading This talk may be put out to encourage spectators to get